Previously...

Brett was angry when he learned Stormy had arranged Lauren's album release party without him.  James kept secret deals with Alex and Brandon from Brooke so she wouldn't know he was trying to get Sunset Studios back from Will.  When Brooke developed stomach pains, she called Ethan for help, which angered Winter further. Winter warned Brooke not to tell Ethan that her baby was his. Later, when Ethan asked Brooke for the truth, she lied and said the baby was James's.  Brett revealed to Lauren that he knew about her affair with Stormy.  In exchange for his silence, he blackmailed Lauren into sleeping with him. Jordan hid away on his yacht and licked his wounds following his breakup with Alex.  Meanwhile, Alex went to Will and accepted his marriage proposal. With Veronique as a witness, she and Will were married at her house in Malibu.

 Episode 21

"Music and Passion"

Stormy and Brett sat in his office at Good Times Records going over last minute details for Lauren's album release party.  Stormy looked up from his desk and tapped his pencil on the surface.

"I couldn't get hold of Marjorie Stahl from Rolling Stone," he said.  "I was wondering if you could give her a call and make sure she'll be there tomorrow."

"Absolutely," Brett said, jotting Marjorie's name down on his pad of paper.  He looked up and gave Stormy a cocky smile.  Apparently he was good for something after all.

"Good, I think that takes care of the media," Stormy said, standing up and stretching his arms out over his head.   "I'll be glad when this party is over.  It's already killing me."

Brett stood up as well and started to the door.  "When Lauren hits the stores tomorrow it'll all be worth it."

Stormy smiled and grew into a distant daze.  "By the way, have you noticed anything odd about Lauren the last few days?"

"No, why?" Brett asked, feigning innocence.  If Lauren was acting strangely then he knew the reason why.  It had almost been a week since he started blackmailing her.

"I don’t know.  She's just seemed distracted or something.  Not herself."

"I haven't noticed," Brett said, then flashed him a toothy smile.  "Anyway, I've gotta get going.  I have some calls to make.  I'll see you later."

"See ya," Stormy said, still somewhat distracted as he stared at the phone.  He didn't know what was going on with Lauren.  For the last few days she'd been putting him off and canceling dates right and left.  They hadn't been together at all and it was starting to concern him.  He wondered if it she was starting to feel guilty because of Heather.

Minutes later, Miranda barged into his office and threw the morning newspaper on his desk.  "Have you seen this?" she asked in a huff.

Frowning at his sister's dramatic entrance, Stormy picked up the paper and saw a picture of their mother on the front page beneath a headline that read Alex Reynolds Weds Producer Thomerson in Surprise Ceremony.

"I don't believe it," Stormy said, his eyes wide as he skimmed through the article.

"I don't believe it," Alex said as she stared at a stack of magazines and newspapers.  "How did they find out about this so quickly?"

Will walked up behind her on the terrace of her house in Malibu.   "You're a celebrity, my dear.  The media will dig until they get every ounce of information they can."

She shook her head and turned toward him, her robe fluttering in the warm morning breeze.  "No, this is not the result of digging.  You leaked this story to the press, didn’t you?"

Will appeared shocked as she poured himself a cup of coffee.  "Of course not," he replied adamantly.  "Why would I do something like that?"

Alex glared at him and dropped the papers onto the table.  "Because you couldn't wait to stick it to James," she began.  "That is the only reason you married me, wasn't it?"

"Don't be silly," was his easy response.

Alex threw her hands up in resignation.  The truth was James already knew about their wedding.  He was with her when she thought of the idea.  But what she didn't like was the fact that the whole world now knew about it.   And that meant Jordan would find out very soon if he hadn't already.   The thought of hurting him killed her.  She didn't want that at all.

All she was trying to do was help James.

Jordan sat on his yacht, dressed in shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and a hat as he relaxed with a cup of coffee.   He opened the newspaper and skimmed through the headlines.  When he reached the picture of Alex he froze, his eyes fixated on the headline.

