Amanda Berry - L A Cinderella

How could Natalie say no when all the joy had been wiped from his face? Even though she’d wanted to run to the bedroom door and lock it and throw away the key, she knew that at some point they’d have to go out in public. Obviously Chase thought the sooner the better, though Natalie would have preferred to save it for a rainy day.

They sat on the patio of the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It was as if Chase was testing her. Thankfully she’d been able to shower and had the sense of mind to run home and change, but she still felt underdressed in jeans, sandals and a light top.

Everyone else was in jeans and T-shirts, but her labels paled in comparison to theirs. Chase sat across from her soaking in the sun. His smile was almost blinding this morning.

She’d managed to hold back the jaw-dropping at some of the famous people she saw sitting around her. They didn’t seem to pay attention to anyone around them and completely ignored the photographers across the street.

While Chase would have a nice tanned look to him in any photos that were taken, she would look like she’d spent days in the sun. Her cheeks burned with the feeling of being watched.

Chase leaned across the table and placed his hand over hers. She jerked.

“Relax, Natalie. It’s breakfast. No one’s going to run up and kidnap you or anything.” Chase was obviously joking.

She let out a nervous laugh, but then she glanced around the streets. “Does that happen?”

His hand brushed her cheek, and her focus centered on him and the warmth that engulfed her when he was near. “Just relax and eat. We’re just two people having breakfast.”

“Yeah, but normally when I have breakfast it doesn’t appear in the Enquirer. Normally no one notices me at all.”

“I notice you.” His smile made her insides churn in a good way. “Now eat something, and I’ll take you for a walk to some shops.”

She gulped as she looked down at the giant croissant on her plate. While Chase had tried to get her to eat a big breakfast, she’d insisted on bread. Bread was less likely to come back up, in her experience.

She picked off small pieces and ate. Chase smiled and shook his head at her before tucking into his quiche. A motion caused her to look up. A group of giggling twentysomethings was heading toward their table.

“Oh, my God, are you Chase Booker?” a petite blonde from the front of the group squealed.

“Can I get your autograph?” A brown-haired girl shoved a pad and pen toward Chase.

He took it and smiled at them. “Who do I make it out to?” He glanced at Natalie briefly.

Was this another test? One of the girls in the back nudged another girl with her elbow and whispered something behind her hand while looking at Natalie. The other girl giggled.

They obviously didn’t think she belonged with him. Their laughter and whispered words cut through Natalie. Would it always be like this with Chase? Ignored or ridiculed? Being ignored was fine, but ridiculed behind her back… Her stomach dropped.

Natalie quickly changed her focus back to Chase. He loved her. She loved him. Wasn’t that what mattered most? He’d written the autograph and handed back the pad.

“Can I get your picture?” The blonde held up a camera.

“Sure, but then I really must get back to breakfast before it gets cold.” He flashed her a smile Natalie had seen a million times in the newspaper.

The girls giggled a thank-you and wandered away. Chase turned back to her. “What’s got you smiling?”

Her smile broadened. “Your smile. They think that smile is brilliant, but they’ve never seen the smile you give me.”

His hand reached across to take hers. A flash went off in her peripheral vision, but she ignored it. If she wanted Chase, that had to be part of her life, too.

When they finished up breakfast, Chase took her hand and led her down Rodeo Drive.

Natalie stared in the windows, but when Chase tried to lead her into Gucci, her feet ground to a halt. His surprised eyes met hers.

“Don’t you want to go in?”

“Yeah, but I can’t afford anything in there, and I’d feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Girls like me don’t go in shops like that. We stand outside the windows like street urchins and stare at the pretty things.” Her gaze shifted to the gorgeous dress in the window. Something she had absolutely no need for.

“What if I wanted to buy something for you?” His hands were on her upper arms, and she longed to be in the privacy of his house or her apartment. Though she relished his touch, she fought the urge to back up and duck her head.

“You don’t need to buy me anything.”

“What if I wanted you to go to the Oscars with me? Would you let me buy you something then?” His eyes swept over her body like a physical caress.

When he looked at her like that, she’d give him anything he asked. The street and store disappeared, and it was just the two of them. Her mind cleared. Had he just asked what she thought he’d asked? “What?”

