Caught in the Spotlight Read online

  A true Hollywood story?

  Who’s the exotic beauty on the arm of mega-hot ladies’ man Bronson Dane? Word is she’s Mia Spinelli, recently rumored to be the mistress of her former boss—and Bronson’s longtime industry rival. Now she’s the personal assistant to Bronson’s mother. Is Mia getting “personal” with Bronson, too? He’s been spotted escorting her into a Hollywood doctor’s office, and Mia has a noticeable baby bump. Has the sultry assistant managed to get under the playboy producer’s skin—and into his bed?

  Enjoy a special 30th anniversary bonus story from Leanne Banks—“Billionaire’s Baby”

  “Harlequin Desires are better than

  the best chocolate truffles in the world.”

  —USA TODAY Bestselling Author Leanne Banks

  Look for all six

  Special 30th Anniversary Collectors’ Editions

  from some of our most popular authors.

  TEMPTED BY HER INNOCENT KISS

  by Maya Banks

  with “Never Too Late” by Brenda Jackson

  BEHIND BOARDROOM DOORS

  by Jennifer Lewis

  with “The Royal Cousin’s Revenge” by Catherine Mann

  THE PATERNITY PROPOSITION

  by Merline Lovelace

  with “The Sheik’s Virgin” by Susan Mallery

  A TOUCH OF PERSUASION

  by Janice Maynard

  with “A Lover’s Touch” by Brenda Jackson

  A FORBIDDEN AFFAIR

  by Yvonne Lindsay

  with “For Love or Money” by Elizabeth Bevarly

  CAUGHT IN THE SPOTLIGHT

  by Jules Bennett

  with “Billionaire’s Baby” by Leanne Banks

  * * *

  Find Harlequin Desire on Facebook,

  www.facebook.com/HarlequinDesire,

  or on Twitter, @desireeditors!

  Dear Reader,

  Glamorous lifestyles, lies and betrayal...welcome to Hollywood.

  I’ve always had a fascination with old movies and the icons who starred in them. Audrey Hepburn, Vivien Leigh and Elizabeth Taylor are just a few on my list of faves for their flawless beauty and classy style.

  I knew I wanted to bring my love of old Hollywood into my Desire stories. And what better way to launch my new Hollywood family than with the 30th anniversary celebration of Harlequin Desire! Alpha men who exude power and the women who challenge them? What’s not to love?

  Combining the sexiness of Hollywood with the complex, emotional plots Desire is known for was a dream! I’m so thrilled to introduce the Dane family. Bronson Dane is a hotshot producer who exudes power and passion, but he has no clue the secret that’s about to be revealed when his mother’s new personal assistant, Mia Spinelli, comes onto the scene.

  I hope you’ll fall in love with this family as I have, and stay tuned as I uncover more lies and betrayal in the two follow-up books with the other Dane siblings. I’d love to hear what you think of my Hollywood family. Drop me a line via my website, www.julesbennett.com.

  Happy reading!

  Jules

  Jules Bennett

  Caught in the Spotlight

  Books by Jules Bennett

  Harlequin Desire

  Her Innocence, His Conquest #2081

  Caught in the Spotlight #2148

  Silhouette Desire

  Seducing the Enemy’s Daughter #2004

  For Business…or Marriage? #2010

  From Boardroom to Wedding Bed? #2046

  Other titles by this author available in ebook format.

  JULES BENNETT

  Jules’s love of storytelling started when she would get in trouble as a child and would tell her parents her imaginary friend Mimi did it. Since then, her vivid imagination has taken her down a path she’d only dreamed of.

  When Jules isn’t spending time with her wonderful supportive husband and two daughters, you will find her reading her favorite authors. Though she calls that time “research.” She loves to hear from readers! Contact her at [email protected], visit her website at www.julesbennett.com or send her a letter at P.O. Box 396, Minford, OH 45653. You can also visit her fan page on Facebook or follow her on Twitter (@JulesBennett).

  Caught in the Spotlight

  Jules Bennett

  To the ladies who are always there to talk me out of my panicky state: Leanne Banks, Lynne Marshall, Janice Maynard and Charlene Sands. I’m blessed to call you not only critique partners, but friends.

  And to my fabulous editor, Shana Smith,

  for loving my idea of doing a series set around the glitz, glamour and gossip of Hollywood.

  Contents

  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

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Epilogue

  One

  When a dripping-wet female yelled his name, Bronson Dane didn’t even try to stop his eyes from roaming over all of her.

  With only a short white towel covering her glistening dark, Italian skin, his mother’s personal assistant of only six months certainly knew how to catch a man’s attention.

  “Mr. Dane,” she repeated, clutching the towel to her chest with both hands. She’d stopped short as she’d stepped from the bath when she saw him standing at the desk in his mother’s adjoining office.

  “Formalities are unnecessary when you’re only wearing water droplets and a towel. Call me Bronson.” He shoved his hands in his pants pockets, thankful he’d shed his jacket because, damn, the temperature just rose at least ten degrees. “Where is my mother and why are you showering in her private bath?”

