Hadn’t she seen pictures of this place? It was magnificent. She glanced at Matt’s profile and asked, “Weren’t you dating a model last year?”
He squeezed her hand. “That wasn’t serious. And we can say I was waiting for you to say yes to me.”
He directed them toward the maitre’d and she spoke mostly to his backside as he let her go for a moment as she said, “And who would say no to you?”
“You.” He turned toward her with a half-smile.
Her heart kick-started like he’d done with the motorcycle to get it going. He took her hand, this time letting their fingers entwine. “What makes me special?”
He kissed her cheek. “You keep your word and had my brother’s baby even though we were falling for one another.”
“And you waited?” She met his gaze as he pulled back and her cheeks were hot with a blush from his simple kiss.
Perhaps she was a fool, but part of her wished every lie they discussed was real. And if she believed it, others might too.
Anything was possible. They followed the maitre’d as he asked, “Who wouldn’t wait for you?”
Most every man, ever. Ashley wasn’t exactly the face that launched a thousand ship’s type. She was just… her. “But you can have anyone, Matt.”
They stopped at a table overlooking the blue waters of the pool and he waited as she sat but said, “Every woman I ever dated all moved on and married others.”
The maitre’d scooted her in and then left. Matt took a seat and she picked up her glass of water as she laughed in the glass. “So you’re saying I get to meet my soul mate next?”
His blue hues had depths she couldn’t quite understand. Just one glance made her breathless. “Do you believe in soul mates, Ashley?”
Flying three thousand miles to tell a guy she cared probably put her in the crazy category. It was best if she didn’t hype that fact up. She swallowed the cool water and put the glass down. “I think I do. I believe in love.”
He scooted closer and brushed her arm on the table as he said, “You’re disarming, Ashley.”
Her eyelashes fluttered closed as her lips pouted.
He kissed her and it was like her entire body was full of butterflies that took flight together. This was magic, proof that it existed.
As the kiss ended, she sighed and said, “Wow.”
His low chuckle made her want to make the dream a reality.
Chapter 8
Matt’s impulse to kiss Ashley, stunning in her figure-hugging blue dress, had been amplified the entire motorcycle drive from his house to the hotel.
Maybe he should have taken the Bentley but he’d hoped the wind against his body would help knock some sense into him. Her constant touch just made his desire burn.
He’d hoped the walk through the air-conditioned restaurant near the pool would cool him down, but that hadn’t worked either. He’d realized that sitting across from the prettiest woman he’d ever met, each with drinks in their hands they’d halfway finished, would not help at all.
And now that they had kissed? He wanted more.
He inched his chair back and the legs squeaked. “Are you ready for dinner?”
She sighed, peered at the blue pool, and then met his gaze. Her brown eyes were hypnotic as she said, “It’s so pretty here. Is there a reason we’re leaving to go somewhere else?”
If she asked liked that, he’d never, ever, ever say no to her. Attraction flared but he put his glass down and shrugged. “There will be more people at Spago’s.”
She leaned back in her black chair and slowly perused the poolside restaurant, with the view of the hills from their table, then rubbed the side of her arms. “You’re the expert. I just think it’s lovely here.”
And if he dragged her away right now, he’d ruin her happiness, which was something he didn’t want to do. For his plan to work, they’d be seen just fine here.
His agent had texted something though Matt hadn’t read the message yet. He had his phone on “ignore” but nodded at Ashley as he said, “We can stay if you like.”
“I think I would.” A soft smile grew on her face.
He motioned to the waiter and ordered the dinner menus.
If everyone was that easy to make happy, he’d have had an easier time as a child.
Not that the past mattered. It didn’t. Especially when he was so hot near Ashley. It was her, not the LA heat. He gulped some water to wet his throat. “I want to make you happy.”
Her mouth quirked and he stared at her bottom lip a bit too long because desire shot through him like smooth silver tequila. “Why? I thought you wanted me to be your employee.”
Employee. Focus Matt. He’d asked Ashley to work for him, not to be his real girlfriend. He reached across the table and took her hand. “Can I be honest, Ashley?”
She licked her lips and his mouth watered at the sight when she said, “I’d like that.”
No holding back. Impulses are not evil, he said to himself like he was arguing with something his father had said to him concerning money, but he’d meant it as a life lesson. Matt squeezed Ashley’s hand. “I haven’t been attracted to a woman in a long time.”
Her eyes widened. “Woman? Are you…”
“No.” His face flamed. This wasn’t how he charmed anyone. He took a deep breath and tried again. “I just mean, with my money and profession, that I’m used to women being easy…I don’t have to think about them.”
She leaned closer, like she was sharing some secret with him as she said, “Well, I’m not difficult.”
A laugh escaped his throat. Seriously? Ashley was the one woman he shouldn’t want, so he winked and said, “You’re the most complicated person I know these days.”
This time she laughed and sat back again to read the menu. “Complicated? Have you met my cousin?”
“Cousin?” His mind raced. Ashley sort of did look like a curvier and prettier version of Jennifer.
