Page 15 of Hollywood Crush (West Wales Romance #2)
Tudor
I had never felt as close to anyone as I did to Daniel in this moment.
After our shower, we had collapsed onto the bed and lay there, damp and dishevelled, and held each other.
We were spooning and Daniel’s body fit up against mine like it was meant to be there.
Our legs tangled together and my arms held him like a vice. I kissed the back of his neck.
“You’re never moving from this spot, you know,” I said.
“That would be good. That would be very very good.” Daniel craned his neck backward as if to try and kiss me, but completely failed. “But who would look after the hotel? And who would be the dashing romantic lead of a smash-hit fantasy TV series?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t think that far ahead. Let’s just let this whole building crumble around us.” I was getting dangerously close to romance, but I didn’t care. It was nice holding this gorgeous man close and pretending I didn’t need to let go. So let me pretend .
“It’s just me, right?” Daniel surprised me by asking the question.
“What do you mean?” I asked, giving another kiss to the back of his neck.
“It’s just me that you’re…” he seemed to struggle to find the words. “…doing all this with.”
“Yes,” I replied. I stroked his hair idly as one of his hands danced down my thighs.
“For one, this town is tiny. I’ve been around the guys here and we’re all pretty aware that we’re no good for one another.
For another, I’m ridiculously busy with this hotel.
You think I’ve got time to climb a mountain with a different man every day. ”
He laughed at that, and I liked it. I liked his genuine reactions to the things I said. “And finally…that’s not me. I’ve done my sleeping round, and I will again. But until you’re finished filming, I am here and I am yours alone.”
“Why?” Daniel asked. “Why just me?”
“Did you want to sleep with other people—I mean, if you do, that’s fine, just…”
“No.” Daniel cut me off. “No, it’s not that I want to sleep with other people at all.
Just…why? Why do you want me with all this baggage attached?
You should be out there finding the perfect man, someone who can hold your hand as you walk down the street.
Who can tell the whole world how they feel. ”
I wasn’t stupid enough to think he was talking about him, exactly. I knew I was just a few weeks of fun for him. But I answered anyway. “Because I like you. Because you deserve someone who’ll give you that affection in private without demanding it in public.”
“Well I wish I could,” said Daniel. “I wish I could hold your hand and make you feel special.”
I threaded my fingers through his own. “You do.”
My phone buzzed and I checked it. “Oh god, back to work. We’ve got Patrick Ryan coming in the next hour or so and Mam wants to make sure it’s me welcoming him.”
“Oh, I love Patrick. He’s a lovely kid. I’ll have to come down and meet him,” Daniel said. I planted a kiss on his cheek, stood up and started to get dressed. I would have to nip into my room to get changed into my work clothes but it wouldn’t do well to walk the halls of my own hotel naked.
“I’ll see you later,” I said.
As I reached the door, Daniel made a sound and I turned to face him. He lay there on the bed naked with hands behind his head and legs crossed, vulnerability almost gone, like I could see him slipping the mask of an actor back on in real time.
“Only you,” he said. I nodded in acknowledgement and quietly slipped out into the corridor.
#
Mam was fussing about with reception again, dusting over the top of me as I tried to fill in paperwork. Patrick Ryan’s car was late, and this was putting her in a huff.
“Are you quite alright?” I asked, as I batted the feather duster away from my head.
“Perfectly fine? Why wouldn’t I be?” She blew a strand of hair away from her face but it came back to rest right between her eyes again.
“Because you’re acting like this is the first VIP guest we’ve had. We have had a hotel full of actors for the last month and you seem to be panicking over this one a ridiculous amount.”
“Well this is the first Oscar nominee, ” she said.
“Is it? Is he?” I pulled out my phone to check.
“Well, not Oscar nominee yet. But all the gossip blogs say it’ll happen soon. Because of that film he’s doing with You-Know-Who upstairs.”
“I presume you mean Danny and not Voldemort.” It was fun to wind her up, though I knew I shouldn’t.
“Yes, I mean Dan—wait, Danny? How long has he been Danny ?” Mam asked.
I felt my cheeks warm. Now the shoe was on the other foot, and she had the upper hand. “Doesn’t matter. Daniel, I mean. I don’t think he’d want me calling him that to his face. Anyway, no one knows who’s going to be Oscar nominated til they’re actually announced.”
