Devlin stood up, placing his hands flat on the desk. “He let me set the terms, and these are my terms. Now, if you gentleman would excuse me, I have to call my sister-in-law and let her know the happy news.”
Flynn knew when he’d been dismissed, and he stood, practically dragging Dash out of the room with him as Devlin called after him, “May you never know a moment’s peace with the girl, Banks.”
Dash was still gaping at Flynn, his head swiveling between Flynn and Devlin. “But, but—”
“Let’s go, Dash.”
Flynn managed to get them out the front door, narrowly avoiding hitting his head on the molding in the process. The fresh air seemed to awaken something in Dash, who took off thesecond he was outside and sprinted to the roadster to block Flynn from the driver door. “I don’t think you should drive. You must be off your nut. It’s the only explanation.”
Flynn tugged at his friend. “Ha-ha, very funny. Move.”
Dash leaned forward and sniffed Flynn. “I’m serious. What have you had to drink today?”
Flynn shoved Dash a little, now genuinely annoyed. “Come off it. I’ve never been more sober in my life.”
Dash looked at him, searching his face, before Dash’s body curled in disappointment and he moved aside. “How could you agree to that?”
“Because it was the only way to keep her safe. To make sure Devlin doesn’t launch a vendetta against two innocent young women.”
“But the studio… Surely Harry could call one of his fixers, and they could—” Flynn opened his door and gestured for Dash to slide across the bench seat and get in before him. Dash did, burying his face in his hands. “There has to be another way.”
“No one could get that story killed. Harry stalled them for a few days, but that was the best he could do. I’m the only one who can stop it.”
“But—” Dash threw his head back against the seat and looked up at the sky. Flynn hoped he wasn’t asking God for an answer, because he was fairly certain he’d worn out any goodwill he had with the man upstairs a long time ago. “Flynn, you don’t love Rhonda. Hell, you don’t even like her.”
Flynn turned the key in the ignition, desperate to return to the familiar confines of his Malibu home, the relaxing splash of the waves on the sand, and his well-stocked bar cart. Though there was the small problem of having to admit to his mother what he’d just done. “No, I don’t like Rhonda.” He turned his headbehind him as he backed out of the driveway. “But I’m doing this because I love Livvy.”
He hadn’t said it before. Hadn’t even dared to think it really. But sitting in that office while Devlin stared him down and relished the way Flynn wriggled like a fish caught on his hook, he had known. He’d known it before too, when his mother had shown him what an idiot he’d been all these years. But he hadn’t realized the depths to which he would go for her until he was cornered. He would do anything for Livvy.
He wished he’d told her when he still had the chance. Wished he’d realized sooner. But that was his misfortune. For once, he was choosing to be responsible, choosing to take care of someone else over his own happiness. It was simple—he loved Olivia Blount, so he had to marry Rhonda Powers.
Chapter 29
Flynn Banks to Marry Socialite Rhonda Powers in Surprise Change of Heart!
Call it a silver-screen scenario. It seems Hollywood’s favorite swashbuckler is finally tying the knot. After jilting socialite Rhonda Powers, daughter of the late founder of Shasta Peak Pictures, Flynn Banks has had a change of heart.
Of late, he’s been spotted on the town in the company of his new costar, Liv de Lesseps. But the short-lived romance appears to have ended, sending Banks back into the arms of his former fiancée. This time, it seems, it’s for keeps.
Banks and Powers will exchange vows early next month at Blessed Sacrament in Hollywood. The bride’s uncle, a member of the Production Code Administration’s board, will give the girl away. “When Flynnie came back to me and toldme he wanted to make an honest woman out of me, I simply couldn’t wait to marry him,” the blushing bride tellsScreenland. “I couldn’t bear a long engagement, and Uncle Stan was able to use his pull at Blessed Sacrament to squeeze us into the schedule.” Barely a month after their engagement, Banks and Powers will become man and wife. Ladies, get out your hankies, the day we thought would never come has arrived—Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor and notorious rogue is officially off the market!
Judy had left the magazine on Livvy’s pillow, open to the page about Flynn’s impending nuptials. Livvy had dumped it in the wastebasket next to her bed without even bothering to read it. Who cared what Flynn Banks did? Hadn’t she known from the beginning that anything real with him was an absurd proposition? She’d known better—and she’d let herself believe in the fantasy for a few hours anyway. But Judy’s assault and arrest had been the wake-up call she needed. Flynn Banks was nothing but an unhealthy distraction.
The two had barely spoken since she’d dismissed him that morning. Oh, they’d delivered their dialogue on the soundstage, of course. She wasn’t going to muck up her job. Not when it was the only thing keeping her and Judy from the street. But there had been no more studio-arranged dates. Not when the news had broken only a few days later that Flynn planned to marry Rhonda. So beyond their on-screen interactions and a terse “hello” and “good night,” she had nothing to say to him. She couldn’t allow herself more. He had charmed her once, convinced her to let herguard down, to taste what it was to be wicked, with no regard for anyone else—and it had ended in disaster.
She could never open the door to that possibility again. Judy was her only priority.
Though her sister was being a pest at the moment. The first few days, she had been practically catatonic, lying in bed and crying. Livvy had been distraught seeing Judy that way, but she had let her be, leaving food on her nightstand and taking it away hours later when Judy barely touched it. Just when Livvy was on the verge of calling a doctor she probably couldn’t afford, she had come home from the studio one day to find Judy up and about, freshly showered after a week of wearing the same pair of pajamas. The entire bungalow had been cleaned within an inch of its life—and that damn magazine was on Livvy’s pillow.
The next day, Judy had fished the magazine out of the wastebasket and was now making a habit of leaving it places for Livvy to find. First, it had been slid in between the pages of her script for Livvy to find when she was reviewing lines. A few days after that, Livvy found it in her underwear drawer. The following week, Judy had placed it in the linen closet on top of freshly laundered bath towels.
But today, today was the final straw. Flynn was getting married tomorrow, and Livvy had hoped she’d seen the last of Judy’s ridiculous antics. But when Livvy had gone into the icebox to fish out leftovers for dinner, she discovered that Judy had left the magazine under a piece of aluminum foil on top of the hamburger casserole they had made.
“Judy,” Livvy called. Her sister immediately walked into the kitchen, which made Livvy suspect that Judy had been spying on her to see her reaction.
Livvy held up the offending article, now lightly stained with tomato sauce. “This has to stop.”
If she expected Judy to look sheepish and apologize, she was mistaken. Instead, her sister jutted out her chin in a gesture of defiance. “I won’t stop until we talk about it.”
