The Talk of Hollywood Read Free Page B

the iris, giving them a strangely luminous quality that was almost mesmerising when fringed with the longest, darkest lashes he had ever seen. Her complexion was the pale ivory of fine bone china, with the same delicacy of appearance.
    A delicacy that was completely at odds with the sensual fullness of her mouth.
    Her lips were slightly parted now, to reveal small and perfectly straight white teeth. Small white teeth that Jaxon imagined could bite a man with passion as easily as—What the …?
    Jaxon stepped back abruptly as he realised he had allowed his thoughts to wander way off the reservation, considering the antagonism the two of them clearly felt towards each other. Not only that, but Stazy Bromley was exactly like all the buttoned-down and career-orientated women he knew who had clawed themselves up the professional ladder so that they might inhabit the higher echelons of certain film studios. Hard, unfeminine women, whom Jaxon always avoided like the plague!
    He eased the tension from his shoulders before turning back to face the obviously still amused Geoffrey Bromley. ‘I agree with Stazy—’
    ‘How refreshing!’ she cut in dryly.
    ‘You may as well just get this is over with,’ Jaxon finished ruefully.
    ‘Let’s hope the two of you are in as much agreement about my second condition.’ Sir Geoffrey nodded, no longer smiling or as relaxed as he had been a short time ago. ‘I’ve given the matter some thought, and in view of Stazy’s lack of enthusiasm for the making of your film, and your own obvious determination to prove her suspicions wrong, Jaxon, I feel it would be better for all concerned if Stazy were to assist you in collating and researching Anastasia’s personal papers.’
    ‘What …?’
    Jaxon was completely in agreement with Stazy Bromley’s obvious horror at the mere suggestion of thetwo of them working that closely together even for one minute, let alone the days or weeks it might take him to go through Anastasia Bromley’s papers!

CHAPTER TWO
    S TAZY was the first to recover her powers of speech. ‘You can’t be serious, Gramps—’
    ‘I assure you I am perfectly serious.’ He nodded gravely.
    She gave a disbelieving shake of her head. ‘I can’t just take time off from the university whenever I feel like it!’
    ‘I’m sure Jaxon won’t mind waiting a few weeks until you finish for the long summer break.’
    ‘But I’ve been invited to join a dig in Iraq this summer—’
    ‘And I sincerely doubt that any of those artifacts having already been there for hundreds if not thousands of years, are going to disappear overnight just because you arrive a week later than expected,’ her grandfather reasoned pleasantly.
    Stazy stared down at him in complete frustration, knowing that she owed both him and her grandmother so much more than a week of her time. That if it wasn’t for the two of them completely turning their own lives upside down fifteen years ago she would never have coped with her parents deaths as well as she had. It had also been their encouragement and support that hadhelped her through an arduous university course and then achieving her doctorate.
    Stazy’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she suddenly became aware of Jaxon Wilder’s unnatural silence.
    Those silver-grey eyes were narrowed on her grandfather, hard cheekbones thrown into sharp prominence by the clenching of his jaw, and his mouth was a thin and uncompromising line. His hands too were clenched, into fists at his sides.
    Obviously not a happy bunny, either, Stazy recognised ruefully.
    Although any satisfaction she might have felt at that realisation was totally nullified by her own continued feelings of horror at her grandfather’s proposal. ‘I believe you will find Mr Wilder is just as averse to the idea as I am, Gramps,’ she drawled derisively.
    He shrugged. ‘Then it would appear to be a case of film and be damned,’ he misquoted softly.
    Stazy drew in a sharp breath as she