by Alice Raine
The cab ride was a simple twenty minutes drive down Sunset Boulevard, or Sunset Strip as it was known around here. The strip was a feast for the eyes, famed for its huge array of brightly coloured billboards, and believe me, there were a heck of a lot of them. As well as the signs, the streets were lined with boutiques, restaurants, rock clubs, nightclubs … you name it, it was here.
The cab dropped us at the Getty Centre visitor’s entrance, which was at the bottom of a steep slope, and we climbed out into the sun to gaze up at the huge, white buildings perched on the hill top above us. ‘Wow. It looks bigger than I expected.’ I had assumed it was going to be a regular museum, but this seemed to be an entire estate, and looked incredibly extensive.
Wandering over to the guest information, we had a quick read and discovered we had two choices for getting to the museum complex at the top: walk up the hill, which according to the board would take about twenty minutes, or jump on the small electric tram. Seeing it was already baking hot out, it seemed an easy choice. ‘Let’s jump on, that way we won’t be sweaty while we walk around. If you want some exercise later we can always walk back down the hill.’
The tram had us up the hill in no time, and then it was simply a matter of deciding where we wanted to head for first. With Allie’s love of writing and books, and my love of art and history, we had plenty to choose from.
As it was still relatively early, the temperature in the shade was lovely, so we decided to start in the gardens. The Central Garden was amazing, a real sensory treat, as we wound our way around walkways and paths between a fabulous array of beautiful smelling, and looking, plants. Pausing in the shade of some trees, we gazed at a stream in front of us that was tumbling over a small stone waterfall. It was so peaceful here. The only sounds were those of nature: birds singing in the trees, the splashing of the water, and rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze. I felt myself relaxing more and more every second, and decided that now I knew I was staying in LA, I’d have to make sure that this place was a regular visit.
‘So, back to our conversation. Greg … and Jack.’ All my earlier relaxation evaporated at Allie’s cautious inquiry and I turned to face her, leaning back on a pillar and folding my arms as I shook my head.
‘Like I said, Greg is just a background issue. And Jack? Honestly? I don’t really want to think about him today.’ I murmured grumpily.
‘I know, but avoiding the issue doesn’t make it go away. Let’s just brainstorm it, and hopefully you might feel a bit better about everything. Just five minutes and then I promise we won’t speak of the six foot of broad-shouldered manliness again all day.’
At her description, I closed my eyes and groaned as his face filled my mind. ‘I barely know him, and nothing has happened between us, not really …’ I added hastily as a vision of his lips locking with mine popped into my brain and made my core clench. ‘And nothing will happen, but the responses he spurs in me are really unnerving. It’s like I don’t have control over myself when I’m around him.’
‘Mmm-hmm, I know what you mean, I’m like that with Sean.’ Linking her arm with mine, Allie led me to a bench where we both sat and stretched out our legs. ‘The difference is, I love that feeling, it’s so freeing,’ she added dreamily.
Freeing? Could I ever be like that? So trusting of another person that I totally relaxed my defences?
‘After looking up the studios’ map and seeing that he films over the other side of the complex, I’m pretty sure you won’t see him half as much as you’re thinking. I bet you’re worrying for nothing.’
Nodding, I gave in to my nerves and began to flick at the elastic band as a soothing distraction, which would have helped me calm down if I hadn’t been stopped almost immediately by a sharp slap from Allie. ‘Oww! Sorry. He just makes me nervous,’ I admitted.
Shifting in her seat, I watched as Allie opened her mouth and then closed it several times. Obviously she wanted to say something, but was holding back.
‘What?’ I asked, suspecting that I knew what she was thinking and not liking it one little bit.
‘I was just thinking that it’s a shame, that’s all. I mean, he seems like a really nice guy, you said the kiss was good, and he’s obviously keen …’
Her words trailed off, and I dipped my face to stare into my clenched hands. Damn it, I hated it when I was right. Just talking about Jack had caused my heart rate to soar and pound almost painfully in my chest. His kiss had been more than good. It had been spectacular. ‘He makes me feel weak … and I hate that,’ I finally admitted in a whisper. ‘After Greg, I just … I want to be in control, and Jack makes me lose all sense. It’s so contradictory, but it’s like he scares me and attracts me at the same time.’
