by KB Jacobs
I shook my head and leaned forward to give her a light kiss. “No, it was fine. You look nice. What are you up to today?”
She shrugged. “After looking like such a hot mess this morning, it seemed like the thing to do...to maybe put a little more effort into my appearance for the day. Maybe my karma will even out by the end of the day that way.”
I frowned. “You know you look amazing no matter what you’re wearing, right?”
She scoffed out a laugh. “Ha, you’re only saying that because you’re still living with the glow brought on by a night full of hot sex after a really long dry spell.”
I blew out a breath and backed a step away from her with a scowl. “I agree the sex was incredible.” I tilted my head for a moment, trying not to immediately get defensive. “But you know, even though I’m a guy, I’m capable of objective thoughts that don’t rely on whether my dick has seen action or not.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, no, that’s not what I meant. Crap.” She lifted her hair off the back of her neck and chewed on her lip. “I’m screwing this all up.”
I squinted, trying to get a read on her. She wasn’t usually one to act so fidgety or nervous. “What are you screwing up? What did you want to talk to me about?”
She gave a nervous laugh. “Well, it seems like both our parents were up early this morning. Almost immediately after I got to my place, my dad called. You know he’s a director, right?”
“Yeah.” I nodded slowly. Hugh Nichols was one of the most famous, highest paid directors of this generation. The action thriller he directed and released last summer broke every record for US and international box office returns.
I had a sudden premonition about what Alex wanted to ask. I remembered seeing a request come through the Ghost Squad Charities that I had dumped without even reading it completely. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if her father were involved. “Tell me this isn’t about that movie they want to make about our squad.”
She winced, giving me my answer.
I clenched my jaw at the sudden surge of anger. “I feel like you know me pretty well at this point, Alex. At least I thought you did. What in God’s name would make you think I’d be open to something like this? Romanticizing the worst day of my life, making a profit off...” I swallowed hard at the lump trying to rise up my throat, choking my words. “Those guys were my best friends.”
And their loss still felt like a blow to the stomach. Every single day, I woke up wondering why I’d been spared when they hadn’t. No one could understand that kind of agony.
Trying to keep my shit together, I concentrated on the twin girl toddlers squealing as they slid down the slide. “They died.” My voice broke, but I kept talking. I had to get this out. For them. For my guys. “There’s nothing entertaining about that fact, and that you would think there was or that I would even consider this...”
I couldn’t say anymore. I couldn’t get the words past my tight throat.
Alex laid her hand on my arm, and I flinched at the touch. She snatched it back. “I know. I’m sorry. I realize this can’t be easy. But you have to understand once my dad has his claws in an idea, he doesn’t let it go. He doesn’t have to have your cooperation to do the movie. Don’t you want to have some input into the story they tell? Don’t you want to make sure they get it right?”
My muscles tightened. I could already imagine what my input would mean. Parading me in front of paparazzi to sensationalize the premiere, and interviews to talk about how hard it was for me, surviving when all my friends had died. I knew exactly how it would go down, and there was no fucking way I would let myself become part of that circus. Most days, I was barely hanging on. To subject myself to that kind of scrutiny... No, there was just no way. Why would she even ask this? She didn’t care about me at all.
I gave a harsh laugh. “Why did I think you were different? That maybe you saw me as something more than a sideshow freak? Has this been your plan all along? Seduce the poor wounded soldier, and then when I’m dulled by all the sex hormones, you get me to agree to your dad’s little project?”
She paled, but I couldn’t stop the vitriol spewing out of my mouth. Everything was painful, the loss of my friends, the loss of what I thought we had developing between us. I had to get it out somehow. “I should have known. You’re just a mouthpiece for your dad. Do you get a signing bonus if you get me to agree? Maybe a producer’s credit in the film? That’s a valuable commodity in your world, right?”
“No, Damian...”
My chest became so tight it was hard to breathe. “I was stupid to think we actually had something real between us.” I shook my head. I had to get out of here. The gazebo felt like it was closing in on me.
I turned away.
“You’re wrong,” she said quietly, “but I guess that’s to be expected from a guy who’s spent the last two years lying to his mom about the very basics of who he is. You wouldn’t know real if it came up and bit you in the ass.”
“Goodbye, Alex.” I walked away, pretending like I hadn’t just left my heart and soul shattered on the floor of that beautiful gazebo.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Alex
I sat in my cushy new desk chair and stared at the computer screen in front of me. I’d been working on the same press release for the past hour, but the words wouldn’t come out right. It was almost impossible to focus on the excitement of the new brew pub when all I could think about was how badly I screwed up with Damian yesterday.
It was just supposed to be a favor for my dad. A quick bug in Damian’s ear. But before I’d known it, he had been seething with anger, making me out to be no better than all the parasites in Hollywood, my family included. Then I had to open my big mouth to get in the last word, because apparently, I have zero self-control.
“Dammit.” I shut the lid of my laptop and pushed back from the desk.
“You okay over there?” Melissa called from her desk a few feet away.
I forced my face into a neutral expression. “Yeah. Just one of those days.”
Melissa grabbed her purse and stood. “Why don’t you come have lunch with me and Anthony then? My treat.”
