Frowning, Max pulled the laptop from Mike’s grasp. “It doesn’t say that.”
“Sure it does. Your dream woman can make a Baked Alaska and you also want her to play games in the bedroom. You’re a sick man. Baked Alaska? Really? How about a nice cheesecake?”
“What’s wrong with Baked Alaska? It’s an elegant dessert.”
“Is this truly what you’re looking for in a woman? It’s rather an anemic list. Vague crap about optimism and enjoying good books. It’s complete and utter bullshit.”
Max didn’t like his friend’s tone. “It’s not bullshit, and I’ve been working on this all evening.”
Mike rolled his eyes like a thirteen-year-old girl. “You need to completely redo this list. It’s superficial at best, laughable at worst, although I now completely understand how you ended up with Alana. Don’t you ever think about what happens when you get out of bed with a woman? I’ve heard the rumor that you have to talk to them when you’re not fucking them.”
“I talk to them,” Max growled, wrestling for control of the laptop. “Give that to me.”
Mike managed to gain control and stood up with the computer, walking over to the bar. “Enlighten me. What did you and Alana talk about after a lively romp in the sheets? Politics? Football? Climate change? No? Let me guess. Baked Alaska.”
Rubbing his jaw where Mike had hit him, Max groaned in frustration. “I see what you’re trying to get at. I’m simply not in the habit of revealing my innermost soul to the women I sleep with.”
“You can once you marry them, mate,” Mike shot back. “In fact, it’s kind of a requirement. Do you think that you chose Alana because you wouldn’t have to show her who you were inside? She’s not the type to care.”
“You’ve been in therapy too long. Everything doesn’t have underlying meanings. Sometimes a banana is just a banana.”
“Or as Amy would say, sometimes a chicken shit is just a chicken shit. Who or what scared the hell out of you and made you hide who you are?”
“Fuck you.”
“That’s lovely. Really nice. I’m trying to help you.” He opened a new document. “Now let’s work on this goddamn list again and this time try to think about something other than her boobs and whether she can whip up a gourmet meal in the kitchen for you wearing nothing but a sheer apron. For once, stop thinking with your dick and think about the kind of person you want to grow old with. The kind of woman that you’d want to mother your children. In fact, let’s start there. Do you want kids?”
“I’m not doing this.” Max stood and came to the bar, smacking the lid closed on the laptop. “I’ll be sorry to see Carrie leave but if I have to bare my soul to keep her here then I don’t think this was meant to be. I’ll get her a lovely gift for her trouble. I do appreciate what she’s tried to do even if it doesn’t show. I hope she can find it in her heart to forgive my behavior but I’ll understand if she cannot.”
Mike looked like he wanted to say quite a bit but simply shook his head. “Fine. I’ll let her know that you’ll be forwarding an expensive gift that you’ll have your assistant pick out and your thanks. I’m sure she’ll be relieved to face all her family and friends now that you’ve pulled her into all your troubles and had her picture in the tabloids. It’s only made things ten times worse for her but what do you care? You’re a fucking movie star and she’s just a regular person. No one cares about her life or problems. Certainly you don’t if your actions are any indication. You’ll have to live with the fact that she tried to help you with Alana but you’re too much of a bastard to help her in return.”
Turning on his heel, Mike strode toward the door but he didn’t get all the way before Max finally spoke.
“It’s not like that. I really do want to help her but I don’t think I know how.”
Mike didn’t bother to look back. “Then you shouldn’t have started all of this. It was your idea and this one is on you.”
His responsibility. His fault. Just like everything else.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The next day Carrie tried to shake off her argument with Max. She’d said a few things she regretted and he probably did as well. He was difficult to get to know and she wasn’t a woman that took much crap so it was a recipe for a rocky road.
She needed to apologize. The crack about his Oscar nomination had been completely uncalled for and more than that, it had been cruel. Winning that golden statue was probably his dream and she’d kicked him when he was down. Not a kind move.
She’d spent most of the morning pretending to work so when her phone rang and it was Tyler Gaylord of all people, she’d jumped at the chance to meet him for lunch. Anything that extricated her from these four walls was a godsend in her book. He’d chosen a back booth in a quiet cafe off the beaten path.
“You must know every place in this city to eat where you won’t be recognized,” she said as she sat down across from him. He was handsome as usual in a pair of faded denims, a simple blue t-shirt, and a brown leather jacket that was a nod to the cooler than normal temperatures.
“I know this one place in London and there’s no guarantee that we won’t end up on a fan’s Instagram. But I’ve had decent luck here slipping under the radar and the burgers are fantastic.” He leaned forward, his gaze heated. “Might I say you look very fetching today, Red.”
“I accept all compliments,” she laughed, looking down at her clothes. They were some of the new ones she’d purchased the day she met him. “And it’s just jeans and a blouse.”
“You make it look special.”
He was full of it but why not enjoy the ride? She’d had precious little flirting and compliments these last few months. They quickly ordered and she settled back into the booth.
“So how did you get my number?”
