Affinity: A Salvation Society Novel

by Harlow Layne

  “And I have to agree. It’s nice to have someone on my side. At first, I thought we’d be at each other's throats.”

  “So did I. It’s much nicer when we get along.”

  It made me wonder if he was an asshole to everyone he came into contact with. I knew he hadn’t always been like this. If he had, Alex Sandström wouldn’t be friends with him.

  “Do you need an assistant?” I understood he worked odd hours and such, but I was wondering if maybe Jenner was spoiled and had been relying on people for too long. “I mean, if you need something done like picking up your dry cleaning or what have you, I can do it.”

  “I appreciate the thought, but you were just stating yesterday how you’re afraid to drive around the city.”

  It was true, but I wanted to help. I had too much time on my hands right now. I was sure once I started work next week, I’d be thinking differently.

  “The show has given me one to use on-set, so I should be fine. We’ll figure something out in the long run. Levi was mostly my babysitter,” he grumbled.

  I was sure it didn’t feel good to have someone hired to make sure you didn’t fuck up, but he had in the past, and now he was paying for it.

  “Do you think my presence on-set will help the producers see that we’re real and not a mistake you made in Vegas?” I wondered out loud. Was that why he asked me to come?

  Jenner shrugged one shoulder. “I can’t say. I doubt they’re too worried about me today, but more about the time we lost from the accident yesterday.”

  “Unless you forget your lines.” A lightbulb went off in my head. “How come I never see you going over them?”

  He tapped his temple and smirked. “I have a photographic memory.”

  “Lucky you.”

  After passing through security, Jenner parked in his marked space before he helped me out of the SUV. Lacing his fingers through mine, he guided us through what looked like a small town's worth of trailers. They were all big, but some were deluxe models that most people would give an arm and a leg to live in instead of their houses. They were better than the apartment I’d shared with Sophie.

  Thinking about my best friend dampened my spirits. Even now, I didn’t understand what had happened between us, and I wasn’t sure if I ever would find out why she had turned against me.

  As we passed through, I tried to ignore all the people gawking and the whispers. They all probably thought Jenner had gotten rid of me the moment we got back from Vegas.

  Stopping abruptly, Jenner looked down on me. “Do you mind if we go to wardrobe, and then hair and makeup before we go to my trailer?”

  On the door was a big sign that read Reeves Jenner. Instantly, I was suspicious. Did he think he could have a little fling here, and no one would find out about it?

  “Can I drop off my computer bag and purse? It will only take a minute?” I asked sweetly. I was sure if there was some hussy inside, I’d be able to sniff out her perfume. It was the only thing I could come up with as to why he didn’t want me inside at that very moment.

  “Shit, yeah. I wasn’t thinking. Only I didn’t want to be late. The wardrobe lady is kind of a bitch and likes to tell on me. You can set your stuff inside anywhere you want. I’ll give you a tour later.”

  Stepping into the trailer, I was in awe. There were hardwood floors and granite countertops with all stainless-steel appliances filling the immediate space. It was insane to think all of the trailers I’d passed by could be just as nice on the inside as this one. I set my bags down on one of the black leather captain chairs and looked back into the space before I stepped back outside.

  I guess he wasn’t hiding a woman in his trailer.

  We walked in step as Jenner took us further down the line of mini-homes. “I know you’re used to all this, but it’s truly amazing.”

  “How so?” His brows were furrowed as he squinted from the sun.

  “Your trailer is nicer than any home I’ve ever lived in besides yours, and there are over a dozen of them all in a row here. The amount of money put into it . . . I guess I never thought about the budget of a show or movie until now.”

  Pausing in front of a trailer marked ‘wardrobe’ his shoulders slumped, and his hands fell to his sides. “I don’t know any better than to expect this, but I do know it’s excessive. I’ve been on locations in impoverished countries and try to convince the crews to have the leftover food from the day to be given to the homeless, or if the trailers and supplies are being left there to give them to shelters, or for some way to help those less fortunate. I don’t need all the amenities provided with my trailer, but they try to make each actor’s space equal, so there doesn’t look to be favoritism.”