I rubbed my tired eyes and shook my head. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve got too much to do here.”
She nodded and walked to the door, pausing in the threshold. “Does this day have anything to do with Damian's conspicuous absence around here?”
“No. What? Of course not,” I scoffed and waved a hand at her. “I told you already. His mom is visiting, so I told him to spend his time with her.”
“That’s good, since he’s heading up here right now.” She smiled a little too sweetly because she was my best friend and knew exactly what was up. “Later.” Melissa walked out the door.
Less than a minute later, Damian came in. He nodded at me but didn’t say a word as he headed toward his temporary office space. I watched him load up a laptop and grab a few reports while I pretended to read something on my own computer.
My legs itched to stand up and walk to him, but I stayed in my seat. I had said some ugly words, and that wouldn’t be fixed with a patented Alex smile and a hug. But I had to do something. My legs shook. “Hi.”
He glanced in my direction and offered a tight-lipped smile. “Hey.”
Fuck it. I was wearing my big girl panties today. Time to suck it up. I stood up and marched to the other side of my desk, still a safe distance away from him but without the buffer of my computer between us. “I’m sorry. I never should have pushed the issue with the movie, and what I said about your mom was a dick move.”
Damian snorted, and this time when he looked at me, his smile was a little more genuine. “A dick move? I wasn’t sure ladies could pull that off.”
“Now you know. We can be ballsy, too.” I gave him a real smile. “We are also perfectly capable of a good that’s-what-she-said joke.”
Damian turned toward me and propped his hip against the desk in a move that was casually sexy at its b
est. “Really? Lay one on me.”
“That’s what she said,” I shot right back at him, my face playing it cool while my insides leapt with joy that he was actually talking to me.
He took a few steps closer to me. “Guess I walked right into that one.”
“Pretty much.”
“Look.” He took the last few steps to my desk and leaned on the edge next to me. His tantalizing scent surrounded me. “What you said wasn’t wrong. I did lie to my mom. I had freshly returned from war with half my body burned off and had an overprotective mom ready to move into my house and take over. I panicked and convinced Walsh to pretend to be my boyfriend. I figured if mom knew someone else was there to take care of me, she’d back off a bit. Not my finest moment.”
“At least you figured out a way to get her off your back.” I nudged his shoulder with mine. “My parents still think I’m living in the bedroom down the hall, sitting around waiting to clean up their latest mess or wine and dine someone worth schmoozing.”
“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be the kid of a famous director and one of the highest paid actresses in Tinseltown.” Damian’s hand planted on the desk, and where his pinky touched mine, my skin came to life.
“Probably not too different from being the son of a media mogul and the president of a family-owned bank.”
“Touché.” He reached his pinky out and wrapped it around mine. “And you’re forgiven. Honestly, you don’t really have anything to apologize for. It was a simple question, and I shouldn’t have jumped down your throat like that.”
I turned toward him, careful not to dislodge my pinky from his. “Still, I want to make it up to you. How do you feel about a movie night?”
“Oh, I’m a big fan of movie nights.” He rose to stand in front of me and wrapped his free hand around my waist. “Especially if they end up anything like our last one.”
“Not a movie at home, you horn dog.” I pounded my fist into his shoulder but then pulled him closer to me. “I’m talking about a movie...out.”
Damian stiffened in front of me, so I used my free hand to massage his shoulder.
“We only have one theater in town. The rundown place I was telling you about. All they show is old movies that hardly anyone cares about. But...” I ran my fingernails up his neck eliciting the exact eyes-shut, deep-sigh reaction I was going for. “They also have the world’s best popcorn thanks to their secret seasoning, and this week, they’re showing Bring it On.”
Damian dipped his forehead down to rest against mine. “Can I think about it?” He opened his eyes and ran his thumb along my jaw. “It has nothing to do with you. I’m just not sure if I’m ready for a public gathering with a theater full of strangers.”
I laughed and held his hand tighter. “If it makes you feel any better, The Palace is never even close to full, but I want you to be comfortable.”
He nodded and closed his eyes again. “Thank you, Alex.”
“Anytime.”
I really meant it. Somehow, I’d gone from stopping in to check on him as a favor to losing my mind over a few hours of separation. Even if we never went on a single date, I was already hooked on Damian Thorne, and that was a very bad thing.
I didn’t get hooked. Hooked meant I’d get hurt. Hooked meant I cared. Caring led to heartbreak and Bloody Marys at nine o’clock in the morning every day for breakfast. I’d determined a long time ago that would never be me. But here I was...hooked and loath to change anything about it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Damian
I walked into my cabin rental after a long day at work and froze as an unfamiliar perfume tickled my nose. “Mom,” I called. The house felt empty, but someone else had been here. And then I heard it.
Running water and women’s voices.
Feminine laughter floated through the open windows of the house. I strode straight through the living room and kitchen area, stumbling to a halt when I spotted a middle-aged woman wearing a maid’s uniform, putting clothes into the dryer.
“Um, hi.” I scowled at my underwear in her hand. “What are you doing?”