‘I understand that, and I bet it’s confusing as hell, but you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, Cait, remember that.’ Sliding closer on the bench, Allie slid an arm around my shoulders and gave me a reassuring squeeze, the way only a best friend can, and I tilted my head to rest on her shoulder.
She seemed to sense that nothing she could say would help, so we merely sat in silence. We both came to a quiet agreement not to mention Jack again, and after sitting for a while longer we began to head back towards the galleries.
The walk took us past some stunning sculptures, and after exploring my love of art in the exhibition of European paintings, which to my delight contained a real van Gogh, we moved to the building which housed the Research Institute, where they had a collection of rare manuscripts, photographs, and books which Allie was fascinated by.
‘I don’t know about you, but I’m starving,’ Allie announced as we declared that the galleries were now done to our satisfaction.
‘Me too. What do you fancy, café or restaurant?’
‘Let’s see if we can get a table in the restaurant, the views are supposed to be stunning.’
Perhaps it was because it was a weekday, but the restaurant was nowhere near as full as we’d expected, and we managed to walk straight in and bag a table right at the edge of the balcony. Allie was right, the outlook was stunning, with a fabulous view over the Santa Monica Mountains in the distance. It really was breathtaking and we both ended up sitting in silence and just gawking for several minutes after arriving.
I had just put my knife and fork down after a delicious warm salad of beetroot, feta cheese, green beans, and asparagus when I saw Allie pause with her fork halfway to her mouth.
‘Uh oh,’ she murmured, her eyes widening as she suddenly looked very interested in something over my shoulder. I was about to turn and investigate, but Allie reached across and gripped my arm. ‘No! Don’t turn around. It’s, uh, nothing.’
Her words said it was nothing, but her face said entirely the opposite, and I narrowed my eyes on her and shook my head. ‘Don’t give me that rubbish. I’m turning around in three seconds unless you tell me what it is you’ve seen. Three, two …’
‘OK! All right.’ Placing her fork down she leant across the table, her face paling as she looked at me intently. ‘You know when I said you wouldn’t have to think about Jack Felton again today …?’ Even hearing his name made my skin react, and the hairs on my arms stood to attention as if physically seeking him out. ‘Well, I might have to retract that statement, because he’s just walked in.’
Oh crap. Closing my eyes, I drew in a deep breath and then very calmly let it out through my nose. Opening my eyes, I saw Allie watching me in concern, her eyes occasionally darting across the balcony presumably in Jack’s direction.
It was stupid, I knew it was, but I couldn’t help but give a tiny glance over my shoulder. And there he was, in all his suited, booted, broad-shouldered gorgeousness. Goddamn that man. Thinking I could just sneak a quick look and then continue with my lunch, I quickly realised that that idea was thrown by the wayside as his gaze skimmed the restaurant and landed straight on me like a homing missile.
There was a flicker of surprise on his face, but those captivating eyes did their usual job o
f snaring me in so I felt like I couldn’t look away. Tilting his head curiously, I watched him nod in my direction, the corners of his lips twitching in a half smile that made a dimple appear in his cheek and caused my stomach to flip-flop wildly. I didn’t manage to return his smile, I seemed physically unable, but I did forcibly crank my neck back to stare at my empty plate as I gripped my fork with near lethal force.
It would seem my emotions were in free fall. Again.
I loosened the grip on my fork to ease the ache in my knuckles and registered the urge to look back at him, which began growing in my chest like a nagging itch. Instead, I looked at Allie. ‘Is he watching us?’ I whispered hoarsely, my voice seeming to have disappeared along with my sanity.
‘Um, no, his party is being seated at a table. He’s talking to the waiter. Oh, wait … yeah, now he’s looking.’ It was ridiculous, my conscious, protective side didn’t want his attention, but the truth was, I felt a little thrill run through me at the thought of him looking my way. On the occasions I’d met him, he’d made me feel … well, it was hard to pinpoint. Overwhelmed? Aroused? Terrified? Whatever it was, I felt something, which was certainly a first since Greg.