  My mouth hung open at the ways he tried to help. I would never have pictured him as the philanthropic type.

  “Sometimes, like right now, it makes me sad you think I’m that bad of a human being. We should go before Wanda castrates me for being late.”

  Jenner held the door open for me to step inside, his jaw tight as he looked down at the ground. Stepping inside, I turned back to him, so we were eye to eye. My hand cupped his stubbly cheek as I leaned in and spoke low enough for only him to hear. “Never once have I thought you were a bad human being. Spoiled, yes, but with each day I’m getting to know you, I’m learning what a remarkable man you are. Stop putting yourself down for past mistakes and live for now. For your future.”

  His strong arms wrapped around me in a warm embrace. I thought I heard him say ‘our future’ as he kissed the top of my head, but when I asked him about it, he only said thank you.

  “You don’t want to be late with the dragon lady,” I whispered into his chest.

  Jenner threw his head back and laughed. It was only then that I realized in the days we’d spent together, this was the first time he’d laughed, and it was glorious, deep, and full of so much happiness, warmth spread through my entire body.

  If he kept that up, I’d jump him in front of everybody and not give a damn who saw us.

  “This won’t take long.” He moved passed me and was met by a tiny woman who couldn’t be more than five feet tall and skinny as a rail with deep frown lines marring her face.

  It didn’t bother me when he didn’t introduce me to her. Not once did she look in my direction as she spoke harshly to him about the wear of his clothes as if it was his fault? I doubt he was purposely trying to damage them.

  It was then I realized I had no idea what his show was about. I’d stopped paying close attention to his life once he started to go downhill after his divorce. Now that I knew most of the story regarding Poppy, or at least I thought I did, I felt bad for not realizing the man getting dressed in front of me was going through something horrible and didn’t know how to cope. It was a good thing he’d had Catherine and Alex in his life otherwise who knew where he’d be–possibly looking down the neck of a bottle of alcohol.

  I must have been in a daze because the next thing I knew, he was crouched down in front of me with a mischievous smirk on his face. “Where’d you go there, dumpling?”

  Dumpling? Where the hell did that nickname come from?

  Blinking, I saw the wardrobe lady standing by a rack of clothing with a scowl on her face as she watched us.

  “I was just thinking.” There was no way I’d tell him what I’d been thinking about.

  “If you’re done thinking, what do you say we get out of here and move on to hair and makeup.” He leaned in and spoke under his breath. “A much more pleasant experience.”

  Giving the woman to our left one more look, I turned back and smiled at Jenner. “Lead the way.”

  Wrapping his hand around mine, Jenner pulled me to standing and out the door. His arm wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me to his side as we walked. “Is this okay?”

  “It depends.” My arm went around his narrow waist, my finger hooking into his belt loop. “Are you doing this because it’s what you’re supposed to do when we’re out in public, or is it because you wa
nt to?”

  Jenner turned us back the way we’d come in. His jaw flexed before he answered. “I want to do it, but it’s also expected. I asked because I don’t want you uncomfortable. Things have progressed kind of rapidly and slowly at the same time.”

  Stopping between a couple of trailers, I leaned up and kissed Jenner on the cheek. Was it sad I swooned over his concern about my reaction?

  “What was that for?”

  “For being sweet and not taking advantage of the situation.”

  Leaning down, he brushed his lips against my cheek as he moved to the shell of my ear. “Maybe tonight I’ll get that goodnight kiss.”

  If he kept this up, he might get more, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

  I only gave him a shy smile. “Let’s go before you’re late. I can’t be the reason you get in trouble.”

  The second Jenner opened the trailer door, a tall, dark-skinned woman with a wide smile came rushing over to him and enveloped him into a big hug. “I heard what happened yesterday. Are you okay?”

