Starstruck: Hollywood Heat, Book 3

by Ashleigh Raine

  “Hi, Alan.” She set her purse next to the rehearsal chair in the center of the audition space—she’d use it later—before shaking Alan’s hand. “Thanks for having me back.”

  “This is Micah. You’ll be reading with him today.” Alan gestured to Micah, who stepped forward.

  Automatically, Jenna reached for Micah’s outstretched hand. “It’s wonderful to see you, Jenna,” he said, taking her hand in his warm, solid grip, lingering in the handshake longer than customary.

  “Micah.” She wanted to say so much more, but not now, definitely not in front of their audience, so she added a smile and hoped that said enough.

  “Okay, Jenna,” Alan said. “You were great last time. Let’s do it again. This time, you know this doctor, you two have a history, though you haven’t seen each other in a while.”

  “Got it. Thank you.” Jenna nodded. She could work with this direction, no problem.

  “When you’re ready.” Alan sat back, arms folded over his chest.

  Jenna dropped into character, right into the scene. She sank onto the chair, legs crossed at the ankle in front of her, fingers tapping on the armrest. Impatiently waiting.

  The doctor entered but stopped just inside the room, like he didn’t want to be there.

  “Hey, stranger.” She tipped her head to the side, appreciating him from head to toe. She was a woman who’d never stopped loving him, even after he’d married her best friend, but the years apart had given her a subtle confidence when dealing with him. “I know it’s been a few years and a divorce since I’ve seen you, but I gotta wonder why Sonya didn’t try harder to hold on to you.”

  “Cat, don’t.” His voice was ragged.

  She pushed to her feet. “Don’t what? Wonder why my best friend left the hottest doctor in all Boston? Okay then. How about I wonder where my best friend is. Did she send you as my consolation prize? You’d think with me returning home after a couple years sabbatical saving the world, she might actually ask for a night off work so she could be on time for our girls’ night out. But that’s Sonya for you. Work first, ex-husband and best friend way down on the priority list. It’s a wonder why either of us love her. Or used to in your case.”

  “Dammit, Catherine, stop talking for two minutes and let me…” He trailed off and lifted his head to stare at her, his eyes so tortured it took her breath away.

  She moved toward him automatically, drawn to him like she always had been. This wasn’t like him though. “What’s going on?” Her confidence faltered and she swallowed. “Where’s Sonya?” She looked past him, as though expecting Sonya to saunter into the room, making a grand entrance and commanding everyone’s attention like she always did.

  No one else entered.

  “Is she in surgery?” she forced out. Why else would Sonya be this late?

  “She was,” he whispered. “Not anymore.”

  Cat lifted her hands in an exasperated gesture, turning from him, pacing to the wall and back. “Then where is she? I’ve been waiting for her for two hours, and that’s late even for her.”

  “There was an accident. Bus crash. A pregnant woman was trapped and went into labor. Sonya was called to the site to help because they couldn’t get the woman out and the baby was in distress. Sonya saved the baby, but the mother was still trapped.”

  “Okay, well that’s a good excuse for missing pre-dinner cocktails. We can hit up a bar or five instead, two single girls on the prowl, having fun. When will she be here?” She grabbed her purse off the floor next to the chair, ready to leave and get her night started.

  He continued like she hadn’t even spoken. “The bus wasn’t stable, hanging over the edge of a ravine. The rain, the mud, made everything slick. Emergency personnel told Sonya to leave. But she didn’t listen. She never listened.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “The bus crashed to the bottom of the ravine. It took them hours to get her out. They choppered her back here, but…”

  She walked toward him, afraid to get too close, afraid to be far away, afraid for him to finish his story. “But she’s okay, right? She’s gonna pull through. She’s strong. You know how strong she is. She has to pull through.” Her voice bordered on hysterical. “Can I see her? When can I see her?”