‘Oh shit …’Allie hissed, completely forgetting the rest of her lunch and dumping down her fork with a loud clatter as her eyes widened like saucers and she stared at me as if I had suddenly grown five heads.
‘What?’
‘He, um, well, he’s either going to the toilets and walking round the entire restaurant to get to them, or he’s, um … coming over here.’
Oh god. Well, given his persistence, I should have expected that. Trying to fortify myself, I sat up straighter and drew in a long, deep breath. However, no amount of oxygen could have prepared me for the close-up view of Jack in a three-piece suit as it arrived by my side ten seconds later.
I could have been attached to an oxygen mask and I would still have felt breathless. Navy trousers, jacket, and waistcoat topped over a light blue shirt and pale grey tie. Quite simply, he looked like perfection wrapped up in high quality, luxury cotton, and I felt my mouth dry up and my confidence falter.
Seeing me sitting stock still and unable to manage even the most basic of actions, Allie jumped in for me. ‘Hi, Jack.’ Her greeting was far too enthusiastic for my liking, as she practically launched herself from her seat to shake his hand.
‘Allie, it’s a pleasure to see you again. Bumping into you two seems to be becoming a bit of a habit, doesn’t it?’ he murmured with a small smile.
Polite and well-mannered as ever. Except for when he’d jumped me in the park and shoved his tongue in my mouth. That hadn’t exactly been gentlemanly. Not that I’d complained at first, of course … As memories of me gripping his T-shirt and dragging him closer filled my mind, I swallowed hard and saw Jack swivelling his attention onto me.
Do not look at his lips and the mouth that caused such devastating reactions. Do not look. Instead, I was staring at my empty plate, looking like a complete idiot while my mind taunted me by repeatedly replaying the sensations of our shared kiss. Marvellous.
Lifting my head, I met his gaze and blinked several times as his eyes seemed to shoot into me like lasers. Don’t look at his lips. It was as if he could see right inside me and peel back all my layers and insecurities. I needed to say something so I didn’t look completely ignorant. Anything. But nothing was springing to mind.
‘Uh, hi … Jack,’ I managed to stutter. It wasn’t exactly a genius statement, but it was better than nothing, I suppose.
Not able to hold his gaze without either slapping myself across the forehead in frustration or swooning pathetically, I instead focused my attention on the movement of his hands as he popped open the button on his suit jacket and casually slipped one hand into the pocket of his trousers.
The end result was that I was now staring at Jack’s groin. Marvellous. So I had succeeded in not looking at his mouth, but was staring at his crotch instead? That was so much worse than looking at his lips!
Good one, Cait. Really smooth.
Jerking my head up, I saw the corner of his mouth twitch with a supressed smirk and had to swallow hard to try and keep my composure. ‘It’s, umm, you again.’
‘Yes, me again. It seems almost fated that we are to keep meeting,’ he said mildly, sounding like he was feeling none of the rampaging nerves I currently was.
‘Or perhaps you’re following me,’ I added, suddenly desperately keen to appear as bloody unruffled as he was. ‘I said your behaviour was stalkerish, and look, here you are again,’ I offered, equally as casually and fixing my eyes to his to watch his reaction.
All I got was a thin, tight-lipped smile and a twitch at the corner of his eye to indicate that he disliked my quip. ‘Hmmm. Yes, I got the distinct impression you were unhappy with me last week, Caitlin. Did you get my apology text this morning?’
Unhappy with him?
Unhappy?
Did he have any clue how screwed-up my emotions were now because of that kiss? That stunning, heart-melting, mind-bendingly good kiss … Turning his attention to Allie, he shook his head as if bemused by something, ‘Did Caitlin tell you that I met her at the studios’ running club and she actually sprinted away from me?’
‘Uh … she might have mentioned it.’ Allie’s eyes were flicking between mine and Jack’s, but I was so gobsmacked that I merely sat there staring at him in shock. How dare he throw that out there like that? I ran away from him because he had kissed me and it had totally freaked me out, but I couldn’t believe he was really calling me out on that now, when I was sitting with my friend having lunch.
