Wicked Grind (Stark World #1)(62)

I shrug. "He needs it, Wyatt. You can't see how bad it is when he's dressed, but he really needs this. And I really need to help him."

"I saw his hand," Wyatt says. "His arm, too. And even though he keeps it well-hidden, I have a sense of how extensive the scarring is under his hair."

I glance at him curiously.

"It's what I'm trained to do, Kelsey. I look at people. Really look at them."

I nod. "Right. Well, anyway, I've already paid the initial fee, and he's been accepted into phase one. That's what I need the money for. Another few weeks is all I have. All he has."

He nods thoughtfully, then turns back to face the window and the rolling hills below. The sun sets quickly in Los Angeles, and the hills that had been tinted red in the sunset are now a series of contrasting grays, illuminated by the scattered lights of Hollywood's expensive homes.

Soon it will be completely dark, and all we'll see is the party reflected in the glass.

I glance between the lingering view and his face, wondering what he's thinking. But I don't expect it when he says, very softly, "I had no idea he was your brother."

"He uses a stage name. Griffin Blaize. It's his idea of a joke."

"How did it happen?"

I hug myself, suddenly cold. "It doesn't matter. It was a long time ago."

"About twelve years ago. That's what my mother said. She told me about this incredible voice talent. A really good-looking guy, she added. He'd be a great character actor, she said. But never a leading man. Not in this town. Not unless it was in an animated movie."

I see my face reflected in the glass now, and I see that his eyes are intent on me.

"She said that he told her it happened when he was almost thirteen. When he was living one summer in Santa Barbara."

I press a hand to my stomach, suddenly nauseous.

"It doesn't matter," I repeat.

He nods slowly, as if considering something, then faces the glass again, where the party now fills the view, and not the hills below. "I'll lend you the money."

"Wyatt." His name is a whisper.

"It would be my privilege."

"I-thank you, but no. I can't accept it. I can't take a loan from a friend when I know I probably won't ever be able to pay it back."

He studies me for so long I start to get uncomfortable.

"What?" I finally demand.

"So we're friends?"

I actually laugh. "Yeah," I say. "At least, I'd like to be."

But I bite my lip against the urge to say what I'm really thinking-that I'd really like to be so much more. 





19


Wyatt watched her walk away, a slow burn of loss and longing rising in his gut.

With a frown, he turned back to the window, disgusted with himself. But even that didn't help. She was right there in the reflection, her back to him, her hips swaying as she crossed the room.

Right there, walking away from him again.

Well, that seemed to be their story, didn't it? But right then, he damn sure wanted a different plot line.

Wanted, yeah. But that didn't mean she was good for him. She'd hurt him once. And considering how quickly she'd snuck under his skin, it was only too obvious that she could easily hurt him again.

He needed to be careful. Focused.

Right now, the only thing he needed to think about in all the world was his work.

Strictly business all the way.

The only problem was that the vision he had for his business centered around her.

And as her receding reflection reminded him, she'd very firmly said no.

As he watched, she joined Lyle and his agent, Evelyn Dodge. He couldn't see Kelsey's face, but if he knew Evelyn, she was fully interrogating Griffin's big sister.

Evelyn was one of the coolest women he'd ever met. Bold and brassy. She reminded him of a younger version of his grandmother, actually, and it hadn't surprised him at all when he learned that both Anika and Lorelei had worked with her on several projects.

"All right, I'll bite." The voice came from behind him, and he turned to face Cassidy Cunningham. "What are you grinning about?"

She stood next to Siobhan, a turquoise streak running through her long dark hair. She wore a sleeveless silk tank, and the color in her hair perfectly matched some of the plumes on the intricately detailed tattoo of a bird that covered her shoulder and trailed down her arm.

Beside her, Siobhan could have seemed plain by comparison, but the pretty Irish redhead had such a strong presence that it was easy to see that the two were well-matched.

"That," Wyatt confessed, pointing across the room. "If Kelsey didn't know much about Hollywood before, after ten minutes with Evelyn she'll be better versed than a staffer with TMZ."

"Who's Kelsey?" Siobhan asked.

"The sister to the voice of Arnold," Wyatt said. "Griffin Blaize."