Body Double Read online

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  Amber Quill Press, LLC

  www.amberquill.com

  Copyright ©2004 by Catherine Snodgrass

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  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

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  BODY DOUBLE

  by

  CAITLYN WILLOWS

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  ISBN 1-59279-311-8

  Amber Quill Press, LLC

  www.amberquill.com

  Also By Caitlyn Willows

  Caitlyn's Kisses, Volume I

  The Dating Pool

  Déjà Vu

  Graduation Day

  The Heir

  Hired Hand

  Hotel California

  Just Partners

  No Strings

  Shangri-La

  Showtime

  Star Chaser

  Stargazer

  Star Traveler

  Teacher's Pet

  Treasure Hunters

  Warrior Princess

  White Lies

  BODY DOUBLE

  Hannah Hamilton thumbed through the script. She must be out of her mind to let Lisa talk her into this. If Hannah had wanted to be an actress, she would have been an actress. She'd dismissed that nightmare of a plan a long time ago. Lisa had grabbed the bull with both horns and ridden it to the finish line.

  Hannah glanced under her brows at her twin. It was no longer like looking in a mirror. Pregnant with twins, Lisa was huge, and not just because there were two babies in there! Hannah prayed she wouldn't gain weight like this when and if she ever got pregnant. But from the instant Lisa knew she was pregnant, all her eating rules were flushed down the toilet. She claimed she wasn't going to worry about what she could and couldn't have. She was going to enjoy every second.

  She tossed the script to the small table between their chairs. “This isn't going to work."

  Lisa hoisted her legs to the footrest in front of her. “Yes, it will. Trust me. No one will ever know the difference. You and I have been reading through these things together from the first day. You're just as good an actress as I am."

  Hannah glanced around the swank trailer that served as her sister's dressing room, a near duplicate of the one Nick McDonald, her perpetual co-star had. They were already on the set. They both knew she was going to go through this. Hannah had already gone to makeup for the shot and wardrobe had blessed her with a red satin robe for the first scene ... and little else. Why did she hedge now? Because it was deceitful? Because she was afraid she might like it too much? Or because of the sex scenes she'd have to do with Nick McDonald?

  Who was she kidding? Like every other woman across the country, she had a king-sized crush on him. Oh, hell, she was in love with him. Who wouldn't die for the chance to have that man's arms around her, even if it was only acting? And his looks? The camera didn't do him justice.

  She'd met him more than a few times. In each instance, Hannah had to force her mouth to remain shut. Electric blue eyes sparkled with his smile, and he smiled a lot. His hair was the color of dark chocolate and obeyed a mere flick of his long fingers. And he wasn't pretentious in the least. In fact, he was very ... accessible. Just your normal, run of the mill guy next door ... who happened to earn up to twenty million dollars a movie.

  Hannah could never string more than two intelligent words together whenever she was around him, no matter how nice he was. If he noticed her awkwardness, he was kind enough not to mention it. In fact, he hardly said much to her at all. Which was just as well. If the man ever touched her, Hannah would crumble into a thousand pieces. Now she was expected to not only act with him, but to create those hot sex scenes the team of Lisa Hamilton and Nick McDonald were so famous for.

  "What ... what if he gets a hard-on?"

  Lisa laughed as she rubbed her belly. “It would be a first. You've been around the business long enough to know this isn't a tryst. It's a production with the director, cameramen, sound and lighting techs just about up your ass. The environment is not conducive to passion."

  "It just looks so ... real.” Hannah felt stupid even saying that.

  "That's why they call it acting. Nick and I are very good at what we do."

  Yes, they were. And they got paid very well for bringing those blockbuster movies to life. Very well. Like Lisa, Nick spread the wealth among his family. Hannah's parents would never have to work a day in their life any more. Lisa had bought houses for Hannah and their two younger brothers. She would have taken care of them for life too, if their father hadn't stepped in. Their dad didn't want his children to become leeches. Lisa sidestepped him by drawing their brothers into the business. They didn't do half-bad themselves.

  The only hold out was Hannah. She preferred her relatively quiet life as a high school English and Drama teacher, even if she did have to spend the first week of each school year convincing new students she wasn't the great Lisa Hamilton. Hannah just couldn't see herself going through all the hassle and the invasions of privacy Lisa dealt with.

  Although she had to hand it to her—Lisa and Nick had done an excellent job of perpetuating the myth of a hot and heavy off-screen relationship. Generally, no one knew Lisa was married to wealthy investor Franco Maneli and they were now expecting twins. It was one of Hollywood's best-kept secrets. Unfortunately, it was also the reason they were sitting in Lisa's trailer today waiting to start shooting Lisa and Nick's new movie.

  "Why don't you just tell people the truth?” Hannah asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

  Lisa groaned. “Oh, God. Please don't make me answer that freaking question again."

  No, it'd had been discussed until they were both blue. Lisa needed Hannah to stand in for her. The myth had to survive. Too many careers depended on it. Delaying production of the movie would bring the media out sniffing for a story. Even if Lisa's publicist did a little spin doctoring on the delay, there was still the issue of the premier of their latest movie. Hannah could hear the speculation now.