Her face went completely red, like the first time they’d met. She pressed her fingers together as if to say a small prayer and confessed, “Drat. I’ve been under orders since middle school to never mention that Jennifer is my cousin. Our mothers are sisters and she was always the pretty one. I was the “unfortunate” one.”
There was no way Peter and his family knew that about Ashley.
He hoped that nobody ever judged him based on his father. His heart beat faster and he didn’t blink or move as he said, “I didn’t know you were related to her.”
She nodded and then stared at his chin, avoiding his magnetic blue eyed glance that normally made the audience swoon. “I’m not supposed to talk about it. Her rules since childhood.”
Ashley finished her drink. The waiter came toward them so he reached over and patted her shoulder to comfort her and said, “She doesn’t want to be outshone.”
“Wait what?” She met his gaze but then as the waiter was between them she opened her menu and quickly ordered lemon buttered chicken.
None of his dates here had ever, ever ordered more than a salad. He chuckled, ordered himself baked chicken and a bottle of white wine for the table, and then waited till they were alone. “Ashley, you’re honest and expressive and interesting. Every second we talk, I get wowed and don’t know exactly what to do.”
Her eyes wrinkled again just a little like she was confused as she stared at him and said, “That doesn’t sound right. You’ve talked to me the entire time, and I’ve never once thought you were wowed by any woman.”
“None except you.” He traced her fingers and said, “Being nervous near a woman isn’t… my reality.”
Her chin jutted out. “What would make you less nervous?”
“Near you?” His pulse spiked.
If he did take her to bed, maybe he’d be less stressed. Or worse, he’d be more obsessed and want more of her—she was the whole package, funny, beautiful, kind.
It was probably better not to chance it. Ashley was easily the most tempting woman he’d met, but the
n she said, “Yeah. It would be nice if we were… closer.”
Tingles went up and down his spine. His body needed satisfaction. He glanced up and down the length of her body, from her dyed blonde locks to her sexy ankles. “Ashley, I want you. I don’t want to keep our relationship professional. I should hold you at arm’s length or send you away, but I won’t. I’m more attracted to you than I should be.”
It was like the sun just rose in her eyes, melting his reservations even more as it was like she truly cared for him. Her cheeks were pink and her smile inviting. “There is no should. I promised to keep far away from your family and yet here I am, with you.”
His family had said nothing but good things about her. He kissed the back of her wrist and said, “Elizabeth wishes you were still around.”
Ashley’s throaty sounds as his lips brushed her skin made him hard. “She was kind to work for.”
“Glad to hear my sister was nice.” Nice was too tame a word for the power of Ashley’s presence right now.
The waiter brought their food, interrupting his seduction. It was probably good that Ashley took her hand back to fix her napkin on her lap. He drank the refilled water to cool himself down too. Once they were alone, Ashley picked up her fork and knife and said, “Elizabeth listened. Not everyone does and she understood about feeling ignored by family, though she didn’t know about Jennifer or our mothers specifically. They act like Jennifer is their pride and joy to this day. I shared some of my story but didn’t call Jennifer by name.”
He followed her lead and began to eat. Hopefully his super bland chicken would calm his jittery insides. As he cut his food he said, “My sister, like me, was ignored. Our father never told us that he was our father.”
“I’m sorry.” She didn’t move a muscle as she watched him with compassion.
He met her gaze. Her warmth reached his heart and he squeezed her hand fast before letting her go. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”
They ate in silence. His heart was not normally engaged when he dated. Maybe she had good aim because she knew the people he cared about. Maybe it was just her simplicity, or her true beauty.
Okay, it was just Ashley.
She finished her dinner and put her silverware down. “Is that what you think about when you’re upset in a movie scene? Being rejected by your father?”
“Absolutely.” He recalled going into his father’s office where his father sat in a black leather seat behind a large mahogany desk and coldly gave him a lesson on banking he’d never use.
He also remembered Luke in the school hall, half-asleep because he’d spent the night studying to get great grades back in boarding school.
Luke had found positive reinforcement from teachers. Matt had craved the crowd. Neither one of them… ever… listened to Mitch Morgan.
Ashley’s voice was quiet as she said, “I understand.”
Her tone broke through the spell of the past.
Her brown eyes seemed to be pools of emotion that gazed warmly at him, and it was like she honestly saw him—the real him.
No one did—they saw what he wanted them to see. Matt sipped his wine and then scooted closer so that their knees touched. “Thanks, Ashley. So, tell me something else I’m not supposed to know about you.”
She pushed her dinner plate away and their elbows also brushed. “I think I’ve spilled enough secrets to make you run for the hills.”
“I wouldn’t run from you.” He decided he had to be with her intimately.
If he took her, maybe this paralyzing want for her would lessen.
His pulse quickened as he moved closer.
She didn’t object, but folded her hands on the table and asked, “Would you have dated me if you’d known I was the maid?”
He leaned forward until he was so close he could smell her light rose perfume she must have gotten today. “Let’s not go there. Let’s enjoy each other and the night ahead.”