She certainly wasted no time, he thought to himself.  What the hell was he to her anyway?  A playboy while she juggled James Blackthorne and Will Thomerson?

Rolling the newspaper up tightly, he hurdled it over the yacht and watched it splash into the marina, sending a group of seagulls scattering up into the sky.

"That bitch," Heather muttered to herself as she lay by the pool at home in the Valley.

The newspaper article about Alex and Will's wedding came as a huge shock to her and she could only imagine what it was doing to her father.   She got up from her chair and went inside through the back door.

Grabbing the phone, she dialed Stormy's number at the studio and waited impatiently for him to answer.    She was going to find out what his mother was thinking when she ditched her father at their wedding and then turned around and married someone else the very next day.

Stormy's receptionist told her he was on the phone and asked if she wanted to hold on.  She said no and hung up in a tizzy.  It would have to wait, she thought to herself.  The most important thing now was to see how her father was handling the news.

Stormy let the phone ring over and over at Lauren's place.  He didn't understand where she could be.  It was fairly early and she was a late sleeper.   Either that or she was avoiding him again.  The fact that he couldn't get hold of her only reaffirmed the fact that something was definitely going on with her.  He was determined to find out what it was. 

Finally hanging up the phone, he grabbed his car keys and ran out the door.

At that time, Brett was slowly undressing Lauren, admiring her body and feeling himself growing immediately aroused.   He'd wanted to get her into bed since the moment he laid eyes on her at the Fern Bar.   Unfortunately, she never seemed as interested.  Now he knew the reason was because she was too busy with Stormy.

Luckily for him, he stumbled on their little secret affair, and successfully used it to get her into bed.   Now he was having the time of his life, and although she didn't seem to enjoy it as much, there were times when he'd look down and find her rolling her eyes back into her head as if she was in heaven.   It fueled his ego and made him work even harder at pleasing her.  The prospect of being better in bed than Stormy was quite a thrill.

Lauren laid down on the bed and let him have her way with her.  She hated every minute of it but she knew she had to go along with it or Brett would tell Heather everything and then she'd most certainly lose Stormy.  The ironic part was that she had to lie to him to keep that from happening. 

She couldn’t help but compare the two men as lovers.  Brett was rough and robotic, succeeding only in pleasing himself and leaving her uncomfortable.  Maybe if Brett wasn't such a lying scoundrel she'd enjoy it more.  He had a kinky quality that she was sure his weird wife enjoyed about him.

Stormy, on the other hand, was gentle and giving, making sure that her needs were met.   She had fallen in love with him right away and hated the fact that she was sleeping with Brett.

After they'd finished, Brett rolled off of her and basked in the afterglow.  She got up and started to get dressed, looking down at him with disgust.  It was such a shame that someone as incredibly attractive as Brett was such a louse. 

"Something wrong?" he asked her.

She scoffed and pulled on her halter-top.  "I thought you and Stormy were supposed to be friends," she began.

Brett stretched his arms out and placed them behind his head.  "We are."

"Yeah right.  Is this how you treat your friends?   He would kill you if he found out about this.  The way you're blackmailing me into sleeping with you."

"I don't really look at it that way," Brett replied.  "The way I see it is that Stormy owes me."

Lauren's eyes widened in disbelief.  "Owes you?  Are you crazy?"

Brett sat up and pulled on his shorts.  "I was the one who found you," he said with a smirk.  "I was the one who convinced him to sign you to his label.  And then he turns around and sleeps with you.  Where's the fairness in that?"

Exasperated by his illogical thinking, Lauren started out into the living room and slipped on her sandals.  "You're really full of yourself, Brett," she said.  "I can't believe we're even having this conversation.   You're married for God's sake."

"Yeah well so is Stormy," he replied, following her as he pulled on his shirt.

