Page 3 of Under A Sicilian Sky
2
Security was waiting for Ruby when she arrived at the Plaza at five thirty that evening, and she was hurried up the service elevator before being deposited safely at Tyler’s suite. The two muscular, brutish-looking men silently stood guard outside the door as it was opened, and she was whisked inside.
The suite was cavernous and decked out in sumptuous fabrics with touches of gold and brocade. She felt like she had stepped through a portal to the Edwardian era.
Tyler pulled her into his embrace. He smelled divine and, of course, looked catalogue-worthy in his pale blue Oxford shirt and jeans. He then held her at arm’s length. ‘My god, you’re so pale, honey. Let me get you a drink.’ He rushed off to the minibar and poured her a glass of amber-coloured liquid. ‘I was going to get you roses or chocolates but…’ He didn’t finish his sentence, leaving the area blank for her to fill in her own choice of excuse.
She slipped off her thick coat and sat on the plush couch by the window, kicked off her snow boots and socks and gazed out at the New York skyline as the winter sun began its descent. The sky glowed tangerine with the hinted suggestion of melting the snow, however, Ruby knew the hue was deceptive; she’d felt the chill in the air on her arrival, although she somehow felt that wasn’t all down to the weather.
He joined her and handed her the glass. ‘So, what the hell is going on? Has Valerie uncovered anything yet?’
Ruby took a sip of the drink and grimaced as the heat hit her throat. ‘No. Nothing. I just don’t get it, Ty. I’m not the evil person I’m being made out to be. I would never say those vile things. You’d think those people who’ve followed me for long enough would see that. But no, they want to believe the negative. It’s just… just awful.’
‘Did you delete the posts?’ he asked, his brow furrowed with concern.
She sighed and nodded. ‘Of course! As soon as I saw them. But it was apparently a futile exercise. People screenshotted them and reposted everywhere.’ She placed her drink on the coffee table and covered her face with her hands. ‘I’m ruined. No one will want to hire me after this.’
Tyler took one of her hands and squeezed it tight. ‘Hey, come on, don’t say that. And anyway, you’re due to start filmingThe Girl and The Rosenext month. People will have forgotten all about this by then. Trust me. People in Hollywood are so damn fickle. You’ll travel to LA and it will be as if this never even happened.’
She lifted her chin and locked her gaze on his. Was he just paying lip service? Or did he really believe it to be the truth? After all, he had been in the movie business a lot longer than her, so he probably knew how this all worked. ‘Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you right now, Tyler Harrison.’ She reached out and touched his cheek.
‘Aww, shucks. And hey, my followers have increased by ten thousand this week, so that’s good.’
She wasn’t sure of the relevance but knew how much his social media presence meant to him. ‘Oh… great.’
He sidled closer and slipped his free hand into her hair. ‘Now, what do you say I take your mind off this whole mess?’ His mouth curled up into that pin-up style, heart-throb smile he was famous for and her whole body stood to attention. ‘I could run us a bath too.’
She climbed into his lap and rested her forehead on his. ‘That sounds wonderful.’
He leaned closer and sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, running his tongue along the swollen flesh, and she shuddered. His delight at her reaction was evident beneath her, and before she could say anything further, he scooped her up, carried her into the luxurious bedroom and set her down beside the bed, letting her bare feet sink into the deep, plush rug. The bed was huge with an ornate carved headboard and the chandelier above it cast little shards of light that danced across the parquet flooring in the rest of the vast space. He really was treated like royalty.
Dragging her from her reverie, although with no reluctance on her part, Tyler began to unfasten her white linen blouse, placing gentle kisses across her shoulder and up her neck. Her eyes drifted closed as she relished the feeling of his lips on her skin. He pushed the shirt away and let it drift to the floor, before doing the same with her jeans.
‘My god, you’re a vision in white,’ he said as he stood back to appraise her there in her plain lingerie.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she covered her curves with her arms as heat rose in her cheeks. ‘I wanted to shower and change before I came to see you. I wanted to put on something special. This is just my boring, everyday underwear.’
He shook his head as he slowly unbuttoned his own shirt. ‘I wouldn’t want you any other way than how you look right now.’ Once stripped down to his fitted boxers he stepped closer and slipped his arms around her back, one hand sliding down to her bottom and giving it a squeeze. ‘Now kiss me, my little English rose.’
She closed her eyes as his lips met hers and he devoured her, slowly and sensuously. Before she knew she had moved, he had lifted her onto the bed and placed her on the billowing white fabric of the duvet.
3
The following morning, Ruby woke at seven. Tyler had taken his naked self off to shower, leaving Ruby munching on the breakfast feast that had been brought up by room service; croissants, pain au chocolat and fresh fruit were revealed to her from under shiny chrome cloches and, seeing as she was alone, she dived in, trying a little of everything. Sod the diet. Tyler’s phone vibrated constantly but it was password-protected so she had no clue who was trying to contact him.
At eight, she held her phone in her hand as she waited for her best friend, Kitty, to pick up the call. Once again, Ruby had forgotten the time difference, but instead of hanging up, she prayed that her friend would take pity and answer, even though it was one in the afternoon in Yorkshire and Kitty was no doubt up to her eyes in toddlers’ lunches or something. More than anything, she needed to hear a friendly voice.
Kitty Swinton had been in Ruby’s life since primary school and she was the one real person, aside from her family, that Ruby knew she could trust. The bubbly and bouncy blonde was her best friend, before performing arts school, before university and before fame, when Ruby was simply the daughter of an engineer and a florist, with dreams of being a dancer on the West End stage. Now Kitty Watson, she was married with two gorgeous children, Nelly, aged two, and George, aged five, and she was heavily pregnant with a third. The kids simply knew Ruby as Aunty Roo.
‘Ruby! Good grief, are you okay? I’ve been worried sick,’ came the voice at the other end of the call.
A wave of relief hit her, and she felt her eyes begin to sting with that all too familiar feeling. ‘Hey Kitty. I’m great. Great. I just realised it’s lunchtime there. I’m sorry. Should I call back later?’
‘No, you bloody should not. Nelly has been up since four anyway, so she had her lunch at breakfast time. She’s always the same when it’s the weekend and especially when it’s snowing. Typical. Anyway, you’re not fine. I know something has been going on. I’ve seen social media. What the hell happened?’ Her familiar Yorkshire accent was soothing and homely.
There was no point trying to hide the truth from Kitty, not that she wanted to. She knew her so well; far better than anyone else in her life. Kitty had been with her through thick and thin and she was lucky to have such a wonderful friend. ‘A shitstorm of epic proportions. My accounts were hacked, and someone has posted as me, saying all sorts of horrendous, bigoted and cruel things.’ A tightness restricted her throat. ‘No one wants to hear the truth.’
‘Bloody hell! Can’t your agent do a press conference or something? Surely there’s a way to get the truth out there?’
