Secret (Peters Junction Series Book 1)
“So how did you get into acting?” They were sitting together, sharing a decadent chocolate fudge sundae they’d ordered from the room service menu. Lachlan sat sideways in the corner of the sofa while April nestled between his legs with her back pressed up against his chest and her legs sprawled out in front of her. Every few moments she would load up the spoon with ice cream and chocolate sauce and pass it over her shoulder for him to eat.
“I enjoyed drama in high school, so when I graduated I applied for the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at Melbourne University. While I was studying, I started going to auditions and that’s where I met Anthony. He offered me his card and said he’d like to represent me. Six months later, I got the lead on Teen Cop and I’ve been pretty much working ever since.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
Lachlan shrugged and accepted another mouthful of ice cream, the frozen silky texture creating a chilled path inside his chest that counteracted the heat generated by his close proximity to April. “In the beginning, it sucked. When you first start out, nobody gives you the time of day and the rejections are harsh. Too tall, your hair is too short or too long or too brown, you’re too skinny, you’re too built, you’re not built enough. They make it so easy to get a body image complex and that’s before they even start commenting on your acting ability. I was one of the lucky ones and got a good part early in my career and after that, getting parts was easy. Some actors have to put up with that shit for years.”
April tilted her head back against his shoulder, exposing the long length of her neck. Unable to help himself, Lachlan dropped his head and trailed his lips up the length of her throat.
“Your lips are cold!” She squealed and her giggles awakened his tempered arousal, sending a jolt of awareness straight through him. His arms tightened around her waist as he continued to drag his mouth across her skin, his five o’clock shadow grazing against her, leaving a trail of bumps in its wake.
“What about you?” He finally asked when he was nearing the point where his mind would soon shut off in favour of more physical activities. As much as he wanted to spend the night exploring April’s body and reliving their previous evening, he also enjoyed talking to her and getting to know her better. He wasn’t ready to give that up tonight. “Did you always want to be a writer? You were very young when your first book came out.”
“I’ve always loved telling stories and I’ve been a daydreamer all my life. Even as a little girl, whenever I didn’t like whatever situation I was in, I just recreated the circumstances in my head until it told a different story.” She turned in his embrace until she was lying on her side with her head on his chest and her shoulder wedged beneath his. “My mum actually got me published. She found me an agent and it wasn’t long before my manuscript was sold. I would never have even tried if not for her. At least not so soon. I probably would have waited until I’d left high school.”
“I bet the kids at school were impressed.”
Lachlan felt April tense and his own body swung instinctively into protective mode. Was she bullied in high school because of her writing? He knew kids could be cruel, but it still made him want to go back and teach a few kids some lessons. His arms tightened around her as if he could shield her from painful memories.
“Nobody at school knew about my writing.” She said in a small voice. “I never told anyone.”
He was about to question her further when she asked, “So what was it like being famous so young? I bet you had girls hanging off you!”
He recognised the change of subject for what it was, but he let it pass. Clearly something had upset her, but their relationship was still too new for him to push her for answers. Absently, he slipped his hand beneath her top and began rubbing lazy circles across her naval. “Yeah there were women around but mostly that didn’t come until after Teen Cop did so well at the box office and by that stage, I was already with Samantha so it was more a case of fending off unwanted attention rather than sowing my wild oats.”
At the mention of Samantha’s name, April sat up and looked at him, her eyes shuttered so he couldn’t read their expression. “You two were together a long time, weren’t you?”
Every lump in the chair suddenly made itself known and Lachlan sat up straighter to find a more comfortable position. He didn’t want to get into this conversation with her. Not because it was hard to talk about, but rather because it was a time in his life he’d just rather forget. And yet, he also felt a need to tell her, as if some unknown force was compelling him to be completely honest. “Six years.”
“You were engaged to be married.”
The problem with being a celebrity is that your entire life is splashed out across dozens of magazines until everyone knows everything about you. Or at least they think they do. “No.” He shook his head. “Samantha always talked about us getting married and she wasn’t shy about posting that shit on social media, but I never actually asked her to marry me. I never reached that point.”
“Six years and you never reached that point?” April asked with an air of scepticism. “Then why did you stay together so long?”
Lachlan looked away and shrugged. He’d often asked himself that same question. In the beginning, Samantha seemed perfect for him, but after her transformation he just kept hoping she’d return to normal and things could go back to the way they were.
“I may be an actor, but I’m not a narcissist. I don’t like excessive amounts of attention and I hate that in order to do my job, I have to live publicly. Samantha was completely the opposite. At first being with Samantha helped me control the unwanted attention I was getting—it’s easy to brush someone off when they know you have a girlfriend—but after a while the sort of attention Samantha craved was more than I could handle.” He reached out for April’s hand and sought out eye contact. He didn’t want her doubting his sincerity. “She changed so much I didn’t even recognise her anymore. By the time we broke up, I didn’t even like her.”
April brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tight. It was a defensive position, but he took courage from the fact that she buried her toes under his leg and rested his hand on her back where he slowly dragged his palm up and down her spine in a languid caress.
“Abigale said you haven’t dated anyone since you broke up with Samantha.”
His hand paused on her back as he tried to figure out if her question was motivated by jealousy or something else. The idea that she might be jealous—and over Samantha who was no threat to her in any way because a man would have to be certifiably put-him-in-a-straight-jacket-and-toss-away-the-key-to-his-cell insane to ever want another go with her—was intriguing and maybe sent just a little boost to his ego. On the other hand, if her question was motivated by something else, then she wasn’t giving away any clues as to what that something else might be.
“Abigale’s right,” Lachlan confirmed. “I haven’t dated anyone publicly since we split. I learnt the hard way that oversharing with the world just robs you of any privacy and opens your whole life up to ridicule and scrutiny. Now I keep my relationships discreet.”
“So why did you ask me to go to the ball with you?” Her eye’s darted away from him but not before Lachlan caught the wariness in her gaze. Leaning forward, he circled his arms around her and kissed her on the head, right between the brow where a vertical crease marred her features.
“Because I like you,” he murmured, bending his forehead to rest against hers. “Because I know you won’t be there for any reason other than to be with me. Because when I’m with you I feel like I’m normal and not some prized steak served up on a platter. Because when I’m with you I’m not Lachlan Kennedy, I’m just Lachlan.”
Moving his hand up to her cheek, Lachlan cupped her jaw and tilted her mouth to meet his in a long, leisurely kiss. With unhurried strokes and sensual caresses, his lips gently parted hers until his tongue could delve in and claim her. He took his time, savouring the taste of her, the f
eel of her, until she relaxed her stiff posture and melted into him. How was it that after only a few days, he could be this far gone over a woman?