  Jenner stepped back with a smile that lit up his face. He cared about this woman who, as I took her in, was probably in her late fifties to early sixties. The warmth in her eyes as she looked at Jenner warmed my soul. I was glad he had her in his life.

  “I’m fine, thanks for asking. Clara, I want you to meet my wife, Abbi. She’s going to be on-set with me for the day and I knew you’d be mad if you found out she was here, and didn’t get a chance to meet her.”

  Placing his hand to the small of my back, Jenner introduced me. “Abbi, this is Clara, the nicest person you’ll ever meet. She’s been like a grandmother to me since the day we met.”

  I held my hand out to shake, but Clara was having none of it. She stepped forward and engulfed me in a big hug. “Thank you for seeing the good in him. He rarely shows it to most people.”

  My eyes cut to the man beside me. How much did Clara know? Jenner seemed like a private person, so I was surprised he might have opened up to her.

  “It’s my pleasure.” I squeezed her back.

  “Have a seat while I try to make this handsome man look like he’s dying.” She laughed like it was an impossible task as she pushed Jenner into a chair and draped a cape around him to cover his clothes.

  I sat in the chair next to his and aimed it toward the mirror so I could watch everything she did to him. I’d never really thought about men wearing makeup for TV and movies, but as I watched, Jenner wore more makeup than I ever had.

  “Do you usually wear this much makeup?”

  Jenner’s eye cracked, letting me see the deep brown iris for a millisecond before he closed it. “Pretty much. Luckily, Clara is pretty fast.”

  Clara was damn good. At first, she made Jenner look even more handsome than usual, which I didn’t think was possible, and then she continued to add shadows under his eyes and gave his skin a twinge of green while also making him pale. He looked to be on his deathbed.

  “Is your character dying?” I asked when she started to fill in his cheekbones to make his face look thinner.

  “I wish, but I doubt they’ll let me off that easily.” His deathly pale face frowned.

  I hated to ask, but I didn’t want to be anymore unprepared than I already was, so I took a deep breath in and let the words fall out of my mouth. “What’s your show about?” I cringed at how it came out, sounding hesitant.

  Jenner’s arm came out as he pushed Clara away and sat forward in his chair until he looked as if he was going to fall out of it. “You don’t know what Alpha Blue is about?” When I only shook my head in response, his eyes narrowed. “Have you ever watched it?”

  “I’ve been in college, and we didn’t have a TV,” was my lame excuse.

  “You had a computer,” he growled out before sitting back in his chair and closing his eyes.

  Clara looked over her shoulder at me with a sad smile before she went back to work on Jenner.

  Great! I knew I shouldn’t have said anything, but I didn’t want to look like an idiot on-set. I knew I should have watched some of it last night when I couldn’t sleep but thought if I saw him on my TV, it would only make the situation of me wanting him worse.

  For the remaining time we were in hair and makeup, we were completely silent. Jenner didn’t even introduce me to the other woman who came in to do his hair. She stepped inside, and I could swear she felt the tension in the room. She stayed completely silent as she worked. He didn’t even look at me as he exited the trailer to leave.

  “Jenner, I’m sorry. I wanted to say more in there, but I didn’t know what I could say in front of Clara.”

  “You said enough,” he huffed as he stomped his way down the line of trailers.

  “Will you let me explain?” When he kept on walking, I shoved down my pride and begged. I didn’t want him mad at me. We’d made so much progress in the last two days. “Please.”

  Flinging his trailer door open, he didn’t look back until he was at the other end of his space. His diva side was showing, and I didn’t like it.

  “You want to explain to me why you’re just now asking about my show? Please, I’d love to hear it,” he snapped.

  I was over his attitude. I understood that it probably hurt his pride to find out that I had no earthly idea what his show was even about, but he didn’t have to be an asshole about it. I shouldn’t have been surprised, though.