  Where is Lisa?

  Was there trouble in paradise for the sizzling duo?

  Rumor has it in Tinseltown that Nick McDonald is gay.

  They might be able to survive the fall-out, but ticket sales would surely drop on their future endeavors once people realized they really weren't a couple. At least that was what the moneymen kept saying. But, not to worry, we'll just bring in the twin. Problem solved.

  Yeah ... right.

  "Have you told Nick yet?” Hannah asked.

  Lisa studied her perfectly manicured nails. “Not yet. We haven't hadn't any time alone and phone calls can be monitored."

  Hannah shoved to her feet and paced toward the kitchen. “Not if you use a regular phone."

  "Relax.” She flicked her concern away with a wiggle of her fingers. “I'll tell him today."

  "Who knows?” Hannah hugged her arms around her midriff.

  Lisa shrugged. “Franco, of course."

  That was a no brainer. Lisa told her husband everything. “My agent, publicist, the producer, and director."

  She covered her face as she shook her head. “Naked in front of everyone. How can you do it, Lisa?"

  "It's a closed set. Only necessary crew is there. Besides, you have a killer body. One any woman would be proud to have. I should know. It used to be mine."

  Which led to another question, another problem. Hannah nailed her sister's green-eyed gaze with its mate. “And how do you expect to continue these scenes now? Being pregnant
, having twins, is bound to leave its mark."

  Lisa glanced away. Her answer was pretty clear—she was going to ask Hannah to continue as her body double.

  "It's not so bad.” Lisa traced the lines of pattern in the mauve chair. “We always do the sex scenes first so they're out of the way. After this shoot, it would be a week or two out of your life at the max. And, let's face it, Nick and I don't have that many more years before we've lost our edge and things start to ... sag."

  "Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll have a twin he can trot out.” She hated herself for her surliness, but the more Hannah thought about being naked in Nick's arms, the more out of control she felt.

  Lisa's long sigh was her undoing. Hannah had promised her she'd do this. They both knew she'd keep her word, so why belabor the point? And Lisa was compensating Hannah grandly for the assistance—forking over her salary to Hannah after all the taxes and relevant fees were deducted. It was three months of her time during the summer. What harm would come of it?

  A knock on the trailer door snapped her from her thoughts.

  "That will be Nick,” Lisa said. “We normally go to the set together.” She smiled. “Want to have a little fun with him?"

  More than she would ever realize. “What kind of fun?"

  She scooted to the edge of her chair. “Let's see if he can tell the difference. Pretend you're me. I usually just tell him to come in."

  And here it starts. Hannah squared her shoulders. She supposed there was no time like the present.

  "It's open,” she called out.

  The door swung out. Light splashed into the trailer, temporarily blinding her to all else as Nick McDonald stepped in. Seconds later, the door shut. Hannah's eyes adjusted quickly. He stood there staring at her sister, seemingly dumbfounded. Like her, he was dressed for the set in a matching robe. She wondered if he had as little under it as she did. His script was rolled up and stuck in his pocket.

  "You remember my sister Hannah, don't you, Nick?” Hannah somehow managed to say.

  He gave her pregnant sister a hesitant smile. “Of course. How are you doing?” He laughed lightly. “You'd think I'd know better than to ask a pregnant woman that. Congratulations. Lisa didn't mention she was going to be an aunt."

  Hannah stepped between them. “With good reason. I didn't know when we talked the last time. She's carrying twins and has about two months to go."

  He nodded at Lisa. “Well, congratulations still. Can't be easy being pregnant, much less having twins."

  He turned that smile on Hannah. It shot through her like a laser beam. Hannah's heart quickened, her blood raced, dampness soaked her crotch, just like they always did when she was near him. Only this time, she couldn't hide behind her sister.

  "They should be ready for us on set by now.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “With any luck, we can polish this one off quick and get out of here in plenty of time to make that premier tonight."

  He whipped open the door for her as he smiled at her sister. “Nice to see you again."

  Script in hand, Hannah forced her legs to move. Lisa would be gloating later that they'd managed to pull one over on him. The game was on. She picked her way down the three metal steps. Nick was quick to join her.

  "I want to practice those holds before we start shooting,” he said as he fell in step beside her. “I sure don't want any bruises like the last time."

  "On me or on you?” Hannah praised herself for the witty comeback when he tossed back a laugh.

  "On either of us. The last thing I want to do is have to explain to Franco why his wife is all banged up."

  She glanced his way. “And who would I be giving my explanations to?"

  He swung open the studio door. “Same as always and you know it."

  "Still haven't found that special someone, huh?"

  He glanced back toward the trailer and Hannah would swear she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. “You know damn good and well I haven't, Lisa. I can't believe you didn't have the courtesy to tell me she'd gotten married."

  Hannah tried her best not to look puzzled or ask questions to answers she should already have as Lisa. But it sounded like Nick was upset because he thought Hannah was the married and pregnant one. Her heart started thumping against her ribcage.