  Wide eyes, nearly as dark as her ebony hair, blinked in rapid succession. “Olivia is gone for the day. I often use the gym, and since I’m working this afternoon, she told me just to freshen up here instead of running back to my guest cottage.”

  Bronson muttered a curse at his naive mother. It was bad enough Mia Spinelli lived on the Dane estate, but now she was given free rein of the house? Hadn’t his mother learned her lesson from the last “loyal” assistant? When would the woman realize she couldn’t trust everyone who looked innocent?

  This was Hollywood, for pity’s sake. Lies and manipulation were as common as breast implants and collagen injections.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Dane. I had no idea anyone would be coming by,” Mia continued, squaring her shoulders as if having a conversation wearing only a scrap of terry cloth was normal. “Weren’t you supposed to be shooting in Australia until next week?”

  “Call me Bronson,” he reminded her, gritting his teeth at the floral aroma wafting from the bathroom. “The movie wrapped a week early. I stopped by to talk to my mother about the film festival next week. Did she say when she’d be back?”

  “She’ll be back later in the afternoon. She’s having lunch with her attorney to go over the final contract for her next book.” The knuckles on the hand fisting her towel between her breasts turned white as she crossed the room. “If you’ll excuse me, I dropped my toiletry bag on the desk chair when I came in because the phone was ringing.”

  Before she could pass by him, he blocked her and reached for the simple black bag from the leather desk chair. She grabbed for it, but he held the small bag out to the side, away from her grasp.

  He didn’t trust her, especially since
she’d just come off the heels of working for the one man he despised in the industry, Anthony Price. He loathed the man with every fiber of his being. But he certainly didn’t want to think about all those reasons now.

  His mother had assured him that Mia was “a doll” and completely trustworthy and dependable. His sister, Victoria, had jumped on the Mia bandwagon as well, stating that Mia was such a joy and pleasure to be around. When they’d chatted on the phone last, Victoria had gone so far as to say that she’d instantly clicked with their mother’s new assistant.

  Granted, Mia had been around for six months, but was that enough time for his mother and sister to be such die-hard Mia Spinelli fans?

  Bronson wasn’t blind, though. Anthony sending his assistant here to snoop was really sinking to a low he never expected.

  The rumors of Mia and Anthony’s relationship were anything but businesslike. And that irked him even more. The fact his mother had hired Mia while he’d been on location in Australia still grated on him. True, his mother could have any assistant she chose, but why bring in one fresh from his nemesis?

  The Hollywood rumor mill had pegged the mesmerizing Mia as the main problem in Anthony’s rocky marriage. Whom Mia slept with was none of his concern, but it was his business if she was taking Dane family secrets back to her lover.

  Bronson and his mother were secretly working on a huge film that he knew the media would die to get their hands on. He and his mother had worked for years honing this project, and he had no doubt Anthony Price, Hollywood’s top director, wanted to know just what the big secret was.

  Just because his mother wasn’t suspicious didn’t mean he’d be letting his guard down any time soon.

  Bronson intended to find out just what this conveniently placed assistant’s intentions were before she uncovered the script and slid back in between Anthony’s sheets with it in hand. The thought of this sexy siren in bed with the devil made his stomach knot up.

  He thrust the bag her way because he needed her to get dressed. Whether he trusted her or not had no bearing on matters; she was fresh from the shower smelling of something sexy and floral—her own because that certainly wasn’t his mother’s scent—and he was having a hard time focusing on the task at hand.

  Not to mention that he was not one bit happy with the immediate physical attraction he felt to his enemy’s lover.

  “Get dressed. We’ll talk.”

  With a slight nod, she turned, crossed the room and entered the still-steamy bath, shutting the door at her back. He had no room on his plate for lustful feelings, and he was a damn fool for even letting them creep into his thoughts. His main concern right now was to keep his mother and his fashion designer sister out of any more scandal.

  His mother’s last assistant had stolen nearly half a million dollars from Olivia’s personal account over the span of several months. The media loved feeding off the Dane name right now, which is why they needed to be a bit more cautious about whom they let into their lives—especially if he had any hopes of keeping this script under wraps.

  Was it any wonder his blood pressure had soared since he stepped into his mother’s office? Olivia Dane was an icon, and the media would love to get some dirt on her—though he doubted there was any. They had a way of twisting even the innocent to make them look sordid.

  Olivia Dane had been Hollywood’s sweetheart, had starred in more films than any other female in the industry and had been dubbed the “Grand Dane” years ago. The media loved her. Which is precisely why he needed to keep a close watch on her new assistant.

  The bathroom door opened once again and Mia emerged wearing crisp white capris and a black, sleeveless button-down shirt. She had twisted her long dark hair into some sort of knot at the nape of her neck. Her feet were still bare, except for the subtle pink polish on her toes. A simple gold locket lay in the open V of her shirt.

  Everything about this woman screamed innocence and simplicity, so how the hell did she end up working for the most glamorous woman in Hollywood?

  Olivia had told him how impeccable Mia’s credentials were and Mia’s reasons for leaving her job with Anthony. Supposedly she didn’t want to be the cause of any more rumors and aid in destroying Anthony’s marriage.

