Secrets Of The A-List. Karen Booth

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      Elana eyed the stunning gown she was set to wear to tonight’s masquerade ball. It was black raw silk with fine silver threads woven in, low cut in the front and back, with just enough give in the tummy region. A few months ago, she would’ve been excited by the prospect of walking into the party in a dress that would show off every inch of her curves. Now? Her confidence was a little lacking, even though she knew it was silly. Her baby bump was hardly there—just the slightest protrusion of her lower belly. Still, she felt huge. Perhaps she felt that way because it was more than a baby—it was a reminder that the new challenge on the horizon was now barreling at her. As the person who questioned her own ability to do most things with some minimum of competency, being responsible for a human life was a scary prospect for Elana.

      “Cut it out,” she muttered to herself.

      She traipsed over to her jewelry case to pick out the perfect earrings for this evening. She needed to turn around her thinking. She had a drop-dead gorgeous husband and a life most women would kill for. This baby on the way was a new beginning, a fresh start, and if anyone needed that, it was Elana. She would finally be forced to get her act together. In an ideal world, the baby would also compel her to get over her addiction to Jarrod. He was a habit she absolutely, positively had to quit. The problem with quitting Jarrod was that thoughts of him always managed to find their way into her head.

      She was haunted by visions of seeing him last night, the way he had just shown up in her room. Part of her had been royally pissed off that he would be so presumptuous. Another part of her, the foolish and needy part, loved that he’d done something so impossibly romantic. He’d gone to great lengths to get to her, and he’d wanted her so badly it practically made her panties melt. It was a miracle no one had spotted him, and that element of danger only added to the thrill, even when she knew that Jarrod was bad for her, even when she knew that if Thom had seen him there, so much would’ve been ruined. She would’ve let down her family, again. She would’ve turned her back on the one safe bet she had in her life—Thom.

      The thing Elana was most ashamed of from last night was what went through her head as her eyes raked over Jarrod’s gorgeous body—a series of impulsive, reckless thoughts. She’d nearly blurted that she was pregnant and that the baby might be his. She’d fantasized about what might happen if she and Jarrod had just hopped on a plane and run away together. It was a minor miracle she hadn’t been that crazy. Jarrod did things to her that made her behave as though she had every screw loose. But no, she’d been strong and sensible. She’d managed to resist his advances and send him packing, but there had been little victory in that. Showing restraint sucked, big-time.

      But she was determined to be happy and content with Thom. He was an amazing guy, her best friend. He was handsome, competent and, most importantly, her husband. They were man and wife now. But she still wasn’t sure it had been the right decision. So many people were unhappily married. Jarrod and his wife were hardly a couple, never seeing each other and cheating like crazy. Would Jarrod leave his wife if Elana was indeed carrying his child and she told him? Probably not. Elana had to stop sending herself on these wild goose chases, fretting over every possible life choice. She was done with being the family disaster. It was time to do the mature, responsible thing.

      A knock came at the door of the walk-in closet. “Just come in, Thom. I’m your wife.” His impeccable manners could be truly annoying sometimes.

      “I didn’t want to disturb you. I know how you are when you’re getting ready for a party, doing your hair, your makeup.”

      “It’s all done. I’m just about to put on my dress.”

      “So you’re almost ready?”

      She sucked in a deep breath and stared at herself in the mirror. Was her face getting fat, too? “Yes. Ten minutes. Fifteen, tops.”

      “Perfect. I can’t wait to see the big reveal.”

      Elana smiled. “I’ll hurry.” She might complain to herself, but the truth was that Thom was a wonderful husband. Since they’d gotten back from their honeymoon, they’d settled into a comfortable routine. Despite the way she was drawn to the more dangerous and primal aspects of time with Jarrod, it was nice to have someone to come home to. It was comforting to have something steady and reliable in her life. Thom, too, seemed happy, almost relieved that the knot was finally tied.

      But he might not be so understanding if the baby arrived with a skin tone that did not reflect that one parent was African American. If that happened, Elana would be in hot water unlike any she’d ever experienced. With her mother desperate to keep the family away from scandal, Elana would become public enemy number one in the Marshall household. As to the fate of her marriage, it was anyone’s guess, but as sweet as Thom was, no man would take kindly to their wife having another man’s child.

      The door opened and in walked Thom. He tapped his watch. “You said you were going to hurry. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll be late.”

      “Sorry. I guess I was just daydreaming.” She pushed aside the damning details in her head, everything that might go wrong. For now, her secret was best left buried.

      * * *

      Something was off with Elana. No question about that. She was keeping something from him, and that only fed his paranoia, which was already a huge weight on his shoulders, a dark cloud hanging overhead. Was her secret actually his secret? Had she found out about his close encounter with Lane, her mother’s hairdresser? Had she finally figured out that this veneer he wore every day was easily peeled away?

      Gabe had promised not to release the photos in which Thom looked as if he was kissing Lane, his silence in exchange for Thom’s, but there was still this nagging voice in the back of his head saying that Elana’s mind was busy with much more than thoughts of the pregnancy. There had to be something else.

      “Is there something bothering you?” he asked.

      She was quick to shake her head. Almost too quick. “I think the baby is making me tired. I need a vacation.”

      “Let’s go back to Bali,” he said, only half joking. Things had been so simple when they were away. It was impossible to be stressed with a crystal-blue ocean steps away. He laughed quietly to himself. They lived in Santa Barbara, for God’s sake. They had ocean breezes almost any time they wanted them. It wasn’t the same, though. Bali was outside the Marshall pressure cooker, nearly eight thousand miles—Thom had googled it. For just a small amount of time, he and Elana had finally had a break.

      “I know. I could’ve easily stayed another month.”

      “Now we’re back to reality.” The gravity of the statement did not escape him. Thom did not enjoy walking around with secrets tucked inside his head, and he’d already spent so much of his life trying to keep one of them. “But it’s good, right?”

      “The best.” Elana looked in the mirror as she put on an elaborate pair of earrings, long and sparkly, heavy with diamonds. “I hope things go well tonight. My mother might lose her mind if we don’t get better control of the position the family is in right now. The rumors about my dad and Marshall International are killing her. She can’t handle it when the public narrative is anything less than perfect, and right now it’s about as far from perfect as it can be.”

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