His brow quirked and he gave her a secretive smile. “I bet you can guess.”
Of course. “Paige.”
“Technically it was Nate but they’re sort of one and the same these days, aren’t they? In the matrimonial sense.”
“The matrimonial sense,” she repeated with a giggle. “Have you ever been married, Tyler?”
He shook his head. “Oh hell, no. I’m not the marrying kind.”
The waitress placed their drinks on the table and bustled back to the kitchen, appearing not to notice she had a real-live sex god movie star at her table.
Carrie stuck out her lower lip in a pout. “Did some mean woman do you wrong? Break your heart?”
He grinned, showing off all his dazzling white teeth. “Not at all. I’ve never had a broken heart. I just don’t see the allure of marriage.”
“I’ve never met anyone who hasn’t experienced at least some heartbreak. How old are you?”
Laughing, he shrugged out of his jacket. “Thirty-eight. And a half. You’ve met someone now and I don’t think I’ve missed anything. It looks awful and sad.”
That’s when it hit her. “You’ve never been in love.”
“I don’t think I’m the type. I’m too into my career. Maybe someday I’ll find the right woman and settle down.”
Tyler Gaylord didn’t look like the absence of love in his life bothered him all that much. If anything, he looked joyous, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“I should take a leaf out of your book,” she said, envious of his carefree attitude. “All love has ever brought me was pain and heartache. How do you do it?”
He shrugged. “It’s easy. I keep busy and concentrate on my work. I tend to date women who either feel the same way I do about love or that fulfill a need in my career.”
Ahhh. “A showmance?”
His eyes widened and then a grin broke out onto his face. “What do you know about the big bad world of Hollywood public relations, Red?”
It was her turn to shrug. “Not much but I’ve heard of it. Have you been in a lot of fake relationships?”
She wouldn’t mind some advice without actually revealing that she was in one herself. Or maybe she w
asn’t. At this point it could go either way.
“About half a dozen or so. Sometimes the lines get blurred and it’s hard to tell.”
The number made Carrie gasp in surprise. She’d never have guessed so many.
“What do you mean by blurred?”
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “Sometimes it just starts out as a friendship on the set and then we’ll decide to hang out together. For publicity, not because we’re into each other or anything. It’s casual and there’s no romance but the public and the tabloids don’t know that.”
Her finger traced a figure-eight on the table top as she avoided his eyes. “What if you didn’t get along with someone you were supposed to be pretending to be with? Has that ever happened?”
“Once. But it was only because what we really wanted to do was have sex with each other.”
No, no, no.
Her head popped up. “And did you?”
“Repeatedly,” he announced, his brows waggling wickedly. “Once the sexual tension was resolved we got along quite well. Ended the relationship as friends once the affair ran its course. We still hook up now and then when we’re both between significant others because the sex was so damn good.”
Her cheeks felt hot. Sleeping with Max would be a gigantic blunder. He was gorgeous. And sexy, that was no doubt, but sex? No way. She didn’t sleep with people she didn’t like and respect. She wasn’t about to start now. Their issues weren’t sexual tension but Max being an asshole. They didn’t have to get naked to have it resolved.
“Friends with benefits, huh?” she said, wanting to act casual. “I bet you have one of those in every major city all over the world.”
His blue eyes twinkled. “You’re absolutely right.”
Tyler Gaylord was fun, outrageous, and he made her laugh. She was glad she’d accepted his invitation to lunch. Which then brought up the question…
“So why did you invite me today?”
His middle finger rubbed against his full lower lip, an affectation Carrie was sure he’d learned as an actor. It was probably quite effective with the ladies, reminding them of what that mouth might be able to do.
“Maybe I have an opening in London.”
At first she didn’t know what he was talking about and then his meaning seeped into her muddled brain. Friends with benefits. London. She was getting slow on the uptake.
“I’m afraid to ask about the application process.”
His hand over his mouth, Tyler laughed quietly, trying not to garner any extra attention.
“Carrie, I really like you.”
This entire conversation was strange. A hot movie star was flirting with her. Was this something Paige and Nate had asked him to do? Like when they’d asked Max to take her to dinner. Everyone felt sorry for poor loser Carrie.
“I’m a lovely person,” she replied lightly as the waitress slid their burgers in front of them. Carrie had ordered a classic cheeseburger and Tyler had ordered cheese and mushrooms. They ate in silence for awhile but eventually came back to the conversation.
“Carrie, can I ask you a question?”
It was polite to say yes but there was a part of her that wanted to say no based solely on the expression on Tyler’s face.
“Depends on what you’re asking.”
He set his burger back on the plate and wiped his hands with the paper napkin. “How long have you been dating Maxwell Hayes?”
She and Max had never actually discussed the details of their dating relationship should others ask questions. She would have to go it alone, assuming that they had any sort of relationship after their falling out.
“I met him last fall at Thanksgiving dinner at Paige’s. We sort of became friends then. I’m not sure I’d characterize what we’re doing as dating. I’d say that we spend time together.”
I could be a politician. I just gave a great non-answer answer.
