Over Exposed

by Stephanie Julian

  A heavy flush rode his cheeks but his gaze was sharp.

  “Tomorrow. Move in down here.”

  She shouldn’t want that so badly. “For how long?”

  He shook his head. “For however long you want to stay.”

  And what if she wanted to stay forever? What happened when he went back to Hollywood?

  “I can’t make that decision at the spur of the moment.”

  “Yeah, you can. You just have to decide if you want to badly enough.” And on the heels of that, he sighed and grimaced. “I’m pushing. Again. That’s really not how I intended to handle this. And I wasn’t planning to handle this. Shit.”

  He took a step back while she remained against the wall, trying to get her bearings. “Just tell me you’ll think about it.”

  She nodded.

  He continued to stare, as if he could get her to comply by simply looking at her.

  And man, did she want to.

  Get a backbone, girl. Do you want to be like your mom, never happy unless she had a man in her life?

  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Alright. Sleep tight, Bree.” That smile of his nearly ripped all her careful plans to shreds. “Dream about me.”

  Turning on his heel, he went back into his suite. The door closed behind him with a click she barely heard.

  Her mind raced, thoughts ping-ponging between wanting to walk back in there and telling him yes and running back to her room and texting him to say she never wanted to see him again.

  Behind her, she heard the door open again. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself against another onslaught.

  But when she turned, she saw Trudeau, tablet computer in hand. Sabrina thought maybe it’d been surgically attached to her hand.

  The other girl smiled at her but Sabrina saw the strain behind the smile.

  “Hi. Sabrina, right?” Trudeau stepped forward, hand out. Sabrina took it automatically. “I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Trudeau, Greg’s assistant.”

  “Of course. Can I help you with something?”

  “Actually, Greg wants to know if you’ll need help with anything. Which is his code for ‘Get this done.’ So can I help you with anything?”

  Confused, Sabrina frowned. “Anything meaning . . .”

  “Well, I assume he means helping you move your belongings into his suite.”

  She blinked. “Did he tell you that?”

  “No. But the reason we work well together is that I anticipate what he wants. And he wants you to move in with him.”

  She felt every hair on her body stand on end. “And does he typically get everything he wants?”

  Trudeau raised delicate eyebrows over sky-blue eyes. “You know Greg. What do you think?”

  Well that answered that question, didn’t it?

  “No, I don’t need your help, Trudeau. Thank you.”

  Greg’s assistant nodded but didn’t leave, and Sabrina knew the girl wanted to say something else.

  Sabrina wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it, but waited anyway.

  Finally, Trudeau sighed. “Please forgive me if I’m overstepping, but Greg’s got a lot on his plate right now. More than he may have told you. Things I’m not at liberty to discuss.”

  Her patience started to buck at the reins. “Then maybe you should keep your mouth shut. He’s busy. I get it. I’m not going to interfere in his business. Trust me, you won’t have to worry about me causing problems for much longer.”

  Trudeau’s expression didn’t change at all. Cool didn’t come close to describing her. Sabrina wished she had a little of that cool right now.

  “Sabrina, please don’t misunderstand me. It’s not my intention to interfere in his personal life. I’m sorry if you think that’s what this is. My job is to smooth as many bumps in his professional career as I can. Right now, there’s a lot of bumpy road ahead and I’m trying to make sure he doesn’t get thrown off course. If he needs me to help you then that’s what I’ll do.”

  “I’m not part of his business life, so you can just take me off your to-do list. There is such a thing as a private life. But maybe you don’t know that.”

  “I get that.” Trudeau flipped the cover on her tablet. “I just don’t have much of one. And neither did Greg.” She smiled, surprisingly sweet. “Until you. If you decide you do need me, please let me know.”

  Turning, Trudeau headed back into Greg’s suite.

  Head spinning, Sabrina turned to head for the elevator then stopped in the middle of the hall.

  She didn’t want to go back to her room. Not alone. Didn’t want to sit and wonder and worry. She wanted to do . . . something. Anything.

  She wanted to not think about anything for just a little while.

  And she knew just the woman to help her.

  Eleven

  “He told you what?”

  “Basically, he told me to quit my job and become his fuck buddy full time.”

  Kate’s mouth dropped open and the look of shock on her face made Sabrina snort out a dry laugh. That’s probably what she’d looked like when he’d told her.

  Good. She hoped he realized just how much of a shock she’d had.

  “Holy shit. Seriously?” Kate’s shock quickly morphed into a gleeful smile. “Well damn. The man is smarter than I gave him credit for.”

  Grabbing Sabrina’s arms, Kate pulled her into Tyler’s apartment. “Don’t worry. Ty’s not home. He’s meeting with someone about something. I totally wasn’t listening when he told me. He should know better than to talk to me when I’m sewing. But I’m done now, so spill. Oh, wait. I can see we’re going to need alcohol. What are we drinking tonight?”

  Sabrina flopped onto the couch as Kate headed straight for the fridge.

  “Whatever you’re having. I don’t care. And how can you think this is a good thing? The man wants me to drop my entire life and do nothing but be available to screw him when he has the time.”