  The doctor—no, not a doctor right now, this was her friend standing in front of her—looked at her, hopeless, broken. “I’m sorry. I tried everything. Her skull was crushed, the damage too extreme.” In a fury he turned and slammed his fist into the wall, a ragged cry ripping from his throat. “I couldn’t save her. She’s…she’s gone.”

  Her purse fell from her grasp as a single sob escaped from Cat. She lifted a trembling hand to her mouth to block the screamed denials and tears. He slumped against the wall, the burden of guilt eating him alive.

  On shaking legs, she approached this man who’d loved her best friend and had now lost her forever. They shared that now, the loss, the pain. Staring into his guilt-stricken, tortured eyes, she traced shaky fingers over his beautiful face, soaking in his tears, and they both cried for all they’d lost.

  “And…scene,” Alan called.

  Taking a deep breath, Jenna closed her eyes for a second and fell out of character, trying to shed the heightened emotions of the scene. She peeled away from Micah, wishing she hadn’t lost the excuse to touch him, picked her purse up off the floor and faced the team who held her acting future in their hands.

  Alan turned to the producers for approval. “Anything to add?”

  The heavy-set blonde woman briefly conferred with the man sitting next to her before saying to Alan, “I think we’ve seen what we needed.”

  “Okay then.” Alan offered his hand. “Thank you, Jenna. We’ll be in touch with your agent.”

  Jenna returned the handshake. “Thank you for this opportunity and your time.”

  She couldn’t stay, not after Alan’s dismissal, but still she glanced back at Micah. His lips softened, and he gave her a small nod before she stepped out of the room.

  The hallway was empty, but her brain was full. Dazed, confused, and with the post-audition adrenaline making her feel like she’d downed five triple shots of espresso, Jenna made it to the elevator and punched the button for the parking garage.

  What. Just. Happened? Had she just auditioned for a part on Sexy M.D.? What else could it be? With the number of medical dramas on television—not even counting the shows that had smaller medical subplots—she hadn’t let herself consider that would be the case. But now…

  Had Micah set this up? Did he have the type of clout where he could get her pushed through the audition process?

  If so…why? And what did it mean for her? For them?

  Micah didn’t know the meaning of underwhelm, that was for sure.

  She was chuckling when she exited the elevator into the dimness of the parking garage.

  “I’ve missed your laugh.”

  She turned, her laugh morphing into a smile for the slightly out-of-breath man emerging from the stairwell. “Hey, stranger.” Realizing she’d unintentionally mirrored the opening lines from the earlier scene, she went with it, tipping her head to the side, appreciating him from head to toe. She was a woman who’d never stopped loving him, but the last few minutes had given her a subtle confidence when dealing with him. “I know it’s been a few days, a breakup and an audition since I’ve seen you, but I gotta wonder why I didn’t try harder to hold on to you.” She paused, fidgeting with her purse strap. “I hope you’ll respond with something other than a Jenna, don’t.”

  “Jenna, don’t…” If Micah hadn’t lightened his tone, she might’ve worried, but he continued on, more seriously. “You’re not the one who should’ve tried harder. I’m so sorry, Jenna. So damn sorry. If I could do that day over, if I could take back the awful things I said… I never should’ve doubted you. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. If you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my days making it up to you. I want this job for you. I want to support you in whatever you do, whether
you’re doing dinner theater every night or making twenty-four million a picture. I just want to be with you.”

  She tightened her hand around her purse strap to keep from reaching for him and accepting all the promises he was making. Talk first. Make-up and make-out session later, she hoped. But first she needed to know, needed him to know… “How many favors did you have to call in to get this audition for me? Not that I’m not appreciative, but I never expected you to—”

  “No, Jenna.” He was shaking his head before she could even finish her sentence. “I know you didn’t expect anything. I wish I could say I did more, wish I was the hero you deserve, but all I did was get your name on the list. You did everything else. You wowed casting. You made it to callbacks. I didn’t even know if you’d made it this far until I showed up today and saw your name.”

  “I take it Dr. Dale isn’t getting killed off the show?”

