The Roles We Play Read online

  Contents

  Title

  Copyright

  Dedication & Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Divine Awakening

  Divine Destiny

  Pride Before the Fall

  The Roles We Play

  By JoAnna Grace

  Text copyright  2014 JoAnna Grace

  www.authorjoannagrace.com

  All right reserved.

  Print ISBN: 978-1-940460-07

  Digital ISBN: 978-1-940460-08

  Cover Design by Once Upon A Time Covers

  This is a work of fiction. Therefore all names, places, characters, and situations are a product of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, or events is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Dedication & Acknowledgements

  Thanks to the following:

  To my family, for allowing me to indulge in my writing passion. Thanks for letting me sleep in after working all night and forgiving me when I’m mentally on another planet. I love you!

  To my Executive Council and friends: Mom, Cheryl, Anna, Jen, Connie C., and Chrissy, for your insight into this story. You guys are brilliant and wonderful.

  To John, for your assistance along the way. You rock.

  To my stupendous husband, who supports my wild ideas and goes with the flow. Have I told you lately?

  Chapter One

  Kelly rolled over in bed and picked up her cell phone. Mark’s face smiled back at her as his Bon Jovi ringtone blared. What could he possibly want at three in the morning? Was he insane?

  “You’d better be bleeding, jackass,” she mumbled.

  His deep chuckle filled the silence of her studio. “Damn, you’re grumpy in the morning.”

  “It’s not morning yet. It’s that time of day even Jesus hates. What do you want? Where are you?”

  “I had to work the late shift, remember?”

  Kelly vaguely recalled that the night guy at the airport had quit and Mark had to fill in for him for a couple weeks. “I’m really sorry for your luck. Again, what do you want?”

  “I need a favor.”

  Ah hell. The last time Mark needed a favor, Kelly ended up watching three little girls—scratch that, three little terrorists—all under the age of six so he could go bang their mom. “If this involves you getting laid, I’m not interested. Try that website for nanny services.”

  “Don’t be bitter. It doesn’t suit you.”

  “Point, Mark. Let’s get to the point.” She rubbed a hand over her messy hair and down her face. People should not be awake at three a.m., especially people like her.

  “Remember that actor that had his plane serviced a couple months ago?”

  Kelly answered with a grunt. She had to admit, it was pretty sweet that Mark had spent an entire afternoon chauffeuring around a big time celebrity while his plane was checked out. They went to lunch and spent the afternoon driving around and chatting like old friends. That was just Mark, though. He had the best luck of any person she’d ever met.

  “We were having lunch and he starts telling me that he likes to hide out, right. No cameras, no interviews, just shootin’ the shit. We got along, so I offered for him to stay around here when he needed to.”

  Kelly cursed. She knew exactly what Mark had offered. “What did you promise and how screwed am I?”

  “Let me finish.” Mark sighed, his nerves clearly shot. “So I might have led him to believe that I knew someone with a private bed and breakfast type place that is way off in the hills.”

  “Damn it, Mark. You know Pops doesn’t like strangers.”

  “Well, here’s the thing. He might have told his girlfriend about this little hidey-hole.”

  Kelly groaned. “Might have? God, you make me want to hold your head under water until the bubbles quit.”

  “Plane lands in an hour, private runway H.”

  Kelly was already pulling on her jeans because this was Mark. Even though Mark was a pain in the ass, he would give his left nut for her. “Do you mean to tell me that now I have to play hostess to some stuck up actress in hiding because she’s in trouble and needs her publicist to smooth things over?”

  “You know I love you, right?”

  “Ha! This is why I don’t do the whole love thing. Men are pigs.”

  “All but me, babe. You’re a freaking angel. Private run—”

  “Runway H, got it, got it. Bye.”

  Kelly stood in the hangar at four in the morning. She was freezing. The November winds cut through her hoodie down to her bones. The private runways on this side of the small airport were lifeless. If this was another one of Mark’s jokes, she would hang him and beat him like a dirty rug.

  Mark enjoyed playing jokes, particularly on her.

  As unfair as it was, he had to be the luckiest guy on the planet. God only knew how many pictures he had with famous people who flew into the airport and happened to land in the private hangar where he worked. The photos lined his wall. Movie stars, rock stars, even a porn star. Kelly didn’t ask how he knew who she was. Some things needed to remain a mystery between friends.

  The likelihood of this being real was high. As a small plane came in for a landing, Kelly took out her phone to see exactly who she was hosting.

  “Mark?”

  “That’s his plane.”

  “His plane. It’s a guy? You said your friend told his girlfriend.”

  Mark chuckled mischievously. “And she turned around and told her friend—an actor.”

  “Why won’t you tell me who he is? Is this one of your pranks?” Kelly looked around, expecting to find Mark watching and laughing. “I will have your testicles.”

  “No pranks. This is honest to God the luckiest day of your life.”