  "Ah, what the hell.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his robe. “It's my fault for not speaking ... Screw it. I give up. I'm too well known and this stupid game we're playing for the studios..."

  Hannah had never thought about how it would affect him. Franco did a good job of protecting Lisa. Plus Lisa went by her middle name, Kaye, and colored her hair cinnamon brown to cover the honey blonde. Nick didn't have those options, as far as she knew. He could shave himself bald or let his hair and beard grown to mountain man length and you could still see it was Nick McDonald. He just stood out. The only way he'd ever be able to hide would be to buy a place in the middle of nowhere and hide out there. She wondered why he hadn't, but then, she couldn't see Nick hiding from anything, even his own success.

  "Maybe it's time we put our collective feet down.” Lisa was going to kill her for that one. But surely their respective publicists could milk the truth and they could come out better than ever. In this age where every actress seemed to be giving birth, wouldn't Lisa's news have her soaring in popularity?

  Hannah winced. Not when the actress in question had put on fifty pounds. The media would make mincemeat out of her.

  "So, how did you spend the last six months?” she asked as they entered the studio. Lights brightened the bedroom set ahead.

  He shrugged. “Same old, same old. My dad and I built a house up in Idyllwild for family vacations. And you?"

  "Same old, same old."

  Nick chuckled. “Curled up with one book after the other? Entertained Franco's business associates?"

  "Something like that.” Other than the last task, Hannah's life was a lot like that. Although she did devote a lot of off hours to high school drama productions.

  Hank Leopold lifted his arm in greeting as they approached. Dark hair fringed his bald top. Half-glasses were perched on the end of his nose. He wore black trousers and a white long-sleeved shirt whose cuffs were rolled up to his elbows. According to Lisa, he never deviated from that attire. He was also full of energy and known as a director who never wasted a shot. Considering the awards he'd garnered through the years, Hannah would have to say that work ethic had served him well.

  "You two ready?"

  "We just need a minute to run through the beginning choreography of this shot.” Nick tossed his script to a canvas chair with his name emblazoned on the back. Hannah followed suit with the one marked “Lisa Hamilton.” Every muscle in her body quivered. She'd never been so nervous.

  "Sounds good.” Hank hoisted himself into the director's chair. “Don't need any collisions or mis-grabs. I'd like to get this smooth and seamless. You gonna be all right?"

  Hannah glanced over her shoulder while Nick frowned. Clearly the question was directed at her since Hank was supposed to know who she was.

  "I'll be fine,” she said.

  As he steered her toward the set, Nick bent close to her ear. “Is there something I should know?"

  Hannah debated with herself. They had a good camaraderie going here. She didn't want to risk it by letting him know she wasn't whom he thought. She doubted he'd be fazed, but she'd probably be a wreck. At least for the moment, playing Lisa Hamilton, she could get through this.

  "Okay.” Nick glanced around the area, blocking the scene in his head. “Let's walk through this dressed first."

  Hannah nodded. “I'll start with the line ‘I'm not going to argue with you about this.’”

  "Good."

  "I'm not going to argue with you about this!” She stormed toward the door.

  He grabbed her upper arm. “The hell you're not!"

  "Let me go.” She twisted free of his hold and hurried on.

  "Don't you dare walk away from me.” He grabbed
her again and hauled her to his chest. “Don't walk away from me."

  "Give me one good reason—"

  "Because ... I love you. I always have.” He slipped his mouth over hers, swooped her into his arms, and fell to the bed with her.

  "That looked really good,” Hank said. “Really smooth."

  Nick frowned down at Hannah, then rolled away. “Yeah. Guess we're not as rusty as I thought. This should be a cinch."

  Tell that to her fluttering heart. Hannah could hardly breathe. Every surface of her skin felt like it was on fire. She clutched the lapel of her satin robe like her life depended on it. The sound and lighting check gave her precious time to compose rampant thoughts of Nick's rock hard body pressing hers into the mattress.

  "Let's do this.” Hank pointed their way. “Ready on the set."

  Nick shrugged off his robe. Hannah's eyes had a will of their own—they dropped right to his ass.

  Sweet heaven! She bet his butt cheeks were as hard as the rest of him. Her fingers itched to curve into the clefts at each side. She tore her gaze away, but made the mistake of glancing Hank's way. The director struggled against a smile. Was she that obvious? She forced her attention back where it was supposed to be. With shaking hands, she dropped her robe and let it puddle at her feet.

  Nick took his mark. She found hers, trying to focus on his face and not anything below the waist. He glanced up. There was a flicker of something in his electric blue eyes.

  "Camera,” Hank called. “And ... action."

  "I'm not going to argue with you about this!” She curled her fists by her sides and stormed toward the door.

  He grabbed her upper arm. “The hell you're not!” His fingers were hot against her skin.

  "Let me go,” she breathlessly replied, then twisted free of his hold and hurried on.

  "Don't you dare walk away from me.” He snagged her arm once more and swung her against his chest.

  Her fingers dusted through the smattering of hair there.

  He pulled in a breath. “Don't walk away from me."

  She clicked her eyes up to his. “Give me one good reason—"