Her lips quivered like she too felt something simmering as she sighed and said, “I suppose it was an unfair question. So, here is a secret…”
“Yeah?”
She was so stiff and unmoving that he paused. Did she want him to sit back and mind his manners? She had every right. It’s not like he’d promised her anything other than a paycheck.
But she pouted her rosy mouth and said, “I’m not acting when you kiss me. I get completely lost in us and wish that it never had to end.”
His heart hammered in his chest. So she felt it too. He brought his forehead to rest against hers. “Me too, Ashley. You frighten me with how much I want you.”
“So it’s not just me?”
He claimed her lips.
She kissed him back and the rest of the world dropped away.
Everything around them fell to the background as he gave himself in the kiss. It came to an end and he pulled her close. He whispered in her ear, her skin against his creating goosebumps, “Let’s go home.”
“Yes.” She nodded.
Her pink lips were perfect in shape, in texture, in taste. He kissed her again with a need he hadn’t expected.
Maybe this was wrong, but somehow he saw a glimpse of heaven in her and he never wanted to let that go.
Chapter 9
Ashley’s body pulsed as she woke, her muscles well-used and completely satisfied.
Matt put her ex boyfriends to shame so much that she couldn’t even remember their names. She stretched in his bed, he still asleep next to her.
His blond hair was growing out a bit longer for his role as rock star, and as she studied his face she saw that he had bristles along his jaw from not having shaved in a day.
Scruffy was sexy on him.
She pushed the covers off her naked body, grabbing her bra and underwear from the floor beside where she slept.
As she finished with her bra, she saw Matt’s blue eyes studying her intently.
Her body grew warm again from just that gleam in his eyes. She sighed. “It’s morning.”
“Ignore it.” He turned his back to the window and the light streaming through the tinted windows.
If only real life didn’t exist. She curled into the bed beside him, brushed a few strands of hair off his forehead and asked, “Do you have to film today?”
He shook his head. “No. I just have to work out in the gym.”
So it was like a holiday, for just the two of them.
It would be sweet to continue last night’s date and find out what happened if she just lived a life where they were in love and everything was like a dream.
But then dreams were hard to buy into in the day to day so it was better to just think about the now. Now was all they had. “Why the gym? Your body is already perfect.”
He chuckled and sat up, not caring that the sheets fell and she could see all of him as he reached for his lounge pants. “Yet the camera finds faults and I have a sex scene we’re going to film.”
And the world would see the man she’d dreamed about, in all his glory.
Her lips pressed together as she remembered with who, like someone had thrown water in her face. “With Jennifer?”
He tossed her a clean t-shirt from his drawer and then came to her side of the bed, going down on his knees in front of her and kissing her hand. “She’s nowhere near as beautiful as you. You know that.”
Her cheeks warmed as she said, “It will be strange to see the movie.”
He massaged her arms. “I won’t see her naked, at least on purpose.”
“It’s still weird, though technically I’ve helped Jennifer dress and she’s not exactly shy about walking around naked.” She laughed and ignored the goosebumps that grew on her arms from Matt’s gentle touch.
He took a seat beside her on the mattress. “I’m an actor. Does that bother you?”
A smile grew on her face. She’d known who he was and what he did all her life. She mirrored his wink but probably did a poor impression. “No. I’ve been a fan of yours since Teen Dragon.”
/> His lips pursed and his face went white. “That was my first, horrible film.”
It was where she’d been introduced to a man who’d graced her TV screen whenever she flipped on one of his movies. She laughed and shook her head. “No. It’s a classic.”
“Are you ready for coffee?”
“I’ll get it started.” Ashley stood first and he followed. The sun shone throughout his clean house as they strolled along the long second floor hall. She liked the setup, which had two master bedrooms on either side and a huge staircase in the middle.
Her stomach growled for coffee so she headed toward the stairs as he asked, “So what are you seriously considering for your next step in life?”
They walked side by side and for once she spoke without wondering the intent of the other or worry over how much she might give away.
With Matt, she was being herself and every step had a bounce to it. “Well, Jennifer mentioned she’d set up a talk with the producer to have him explain to me about staging for movies. I’m curious what is required, but I know I shouldn’t depend on her.”
His eyes glistened like he cared as he asked, “Why?”
So many examples of where she’d served her cousin and her cousin had ignored her flashed in her mind. “Oh, let’s see… after college, when the real estate staging career didn’t work out, I asked her if she had a job for me. She never returned my phone calls.”
His eyes widened like she’d shocked him as he said, “But she’s a relative.”
The Morgans might live by a code that Morgans don’t publicly fight with Morgans but that wasn’t her family. She pushed her hair out of her face, still not quite used to the blonde, as they headed into the kitchen. “My mother would defend Jennifer to the seventh heaven if that is such a place.”
Matt playfully bumped into her side. “Asking for a job isn’t a bad thing.”
No it wasn’t, she’d thought, if she had a family that cared about her.
He handed her the espresso maker for the coffee and then found the orange juice from his refrigerator. “I bet Jennifer was reminded by your request that she wasn’t born, well, a Morgan.”
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