They wanted me to do whatever made me happy. But Sofia felt it was part of our fatherâs legacy, that I owed it to him to join her andUncle Jacob at Limelight. I had made up my mind on how I wanted to do things with my future, so instead of letting there be this bone of contention between us, she backed off and eventually gave me her blessings to do whatever I wanted to do with my life.â
She chuckled. âAs a concession, I am letting Limelight Entertainment handle my career. Iâm one of their clients.â
They paused a moment when they reached the security gate. They had deliberately walked the expanse of the studio lot to avoid running into the paparazzi that made the place their regular beat. Now that they were no longer in safe and protected territory, she noticed Ethan had slid on a pair of sunglasses. He had kept on his medical scrubs and had a stethoscope around his neck, and she wondered if anyone seeing him would assume he was a bona fide doctor walking the strip on lunch break.
She pulled her sunglasses out of her bag, too, although it had been years since sheâd had the paparazzi on her tail. When she was younger, theyâd seemed to enjoy keeping up with the two Wellesley heirs. Sheâd always found the mediaâs actions intrusive and an invasion of her privacy. She could recall all the photographs of her as a child that had appeared in the tabloids. That was the main reason she much preferred not being the focus of their attention again.
She glanced over at Ethan when his hand went to the center of her back again. It was time for them to cross the street, and he was evidently trying to hurryher along before traffic started up again. Her pulse began fluttering, caused by the heat generated from his touch.
They increased their pace to make it across the street. She checked him out from the corner of her eye and saw how sexy the scrubs looked on him. They had agreed to be just friends, she reminded herself. And it meant absolutely nothing that they had a few things in common. Like the fact that they were both renegades. That they were both members of well-known families. That they both had siblings whoâd chosen to go into the family business. Overprotective, older siblings who meant well but if given the chance would run their lives.
Rachel inconspicuously scanned the area around them and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the paparazzi was nowhere in sight. But then they were known to bounce out from just about any place. Hopefully she and Ethan looked like a regular couple out on a stroll during their lunch hour.
A couple who were just friends, which was something she could not forget.
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âYou are such a good uncle.â
Ethan glanced at Rachel while accepting his change from the girl behind the counter at the Disney Store. Had he used his charge card his cover would have been blown. Even through his sunglasses, he could see the woman was looking at him, trying to figure out if he was a doctor or someone she should know.
He smiled at Rachel. âIâd like to think so, especiallysince I doubt very seriously that Hunter will have any more children,â he said, accepting the bag the cashier was handing him.
âWhy is that?â
âHe lost his wife in a car accident,â he explained as they headed for the exit. âHe took Annetteâs death hard and hasnât been in a serious relationship since. Itâs been three years now.â
âOh, how sad.â
âYes, it was. Hunter and Kendra were in the car at the time of the accident and survived with minor injuries,â he said. He paused a moment and then added, âKendra was three at the time and very close to her mother. She felt the loss immediately and withdrew into her own world and stopped talking.â
The eyes that stared into his were full of sorrow and compassion. âShe doesnât talk?â
He released his breath in a long and slow sigh, wondering why