The Actress and the Aristocrat by Katie Ashley
Chapter Eleven: Charlie
Ifound myself morphing from an actress into a model. Of course, there was no runway. I merely exited my changing room in the closet to stand before Teri and Rand. Ever the professional, Teri took notes while Rand tried not to appear completely uncomfortable.
Just as I was finishing up with the last dress, Teri’s phone rang. “It’s Danny. I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time,” I called after her retreating form. I stepped back into the closet to start hanging back up some of the dresses.
“Teri is quite a character,” Rand remarked from the doorway.
“You can say that again.” With a smile, I added, “It’s really hard finding genuine people in Hollywood, but I’ve been blessed with her.”
“I know what you mean. You don’t find a lot of genuine people in my circle either.”
“You have Rob.”
Rand snorted. “Yes, I’ll never get rid of him.”
When I reached to pick up a skirt, I suddenly noticed a large, black box I’d missed before. “Is that a safe?” I asked.
A cheeky smile curved at Rand’s lips. “It’s a decoy.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Let me show you where the real jewels are.”
“Are you sure you can trust me?” I joked.
Rand glanced at me over his shoulder. “I think I know where to find you in case anything goes missing.”
“Yikes, you sound like the Godfather,” I replied as I followed him out of the closet.
“Well, in a way, I did make you an offer you couldn’t refuse, right?”
I laughed. “Yes, you did.”
As we started out of the bedroom, I glanced at the paintings on the walls. “Let me guess. It’s behind one of these.”
Rand tsked at me. “Burglars always check behind the artwork.”
When he started into his bedroom, I momentarily faltered. For some reason, it felt somehow illicit being in there with him. Get a grip, Charlie. I pushed myself on through the doorway.
Rand stood by a large, ornate mirror that appeared to be fused to the wall. With a quick flick of the wrist, it swung open to reveal a wall safe. “So, burglars don’t check mirrors?”
“This has a fingerprint sensor that will only open for myself and Rob.”
“How very James Bond of you.”
Rand laughed as he typed in a code. “It’s good that you saw the safe because it reminded me you would need some jewels to go with your attire.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“What do you mean?”
“Considering my luck with the vase, I could lose a priceless heirloom.”
“I trust you, Charlie.” With a wink, he added, “Or maybe it’s Eliza I trust.”
“Very funny.” But he better not keep winking at me. Rand was an incredibly handsome man, and today, he’d been relaxed and, dare I say, easy to be around. Fun almost. But winking? That was downright evil and sexy, and he needed to stop.
He took out a large velvet box. Holding it out to me, he cracked it open. A gorgeous double strand of pearls sat on the satin interior. “They were your mother’s, weren’t they?”
Rand nodded. “They were a wedding present from her parents.”
“They’re so Jackie Kennedy.”
“I was thinking more Her Majesty, but I can imagine a Yank would think otherwise.”
“Oh, I thought of her too.” As I reached out to touch the pearls, Rand snapped the box lid on my fingers. At what must’ve been my startled look, he chuckled. “Sorry. I couldn’t resist paying a little homage to Pretty Woman.”
I burst out laughing. “Well played, sir.”
“You’re welcome.”
Glancing past him, I eyed a large box. “Ooh, what’s in that one.”
“That would be the Whittingham tiara.”
“Your family has its own tiara?”
“Yes, we do. For several centuries, brides have worn it on their wedding day, or wives have worn it to social occasions.” With a gleam in his eyes, he added, “Since you’re such a fan of the Windsors, I’m sure you’ll appreciate that my grandmother wore it to Her Majesty’s coronation.”
“Okay, you have to show it to me now.”
Rand chuckled as he took the tiara box out. When he cracked the lid, I gasped at the diamonds gleaming up at me. With gentle hands, Rand took the tiara out. “It’s gorgeous,” I murmured as I admired the tall spires encrusted with diamonds.
Stepping closer to me, Rand put it on my head. “Holy shit, it’s heavy!” I remarked.
“I wouldn’t know,” Rand joked.
After he shut the safe door, he moved the mirror back where I could see myself. “This is seriously the best day ever.”
“Appreciate the moment because you won’t be wearing it again.”
“Way to kill a moment,” I grumbled.
“I’m sorry. Unlike in the States, we have pretty strict rules of etiquette regarding tiara wear.”
“Do you know how pretentious that sounds?”
He held up his hands. “I didn’t make the rules.”
Turning left and right before the mirror, I said, “I can only imagine how this would look with long, white evening gloves and a beautiful swirling gown.”
“I would certainly love to see you like that,” Rand replied with a smile. The sincerity of his words warmed me from tiara to toe. His mother’s clothes, surprisingly, fit me as if they’d been made for me. And in that moment, I felt so . . . glamorous. Elegant. Someone who fit in this place.
It was then I realized how close we were standing to each other. Our bodies practically touched. For a moment, we just stood there, staring at each other. In a movie, this is where the romantic music would have started up, signaling a kiss was on the horizon. But just as I was debating whether I wanted Rand to kiss me, he abruptly stepped back. Clearing his throat, he replied, “Right well, I better get this back into the safe.”
“Yeah, it’s getting late, and I should go change.”
He gently lifted the tiara off of my head. Once I was free, I headed out of his bedroom and back down the hall to his mother’s suite. Teri must’ve still been on the phone with Danny. Knowing them they were probably having phone sex.
When I got into the safety of the closet, I started to unzip my dress. To my horror, it was stuck. Considering its vintage nature, I didn’t want to tug too hard for fear it might rip the fabric. But after a few minutes of grunting and groaning, I knew something was going to have to give.
At the sound of someone in the suite, I called, “Teri?”
“No, it’s Randall.”
Shit. “Uh, so Teri’s not out there?”
“No.”
I rolled my eyes up at the closet ceiling before reluctantly poking my head out of the closet. “Um, Rand?”
“Yes?”
“I, uh, seem to be having trouble with the zipper on this dress.” He stared at me blankly for a moment. “I need some help.”
Suddenly, it hit him. “Sure,” he muttered as he crossed the room to me.
When he started to go around me, I shook my head. “It’s actually right here on the side.” To illustrate my point, I held my arm over my head.
The color drained from his face, and I could only imagine he was thinking about how close that zipper was to my breast. Without a word, his left hand came up to grip the seam while his right went to the zipper. He tugged, but the zipper wouldn’t budge. After forcing it even harder, the zipper jumped down a little, but the exertion caused Rand’s hand to knock into my side boob. “Fucking hell!” he grunted.
“It’s okay.”
“What a way to get to second base,” he murmured under his breath.
“I think you’d have way more seduction game than knocking one of my knockers,” I blurted.
When Rand’s gaze jerked up to mine, I groaned and brought my hand over my eyes. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
“Moments of absurdity seem to do that.” His lips quirked up. “And you seem to have a gift for those.”
“Thank you very much,” I snapped. Momentarily forgetting myself, I tried to spin away, but Rand had a firm hold on the dress. At the rip of the fabric, I gasped. “Oh no!”
“It’s okay. I can get my tailor to fix it.” Of course, when he glanced down and saw a large portion of my skin on display, Rand stepped back. “Uh, just leave it on the bed, and I’ll have Mrs. Homiller take care of it.”
“Okay, I will. Thanks for the help.”
“You’re welcome.”
As I stared at his retreating form, I shook my head. This entire evening had been completely confusing. One minute we were close enough to kiss, and the next he was running away from me at the sight of a little skin. At the rate we were going, it was going to be an interesting couple of weeks.