‘I … I think you know why I ran away, Jack,’ I hissed.
Seemingly ignoring my reply, he huffed out a breath, appeared to roll off some tension in his neck, and continued to chat with Allie as casual as anything, as if my entire sanity wasn’t currently hanging in the balance by a thread. ‘So, are you looking for work here, too?’
‘No, actually, I’m trying to make it as a writer, so the plan is to crack on with my next book and see how it goes,’ Allie explained quickly, her eyes flashing between myself and Jack repeatedly as if she were a spectator at a tennis match.
Looking impressed, Jack nodded. ‘Good luck. I’ve always fancied writing a book myself, but I never get the time.’
‘You should go for it. Starting is the trickiest bit.’
‘I might just do that.’ Turning his attention back to me, I almost flinched under the power of his gaze. ‘So, have you managed to persuade Caitlin to accept the studio job, Allie?’ The sound of him mentioning my blatant lie did ridiculously silly things to my stomach and I made a desperate grab for my glass to try and distract myself from the guilt churning in my gut.
‘Although perhaps persuasion won’t be required,’ Jack continued before Allie could speak. ‘Jason at Dynamic is a running buddy of mine, we’re rather good friends. I’m sure he’s made Caitlin an offer too good to refuse.’
Oh no. My heart dropped at his words, and the knowing tone to his voice. Busted. If Jack was good friends with Jason then he no doubt already knew I had accepted the job. Bugger. So not only had I lied to him, but I’d now been caught out in that lie. Jeez, this whole situation really couldn’t get much more awkward.
Lifting my water to my lips in an attempt at quenching my parched throat, I realised to my horror that my hand had a distinct shake to it, so I ended up swigging half of it down before practically slamming the glass onto the table.
‘I’m sure she’s going to take it,’ Allie added conspiratorially, an evil grin flicking at the corners of her lips and giving away the fact that she found my squirming rather amusing.
‘I think so too,’ Jack nodded, flashing a grin at my traitorous bestie. God, this was the last thing I needed, both of them bloody ganging up on me. As much as she was trying to act supportively, I could see the flash of excitement in Allie’s eyes as this all played out, but right now I wanted nothing more than to escape this craziness
and allow my normal, sheltered, safe life to resume.
Jack shifted on the spot to broaden his stance and as his jacket moved I got a waft of his minty, slightly sweet scent that served to remind me of how good he had tasted. Really bloody good. Everything about him was so overpowering. Even the way he smelt made me feel dizzy. I made an effort not to breathe in through my nose, but became aware that my mouth was now hanging open and I was practically panting.
Bloody hell, this was insane.
‘So are you going to be mute and avoiding me from now on?’ he persevered to my horror, now with a teasing half-smile floating around his lips.
Feeling thoroughly flummoxed, I felt my old defences rear to the surface. ‘I’m not mute, and I’m not avoiding you. I was just choosing to sit quietly, that’s all.’ Huffing out an irritable breath I crossed my arms. ‘And I barely know you, why would I bother to avoid you?’ I sounded decidedly prickly, but was so close to losing my sanity over this man that I didn’t care.
‘She speaks,’ he murmured with a small, soft smile. ‘And I think you’ll try to avoid me because you feel this thing between us and it scares you.’ Totally flabbergasted at his forward claims in front of my best friend – even if they were completely spot on – my eyes shot to his, to see him looking immaculate and calm as anything, as if we were doing nothing more than discussing the weather.
How dare he?
How bloody dare he?
The fact that he had hit the nail right on the head was irrelevant, but my pulse was thundering in my veins so hard that I could feel it trying to burst its way from my chest, and I knew my face had flushed bright red.
Putting on my best glare, I bravely held his stare, and then flailing my arms as if that would help prove my point, I spat out my reply with as much defiance as I could muster. ‘There is no us, and there is no thing.’ As much as I wanted them to be true, the words were driven by my fear and felt like salt on my tongue. My fear from Greg. That was what had stopped me seeing it clearly, but there was some sort of connection between Jack and me. Even as naïve as I was, I could feel some strange bond that I didn’t fully understand, but it continued to draw me to him regardless of my attempts to push it away.