A New York Love Story Read Free Page A

more elegance and grace would have made a better impression on Cade Harrison… “Who cares?” She thought aloud, collapsing on her sofa. She would survive without too much difficulty, even though a perfect famous stranger – who she probably wouldn’t meet again – would judge her. She sighed and turned the TV on. She had no intention of letting anybody spoil her day. She had a funny movie to watch, delicious sweets to eat, and a whole lazy afternoon to enjoy.
    Someone else might have considered her to be pathetically sad: all alone on holiday, sitting on a gnarled old couch, with a movie and a bowl of junk food, but Clover consoled herself thinking that even the Prince of Hollywood was all alone too, in a not especially glamourous building, in an unpretentious neighborhood. And for sure he wouldn’t be considered pathetic: people would say he was celebrating Thanksgiving in an
intimate
and
discreet
way. Perfect! She was also celebrating in an intimate and discreet way. She didn’t need anyone else in order to be happy.

2
    His telephone didn’t stop ringing. This was something that really bothered him. He had only been in New York for four days, yet it seemed that everybody needed to contact him urgently!
    His agent had called him at least thirty times, to remind him of things that needed his immediate attention: contract drafts, screenplays to read, charity commitments and TV appearances. His press office kept calling to ask for statements for the journalists, following the scandal that had forced him to disappear from sight for a little while – as if he hadn’t made enough declarations to the press already in the last month! His worried parents continued to call, asking how he was doing. And now, on top everything else…
her.
    Cade looked at the screen of his cell phone and saw that the name of his ex-fiancée had been flashing for several minutes. What the hell did she want? After all the chaos she had caused, with her offended prima donna scenes, what could it be now? After threatening him with a lawsuit that accused him of harming her public image, why did she want to talk to him? Damn it!
    He didn’t have any desire to hear her voice, and that reminded him once again how sterile and shallow their relationship had been. Alice Brown might be beautiful and sexy, but she definitely was not his idea of the woman he wanted by his side. How could he have tolerated her for the past six months? Perhaps people who thought that success had gone to his head weren’t so wrong – being a very famous actor, wanted by movie directors and by women, must have confused him. It must have clouded his judgement and perspective. Wasn’t he the one who used to dream of a
normal
life with a satisfying career, an intelligent wife, and a large family like his parents had? How could he have thought that an ambitious and spoiled actress like Alice would be the right woman for him? Of course he knew very well that the environment they lived in was not conducive to lasting relationships. Hollywood and the movie system were fascinating, brilliant, full of emotion and opportunities, but also full of predators – among them real vampires, thirsty for success, ready to do anything to get ahead.
    At the beginning, Cade thought that having a woman by his side who could obviously understand the demands of being an actor, would have simplified his life. He was wrong. Alice had disproved this theory. After only three months it was clear that for her, their relationship had become a sort of competition for fame. Alice had just started to make her way into the movie system, while he had already been famous for four years. She thought that dating Cade would help her career, yet it wasn’t easy to shine in the shadow of her famous and universally loved fiancé. So, once she understood that she wasn’t getting the recognition she wanted, she found another way to get noticed: on