All That Lies Within Read Free Page A

notes, and tried to get the enigma that was Constance Darrow out of her mind.
     

     
    “And, that’s a wrap, people! Nice job,” the director called.
    The cast and crew broke into applause. Dara, who just had finished an emotionally grueling scene, blew out an explosive breath and rubbed the sore spot in the back of her neck. She blinked away the tears that had been required for the scene and looked around at the people she’d spent so many hours and days with over the course of the twelve-week shoot. They weren’t a bad lot, really. But there wasn’t one of them who knew the first thing about who Dara Thomas was, which made this set just like every other one she’d been on.
    “Hey, pretty thing. Are you coming to the wrap party?” Luther Rollins sidled up to Dara and slipped his arm around her waist. “Leading man and his on-screen love. It’d make for great headlines.”
    Dara twisted out of Luther’s grasp. Despite the smile still plastered on her face, she allowed the ice to show in her eyes. “I don’t think so, Luther.”
    Then she walked away. Not if you were the last man left on Earth. Indeed, she would have to make an appearance at the wrap party; after all, she was the female lead and it would be bad form not to attend, but she would arrive solo, as she always did.

CHAPTER TWO
     
    “Ms. Thomas, you’re the hottest box office draw and, some would argue, the most striking actress in Hollywood.” The television interviewer leaned in closer, and Dara steeled herself for the inevitable. “Every man in America, and plenty of women, for that matter, would love to have you on their arm. Yet you consistently arrive at premieres and parties alone. Just yesterday, you showed up solo to the premiere of your new movie, Rock Me Gently . You’ve never been photographed with anyone ‘special.’ Why is that?”
    Dara mustered her best aw-shucks look, even as the familiar pain stabbed at her heart. Despite her best efforts and no matter how many times she was asked the same question, Dara couldn’t seem to prevent the sting of Sheilah’s betrayal from piercing her well-developed emotional armor. Sheilah—the first woman she’d ever been with, the woman to whom she’d pledged her love and her life at the age of twenty-one. How naïve she’d been back then! She vividly recalled the moment all of her illusions were shattered.
    “What in the world made you think it was acceptable to talk politics?” Sheilah whispered fiercely in Dara’s ear.
    “You told me you wanted me to have a good time. I thought—”
    “You thought? What in the world gave you the impression I was interested in you for your mind?”
    Dara cleared her throat and focused on the interviewer. “I’m sorry, what was the question?”
    “I asked why you’re never photographed with anyone special? You’re a beautiful woman…”
    “Listen,” Sheilah hissed, “when’s the last time you looked in a mirror? You’re gorgeous, even first thing in the morning. Nobody, including me, cares what’s in your head. They just want to look at you. To covet you. I love that other people want what I have. Why else do you think I’ve kept you around the past few months? You’re great for my image.”
    “But you told me you loved me.”
    “Would you have stayed if I hadn’t?”
    With a practiced air of ease, and no hint of the angst she was feeling, Dara answered the interviewer. “I’m picky.” She sold it with a wink and a saucy smile.
     

     
    The rhythmic slapping of the waves against the shore did little to soothe Dara, so she ran harder and faster. She understood that there were some things that could not be outrun, and a heart still broken after ten years was one of those things. But she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to try.
    Sheilah was Dara’s first female lover and it was only natural for the first to hold a special place in her heart. But the newness of the experience and her budding sexuality weren’t the only reasons