  With my hands on my hips, I gritted my teeth. “It’s not like we’ve been married for months. It hasn’t even been a week, and half of that time, we weren’t even talking, so I’m not sure when I would have had the opportunity to ask about it. When you’ve talked about it, you’ve only said negative things, so I didn’t think it would matter that I haven’t watched an episode.”

  “It matters okay. I’m here day in and day out wasting my life away on this stupid show to exact my penance, and no one is even watching.”

  “Plenty of people are watching, and you know they are. I’m not going to sit here and tell you all about your followers who pant after everything you do to boost your ego.”

  “No, you’re just here to put me down and remind me why I’m here in the first place.” He threw himself down on his bed and looked up at the ceiling.

  “If you’re going to be an asshole, I can call an Uber to pick me up. I don’t need to stay here and have you treat me like shit.” He sat up and glared at me. “I’m sorry, I haven’t watched your show. You know when I was younger, I had a crush on you, but when stories started to spread about you and the pictures that were posted . . . ” I shook my head, remembering how devastated I’d been when my dream man turned out to be nothing but someone who couldn’t control his impulses.

  “What happened? Tell me. Give me all the ugly details.” He hung his head as he continued. “Tell me what a fuck-up I became and how you lost any semblance of respect for me.”

  Fuck, I was a bitch. I never wanted Jenner to feel down about himself because of me, but that’s exactly what I’d done.

  Slowly, I walked across the space with my eyes trained on the man before me. When I got in front of him, I kneeled down and dipped my head until we made eye contact. It wasn’t the most pleasant position, but I wanted to meet him on his ground. I wanted to show him that I cared and didn’t feel those horrible feelings anymore.

  “I’m not going to lie to you. Yes, I did have those thoughts about you when I saw the way you acted and then went into rehab, and that was wrong of me. It was wrong for anyone to judge you when they didn’t know what you were going through. I’m sorry for being a judgmental bitch before I met you, but now that I’ve gotten to know you, I see you in a totally different light. Now I want the rest of the world to see you as I see you. To make them forget about your past and only see the strong person who sits before me now.”

  His sad eyes scanned my face for several minutes. With each passing second, I wanted to cry at the hurt little boy I saw reflected at me in his eyes.

  “I wish I could change
my past. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I have to live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life. I only hope to redeem myself in your eyes and the eyes of my friends.”

  “You’ve already redeemed yourself in my eyes, and if I read Alex correctly, you never had anything to worry about with her. You need to heal yourself in here,” I patted his firm chest where his heart raced behind my hand. “You need to forgive yourself and start living in the now. Look forward to your future and stop looking back at the turn in the road where you nearly crashed and burned.”

  “Fuck, you’re amazing.” Jenner’s large calloused hands cupped the sides of my face, and his brown eyes blazed with untold emotion. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

  That was all the warning I got before his mouth crashed into mine.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jenner

  I felt her shock before she gave in to the kiss. Her soft lips moved against mine. My teeth scraped against the soft flesh of her bottom lip, and when my tongue licked along the seam of her pouty mouth, begging to be let in, she opened for me. The moan that escaped her as I dove inside changed something inside of me. I couldn’t hold back. No one had ever said words like that to me before or believed in me that way. I pulled her flush against me, needing her close. The feel of her plump breasts as they pressed against my chest made my cock ache to be inside her, but I knew it was too soon.

  Abbi wasted no time as her fingers threaded through my hair and tugged as she angled her face to kiss me deeper. Was this how our wedding night had been? If she kissed me before I asked her to marry me, I now knew why I’d proposed to her after only knowing her for a few short hours.

  A loud knock sounded on the door, breaking us apart. We stared at each other, panting as someone from the crew spoke. “Mr. Jenner, it’s time.”

  “I guess . . . wow. I guess you should go.” Her eyes scanned every inch of my face.

  Was she looking to see if I regretted our kiss? The only thing I would change was for it to have happened at home and for us to not be interrupted.