Time to cut your losses and move on, pal.
Because why in fucking hell was he wasting his time with a woman who never planned to sleep with him?
“Carla slipped on the stairs at home. She can’t move. She says she probably fractured something.” Dropping the call, Eve faced him, anxiety splayed across her features. “I need to go.”
“Want me to come with you, baby?” It was a polite question, perfunctory.
“Will you?”
He read the hidden plea in her eyes. She was scared.
Her fear resonated with him. He’d almost lost his heartbeat when Jamie had had a clavicle fracture in high school. If she was going through anything like that, she’d need some emotional support.
“Since I’m not getting laid, I might as well be of service.”
Her smile was withdrawn. “Thank you.”
*
In the end, his presence had turned out to be useful. Carla had hurt her lower back so badly, she’d been unable to stand straight, so he’d had to help her to the ambulance.
And now, against all reason, he found himself at the hospital where Carla was, cradling a bouquet of flowers and a box of Godiva chocolates.
Why did he care about this ugly, awkward girl again? There were thousands of employees at Star Studios whose children injured themselves. Yet, he didn’t visit any of them in the hospital.
Ignoring his racing thoughts, Grant knocked on the door to Carla’s room, waited for a sound, then let himself in.
“Oh, it’s you.” Carla jerked her head up from the bed.
Scanning the room, he failed to spot Eve.
“Your mom—”
“She’s talking to the nurse.” Amber eyes identical to Eve’s regarded the bouquet in his hand with interest. “Is that for me?”
Unenthusiastically, Grant brought himself over to her side. “Here. Get well soon.”
“At least sound like you mean it.” Leery, she sniffed the roses. “You used to be an actor.”
“That was two decades ago.” Grant took the flowers from her and set them on her bedside.
She crawled closer to the edge of the bed and tried to flip onto her other side. “Can I ask you something? Will you promise not to tell my mom?”
Grant whistled. “Sorry, kid. I don’t know any abortion clinics or coke dealers.”
Carla hurled the same scoffing eye roll that Eve hurled at him whenever he stepped on her toes. Like mother, like daughter.
“I read online that you’ve helped a lot of actresses land good roles.” She drew a circle on the sheets. “Will you do me a favor?”
“No.”
His icy expression didn’t diminish her enthusiasm. “Actually, I want to kinda...become an actress....”
“No.” Grant could already sense where this was gonna go.
She avoided eye contact, but continued to talk. “I’ve taken a few classes...and done a few auditions...but there haven’t been a lot of roles. Will you help me? Don’t tell my mom. She doesn’t understand. She wants me to get a college degree and waste my life slaving in corporate America.”
“Education’s good for you. So is getting a job.” He didn’t feel those words, but it was the right thing to say. It was what Eve would want him to say.
“I don’t want a job. I want to be an actress.” She narrowed her eyes.
“Then keep auditioning. You’re bound to find something.”
“It doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. If you help me...”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Grant decided there was no point in trying to be nice.
Encouragement was one thing, but giving false hope was quite another. Even subtracting the suspenders, Carla didn’t have the kind of face that could be cast easily. She wasn’t photogenic enough to look good on screen, and her height and figure were caught somewhere between adolescence and childhood. Her face was unique in all the wrong ways. As a director, actor, and producer, he had an eye for stars. Within moments of looking at someone, he could tell if they were going to make it big or not. Ten times out of ten, he was spot on.
“It’s gonna be tough for you to be an actress with a face like that. I mean, you could get supporting parts, but showbiz is a very beauty-centric industry.”
“And I’m not beautiful?”
“She finally gets it.” Grant cast his eyes heavenward.
“Are you allowed to tell a sick person that they look ugly?” She waved her hand when he tried to open his mouth. “Don’t worry. I’m not hurt. I guess I get the weird face from my mom.”
“Rubbish. Your mother’s beautiful.” Grant froze when he realized what he’d said.
“Wow, thanks for that confidence booster.” A belly laugh tumbled out of her.
At least the kid was easygoing. Worlds apart from her uptight, pain-in-the-ass mother.
Whistling low, Grant suggested, “Try YouTube. Lots of awkward kids become YouTube stars. You get more creative control, and the money’s potentially better than what many actors make.”
Her eyes sparkled with interest. “I’ve been thinking of that. But isn’t it impossible to get noticed on YouTube these days? It’s become so crowded. Everybody’s starting their channel.”
“Everything’s competitive. You have to work hard if you want to get somewhere.” The edge of her bed frame cut into his hands.
When she coughed, his natural reflex had him handing her a glass of water. The sudden wave of niceness surprised him. He didn’t often do such things. His paternal instinct had gone into deep freeze the day Jamie had graduated high school.
“But I don’t know if YouTube will be around ten years from now.” She handed him back her empty glass, since she couldn’t reach over to the bedside table.
“As long as there are kids with more free time than brain cells in the world, YouTube isn’t going anywhere.”
Giggling, Carla halted abruptly when her gaze reached behind him. “My mom’s here.”
