“It’s a man,” Chase declared with certainty.
“How did you know?”
“Powers of deduction,” Chase said smugly. “And you have that tone of voice you use when you talk about something you don’t particularly care for. So I assumed it’s a man.”
“I’m not a man-hater!” Sabrina protested.
“Don’t get all your feathers ruffled, Bree. I never said you were,” Chase chuckled.
“I’m not just interested in them.” Not before Luca Argenti appeared.
“Your grandmother really did a number on you. Not all men are out to hurt you.” Chase became serious. “You know that, right?”
“Of course I know that,” Sabrina automatically said, but years of being warned about them had made her distrustful in general. The mysterious fate that had befallen her mother in the hands of a powerful man was an ever-present cautionary tale. Because of the letter, she had found out that her father had been married when he and her mother had their "affair."
If only it was about relationships with men she was afraid of. “I have you, Chase. And I’ve never been afraid of you.”
Chase sighed mournfully. “What we have is different, Bree.”
“And it’s wonderful.”
“Be that as it may, it’s not enough. It shouldn’t be enough for you,” he retorted a bit gruffly. “And with that unfortunate business with William and his wife, you’ve become notorious, a target for dirty old men. I should’ve never sent you to his house that night.”
Sabrina recalled the despair on the powerful producer’s face when she saw him that evening. And the cold fear that gripped her chest when she spotted the gun in his hand.
“You were on a location shoot, Chase. You wouldn’t have reached him in time. I was glad I arrived before he had done anything rash. How is he, by the way?”
“He’s seeing a shrink and writing his memoir,” Chase said in a rather odd tone.
“That’s good," she murmured, then the implication hit her like a slap on the face. “You think he’ll write about your time together-”
Chase cut her off quickly. “No, no,” he said with forced conviction, then sighed. “I don’t fucking know,” he admitted raggedly. “Sorry, Bree, I didn’t mean to take it out on you. William says his therapist is making him to do it. So that he can process who he is, become integrated, and some psycho bullshit like that.”
“Oh.”
William Fraser had been instrumental in Chase landing his first big Hollywood role. When Sabrina had reconnected with Chase after bumping into him at an organic grocery store in Los Angeles two years ago, he and the producer had already parted ways but had kept in touch.
“For all I know, he won’t even finish it. Let’s not jump the gun just yet.”
Sabrina cringed. “That was an awful pun, Chase.”
He exhaled noisily. “Jesus. I just hope William would have the sense not to use real names. I’m not yet ready…” he trailed off, cleared his throat, then changed the subject. “Tell me more about this man you met.”
“He’s a business associate of the Konstantinos.”
“And?” Chase prompted when she didn’t say more.
“He’s related to the royal family. I was hoping I can ‘entice’ him,” she said wryly, not really sure how she was going to go about it, “into bringing me to the wedding as his plus one. That’s my desperate plan. It’s a shot in the dark, but it’s the only possibility I can see right now.”
Sabrina knew Luca was currently unattached courtesy of her research, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be bringing someone with him to the wedding. The only way to find out of course was to ferret that little detail out of him later. She quieted the whisper in her head that asked: Are you sure that’s the only reason you’re going after him? “What do you think?”
Chase did a little throat clearing. “You do know that seducing someone means you may have to put out, right?”
Sabrina swallowed. “Umm…I guess.”
There was a very pregnant pause. She could imagine Chase narrowing his famous blue eyes as he pondered her plan. “You said he was related to the Liguerias?”
“Uh huh.”
Chase was an avid watcher of European royals. He was subscribed to magazines dedicated to them. He had originally chosen Seirenada as their vacation destination because of the royal wedding. “But not a royal himself?”
Sabrina could hear the theme of Jeopardy playing in her head as Chase tried to figure out the identity of the mysterious man she had met. “I don’t think so.”