  “Come on, Mark. Seriously, will I even recognize this guy? Have I seen any of his movies? What is he, extra number one hundred and fifty—” She stopped mid-sentence when her eyes locked on to the man stepping out of the private jet. “Holy. Shit. Please tell me that is not…”

  “Your very own guilty pleasure, Trevor Jacobs. Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy Birthday for the next twenty years.”

  “If you ever need a kidney, I’m your girl. Gotta go.” She hung up to Mark laughing and saying, “You’re welcome.”

  Kelly watched her ultimate celebrity crush shoulder a duffle bag and head in her direction.

  Damn, he was even hotter in person. From the first time she’d seen him on the big screen, Kelly had been a closet junkie. He was the definition of gorgeous. Tall, lean but built, dark hair, brown eyes that made her libido stand up and salute. Those eyes were as famous as his name. Women had been arrested for trying to sneak in to his hotels, hack his social media accounts, and track his cell phone. Not that Kelly was that obsessed—well, she was, just not in a get-out-the-straightjacket way.

  But she remembered from an interview that he preferred when women didn’t act crazy. He’d insisted that he was just another guy who enjoyed hamburgers and l
azy Sundays.

  Yeah. Just another guy with the body of a god, the face of an angel, lips of sin, and a voice that made her knees weak.

  Yep, he could enjoy a burger at her place on Sundays all he wanted…as long as he did it naked.

  “You Kelly?” asked a baritone laced with honey and spice.

  “Yep.” Kelly stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you.” She tried not to even smile as he slid his warm hand into hers. Her heart fluttered fast as her brain stalled out.

  “Trevor.”

  “Yep.”

  He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “So.” He smiled. “You’re my ride?”

  “Yep.” Kelly nodded and Trevor chuckled.

  He looked around at the dark and empty hangar. Clearly her lack of intellectual conversation made him uncomfortable. “Well this is the only bag I have. So…if you’re ready?”

  He was trying to set her at ease. All she did was nod and say, “Okay.” Her sedan wasn’t much, but it was clean and the interior was nice. It was nothing compared to the jet he had just flown in on. He couldn’t really complain, right?

  They rode in silence for a few minutes. Kelly had no idea what to say and the fragrance of him nearly made her drunk. It was sexy and sweet. If she licked his skin, would he taste the same?

  “You in some kind of trouble?” The words spilled out of her mouth before she considered tact.

  Trevor threw his head back and laughed. “Not exactly. But getting away for a while is a good idea. A friend told me about this place in the mountains that was nice and quiet.”

  “Okay.”

  “You don’t believe me?” He looked over and smirked. Kelly shrugged. “Truth is I got caught selling drugs with a hooker in my hotel room. We tried to run from the cops, bad deal.”

  The inflection in his words made her turn to look at him. Never in a million years would she have agreed to this if—damn, he was pretty.

  After a few seconds, a goofy grin spread across his face and he laughed. He was totally messing with her. “You should see your expression.”

  “You’re one of the top paid actors in Hollywood. Naturally I should assume you’re full of shit.” Thank goodness it was dark and he couldn’t see the bright red of her face.

  * * * *

  Trevor was absolutely floored. Usually he didn’t get this level of honesty, especially from women. This one didn’t seem to care one bit about who he was.

  “You don’t believe I simply needed a break?”

  After a deep exhale she tiled her head. “Nope. Not if you’re flying in at four in the morning before the first commercial flights start. This wasn’t a planned vacation. You’re running.”

  Trevor nodded, seeing the logic in her words. “I’ll admit, I did want to leave at night and it was last minute. I recently finished shooting one movie and the director was going to throw me right into another. I told them I needed time to look at the script before I agreed.”

  “You getting burned out, Hollywood?”

  Trevor looked out the window at the forest as it passed by. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” He didn’t want to think about it. It was easier to focus on his cute hostess. “Tell me about your place.”

  “Um, about that. Mark lied his ass off. I don’t have a B and B.”

  That’s kind of important since he was traveling to God only knew where. He cleared his throat. “Care to elaborate?”

  “My grandfather owns a historical plantation house. It’s been kept up quite well, and in our neck of the woods I guess you could call it a famous mansion. We usually don’t keep guests.”

  “Mark said—”

  “Yeah, I can imagine what Mark said and what it became by the time it hit your ears. It’s fantastic; you won’t be disappointed. There’s not exactly a wait staff, so don’t try to call in room service. Catch my drift?” Kelly yawned with a sigh. “Sorry, I’m not a morning person.”

  “Me either. And four thirty isn’t morning. It’s evil.”

  She laughed, actually laughed. It was a beautiful sound, slightly husky.

  “I agree. I’ll get you set up in a room and if you’ll let me catch a couple hours of shut eye, I’ll take you out for breakfast.”

  Trevor smiled. There was something refreshing about her honesty and outspokenness. She was real. It’d been a while since he’d been with a woman who was comfortable enough to call him out. Was there more to this woman? What made her act differently towards him?

