22

AFTER HOURS

DOC

I GIVE MY BUDDY Matt a call when breakfast arrives at the villa. He’s totally fine with me bringing Nora by, claiming he wants proof that anyone would actually date me, let alone sleep with me. Naturally, I call him an asshole, tell him we’ll see him in a couple hours, and hang up.

“Baby, I booked us a couples’ massage for tomorrow. Not too early,” I add as I sit down next to her. “If you’d rather not, I can cancel, but I thought—”

“Doc, I’m barely out of the hole. I can’t afford all these extras,” she says, and I gape at her.

“Are you joking, love? I would never let you pay for any of this.” I dig into my pancakes as if that’s the end of it. Stop laughing.

“No, this is too much. I fully planned on splitting the room and—”

“Stop.” My mouth is full of food, so it sounds like I’m speaking through a wall. Once I have room to speak, I continue. “When the fuck did I give the impression you were allowed to pay for any of this? This is my show.”

“Allowed?” she repeats, louder than before.

“Hold up. You know that’s not how I mean it. I’m saying this is all for you. My treat, you know?”

Her expression contorts as she crosses her arms over her chest. “I… I don’t know that I should’ve agreed to all this. I mean, I don’t like people paying for me, you know.”

I realize finally that this is not about anything but money. I groan, rolling my head around my neck, because holy hell, why did it take me so long to figure this out?

“Nora, I’m not trying to make you feel like you owe me something. What kind of guy would I be if I did?”

She blanches, visibly shaken for the briefest of moments. I blink and it’s gone. Simple guilt remains. “I’m just a little uncomfortable with so much. Maybe could I pay for lunch? Maybe some of the extras on the room?”

I lean over, my hands resting on her knees so I’m as close to her face as I can get without kissing her. “I want to spoil you, to pamper you. Why can’t I do that?”

“Why do you want to?”

“Because,” I swallow and stop the three little words that almost tumble out. My skin flashes cold at the thought of her possible reaction. “I think you deserve to be pampered.”

“This is so expensive!”

“Look,” I say. “I told you I got a great deal on this villa thanks to the production company. I splurged on the flights, because hell yes. As much as I’d like you to think I’m tossing cash out like Kleenex, it’s not breaking me, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

She sighs and touches a palm to my face. “I’m paying for lunch.”

“Jesus Christ.” I sit back into my chair and shake my head. “Fine. You can buy the sushi, but if you try to pay for anything else, I will spank you.”

Her responding grin grows lopsided and her cheeks pink.

“Really?”

“Eat up, tiger. We should get going,” she says, an angelic lilt to her voice as she rises, drops her robe, and damn-near skips to the bathroom.

“We’re going to be late,” I call.

“I know.”

I’m in so deep.

***

Matt spends the first forty-five minutes chatting Nora up like she’s going to dump me for him. I’d be worried if I didn’t know what a good guy he is, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to give him shit.

“Oi! Hands off,” I snap. “Sexual harassment is not cool, mate.”

Nora laughs. “It’s only harassment if it’s uninvited,” she says.

“That’s it, I’m leaving,” I say and turn to walk away.

“Get back,” she groans as she grabs my arm. “I was just about to lower the boom on this poor, unsuspecting love puppy over here.”

Matt’s expression sours and prunes. “Love puppy? I take it back. I’m not flying you to my estate in Tuscany.”

“Like you had one,” I say. “So I was just going to show her around; is that all right?”

“No problem, man,” he says. “Dooley’s on the hillside set doing a principal scene. They’re still setting up, but if you want to go watch, it’ll be a fun one. It’s the ‘experiment’ scene.”

“Kinky.” Nora grabs my ass.

I turn slowly to side-eye her. “Steady, killer. There are plenty of hiding spots around here, you know.”

One eyebrow raises. “How do you know?”

“I caught one of my guys trying to use ’em.”

She rolls her eyes and pushes at my chest. “Not the best hiding spots then, eh?”

I shrug and laugh. “I just know what I’m looking for.”

Nora drops my gaze. “You sure do,” she says under her breath.

I want to comment, to add to it. Maybe even confess how strongly I feel about her, but I don’t. She’s not ready. Is she?

***

Nora’s still buzzing from watching the filming, so she’s bouncing all over the car on the quick ride to the sushi place.

“I mean, I’ve been on sets before—I even filmed a walk-on role in a doomed TV show once upon a time—but that was electric. You must have such fun,” she says leaning out the window, hair whipping wildly around her face.

I smile, just watching her.

“I do,” I confirm once she brings herself back into the vehicle. “Sometimes stunts don’t work, or we have to do them four hundred times—literally. Then it’s not the party you saw today, as this was well-planned with a reasonable expectation of outcome. Some things take a bit of trial and a shit-ton of error.”

“Which is why it’s such a dangerous profession.” Her raised eyebrow tells me more than her teasing tone.

“Less than American football,” I note. “And true stunt work is all about figuring out how to make something potentially or seriously dangerous look real, but also do it safely.”

“You’re so hot when you talk precautions.”

I smirk at her. “Cheeky.”

Somewhere in the middle of sushi and a random discussion about going fishing with her father back in Ireland as a girl, my phone buzzes. A jolt of anger shoots through me at the interruption. It’s taken so much patience to get Nora in a place where opening up is a possibility, let alone a reality, and it’s the second time it’s gone off in the last five minutes. I ignored the first, but a second in a row from Matt piques my concern.

“Sorry, love,” I say. “Let me just see what the fuck is up his arse. Matt, this better be good, son. What’s on?”

“I hate to bother, man,” he says, “but I just found out some of the footage you shot a few weeks ago was corrupted and lost. We need to reshoot.”

Nora reacts to my expression. “What happened?” She looks worried, so I grab her hand and shake my head.

“Damn, mate,” I say to Matt. “How many people got fired for that? Aren’t there backups?”

“I lost count of the fallen, and no. Apparently there are no backups. The producers are pissed, but we are ahead of schedule, miraculously, so we have a little wiggle to get this reshot and in the can so it can be ready for the editing team on time.”

“You’re not asking me to cut my weekend short, are you?” I ask, but my eyes are on Nora’s. I see wheels turning, and it freaks me out a little. “Because I am not available.”

“We won’t be ready for your crew until Saturday.”

“I suppose I’m flying home by myself?” My Beauty asks once I wrap up the call. Her eyes are dark and unreadable. I can’t tell if she’s angry or amused.

“Unless you want to stick around. Watch me work.” I wouldn’t be opposed to it, though I’m sure she’d get bored fast.

Her nose scrunches up as she shakes her head. “I have to work Friday night. You know the weekends are big for me. Until I get a solid savings reserve built up, I need to work my ass off.”

“Please don’t. Your ass is delectable.”

“Get your lips off it,” she counters, making a kissy face.

“What about PR?”

“It’s certainly lucrative, and if I had the right opportunity, I might grab it, but for now, I like bartending.” Her fingers skim the top of the sake bottle delicately, almost erotically. Probably not, but my mind is going there. “It lets me leave work at work, and that’s kind of a blessing.”

“But it sucks up your weekends like an overeager Hoover.”

Her responding laugh is loud and sudden, and she slaps a hand over her mouth. Beneath her fingers, I see the tint of heat bloom. “For now. Like I said, it’s temporary.”

Are we? But I don’t say it. The thought was errant, popped out of nowhere.

“We find our time together,” she says, faux-innocently batting her lashes.

I grin. “Speaking of, shall we?”

“Please.”