“Grant.” Wariness colored Eve’s tone as she entered the room and eased the door shut.
In one week, she’d acquired forty more fine lines on her face. He really needed to add in Botox with her bonus this year. And if she raised hell, let her.
Visually checking that her daughter was okay, she muttered, “What was he telling you?”
Eve didn’t trust him around her daughter, and it was obvious. Taking a step back, Grant tried to align himself close to the walls.
“We were talking about YouTube,” Carla said. “It’s that website where you can watch videos.”
“I know what YouTube is,” Eve snapped.
Carla rolled her body away from Eve, and showing a very different side of her, sulked.
“I’m grateful that you granted me vacation on such short notice.” Facing him, Eve clung onto the box of chocolates way too tightly. “The doctors are going to keep Carla in the hospital for another day to make sure her head’s okay. I should be back to work next Thursday.”
“Take your time.” He played the good boss, although he felt anxious at the thought of her prolonged absence. “This must be hard on you.”
Eve chewed her fingertip. “It is.”
Grant didn’t delude himself. There was no way he could understand her situation. He might’ve been a single dad, but he’d had an army of nannies and maids to pick up his slack. She only had herself.
A knock resounded, and the door slid open again. This time it was a man.
“Dad.” Carla’s response was lukewarm.
Eve’s was frigid. “You should’ve called ahead. I had no idea you were planning to drop by.”
“I’m allowed to see my daughter whenever I want to.” Prickly, her ex-husband barreled towards Carla. “Are you okay, lemon?”
Carla scrunched her nose at the nickname. “Don’t call me that. You’re embarrassing me in front of people.”
“There’s only your mom and....”
A big question mark dawned on his face when his eyes
rested on Grant.
“I’m her boss.” Grant identified himself.
Turning back, her ex cocked his head sharply at Eve, who tensed.
Crossing her arms in front of her stomach, she said, “I’ll wait outside.”
She left the room, and Grant assumed he was expected to follow, so he went with her.
He didn’t know a lot, but he knew that her split with her husband hadn’t been cordial. Immediately after the divorce, she’d switched from the company she was working at to Star Studios and moved halfway across the country.
They settled into metal-backed chairs in the waiting area outside. There were a few other people— some asleep, others checking messages on their smartphones.
Silence blanketed them quickly, since Eve wasn’t in the mood to talk. Sifting through emails on her iPhone, she forgot about him. He should’ve done the same, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to watch her. Catalog every detail of her fascinating face.
Her irises shifted around swiftly, reading.
Placing a hand on the back of the chair, Grant turned sideways and asked, “It’s an intrusive question, but I’m curious. Why did you divorce him?”
Eve didn’t lift her eyes from the iPhone screen. “Irreconcilable differences.”
“That doesn’t tell me anything.”
“It’s not supposed to.”
“So you don’t wanna talk about it?” Grant protracted his legs.
With a flourish, she buried the iPhone between her thighs. Her golden eyes bored menacingly into his. “No.”
“Don’t get so defensive. I wasn’t forcing you to answer.”
“Thanks for helping me with Carla on Friday. I didn’t think you had it in you to be nice.” Familiar contempt crackled in her voice.
“So will you let me take you on another date?”
Her sigh was deep and disturbed. “I don’t have the energy to go another date with you.”
“It’ll be different this time. We’ll do something exciting. How does a relaxing weekend in Montana sound? I have a lodge up there. Been meaning to go there for a while now.”
“I have a daughter in high school. I can’t just leave her and go on a vacation.” She pulled a face.
“Carla can come, too.”
He was making all these ridiculous offers now. And for what? Why exactly did he want to take this surly, old woman to his lodge in Montana, let alone her nerdy daughter?
“It won’t work out, no matter how hard you try,” Pessimism rung in her voice. “And why’re you trying, anyway? Didn’t I tell you clearly that I’m not having sex with you?”
He didn’t know why he was trying. Lord knew, that if he wanted a willing body to go to Montana with him, he could get one anytime. But no, he didn’t want just anyone. He wanted her.
He was unhealthily obsessed with her. The three days that she’d been away from work had made him restless. Strangely, he enjoyed her sarcasm. Enjoyed the back and forth repartee they always seemed to share.
“You need a break.” Taking her cold hands, Grant warmed them up. “We’ll be in separate rooms.”
Shocked by his request, Eve forgot to free her hand. “If you think you can change my mind once we’re in Montana, better think again.”
“Don’t change your mind, then,” he challenged, while battling the uneasy feeling of the ground shifting from under his feet.
He’d never had serious romantic relations with a woman outside the bedroom since his wife’s death. Had sworn not to.
“Give me some time to consider it. I’m not in the right mind to make decisions right now...” Touching her knees, she screwed her eye shut.
“Tell me what you decide on Thursday.” Without a deadline, she might brush this under the rug.
Eve clamped her lips into a hard line when her ex-husband, exiting Carla’s room, threw her a malevolent stare from across the waiting area. “You should go now.”
“Remember, separate rooms. You have nothing to lose.” he said, as she parted from his side.
