“Chrissy, what are you doing here?” Victoria asked as she opened her trailer door. A week after her accident she was finally back, packing her stuff now that the police—and more importantly Nate—deemed it safe.
Chrissy was a surprise to find on her doorstep. Sure, she’d seen the stagehand around the set numerous times during filming but had never had a conversation with her beyond the first day when she’d shown Victoria around the set. With filming done, she couldn’t imagine what she would need now.
Then her mind jumped to Nate. He’d been called to the set a little over an hour ago by Simon for some last minute something-or-other that he and the director needed to go over. “Is everything okay?”
Chrissy licked her lips, and her hand clutched the now-fixed railing so tightly her knuckles turned white. She looked nervous, already looking over her shoulder twice since Victoria had opened the door.
“You need to come with me. Hurry.”
“What’s going on? Is Nate all right?” But she was talking to Chrissy’s back as she was already halfway down the stairs. If she wanted answers, she had no other choice but to follow.
She carefully navigated down the steps and was forced to sprint to catch up with Chrissy. Thank goodness, she was dressed comfortably in a pair of shorts and tennis shoes.
“Will you at least tell me if Nate is all right.” They’d just rounded the sound studio and were on the paved path to the commissary.
Chrissy turned to look at her before quickly facing forward again. “Nate’s fine but… it’s best if you see for yourself.”
What the heck was that supposed to mean? What had Chrissy been about to say?
Chrissy stopped a few feet away from the commissary door and raised a hand toward it. “You go in first.”
Feeling exasperated by that point, Victoria grasped the handle, yanking the door open.
She wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted her.
“Surprise!” a chorus of voices shouted as Victoria looked around in dazed fascination. A wave of party-hat topped people blowing noisemakers and blowouts descended on her, surrounding her in a sea of high-pitched horn noises that was almost deafening. Party poppers shot confetti into the air—little dots of paper landing in everyone’s hair, their clothes, and falling to the floor. A tiara was handed to her by a smiling Chrissy, followed by a sash that stated Happy Birthday.
Victoria was speechless, her mouth flapping open and closed like a fish out of water. Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for the one face she wanted most to see. And there he was. Nate stood at the periphery of the crowd, a big smile on his face.
Walking to meet each other, he leaned down close to her ear, so she could hear him over the noise. “You didn’t think I’d forget your birthday, did you?”
“But my birthday isn’t until tomorrow.”
“Which is why this was such a surprise.” Spinning her around, he wrapped her in his arms, pulling her back to his chest. “Tomorrow, we’ll celebrate in style, just the two of us.”
She tipped her head back and to the side to look up at him. “Thank you. This is wonderful. And I’m sure whatever you have planned for tomorrow will be just as spectacular.”
Nate kissed her forehead. “It’ll be even better.”
A few hours later the party was winding down. Presents had been opened, cake had been eaten, and a complete mess had been made. Only a handful of people still remained, sitting and standing around chatting.
Victoria sat at one of the long tables. Nate sat at her side, his arm slung over the back of her chair. Wendy and Rick sat across from them. They all had poker chips in front of them. Victoria’s pile was the largest.
“Straight. King high,” Victoria said, dropping her two cards face up on the table. She looked at Rick. “Whatcha ya got?”
Rick threw his cards down in disgust. He had a pair of queens. “How have you not lost a hand?”
Victoria gave a little shrug. “I learned from the best.”
Wendy piped up from her seat next to Rick. She was a silent player and hard to read. “Yeah, who?”
“Alec Throne.”
“You learned from Alec Throne?” Rick said at near shout. “No wonder you’re kicking our asses.”
“He’s hot,” Wendy volunteered with an eyebrow wiggle. “How do you know him?”
Victoria felt Nate stiffen beside her and racked her brain to remember whether she’d ever mentioned Alec to him. Judging by the angry vibes coming from him, she would guess, not. “Our parents are best friends. We practically grew up together.” There, that should mellow the caveman sitting next to her.
She felt Nate’s eyes on her but refused to look over, instead focusing on the cards she was shuffling. Not that she had anything to hide, but she supposed she should have mentioned her friendship with Alec to Nate before now. It wasn’t as if she deliberately didn’t tell him, it had just never come up in conversation.
She felt a tug on her scalp as Nate pulled a lock of her hair to get her attention. She had no choice but to look at him. “I would think it only fair, full disclosure be made when we get suckered into playing against the Prince of Poker’s prodigy.”
Victoria let out a relieved breath, glad it wouldn’t turn into a thing. “And lose my competitive edge? I don’t think so, stud.”