  Kate pulled a face at her while she poured wine in the kitchen. “You know that’s not what he wants. He’s just a guy and guys aren’t great about saying what they really mean.”

  After Kate handed over a glass of white wine, Sabrina took a healthy swallow then sighed.

  “And that’s bullshit because the man can write dialogue so real you think you’re watching two people have a conversation and not watching a movie.”

  “Totally different.” Kate dismissed her argument with a head toss. “And if you were thinking straight you’d know that. Now tell me exactly what Greg said and what you were doing when he said it.”

  Sabrina knew it actually had more to do with what they’d been doing before he’d asked. Something had changed between them when she’d agreed to let Sebastian watch. She almost felt like she’d passed some test.

  “Why are you turning a really interesting shade of red?” Kate asked when Sabrina didn’t answer right away.

  “If I tell you something, will you promise to keep an open mind?”

  Kate rolled her eyes. “Please. My mind no longer has any doors left to blown off. Seriously, whatever you say will not—”

  “Greg and I had sex while someone else watched.”

  Kate blinked as her mouth snapped closed. “Only watched? This other person was male?”

  Sabrina nodded, a little thrown by Kate’s response. It was almost like she’d expected this.

  And maybe she had. Greg and Tyler were good friends. Of course, Kate would know things about Greg . . .

  “What do you mean, only watched?”

  Now Kate looked uncomfortable. “I mean, this other person didn’t . . . participate?”

  “No, he didn’t. Greg told him he couldn’t.”

  Kate’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Wow. Okay.” She paused. “So . . . did you enjoy it?”


  “First tell me why you aren’t shocked.”

  Kate hesitated, biting her lip. A sure sign she had something to say but didn’t want to say it.

  “Kate, please, just spit it out, whatever it is. I know something happened between you and Greg. And I know it happened before he and I became involved. Just spit it—”

  Oh, wow.

  All the pieces clicked together and Sabrina couldn’t decide whether she wanted to laugh or cry.

  “Sabrina.”

  Kate reached for her but Sabrina drew back instinctively. She felt like she’d gotten kicked in the stomach. The visceral reaction nearly made her double over as she tried to breathe.

  “Shit,” Kate muttered under her breath. “Just . . . shit. Sabrina, please, please don’t freak out. I wanted to tell you. I really did. But how do you tell someone that you had a threesome with the guy you love and his best friend who your friend was lusting after?”

  She should leave. Get up and walk out the door. But she couldn’t move.

  Breathe. Just breathe.

  The words got through the static in her brain, as did Kate’s reasoning. The only problem was, she couldn’t get past the fact that her friend had had sex with Greg.

  Which is total bullshit. You weren’t even seeing him then.

  No, he’d been treating her like a kid, patting her on the head, while she’d been totally in lust.

  She grabbed her wine and took another swallow. She was lucky she didn’t choke on it.

  “I’m sorry,” Kate continued. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you before. I know it feels like a huge betrayal of trust but—”

  “Wait. Just . . . wait. Let me catch my breath.”

  Kate bounced up from her chair and started to pace, which did nothing for Sabrina’s ability to process. She couldn’t decide whether it was the fact that Kate had had sex with Greg or that Kate hadn’t told her.

  And she had no right to be upset that Greg had shared Kate with Tyler. Kate loved Tyler. Tyler loved Kate. And apparently Tyler trusted Greg enough to share his lover with him.

  Maybe Greg had feelings for Kate that went deeper than friendship? Maybe Sabrina was the rebound.

  Wow, that hurt. Pretty freaking bad. Her heart threatened to pound out of her chest.

  What if Greg only wanted her because he couldn’t have Kate?

  “Sabrina?”

  What if he was still sharing Kate with Tyler?

  “Are you still—”

  “NO!” Kate practically shouted, waving her hands in front of her. “Oh, my God, no. It was just that one time. Honestly. Sabrina, I love Greg. But not like I love Tyler. Greg’s a great guy but . . .”

  “But?”

  Kate’s lips smashed into a straight line “But he’s not mine. Not like Tyler. Do you understand?”

  Yes, she did.

  And the more she thought about why she was hurting, the more she realized it was because Kate hadn’t told her. Hadn’t confided in her.

  She didn’t feel this way around Daisy, and she and Greg had had a relationship that lasted years.

  “Sabrina?”

  She held up one hand. “Still processing.”

  “Could you do it a little faster?” Kate sighed. “I don’t know what else to say. I certainly never meant to hurt you. You know that, right?

  “I know. I do. It’s just . . . I think I love him.”

  “Oh! Oh, man. That’s not a bad thing. Why do you look like you want to cry? Or hit me? Don’t do either, please. If you cry, I’m going to have to, too. If you hit me, well, maybe just not in the face. How about the arm?”

  Sabrina started to laugh, which was exactly what Kate had wanted, if her relieved smile was any indication.

  “I’m not going to hit you. I’m just so . . .” She released a short, frustrated groan that made Kate grimace in sympathy. “I don’t know what I am.”

  “You’re hurt. I get that and I’m sorry. But, I gotta say, the fact that he didn’t want to share you should tell you a hell of a lot.”

