date. The only reason he’d asked—no, manipulated—her to join him tonight was because it was good PR for the clinic, and more publicity about the ball would result in more donations.
His grasp on her elbow was light, but Gabby still felt the warmth of it clear to her toes as he tucked her into the car. Her heart seemed to thunder as much as the car engine as it accelerated around the mountain curves. Excitement pumped through her veins, and she realized she hadn’t felt this...this alive in a very long time. Not since her life, which she’d thought had been so steady and planned out, had been obliterated with one, selfishly bad decision.
She determinedly squelched those thoughts. No point in dwelling on something she couldn’t change when she had a few hours to enjoy what she knew would be a very special evening. She stole a look at the man sitting so very close to her and he must have felt her gaze because he glanced at her with a smile that suddenly faded.
“There’s one thing I must warn you about,” he said, turning his attention back to the road. “I’m frequently followed by the press, looking for a juicy story. I would guess there will be photographers outside the hotel anyway, wanting to get pictures of the various stars attending this event. Some will doubtless take pictures of us too, so don’t let it worry you.”
“Do you often give them juicy stories?”
“If you asked my parents, they’d say yes. In fact, I’ll tell you the truth. I came to stay in L.A. for two reasons. To see James and to hide from the press after an unfortunate incident.”
“I can’t imagine you hiding from anyone.”
“I don’t like to. But there are times that even I have to bow to family pressures, and this was one of them. But I’ve decided I don’t care. That being out with you tonight is important to me—and I hope you won’t let any media coverage bother you either.”
“The media won’t care who I am, so I’m not worried about it.”
“Don’t count on that.”
His expression looked almost grim as he pulled the car up to the front doors of the hotel. Gabby stared in shock at the swarm of people wielding cameras and standing on both sides of the huge double doors, kept back by red velvet ropes curving between golden stanchions. A valet opened her door and in mere seconds Rafael appeared by her side, reaching for her hand. The camera flashes were so bright and constant it was like being hit in the face with a strobe light, and she blinked and instinctively reeled back. Rafael’s hand dropped hers to move to the small of her back, firm and steady. He seemed unfazed by it all, leading her forward in an even, unhurried pace until they were safely inside the hotel doors held open by employees.
“Oh, my Lord, you weren’t kidding!” She stared at him. “Is it like this wherever you go?”
“Not always. When there’s an event they know I’ll be showing up for, yes. But sometimes, as you saw when we had dinner the other night, they’re not around. Or it can seem that way, though sometimes I’m wrong about that.”
As they moved farther into the room, she quickly looked around, expecting cameras to be closing in on them at that very moment. Thankfully, all she saw was a room filled with beautifully dressed men and women, all smiling and talking against the gorgeous backdrop of an old-style hotel, built in the days when Hollywood had been all glitter and gold and extravagance.
“Gabriella, there is something I need to talk to you about regarding the paparazzi,” Rafael said.
She turned to him, wondering what was causing that crease between his brows, but whatever he’d been about to say was interrupted by the arrival of several people eager to talk to him. Then others. More as they wandered through the crowds, taking bites of amazing hors d’oeuvres and sips of champagne, and it was obvious that more than one woman admired her date for the night, and were looking at her with envy, not the other way around, as Rafael had flatteringly predicted.
“Rafael, Gabby, I see my sister nudged you into coming tonight,” James Rothsberg said as he appeared next to them. Held in the curve of his arm was the stunning woman Gabby had recently seen photographed with him in a few tabloid spreads.
“Does Freya ever nudge anyone into anything?” Rafael said with a grin. “Strong-armed is more like it, but I’m glad to be here for such a great cause, and I know Gabriella cares a lot about underprivileged children too.”
“I’m so happy to be helping spread the word about the Bright Hope Clinic,” Gabby said. “Not to mention getting to eat all the wonderful food here tonight.” She stopped there, even though she would have liked to note that Rafael was pretty good at strong-arm tactics himself.
“Freya’s a force of nature, for sure. I’m glad you were able to make it.” James grinned and introduced them to his date, who seemed to study Rafael with extreme interest before glancing at Gabby.
“Such a pretty dress,” she said with what looked like an oddly amused smile, and Gabby froze, wondering if it was obvious she’d made it herself. “Did you choose the color of it to go with your date’s eyes? Quite a striking color.”
Well, that was even worse than noticing it was homemade. Embarrassment streaked through Gabby’s whole body, ending with her cheeks scorching as she realized her dress really was almost exactly the same color as Rafael’s eyes. Would anyone else think she’d done it on purpose, like they were attending a high school homecoming dance together or something? Or, worse, had she chosen the fabric unconsciously thinking of his mesmerizing gaze?
“My goodness, you’re right! I hadn’t even noticed that,” she managed to say, struggling to make her tone sound light and amused too. “My mother drummed into me that people with strawberry blonde hair like hers and mine should wear green whenever possible and avoid red so as not to look like a spark plug.”
“She looks amazing in green, doesn’t she?” Rafael said smoothly, before turning to Gabby. “Though there’s no possibility that tall, slender you could ever resemble a spark plug.”
The seeming sincerity joining the gleam in his eyes made her blush all over again. “Thank you.”
“You probably know how lucky The Hollywood Hills Clinic is to have her running the maternity ward, James. She’s not only a skilled midwife, she has a way with patients that makes every one of them more than glad they’re there. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to work with her.”
“Gabby’s the best. And you’d better not think of stealing her away to some hospital in the Mediterranean when you leave, Rafael, or I’ll have to tell secrets about you that you wouldn’t want shared.”
Obviously just kidding, James’s eyes twinkled as he spoke, but Rafael seemed a little more serious when he looked down at Gabby. “We all have secrets, don’t we? Sometimes sharing them is a good thing, don’t you think?”
Heart skittering, she didn’t answer, wondering what he meant. Could he somehow know about her past and her mistakes?
No. Impossible. Freya knew she’d had a bad breakup before coming to work at the clinic, but not the reason for it, and that was the way Gabby wanted to keep it.
“Sometimes. But usually it’s best to keep our secrets to ourselves.” James’s smile had flatlined too, as he and his date said their goodbyes and went to mingle with the crowd.
“Let’s dance, shall we?”
Oh,