In life, some actions had no explanation at all.
Chapter 8
Club music tickled Jamie’s ears. The bass, deep and groovy throbbed in his body, intensifying the throbbing of his heart.
“I didn’t expect her to come,” Daniel remarked, his curious gaze pinned on Bella, who was slamming back shots with Catherine, her sunny blonde hair tumbling down her shoulders wildly. “But Cathy somehow convinced her. They’ve grown close.”
The original plan had been for the club night to be after the sixth episode, but things had gotten so busy that it had been delayed. Now that they were officially finished filming Troubled Domesticity, and all that remained was editing, they’d all decided to go to The Revolver, a new nightclub that had opened in East Village.
On the floor, Rosie was grinding herself against Liam Hemsworth. At least she’d found someone else to bother, so he was free.
Jamie tipped whiskey sour into his mouth, but it was no match for the heat circulating around his body. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Bella since their almost-kiss. Then there had been that screwed up sexting with Cathy on the phone, and he’d been imagining Bella’s body all the way through. He had a feeling that her bra size was 36D, too.
Oh, hell. Jamie pulled at his hair. Now he was speculating on her cup size. Could this possibly get worse?
He’d shoot himself before he succumbed to her. She was a bad idea. Every man’s nightmare—the type of woman who looked at a man and saw a ring and babies before she saw his actual personality.
With a woman like her, there could be no one-night stand. There could be no short-term fling. No goodbye. She’d probably stalk him to the ends of the earth if things ended.
But with the aid of testosterone, even bombs looked like good ideas.
“Any particular reason you’ve been staring at her for the past half hour?” There was a clear accusation in the way Daniel said that.
“She just happens to be in my line of vision,” Jamie said. “And even you’ve gotta admit that she looks stunning tonight.”
More than stunning, actually. She looked like an angel descended to earth. Hyperbole, but it wasn’t far-off.
Daniel played with the glass between his fingers. “She does.”
“I hope she’ll return for season two.” Jamie wondered whether he should go over and talk to her.
He’d been ignoring her all night. In fact, he’d been ignoring her since the kiss.
“If there’s a season two.” Daniel’s eyes acquired a dark look.
“There will be.”
There had to be. He’d taken a huge chance on this show, foregoing a year of work in Hollywood so he could concentrate on TV. It had to pay off.
“The television business is fickle.” Daniel rested his elbow on the table.
While Jamie knew where that cynicism was coming from—Daniel had written a show that had been canceled before—he didn’t share it. He’d never tasted failure before—even Love Me Like You Do had made back most of its production cost—so he believed that his luck was invincible.
“Not as fickle as Hollywood.” He touched the rim of his glass to Daniel’s. “Cheers. I hope Troubled Domesticity becomes an enduring cultural icon like Friends.”
Daniel snickered, swinging his glass to his mouth. “Aren’t you ambitious.”
“We weren’t born to dream small dreams.” He imitated Grant Star.
“So stop dreaming about her and act.” Daniel gave him a shove in Bella’s direction. “She’s not that out of your league.”
As if on cue, Bella tipped her head up and blinked, like she knew they were talking about her.
“Come on. I don’t want to destroy my relationship with an actress. Did you forget we need her back for season two?”
Still, Jamie bounded to his feet.
It was worth a chance, at least. Not a relationship, but just talking to her. He could do with some of her humor in his life tonight. And since they wouldn’t
be seeing each other until next year, he should thank her. After all, she’d done a pretty good job for someone who’d never taken an acting class.
Before he could make a move though, someone else did. Jamie couldn’t see anything more than the shadow of a brown beard and a black leather jacket, but the man was tall, and Bella didn’t hesitate as much as she should have, before she let him whisk her away from the club. The pair of them fled the stifling heat and pounding music.
Jamie wondered if he should follow. Nah. That’d be too stalkerish.
So he took Bella’s empty stool and decided to apologize to Cathy about the sexts he’d sent her two weeks ago.
*
Bella attributed the fact that she hadn’t slapped Bryan yet to her state of shock. She should be getting herself away from him, kicking him, shouting at him, making a scene. That was what she’d sworn to do, if she ever met him again.
But instead, she was letting him force her out of the bar, carry her towards some unknown destination.
His fingers bit into her wrist as the music died behind them.
“B-Bryan, what’re you doing?” Tight and strained, her voice barely functioned.
Their conversation from before was a choppy memory inside her head. He hadn’t said all that much, just that he wanted to talk. In private.
That had caught her off guard. After eight long years, had he finally grown some balls? Enough that he could face her and explain why he’d done what he’d done?
“Let me go!” It felt like she’d shouted, but whether anything actually came out was anybody’s guess.
“No.” His eyes glittered darkly. “I’m never letting you go again.”
An ominous statement like that should’ve kicked adrenaline production into high gear. But her heartbeat didn’t move a blip.
“W-what do you mean?” That question found its way out of her lips.
There was no reply, however.
Her world was swallowed up by darkness as he pulled her into his car. Though Bella realized what was happening, she was too stunned to speak until the engines roared.
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