“I asked if you’d like to accompany me to the Oscars. There’s no one else I’d rather take with me.” His fingers brushed the hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Say yes.”

His smile would convince a nun to give up her vows for him. Natalie wasn’t strong enough to resist.

“I couldn’t afford a dress.” She tried to drop her gaze, but his held hers, enraptured.

“I’ll take care of it. I know just the person to ask to help.”

“When Chase told me he was sending me a project, I’d hoped it would be more than this.” The woman pursed her lips as she gestured toward Natalie. “I need a smoke.”

Natalie smiled weakly.

The woman sashayed out of the room, leaving Natalie sitting in her office. Natalie pulled out her phone and quickly texted Rachel. Pls reply. Need dress for Oscars. Crazy Lady went out for smoke. N

She hit the send button and waited. Her phone beeped in her hand. So jealous. Insist Vera Wang or Oscar de la Renta. She dropped her phone back in her purse.

She wouldn’t mind switching places with Rachel right now or even to have Rachel with her. The woman, Charity Christian, was anything but charitable. Her dark hair was yanked back so tight it pulled the edges of her eyes out farther than seemed possible. Charity had taken four smoke breaks in the past half hour. Every time the woman looked over at Natalie, she insisted on a cigarette.

Natalie wasn’t Alexis Brandt-beautiful, but the ice cream hadn’t yet taken its toll on her figure. She didn’t have anything to push up, but what she had was all hers.

Charity drifted back in on a gust of cigarette smoke. “I’ve called around, and I think we might be able to find something. Your eyes are quite nice.”

Natalie’s lips remained tightly pressed together as she tried not to breathe in the smoke cloud that hovered in the room.

“I know Vera could probably do something or maybe Donna Karan. Stand up again.” Charity had picked up a long, pointed stick like people used in presentations.

Unable to disobey the fierce-tongued woman, Natalie stood. Charity’s critical eye roamed over every inch of Natalie’s body.

“Definitely not red. Especially if you continue to blush like a schoolgirl.” Her stick poked at Natalie’s lower back. “You have a nice waistline, and you need to remember to smile.”

“Umm, is this going to take much longer? I’m supposed to go back to work.” Natalie’s gaze tried to follow the woman as Charity critically assessed all her faults.

Chase had been thoroughly enamored with her body for the past two nights. Charity’s disapproval had nothing on Chase’s rich eyes undressing her as she walked across the room. She was doing this for Chase. Somehow she’d manage to put aside her feelings of inadequacy for a while. The dress, the cameras, the Oscars. How on earth does a girl like her get invited to the Oscars?

She kept expecting to wake up or else find herself walking down the red carpet with nothing on. She’d always been thankful to wake up from naked-in-public dreams. But this wasn’t a dream; she’d be wearing a dress, shoes and jewelry that would equal her entire year’s wages, probably closer to ten years’ wages. And she’d be with Chase. A little twitter raced through her.

She definitely had a Cinderella vibe going, except her fairy godmother, Charity, could definitely use some work, along with a breath mint.

Charity muttered under her breath as she whipped out a measuring tape from her pocket and tightened it around Natalie’s chest, waist and then hips. She returned to the opposite side of her drafting desk and waved her hand dismissively. “You may go. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know when your fitting will be.”

Natalie retrieved her purse. “Thank you.” She slipped out of the room and drew in a deep breath of fresh air. She could be everything Chase wanted her to be. Elegant, unabashed, fearless. The butterflies in her stomach kicked up into full flurry. Even if she’d prefer to watch quietly at home, she’d do this for Chase.

Natalie pulled her Honda into Pandora Productions’ parking lot and almost pulled right back out. A group of men with cameras lounged across the street, but when her car stopped, they perked up.

The mirror on the visor left a lot to be desired, but her hair hadn’t completely escaped her ponytail, and her subtle makeup was not all gone. Her emotions were so jumbled this morning.

She couldn’t wait to see Chase, but she didn’t want to face the cameras or the other employees who by now knew she’d been at Chase’s all weekend. Chase had offered to go with her this morning to the stylist and then drive her into work, but she couldn’t let him take her everywhere forever. At some point, she’d have to stand on her own.