Just then, Stormy walked into the apartment and saw them standing together in the living room.  They both looked up with surprise.

"So is Stormy what?" he asked, wondering what they were talking about.

Lauren looked at him and then at Brett.  She was sure that everything was about to blow up in their faces.

Brooke walked inside from the garden at the Blackthorne mansion and found James sitting in his study pouring over a stack of papers.   He looked up and shot out of his chair in a hurry.

"Darling, I've been looking all over for you.  Where have you been?" he asked, putting his arm around her.

"I was taking a walk in the garden," she said.  "It's such a beautiful day already."

He led her over to the sofa and sat her down.  "Brooke, you have to take care of yourself," he said.  "You need to get some rest."

She shook her head in protest.  "But I feel fine," she said.  "The doctor said that everything was fine with the baby.  There's absolutely nothing to worry about, James."

He knelt down and took her hand in his.  "I know that but I want to keep it that way," he began, looking into her magical blue eyes.  "If anything happened to you or our baby I don't know what I'd do."  

Ever since Dr. Farraday gave him the news that he was going to die within the year, he felt the ever-present need to protect everything around him.  Brooke, their baby, and getting his studio back were the most important things in his life right now.  If he didn't have them when his time came, he would feel like a failure.

Suddenly the phone rang and he reluctantly got up to answer it.   While he was talking to the caller, Brooke picked up the morning paper and read the article about Alex's wedding to Will.  She frowned, shaking her head in disbelief.  As soon as James hung up the phone, she stood up and flashed the paper at him.

"Have you seen this?" she asked.

James nodded, placing his hands on her arms and kissing her lightly.  "Yes," he replied dismissively.  Alex's marriage to Will wasn't a surprise.  It was only the first step in their master plan.  "Darling, I have to go out for a while.  I'll be back soon."

"But where are you going?" Brooke asked.

"I have to meet with Brandon about something," James said, thinking back on the phone call he’d just received from his lawyer.  "I'm sorry.  I'll see you later."

Before she could protest, he was out the door and flying down the hall.  She sighed and looked at the paper again.  She wondered what James had to do that was so urgent.  He'd been leaving for meetings with his lawyer quite often lately but he'd never tell her what they were about. 

She wondered if he was trying to get his studio back.  He promised he wouldn't.  He said he was going to slow down and take better care of himself.   Maybe that was all a lie just to please her. 

Deciding there was only one way to find out, she picked up the phone and called Ethan at his house.

The phone rang while Ethan was in the shower and Winter reached over to the nightstand and picked it up. 

"Hello?" she answered.

Brooke's heart thudded inside her chest and she quickly hung up.   She had no intention of talking to Winter, much less asking her if she could speak to Ethan.  After the incident in the hospital the other day, she never wanted to risk seeing her or talking to her again. 

Winter looked at the receiver and slowly hung it back onto the cradle. 

"Hello to you too Brooke," she said with a smile.  It had to have been her.  Who else would call and hang up when they heard her answer?  She wondered what emergency there was this time.  Did she break a nail or did she need help getting a lid off a jar of pickles?

She laid down in bed as Ethan came out of the shower, wrapped in a towel and soaking from head to toe.  "Who was on the phone?" he asked in a hurry.

Grinning mischevoiusly, Winter got up and snatched the towel from his waist.  "Nobody," she said and began kissing him passionately.  She felt his hard body pressed against hers and she slowly lowered the straps on her nightgown.

"I was hoping it would be Brooke," Ethan said, staring off in concentration.

Winter dropped her hands to her side and looked at him in disbelief.  "What does that supposed to mean?" she asked in a rage.  "Why were you hoping it was Brooke?"

He frowned, uncertain of why she was getting so upset all the sudden.  "I just wanted to see if everything was okay with her baby, that's all," he said defensively.  "I haven't talked to her in a couple of days."

"Oh, well little did I know the world stops when Brooke doesn’t call with her usual petty problems," Winter yelled sarcastically. She pulled her nightgown strap back up and ran into the bathroom.