“I’m sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong, but I think you’re a nice person. Just be careful, okay? Max is a great guy and one of my best friends but he has a terrible track record with women.”
She took a drink of her soda before answering. “The obvious reply to that statement is that you do too.”
Chuckling, he nodded in agreement. “That’s true but the difference is that I know I’m a lousy boyfriend but Max thinks he’s a good one. The truth is he’s not much better than I am. He has major trust issues and they’ve only gotten worse since he broke up with Alana.”
Something she’d experienced up close and personal but it was kind of nice to know it wasn’t her. This was just how he was. “Perhaps he has good reason not to trust women.”
Tyler appeared to be struggling for the right words. “There is some truth to that. In this crazy business and with our level of fame, it’s hard to know who you can trust, but this goes deeper than that. Max always wonders what people want from him, whether man or woman, and everyone is guilty until proven innocent. He was like this even before he became super famous.”
“And yet he married a woman that wanted him for his money and connections,” she found herself saying. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“That’s another of Max’s issues. He lets his…male anatomy do a lot of the thinking for him.”
That’s basically what Max had said to her that first day at the pub. He’d been attracted to Alana because of the great sex.
But this was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. She barely knew Tyler although he seemed like a nice man, and she didn’t like talking about Max behind his back.
“I appreciate your concern and I’ll take what you said under advisement.”
“In other words, you’re going to ignore every word that came out of my mouth.”
He had no idea how much he’d confirmed all of what she’d been thinking.
“Not at all, I simply do not feel comfortable discussing Max when he’s not here. It doesn’t feel fair to him.”
Tyler signaled to the waitress, seeming to take her rebuke well. “The world has been more than fair to our buddy Max but I get what you’re saying. I just ask one thing. Please think about what I’ve said here today. Max is a complicated guy. If you get involved with him, it won’t be easy. He’ll fight you all the way.”
Then it was better that he’d ended things. If Tyler was right, she and Max would have ended up right where they were now at some point no matter what. If Max couldn’t be honest with her, she didn’t see how any relationship between them was going to work out. She wouldn’t be walking any red carpets with Maxwell Hayes.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
After lunch Carrie wandered around Regent’s Park for awhile before heading back to Paige and Nate’s house. She had plenty of work to get done but her mind was still busy working on the puzzle that was Maxwell Hayes. Sometimes nice, sometimes rude. She’d seen the happy, boyish side of him when they’d went to his friend Albert’s restaurant and she’d liked it. That slightly silly young man was definitely someone she could easily spend time with. Did he still exist or had he been obliterated by Max Hayes – mega movie star and all-around tight ass?
Digging into her purse for the house keys, she didn’t see Max until she was only a few feet away. He’d come through the gates – he knew Nate’s key code – and was lounging against a pillar on the front porch, looking more handsome than should be allowed. His dark hair was tousled by the wind and his off-white sweater was the perfect backdrop for his gorgeous blue eyes.
Those eyes were currently watching her every move as she approached him, perhaps worried she might chuck a potted plant at his head. Lucky for him she wasn’t the violent type.
“It’s chilly out here. How long have you been waiting?”
He straightened and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Not as tight as Tyler’s but they still looked good. “Not long. Carrie, I’d like to apologize to you and I hope we can talk about things.”
It sounded rehearsed but then he was an actor and tha
t’s what he did. There was no getting out of this, and it was better if they faced it head on anyway. She wasn’t a huge fan of letting this fester until they hissed at each other whenever Paige and Nate had a big gathering and Carrie happened to see Max. Somehow they had to come out of this at least civil to one another.
“Come in and have a glass of wine or something. Does it ever warm up here? It’s supposed to be summer.”
She didn’t expect an answer but he surprised her. “It is unseasonably cold but it’s supposed to get better in a few days.”
“That’s…good.”
He followed her in after she unlocked the door, settling into the cushions of the brown leather couch. Carrie kept herself busy in the kitchen pouring them some wine and trying to pretend her hands weren’t trembling. She wasn’t nervous and she wasn’t angry anymore so she wasn’t sure why she was this emotional. Perhaps it was simply that Max brought out strong feelings in her, good and bad.
Returning to the living room, she handed him a glass and noticed for the first time that he had brought a laptop with him. He must have come straight from a cafe or coffee shop. He sat up and smoothed down his sweater, clearing his throat. It looked like he wanted to talk first.
“Carrie, I’d like to apologize to you for my behavior yesterday. It was completely out of line then and before. You’re absolutely right about me. I’m difficult and stubborn, not to mention touchy when it comes to personal subjects. But none of that is an adequate excuse for how I’ve treated you. You’ve agreed to do this incredibly generous thing for me and I have not shown my immense gratitude, something I intend to rectify if you’ll let me. I hope that you will accept this apology and that we can start again. I can assure you that I am determined to show you that I can be more than a pompous, self-centered actor.”
Blown away, Carrie sat heavily into a chair next to the sofa. She’d expected an apology but this one was so…fucking eloquent.
“You rehearsed that, didn’t you?”
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