  “No, they’re killing off Crystal’s character instead. The part you just read—they’re hoping for a new love interest for Dr. Dale.”

  “Love interest?” She raised an eyebrow. So many possibilities implied in those two words. “So that audition…was that a chemistry test?” And how had his chemistry been with yoga girl and the other two actresses?

  “Yeah…” He looked a little uncomfortable now. “Jenna, you know I’m an asshole—I’ve proven that often enough—but I couldn’t handle the thought of never seeing you again. Getting your name on the list was a completely selfish act. I did it because if you get this part, I’ll get to spend time with you whether or not you want to see me. But I’ll keep it professional if that’s what you want.”

  “Micah, check your voicemail.”

  “What?”

  She nodded encouragingly. “Check your voicemail.”

  Brow furrowed, he dragged his phone from his pocket and did as she asked.

  When he was done he slipped the phone back into his pocket and stepped closer to her. “So, you missed me?”

  “I did.”

  “And you want to talk?”

  “I think we covered that already. Can we kiss instead?”

  A grin hit his lips about zero point two seconds before her mouth did. His strong arms surrounded her, pulling her to him until they were seamed together. She cradled his face like she had during the audition, palms smoothing over his stubble-rough cheeks, but this time there were no tears from either of them. Just hope and love.

  The elevator dinged behind them, and Jenna forced herself to step away from Micah as a small group of execs exited into the garage.

  He took her hand before she could go too far, lifting and kissing the back of it. “Can I see you again?” he asked as he tangled their fingers together.

  “Will there be more kissing involved?” she teased, remembering the first time they’d stood together in a parking lot and exchanged those same words.

  He brushed their mouths together. “If I’m with you, I can promise there will always be kissing.”

  “Mmm…I like the sound of that.”

  “Good. Then can I follow you home? Can I walk you to your door and kiss you there, then follow you inside and kiss you against the wall, and then kiss you some more in your kitchen, on your sofa, in the bed…” He punctuated each of those possibilities with another kiss, each one longer than the last.

  “Yes to all the above,” she said, breathless from all his kiss-filled suggestions, “but I have one more favor to ask.”

  “Anything.”

  “When we get there you have to help me hang the shower curtain, and then let me help you pull it down again.”

  He gave her his beautiful, million-dollar grin. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

  Epilogue

  “Shhh…”

  “Shhh? You expect me to be quiet when you’re kissing me like that…there?” he rumbled.

  “How about I kiss you here instead?” Her soft laughter caressed his heart and other interesting parts as she kissed her way up his body, the sheets rustling on the bed in the shadowy on-call room.

  “Still don’t want to be quiet.” He palmed the back of her head and drew her in for a kiss, mouth to mouth this time.

  Yet the stubborn, beautiful woman—his stubborn, beautiful woman—still wouldn’t give up. “We can’t let them know we’re together. Not yet. They won’t understand.”

  He shook his head, frustrated, in love and wanting to shout it to the world. He flipped their positions in the bed, so he was the one on top this time. “Who cares? The only thing they need to understand is that I’m with you. That I only want to be with you. I can’t walk around here at work all day with you right there next to me and not be allowed to put my hands on you.”

  “It isn’t easy for me either. I love touching you.” Her hands stroked from his bare chest and up over his shoulders, fingers digging into his hair. Her eyes warmed as she stared up at him. “I love you. I’ve loved you since that first day we met.”

  He could never hear that enough, no matter the circumstances. His body lowered over hers, the words he’d said thousands of times pressed into her lips so she’d never forget them. “I love you too.”

  “Cut!”

  Jenna sat up in bed, wrapping the sheet around her as Delilah approached, comb in hand, ready to push Jenna’s hair back into starting position. Francine followed with a tissue raised to blot Micah’s brow.