  His mother had said she admired a woman who put others’ needs ahead of her own. She assured him the background check also confirmed her initial thoughts—Mia was flawless and perfect for the job.

  A background check could easily make a person look good on paper, and Mia had certainly appeared to be innocent as an angel, but Bronson wanted to get to know more about the quiet, subtle Miss Spinelli. The one who, no matter what line she fed his mother, still may be sleeping with—and possibly spying for—his enemy.

  And fate had just handed him the perfect opportunity. What better way to get to know someone than a little one-on-one time? With the exotic, sexy ambiance of the Cannes Film Festival next week, how could she resist succumbing to his charms as his escort? He hadn’t been dubbed People’s Sexiest Man Alive for nothing.

  “I have a proposition for you,” he told her. “You’re traveling to Cannes with my mother. Correct?”

  Mia nodded.

  “There are ceremonies every evening with parties afterward. I want you to escort me to those events.”

  “Escort you?” she asked, eyes wide. “But I’m only going to work with Olivia, and I hadn’t planned on attending any of the evenings’ festivities.”

  He hadn’t planned on asking her to be his escort, but he also hadn’t planned on his first impression of her covered in iridescent droplets and wearing nothing but a piece of terry cloth. God knows he could invite any woman he knew, but he really didn’t want to have to entertain and make sure some diva was properly pampered. This woman, this virtual stranger, would be the ideal companion. He’d been on location nearly the entire time she’d been employed by his mother. He couldn’t think of a better venue to get to know Mia than to have her as his “date” for five nights in a row.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea,” Mia said, taking a seat behind his mother’s desk and booting up the computer. “I’m pretty busy with Olivia, and I know we’ll be working just as hard in Cannes because she’s trying to finish this book by midsummer.”

  Bronson stood on the other side of the desk, watching Mia’s delicate, ringless fingers fly over the keyboard. “I assure you, my mother will have no problem with your being my escort. You just worry about getting to the plane on time and packing light. I’ll have Victoria ship all the dresses you’ll need. She’s a whiz in a pinch.”

  She looked up from the screen, licking her naked lips. “But why me?”

  “Why not you?” he countered, liking this idea more and more.

  “I’m just an assistant.”

  Bronson shrugged. “All the more reason. Unless you don’t want to be seen with me because of your recent scandal with your previous employer.” He leaned in close and whispered, “Or you have a jealous lover.”

  Mia’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe that out of all the women you know, you’d want to take me.”

  Her swift dodge of his question wasn’t very subtle, but he’d let it pass. For now.

  “I won’t lie.” Leaning on his palms on the edge of the mahogany desk, Bronson offered a crooked grin and eased back just a bit so he didn’t seem too overbearing. “I’m protective of my mother. I’m using this as a prime opportunity to get to know you better.”

  A sinful, beautiful smile spread across her face. “I understand being protective about family. In that case, I’d love to attend with you, as long as Olivia doesn’t mind.”

  Bronson stood straight up and returned her smile. “She won’t. Trust me.”

  Trust me.

  It had been four days since Bronson had flashed his sexy smile and charmed her into turning her working trip into something more social.

  And she should’ve flat-out told him no. He wouldn’t have asked her to attend parties and ceremonies with him, and he
sure as hell wouldn’t have asked her to trust him, if he knew the secret she held. A secret that would ruin his family’s tight bond.

  Mia shook the guilt off and concentrated on her immediate mission: she was in Cannes and she was going to be waltzing into glamorous events on the arm of Hollywood’s sexiest bachelor. She had to look better than her best.

  Which shouldn’t be a problem. Looking back at her were five—yes, five—glamorous Victoria Dane original designs. Mia took a step back in her luxurious suite, unable to catch her breath. Olivia had told her that Victoria always kept multiple designs on hand for any star who needed a dress last minute.

  Cinderella and her fairy godmother had nothing on Mia and this amazing array of glitzy dresses.

  She had to keep reminding herself that she was just an assistant, but Mia certainly felt like a star as she spun in a little-girl-like circle, giddiness overwhelming her.

  Was this really happening? Was she really in Cannes working for Olivia Dane by day, dressing up in a Victoria Dane gown at night and mingling with celebrities on the arm of hotshot producer Bronson Dane? Did she hit the job jackpot or what?

  She and Olivia had worked a couple hours on the long flight over and Olivia had given Mia the rest of the day off. Of course, Mia figured Olivia was shopping at all the specialty shops.

  Mia smiled as she recalled how surprised, yet excited Olivia was when she’d learned Mia was escorting Bronson to the parties and awards ceremonies. The Grand Dane had smiled, clasped her jeweled fingers together and said, “Wonderful.”

  Everything about working for the Grand Dane was incredible. Mia had been scared to leave Anthony at first, but now she knew this was the best decision for everyone. She’d come to love him like family—though not in the way the family-wrecking tabloids had portrayed their relationship. She hoped he could put his marriage back together.

  Mia’s heart ached for Anthony. Never once had their relationship turned intimate, but the tabloids assumed and printed the worst, in turn hurting his wife. Yes, they’d spent a lot of time together, but they were always working.

 
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