Page 179 of Blood Stone

Kate pushed her fingers into her temples. “Oh Jesus, I forgot you could do that! Fuck!”

Winter grinned. “I was holding out, waiting for Nial to get as much information as possible from MacDonald as he could. Never mind.” She threw her arms around Kate. “You saved me when you thought I needed saving.”

Kate closed her eyes. “Now I really feel stupid.”

“I think there are at least two people in the room who think otherwise,” Winter replied.

Garrett pulled Winter gently away. “I can take it from here.”

Winter smiled and stepped back. “Be careful. She bites.”

“I noticed.”

Kate threw herself into his arms. She was shaking.

Roman pressed up against them both, his hand on Garrett’s shoulder and his arm around Kate’s waist. “Come on. I’ll take you home,” he said in a low voice.

For a few seconds Garrett tried to figure out who he was talking to. Then he realized.

He’d been speaking to them both.

* * * * *

The wrap party for the movie was the next afternoon. It seemed like a subdued affair after the last forty-eight hours, but everyone dutifully turned out for it, maintaining a human façade for the cast and crew, for Kate’s sake and for the media that were mingling. Sebastian, Winter and Nial returned to their public personas as Terry, Annette and David the nanny, for Patrick Sauvage also attended and added some sparkle to the occasion.

There were a lot of copies of trade papers and L.A. dailies being swapped around as everyone caught up on the reports of the Emmys and Kate’s starring role as the hottest item in Hollywood, with her maybe-ménage lovers.

Roman found Kate standing at the outer edges of the swirl of bodies, a Solo cup in her hand as she observed everyone. “This is familiar,” he said, sliding up behind her. “I remember another party like this one, where you stood watching everyone and scowling.”

“I was scowling at Micheil, then. And I’m not scowling at anyone tonight.”

Roman slid his arm around her waist and she leaned back against him. “Where is he, anyway?” he asked.

“He’s a sponsor, remember? He’s probably off somewhere being honoured for his squillions in contributions.” She snorted.

“A plaque?”

“I think so. With a strip of film mounted on it.”

“I think he probably prefers what he really got to mount while he was on set.”

She turned and smiled at him. “Did you read the tabloids?”

“Just one. They already had us shacked up together for the last year.”

“They’ll have me pregnant by next week. You watch. And there’ll be a secret baby scare in my history, that I got rid of because I didn’t know which of you was the father and you were both outraged with jealousy, forcing me to make the hard choice.” She laughed. “They’ll feed off this for months and months.”

Roman rubbed his chin over her shoulder, nudging the wide neck of her sweater closer to the edge, where it could drop down her arm. Her skin was soft and smelled heavenly. “The dailies were a lot nicer.”

“Mmm… They’re straddling. They don’t know which way to jump yet. They’re waiting to see which way public opinion falls, the gutless wonders. Entertainment Tonight was supportive, so they’re getting an exclusive on opening night.” She lifted her chin. “There’s Micheil.”

Garrett was moving through the party, talking to some people, shaking the odd hand.

“He’s a politician,” Roman murmured.

“More than I’ll ever be,” Kate said. “He’s natural at it. I have to force it.”

“He’s coming over,” Roman judged. “That’ll cause a flurry among the press that are here. They’re already watching us.”