“Well apparently a rough cut of that film they did together has been doing the rounds. The blogs are saying the chemistry they have is electric.”
I felt something heavy and uncomfortable settle at the bottom of my stomach.
I was trying not to be jealous, and Daniel’s reassurance of only you resonated with me.
But it was strange that just a week ago clips from the romantic film they’d shot together had seemed hot, and now they made me feel like shit.
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read in the blogs, Mam.”
“Well I can see it with my own eyes. Those men had it bad for one another.”
“Thank you for your constant reassurance.” I batted away the feather duster again as it came dangerously close to my coffee.
“Why does it matter to you, anyway?” she asked.
“It doesn’t.”
“Well…” whatever Mam was about to say was cut off as the doors swung open, admitting one gorgeous redheaded actor and an entourage of paparazzi with pictures.
“Hey, hey. You know you’re not allowed to step over the threshold, those are the rules!
” I moved quickly to disperse the photographers.
It had been quiet and sneaking about with Daniel had been easy after the initial rush of production, but it stood to reason that a guest star as new and high-calibre as Patrick Ryan would bring a whole new circle of hell.
I was just glad that production had stood down and I hadn’t seen Marjorie all day - her walking in the lobby without makeup and in her dressing gown, stuffing her face would’ve made for a field day for the press.
“Hi, I’m Tudor, the owner of this place,” I said as I shook Patrick’s hand. He seemed kind of distracted and looked behind him where paparazzi still stood in the doorway, just outside the threshold. “I’ll get rid of them now,” I said and moved to close the door.
“No, no. Keep the door open. Is Daniel Ellison here?” Patrick looked around like Daniel might jump from a plant pot and surprise us.
“Not here, he did say he would like to see you at some point…”
I heard the door to the stairs creak and we both turned as Daniel walked through it. I was not expecting the chain of events that followed.
Patrick ran past me and threw himself into Daniel’s arms, almost knocking him down. The seed of jealousy that had been germinating in my stomach felt like it was growing.
“Oh my God, I’ve missed you so much, baby!” Patrick kissed Daniel’s cheek and I was very conscious of the paparazzi outside as the sounds of clicking and the flashes went wild. What the fuck?
Daniel gave me a bewildered look over Patrick’s shoulder.
His hands had come up automatically to hug him back but I watched as they stiffened and fell away.
Patrick prolonged the contact, kissing Daniel’s cheek again.
I wanted to kill the man for touching my…
my Daniel, without his consent. I took a step forward but Mam grabbed my arm to pull me back.
“Easy now,” she said. “Keep it professional.”
Right. Professional. Hotel comes first. I turned my anger on the waiting paparazzi, and their flashes almost blinded me as I turned to face them.
“Get OUT!” I shouted. “You know full well where the road to the hotel becomes private land so I suggest you set up camp there. The next person who crosses boundary on to my private land gets the police called on them.”
Surprisingly, they scarpered pretty quickly, either running or biking back down the bit of the road I had marked out as a property boundary for the hotel. I hauled the doors closed and turned back to the problem at hand. One gorgeous, young, ginger problem at hand. Professional.
“Mr Ellison, I had no idea you and Mr Ryn were so close. Would you prefer to share a room, Mr Ryan?” I asked, pasting on my very best customer service smile.
“Um.” Daniel looked shellshocked, and I wondered if he was genuinely confused by what had gone on or just sorry he’d been caught.
Patrick was still facing away from me with his arms wrapped around Daniel. “Are they gone? Are the paparazzi gone?” he asked.
“They are,” I replied. “Now, for your double room. Do you need extra towels or are you comfortable with sharing?”
“There won’t be a double room,” said Daniel. He finally seemed to have gained composure and unlocked Patrick’s arms from around his neck. “What the fuck ?” he asked, glaring at Patrick. Oh good, he’s just as confused as me, I thought idly over the jealousy that was still raging inside me.
“Sorry…” Patrick looked around, then quite pointedly at me and Mam. “Can we talk in private?”
“I’ll leave you to it.” I said. I kept the customer service smile on for as long as I could as I grabbed Patrick’s room key and put it down on the counter near them both.
“Mr Ryan’s room is next to yours,” I said to Daniel. “I’m sure you’ll be able to show him the way.”