Star of His Heart by Brenda Jackson

but force him to leave last night.”
    Rachel managed to remain calm as she dissected the woman’s words, hoping what Tae’Shawna was saying was more wishful thinking than gospel truth, especiallysince Ethan had been with her from Saturday night to late yesterday afternoon.
    But she couldn’t help wondering if he had left her bed and gone directly to Tae’Shawna’s. And where had he been before coming to her place on Saturday night? She’d felt it hadn’t been her place to ask. However, now the woman in her couldn’t help wondering if Ethan had shared his weekend with her and Tae’Shawna.
    That question was still on her mind hours later. For the moment, her trailer was empty and she slid into the chair to take a breather, trying to fight the green-eyed monster of jealousy consuming her. She pulled in a deep breath, wondering why the thought of Ethan being involved with Tae’Shawna bothered her and how she could get beyond it.
    The odds had been high when he’d shown up at her place Saturday night that he would probably spend some of his weekend with another woman. It would have made perfect sense that he did. After all, he was a known playboy around town. It really shouldn’t concern her since they had used protection every time they’d made love, so she wasn’t at risk. But still…
    It disappointed her that, on the set, Ethan portrayed himself as a man not giving any of the women who came on to him the time of day. Although he was always friendly to them, she’d had no reason to assume that things had been any different after hours. Was it only an act? Was he involved not only with Tae’Shawna but others as well, possibly even Paige?
    She eased from the chair and began pacing. She toldherself she should not be bothered if he was also seeing other women. They hadn’t set any rules or guidelines regarding their relationship. A frown deepened her brow when she reminded herself they didn’t have a relationship. What happened this weekend was just a one-time deal. She had made that clear to Ethan. But why had he bothered to make it seem as if he hadn’t had sex for a while, certainly not that same day? Men!
    She knew when it came to sex, men would get as much of it as came their way and still want more. A part of her couldn’t help feeling somewhat disappointed to discover he was one of those men and wasn’t different at all.
    â€œLooks like you’re thinking too hard again.”
    She spun around to find the object of her deepest and most disappointing thoughts leaning against the trailer door. She hadn’t heard him enter the trailer.
    â€œAnd what’s it to you?” she asked in a tone that sounded pretty snippy to even her own ears.
    He shrugged. “With that attitude, nothing, I guess. Frasier gave everyone an additional hour for lunch again, and I was wondering if you’d like to take a walk over to—”
    â€œNo.” And then because she knew there was no reason for her to have an attitude, she said, “Thanks for asking, but I have a lot to do here.”
    He nodded slowly as he continued to look at her. She wished he wouldn’t do that. And she wished it didn’t bother her, didn’t make her feel those vibes again, especially when he probably looked at Tae’Shawna thesame way. Not only Tae’Shawna but all the other women with whom he was probably involved.
    â€œIs that why you haven’t been out on the set today?”
    â€œYou could say that.”
    Avoiding his gaze, she moved around the trailer, picking up items to repack in her various makeup kits, as well as hanging up items of clothing that cast members had discarded.
    â€œIs something wrong, Rachel?”
    She glanced over at him. “No. What gives you that idea?” She then returned to what she was doing, basically presenting her back to him.
    Moving away from the door, Ethan strode through the space