  Sabrina snorted, shaking her head. “If it does, I’m not seeing it.”

  “Then try harder. Seriously, if the man didn’t consider you his, he would’ve had another guy join in.”

  Okay, that made a little bit of sense. Then again . . . “What if he just doesn’t care enough to want to share me?”

  “Please.” Kate rolled her eyes again, which made about a hundred times just in the past few minutes. “The man cares. Anyone can see that any time he looks at you.”

  “What if it’s not enough?”

  Frowning, Kate finally stopped pacing. “What do you mean?”

  “What if love isn’t enough? He’s married to his job. To his company. I’m just the girl he bangs when he’s not busy. And what about my job? Am I just supposed to give that up and follow him wherever?”

  “No.” Kate drew that one word out into three syllables. “But sometimes you have to decide what’s more important. And I really hate to use this old cliché but you know that saying, ‘When one door closes, another one opens?’ It’s kind of true.”

  “Yeah, I never noticed all that many open doors in my life. Usually they’re hitting me on the ass as they close.”

  Kate made a sympathetic face. “For so long, the only thing I wanted to do was be a costume designer for a New York theater. And then I met Tyler and my entire world upended. I was offered my dream job and I could’ve taken it. But the boutique . . . how could I turn that opportunity down? And honestly, I didn’t want to leave Tyler. But if I’d decided to take that New York job, we would’ve made it work. I totally believe that. So I guess you have to ask yourself if you believe in Greg enough to give his . . . arrangement a chance.”

  “You make it sound so logical.”

  Kate snorted. “And when have you ever known me to be logical?”

  Sabrina pulled a face at Kate, prompting Kate to stick out her tongue, which made them both laugh.

  “Wow, I totally feel like I lost the boulder sitting on my shoulder.” Kate’s smile returned but so did Sabrina’s uncertainty. Not to mention the well of hurt she continued to hide deep inside.

  “I’m glad you finally told me. But . . . this doesn’t exactly help me with my dilemma. What do I do?”

  “What do you want to do? Not what should you do or what do you think other people think you should do. What do you want, Sabrina?”

  “I want it all.” She shrugged. “But I know that’s impossible.”

  “No, you don’t want it all because, honestly, you wouldn’t be able to handle it all. Who can?”

  “Now you’re just depressing me.”

  “I don’t mean to. But seriously. Do you love Greg enough to give up something you’ve worked for your whole life? That’s the question you have to ask.”

  Her mom had given up most of her life to raise her children. She’d given up dreams of college and a decent job to raise Sabrina. She’d given her heart to a man who’d broken it with his death. Then she’d given it to another who’d broken it when he’d walked out on her and his children for another woman. And she still hadn’t forgiven herself for falling for a man who might have molested her daughter.

  But she never gave herself credit for keeping their family together, for putting food on the table and clothes on their backs by working two and sometimes three jobs. And her mother hadn’t stopped looking for a decent man to love.

  “Greg didn’t say he loves me. Only that he wants me to move in with him so we can have sex whenever he has a few minutes free.”

  Kate’s eyes went wide. “You sound like he’s treating you like a fling.”

  “And how do I know that’s not all this is?”

  “Have you asked him?”

  She pulled a face.

  “Of course you haven’t,” Kate continued. “
So ask him.”

  “Just come out and say, ‘Hey, is this just sex or do you have actual feelings for me?’ And when exactly am I supposed to do this? When there are ten crew members, two assistants, and five actors in his room and he’s trying to finish the movie he’s been working on for years? Or should I wait until he’s finished filming and ready to hop on a plane back to Hollywood? Right before he pats me on the head and says, ‘Hey, thanks for the fun. Catch you the next time I’m in town.’”

  Kate had started to shake her head near the end of her monologue. “Greg’s not like that and you know it.”

  Taking a deep breath, Sabrina rubbed her temples, feeling the throbbing headache lurking there. “Yeah, I do know it. I know he likes me. I know he cares about me. I also know he collects strays. Like me. And Sebastian.”

  Kate shook her head until her hair swung around her face. “No way. I’ve seen how he looks at you. He doesn’t consider you a stray. When he looks at you, I see hunger. And I don’t just mean sex.”

  “Then what the hell am I supposed to do?”

  “You need to get him alone.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen any time soon. He’s too damn busy. And I don’t want to be the bitch who tells him to make a choice between his work and his girlfriend. And I’m not even at the girlfriend stage yet.”

  Kate heaved out a sigh. “Alright, I see your point there. I just . . . Don’t make a decision you can’t take back now. Wait until he’s finished filming. New Year’s Eve. He’s planning to be at the party and so are you. I have your dress finished, by the way. The man will not know what hit him.”

  “If he even goes.”

  “He will. Even if I have to make Tyler threaten him with bodily harm, he’ll be there. And . . .” Kate got a look in her eye that Sabrina had grown to be wary of. That look meant she was plotting something. “What are you doing the night after Christmas?”

  “I work three to eleven and then I’m off the next day. Why?”

  “Because I have an idea. Give me a minute.” When Kate got that look on her face, people usually backed away slowly. Sabrina watched her with rounded eyes as she grabbed her phone and made a call.