  “Jenna, Micah, that was great. Let’s go again. Tighter this time. And, Micah, Jenna,” Steve said as he pulled his straw cowboy hat off his head and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “There’s a lot of us in this tiny little room. Can you two take the heat level down a bit? You’re scorching us.” He winked as he settled the hat back on his head.

  “Sorry, Steve,” Micah offered unapologetically. “I’m not that good of an actor.”

  Jenna laughed. “You see what I have to work with?” she called to the room at large. “It’s such a hardship making out with him all day. How many more takes do we need, Steve? I’m thinking this is going to take all day. All night even. He is Sexy M.D., after all. It’s impossible for him to not be sexy.”

  Micah turned to Jenna, enjoying her almost nudity, Hollywood style. He loved being near her, at work, at home, at play, always. He lowered his voice, wanting these words for her ears only, not because he cared what the others thought, but because he needed her to hear them and know they were meant for her. Not her character, not the people watching them, but for her alone. “It’s impossible for me to not be sexy with you. It’s impossible for me to not be in love with you.”

  Her eyes softened, and she smiled at him, that Jenna smile he would never grow tired of. “I love you too,” she whispered, stealing a kiss, this one just for the two of them and not for the millions of viewers who’d be tuning in to watch Dr. Dale fall in love.

  Steve cleared his throat. “Let’s go again, you two. Or should I shoot this, um, rehearsal?”

  Micah returned to his starting position, back flat on the bed, Jenna on top of him. His job definitely didn’t suck. Hadn’t for the last six months, since he’d knocked Jenna off her feet and into his life.

  She dropped a kiss on his nose. “You ready?”

  “You better believe it.” He cradled her beautiful face. “I’m gonna kiss you all day and love you for the rest of my life. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

  About the Author

  Ashleigh Raine is a multi-published, award-winning writing team made up of lifelong friends, Jennifer and Lisa. Living in the Los Angeles area, they have both worked various jobs in the entertainment industry including stagehand, script reader, feature film production assistant, precision driver, theatrical lighting designer, seat filler, stunt driving school student, specialty costumer and background actor. These experiences are a wealth of inspiration for their Hollywood Heat series.

  To learn more about Ashleigh Raine, please visit www.ashleighraine.com. Send an email to the two authors who make up Ashleigh Raine at ashleigh@ashleighraine.com.
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  Look for these titles by Ashleigh Raine

  Now Available:

  Hollywood Heat

  Driven to Distraction

  Talisman Bay

  Lover’s Talisman

  Forsaken Talisman

  Coming Soon:

  Talisman Bay

  Eternal Talisman

  Dodging explosions, crashing cars, jumping off rooftops…and falling in love.

  Driven to Distraction

  © 2007 Ashleigh Raine

  Up-and-coming stuntwoman Blaina Triton stops to help a sexy stranded stranger on the side of the road. Passion ignites hotter than the asphalt beneath their feet and they go back to his place for an anonymous carnal romp. Days later, she arrives on the set of her next feature film only to discover that the man she played out wanton erotic fantasies with is also her boss, Jay Williams. She thinks this job just got a whole lot better, until Jay makes it clear he never mixes business with pleasure.

  Jay knows firsthand how distraction can be fatal, but around Blaina, his full, lust-ridden attention strays to her rather than staying on the job. In an effort to regain control, he offers an ultimatum—off set, their relationship is no-naughty-holds-barred, but on set, when they touch, it has to be strictly professional.

  Soon their clandestine rendezvous ignite as hot as the movie’s onscreen explosions. As an unstoppable stunt team, they are flawless, until the strain of their secret relationship begins to tear them apart. Jay has to make a decision. Walk away from the woman he loves, or allow himself to be driven to distraction…

  Warning, this title contains the following: Jay and Blaina are imaginative in their proclivities. There’s lots of sex in, on and around cars. Sex in public places, sex in a hotel room, masturbation, exhibitionism, oral sex, anal sex, spanking, minor bondage of the tie-me-up-and-have-your-wicked-way-with-me kind and sex with a foreign object.