“Hi, you must be Mr. Thorne. I’m Virna.” She continued sorting the clothes like I wasn’t looking at her like she was an alien who’d landed unexpectedly in my house. “Your mom hired me as your housekeeper.” She flashed me a friendly smile. “I’m thinking pork loin with candied baby carrots and spinach salad for dinner. Does that sound okay? Then we can take some time later tonight to work out the menu for the rest of the week.”
I blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, Virna. I think there’s been some sort of misunderstanding. Can you hang on a second while I go talk to my mom?”
She gave me a hesitant nod, but I couldn’t worry about that. I needed to get my mother under control first.
Through the back door, I took in the scene on my back porch in a sweeping glance. My mom and a woman I didn’t know sat in the Adirondack chairs surrounding the fire pit on the stone terrace below the deck. The fire cast a warm glow over the women in the dusk of twilight. They were both dressed casually, if casual included designer jeans that cost thousands of dollars and were only worn by the rich and famous when they were “roughing it.”
They both turned when they heard the door squeak as I exited.
My mom stood. “There he is. Damian, come down. I want you to meet someone.”
“I’m sure you do,” I mumbled as I took the steps from the deck down to the stone terrace below.
The woman who’d been talking to my mother stood, too. Willowy and blonde, she could have been a model, but the acute sharpness as she examined me like a piece of meat said probably not. She very carefully didn’t look at the puckered skin of my burns. Someone had warned her.
I turned to that someone. “Mom,” I said through gritted teeth. “I met Virna inside.”
“Oh, good.” She clasped her hands together, and her eyes widened in dramatic flair. “I was sooo lucky to find her on such short notice. I think she’s going to be amazing for you.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I don’t want or need a housekeeper. Tell her to leave, and you can pay her severance for the inconvenience.”
My mom’s eyes squinted in anger, but then she seemed to remember she had another guest/scheme in play behind her. It wouldn’t make a good impression if we fought in front of the honey she’d brought in to set me up with.
She gave me that fierce mom warning glare, but then she grinned like everything was going according to her plan.
I didn’t think so.
“We’ll discuss it later. In the meantime...” She turned toward the blonde. “I’d like you to meet Mackenzie Aston. Isn’t it wonderful? Mackenzie is in town, just by coincidence, to check up on some improvements that they’re making to The Astonian. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.”
I nodded politely at Mackenzie, but I didn’t have any patience for my mom’s matchmaking efforts. “That’s great...really. It’s a wonderful hotel. Aspenridge is lucky to have it.” I hated small talk and was far too out of practice to make this graceful. “I hate to be rude, but I really need to speak to my mom.”
Mackenzie’s eyes lit up with humor, and the corners of her mouth twitched. “Don’t worry. I get it. I’ll get out of your way. I have a dinner meeting at the hotel tonight anyway. It was nice meeting you, Damian.” She stepped up to me and laid a hand on my left arm with an uncomfortable glance at my scars. “Thank you for your service.”
Thankfully, she left.
After the side gate closed behind Mackenzie, my mother turned on me like I’d just thrown out her favorite new puppy. Hurt and frustration simmered in her gaze. “What is your problem? She was a perfectly nice, gorgeous girl who comes from the right kind of background. You couldn’t even give her a chance?”
“Mom, I don’t need your help setting me up.”
She blew out a huffy breath. “Yes, you do if you think a serial dater like Alexandra Nichols is a good choice for you.”
“Serial dater? You just met her, and I’ll grant you, it wasn’t ideal circumstances for the two of you to meet, but Mom...”
“No.” She swiped a hand in the air in front of me. “I’ve been doing research. All you have to do is run an image search of her on Google, and you’ll see...she’s dated everyone. Hell, the girl could give Taylor Swift a run for her money for the string of broken hearts she’s left in her wake. I don’t want yours to be her next casualty.”
I took a deep breath. And that was why I didn’t lose my temper even though my mom’s meddling had hit expert-level in record time this trip. At the heart of it all, she just wanted me to be okay. I got that. It still drove me absolutely nuts, but I got it. “Mom, I’m fine. I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”
She heaved out a sigh. “I know. You’ve just been through so much. I want to make things easier where I can. That’s what moms do for their children. Why don’t you come home to New York? There are so many amazing, single women who live there, looking for the right guy. With my connections—”
I pressed my finger over her mouth to stop the words from flowing. “No. Right now, I’m happy here, dating Alex. In fact, I need to call her and accept her invite to go see a movie.” My gut churned with a mix of excitement and dread, but I wanted to try. A date with Alex...
No, I’d think about that later. Right now, I had to rein in my mom. “In the meantime, you can use this opportunity to explain to Virna why you misled her about a non-existent housekeeping job. Then maybe you should check into flights home. I know you’re busy, and you’ve had a chance now to see for yourself that I’m fine. There’s no reason you have to stay to watch over me.”
Our gazes and wills clashed for a few moments, and I could see the debate in her eyes. She didn’t want to leave, but she knew as well as I did how inconvenient it was for her to be away from her office in New York. But if she wasn’t here, she wouldn’t have a say in my life choices, and she hated that more than she hated a full inbox in her email account.