  Funny, he was rather excited to find out.

  Kelly was right. The mansion was fantastic. Three stories of plantation perfection complete with white columns holding up the wrap-around balcony.

  “Wow.” He stepped out of the car and walked up the lit path. “You don’t have weddings here?” He couldn’t believe that a house so grand didn’t get a lot of traffic. A place this majestic could be a gold mine.

  “When my grandfather was a child, his parents threw parties. The place was crawling with people every night of the week.” She didn’t walk to the front door, but around to the side entrance of the mansion. “Turns out, his parents were both cheating and used the parties as cover for their affairs. When they found out, it tore their family apart. He was an only child so they lived together for his sake, but it was rough to say the least.”

  “That could screw with a kid. No need to carry on that tradition.” Trevor nodded.

  “Occasionally I do photo shoots. We have friends and certain family members that come and visit, but since it’s just Pops and me left, we don’t draw a big crowd.”

  Trevor followed closely as Kelly led him through the house, her voice lowering to a whisper. “We have one lady that keeps up the house as well as a gardener.”

  “Why don’t you try to bring in more traffic? You could make a killing off this place,” he whispered as they went up a set of old stairs that must have served as a staff entrance decades ago.

  Kelly never stopped climbing the stairs. “People cause problems.”

  He couldn’t argue about that. That’s why he was here to begin with.

  Chapter Two

  Kelly showed Trevor to one of the larger guest rooms she knew had been tidied up within the last couple days. The antiques and plush bedding would suit him fine. This room also had one of the many hidden passageways around the house. It led to the ballroom that had been converted into her studio.

  “I’ll be back in a few hours and we can eat, okay?” She flipped on the light and let him in.

  “Sure, okay.” Trevor scanned the room, his mouth hanging slack. The way he slowly turned and examined the room allowed her time to get a good view of his muscular body.

  Lord have mercy, she needed to get the heck out of this room.

  “Well, goodnight then.” She walked over to one of the wall panels by the fireplace and pulled down on the sconce. With a click, the panel snapped open.

  “No way.” Trevor opened the panel and stuck his head in the dark hall. When he looked back at Kelly, she nearly forgot to breathe. Heat from his body invaded her personal space. His eyes were childlike and his face was openly fascinated. “That’s freaking awesome. Where does it go? Show me.”

  Damn it! How could she possibly say no to that face, those bedroom eyes, those lips?

  “Okay, but after that I’m going to bed and you can find your own damn way back up here.” She slipped into the thin passage and pulled the string that lit a single bulb. It was musky and dark despite the light. They went down a staircase and took a right where the passage branched off.

  “This is so damn cool. You could give tours.”

  “Easy there, big guy.” Kelly laughed. “We like our privacy.”

  “It’s a shame you don’t share this with people. I get the need for privacy, probably more than most, but this is a historic building.”

  “Exactly. It’s being preserved by the people who love it most. No one else would care the way we do. Having people in and out would add to the needed maintena
nce. Besides, I do photo shoots in the gardens all the time. That’s enough.” Kelly reached her studio and turned to dismiss Trevor. For reasons she didn’t dare think about, she wanted him to see more of her home. “This used to be the ballroom. It’s my studio now.”

  With the turn of a knob, she and Trevor walked into her gargantuan bedroom. She flipped on the lights and was grateful that she was a neat freak. Only her pajamas were out of place, and that was because she’d changed in a hurry. They were thrown across her bed.

  Trevor let out a whistle. “Now this is a bedroom.” Hands in his pockets, he spun around in the middle of the room and checked it out. “My entire apartment could fit in here.”

  “No mansions, Hollywood?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. I have a couple places though. One in New York, one in Cali.”

  Figures.

  This room was her sanctuary. It was the one place in the house her grandfather had agreed to give her full control of decorating and keeping up. Kelly had kept it in pristine condition. When her time here was up, the next owners wouldn’t appreciate it if she destroyed the historic quality of the room. The walls remained white with intricate gold leaf patterns around the trim. The elegant chandelier had been fixed multiple times, but still hung in the center of the rectangle-shaped room. At the south end was her photography studio and work place. The antique desk had been moved from another room of the house along with the winged back chairs and coffee table that made up a small sitting area.

  The north end of the room was sectioned off by heavy white drapes. Pops had allowed her to rig the curtain to substitute building a wall. Naturally, because that was the one place she didn’t allow visitors, it was right where Trevor wanted to snoop.

  He cleared his throat. “Wow.”

  Kelly’s face grew warm. “I know. I have girly tastes.”

  The tall canopy bed was draped in more white, a stark contrast to the black bed frame and headboard. Kelly had splurged on Egyptian cotton sheets and the finest quality down blankets. Luxurious pillows were piled high. While the rest of the studio had the original hardwood floors, various rugs were layered on one another to create a cushion of white, gold, and black designs around her bed.