"Why are you getting so upset?" Ethan asked, his brow furrowed.  He suddenly realized he was naked and he quickly grabbed his towel from the floor and wrapped it around his waist. 

"I don't know, Ethan," she said, running a brush through her hair and then pinning it up.  "Maybe because every time we're alone, Brooke calls or Brooke needs you for something.  I feel like I have to share you with her!"

"She's pregnant!" Ethan exclaimed.  "I'm concerned.  Is that such a crime?"

"Let James be concerned!" Winter lamented, starting to get dressed.  "He's the father of her baby!  You're not!"  She found it so easy to lie to him about the baby's real father.

Ethan realized maybe she had a point.  Maybe his constant coddling of Brooke was inappropriate.  As much as he wanted to be the father of her baby, he wasn't.  And she had made her choice to be with James.  He had to respect that.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he began, walking over and kissing her lightly.  "I didn't know it was such a problem."

Winter finally calmed down and smiled as Ethan pulled her into an embrace.   She felt better after saying her peace where Brooke was concerned.  Maybe things would finally start to turn around.

Just then the phone rang and Ethan walked over to answer it.   Winter watched and wondered who it could be this time.

"Hello?" he answered.  "Oh hi Brooke."

Winter's expression soured and she gritted her teeth in anger.  She must have been fooling herself for thinking things would change.  Just the sound of Ethan's voice when he said Brooke's name was proof enough.  He was in love with her.  Plain and simple.

She grabbed her purse and brushed past him on her way out.  Ethan turned and tried to stop her but she kept going.  She was not going to sit around and play second choice to Brooke Taylor.  Not anymore.

"So what are you doing here, Brett?" Stormy asked back at Lauren's apartment.  "I thought you were going home to make those calls about the party."

Brett looked at him and then at Lauren, his devilish grin undaunted.  "Well Lauren's the star of the show," he began.  "I want to make sure she's hip on all of the goings on."

Stormy frowned, strangely suspicious of his explanation.  "Lauren and I have already discussed everything," he said with his arms folded rigidly.

Again, Brett's eyes darted between them and he smiled eagerly.  "Not about the ice sculpture," he claimed.

"Ice sculpture?" Stormy asked.

Choosing his words carefully, Brett replied, "yeah, I thought it would be a nice touch.  I think Lauren really got off on it."

Lauren rolled her eyes and sat down on the sofa.  The play on words was almost too much to bare.

"Okay, well Lauren and I have some things we need to discuss," Stormy said, shoving his hands into his pockets.  "In private."

Raising an eyebrow, Brett started to the door and opened it.  He knew that was a bunch of bull.  Stormy didn't want to discuss anything with Lauren.  He just wanted to get laid.

"I guess I'll see you guys later then," he said before leaving and closing the door tightly behind him.  Outside, he bit his lips in concentration.  He wondered if Lauren would say anything to Stormy about their arrangement.   She'd be risking a lot if she did.

At any rate, he'd have to wait and see.  Just how long his good fortune lasted was in her hands.

Alex left the Polo Lounge and walked outside, slipping her Gucci sunglasses over her eyes and looking for James's limo.    When it pulled up by the curb under the awning, the driver got out and opened the door for her.  She graciously stepped inside where James and his lawyer Brandon were seated on the luxurious oxblood leather seats.

"What's all the mystery for?" she asked, looking outside the darkened windows.

She saw a mob of reporters coming down the street snapping photos, hoping to get a glimpse of the new bride.   The car pulled away from the curb and started through busy Beverly Hills.

"The media is going to be on you every step," Brandon said, opening his briefcase and removing a set of documents.  "If they got a picture of you with James and myself, it would all be over.  For the sake of this thing working, you have to make it appear that you're still out for blood as far as James is concerned."

Alex nodded.  "Got it."  She looked down at the docu