Page 7
Issy tucked her hair behind her ears and stared at the screen. She’d been blessed with a riot of red corkscrew curls, which sometimes turned heads but could be hard to keep under control. She tapped in a couple of additions to Brad’s diary, and thought about the situation with Lexi. Brad was supposed to take a private jet to meet her in Paris for a weekend, where she would be unveiled as the new face of Chanel’s latest fragrance. Realistically, Issy knew, they would need that weekend to finalize the night shoots. She’d overheard the director say they were overrunning and would need another twenty-four hours at least. Then if she added the Vogue Italia shoot on the Sunday … Issy usually tried to schedule a rest day at least once a fortnight, but sometimes it wasn’t possible. Brad would understand, she thought, as she took a deep breath and deleted Lexi’s name from the calendar.
The door was flung open and Issy jumped guiltily, pasting a bright smile on her face as Brad walked in. His adrenaline was clearly flowing after the day’s filming, and he had that unmistakable movie-star glow. He was more than attractive or handsome; he seemed to have an indefinable quality that always took her by surprise. Issy wished she’d made more of an effort; she’d spent the day running errands and was wearing jeans and an oversized Calvin Klein jumper that Brad had been sent but passed on to Issy.
‘What a day! I’m exhausted,’ Brad exclaimed. He seemed anything but tired though. To Issy, Brad always seemed to have a fully charged battery, bouncing around like a ball of energy, enthusiastic about everything the world had to offer. His stamina was unlimited, and he had an infectious zest for life.
‘How did it go?’
‘It was awesome! We shot the speedboat chase out on the lagoon. The adrenaline was pumping, and the city looked beautiful. You should have come.’
‘I had a lot to do back here. I’m sure you were amazing though,’ Issy grinned. She wasn’t just blowing smoke up his ass; he always did an incredible job. Brad was a great employer, a great guy, and Issy loved working for him.
‘So what am I doing tonight?’ Brad asked, turning to her. ‘Wait – you know what? Let me take a shower. I’ll be two minutes.’
Like a whirlwind, he dashed off towards the master bedroom. A few seconds later, Issy heard the sound of water running. She did a final sweep of the sitting room, checking that Brad’s favourite Grey Goose vodka had been restocked in the minibar, along with bottles of San Pellegrino and fresh limes. She made sure that housekeeping had put away his dry cleaning and made his bed. Then she quickly printed out the schedule and laid it on the table.
‘OK, that feels better! Now I’m all yours.’
Issy looked up to see Brad striding into the room, drying his hair on a pristine white towel. A second towel was wrapped around his waist, but his chest was bare, droplets of water nestled in the fine blond hairs. Brad was in impressive shape. As an action-movie star, it was a requirement of the job, but Issy knew that his routine in the lead-up to this film had been intense, living on six high-protein meals a day, and training with an ex-Navy SEAL. It had all been worth it, though, to get this lean, ripped body, his muscles rippling, his tight six-pack dipping below the towel …
Issy had seen Brad semi-naked more times than she could count. Recently though, she’d found herself avoiding becoming too close to him like this; she’d started to feel overwhelmed by feelings that flustered her. She averted her eyes and concentrated on her schedule.
‘I’ve made dinner reservations at Antica Trattoria Poste Vecie,’ Issy explained, carefully pronouncing the Italian words. ‘It’s one of the oldest restaurants in Venice – Casanova used to dine in the same building. It specializes in traditional Venetian dishes, mostly seafood, and you’ll love it. Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall are in town, so you’re dining with them.’
‘Sure. Are you joining us?’
‘I wasn’t planning to …’
‘C’mon. You know I can’t function without you, Iz.’ Brad grinned, with that slow, lazy smile that lit up his face, and for a moment she almost believed him.
Issy felt a telltale flip in her stomach and exhaled slowly before giving him a wry smile. ‘Well. OK, we can’t have you not being able to function! Oh, and sorry, I have bad news.’
Brad broke off from drying his hair and looked up.
‘I’ve checked your schedule, and it looks as though you won’t be able to meet Lexi in Paris. You’ll be needed for a meeting. The money men are flying in to meet you to go over the budgets – they’re concerned at the overspend. I’ve tried to move things around, but the times just won’t work.’
Brad let out a sigh and shrugged lightly, looking downcast. ‘It happens. Comes with the territory when you’re married to one of the most famous women in the world. It’s not your fault.’
Issy shot him a look of sympathy. ‘I can reach out to her PA, see if we can arrange something for Prague?’
‘Thanks, Issy,’ Brad said appreciatively.
‘No problem.’
‘So, where are we going after dinner?’ Instantly, Brad was back to his old self, upbeat and charming.
Issy panicked momentarily. ‘Nowhere. Don’t you want to rest and prepare for tomorrow?’
Brad laughed, a cheeky twinkle in those bright blue eyes. ‘You know what I always say – I’ll sleep when I’m dead.’ He strode across the room towards her, placing a hand on the small of her back and steering her towards the long casement windows. The gesture was entirely innocent, but Issy’s skin tingled beneath his touch. He was barely inches away from her and naked apart from a towel, his skin smelling clean and fresh from the shower.
‘What do you see out there?’ Brad asked, sweeping his hand to indicate the view.
Issy frowned, looking outside at the city across the water, at the boats gliding along the Grand Canal, and the white domed church of Santa Maria della Salute, looking impossibly romantic at night as its lights reflected off the water.
‘Venice?’ she tried, sounding confused.
‘Exactly! We’re in Venice, and it’s Carnevale!’ Brad affected a flamboyant Italian accent. ‘Find us both a mask, Iz. It’s party time!’
Chapter 4