He smirked. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”
She shuffled one last time then set the deck down for Nate to cut. “Keeps you on your toes.”
He cut the deck, giving her a heated look. “Guess it does.”
≈≈≈
“Babe, hurry up. We’re going to be late,” Nate called from the bottom of the stairs. They had reservations for dinner at eight. Not that he cared if they were late. He knew the restaurant would hold their table, but he’d been ready forty-five minutes ago, and he was tired of waiting. Not to mention, he was hungry.
“Coming.”
“Not yet, sweetheart, but you will be later.”
“Har, har,” Victoria said, materializing at the top of the stairs.
Nate lost his breath, and all thoughts of food flew from his brain. Fuck, she was beautiful. Dressed in a black, skintight number that barely reached the middle of her thighs and highlighted a barely discernible baby bump, she had him feeling an unexpected caveman mentality of mine. Her hair, left down and flowing over her shoulders and framing her face, shined with rich mahogany highlights in the dim lighting and made his fingers ache to run through it. And that face, with only a subtle application of makeup, emphasizing her natural beauty, he could get lost in that face.
Taking a few steps up while she took a few steps down, they met at the midpoint of the staircase. Nate pulled his phone from his pocket, only taking his eyes off her for the few seconds it took him to dial.
The ring on the other end of the line changed to a friendly greeting, and he said, “This is Nathan Reed. My date and I will be an hour late.” He gave Victoria a scorching look. “Hold our reservation.”
“Why are you squirming so much?” They were seated at an intimate table for two along a side wall of an upscale Italian restaurant.
“I think I have a rug burn on my ass.”
Nate tipped his head back and laughed. “Then we’re even. I’ve got one on my knee,” he said after he recovered, a trace of laughter still in his voice.
“Yes, but you’re not sitting on yours.”
He raised a brow, taking her hand and playing with his ring on her finger. “I’ll kiss it all better when we get home.”
“I’ll look forward to that.” A twinkle lit her eyes. Fuck he loved her smile.
A waiter approached their table, his eyes staying on Victoria for longer than Nate liked. Victoria was oblivious, her face buried in the menu.
He cleared his throat grabbing the dude’s attention.
The waiter stood straighter, seeming to recall his surroundings. “Can I get you anything to drink or a starter, perhaps?”
“You want an iced tea, sweetheart?”
Victoria nodded, not looking up from the menu, her lips pursed in what Nate knew as her indecisive face.
“Two iced teas and an extra glass of ice for the lady.”
“Very good, sir. I’ll be back for the rest of your order.”
“You decide what you want?” Nate asked, reaching for a breadstick and taking a bite.
“I can’t decide between the lasagna or the mushroom ravioli.”
“So, get both.” She gave him the look. The one where she thought he was acting silly. “What? You’re eating for two. You can have two dinners.”
“No way. That’s embarrassing.”
“Fine.” He put his breadstick down on his bread plate and took her menu, closing it and laying it on top of his. “I’ll order the lasagna and you get the ravioli, and we can share.”
Her eyes grew warm, and she gave him another fucking perfect smile. He was growing addicted to those smiles. “Have I told you how much I love you, today, Mr. Reed?”
“Not since I gave your ass a rug burn.”
She laughed, pulling back the cloth napkin and reaching into the basket for a breadstick. She took a bite. “Mmm. These are good,” she said once she swallowed.
They were. Just on the right side of doughy, warm, and slathered in butter and garlic. But nowhere near as delicious as watching her eat one.
The waiter came back with their drinks and left after taking their order all without looking at Victoria once. Nate was pleased. Until he saw Victoria’s eyes go wide over the glass of iced tea she was sipping, choking on the liquid.
He nearly leaped from his seat to help her but stopped when someone approached the side of their table and he realized what had her so out of sorts.
Nate stood, holding out his hand to the jean-clad, tattooed rocker. “Gage.”
Gage took his hand, slapping him on the shoulder with his free one. “Nate. It’s good to see you, man. What’s it been, two, three years?”
“Closer to three, I think. What are you doing in my neck of the woods? You still in Vegas?”
“We’re still in Vegas but on a mini-tour up the coast of California.” A petite blonde stepped up to his side, and Gage wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “My wife, Cassie. Sunshine, Nathan Reed.”
Nate smiled, taking Victoria’s hand. “My fiancée, Victoria Lee.”
Victoria stood and tried to tug her hand from his to shake the hand Gage held out, but he wasn’t letting go. Not a chance in hell.
Victoria gave him an evil glare.
He returned it with a happy grin.
He heard Gage’s chuckle. “I get it, man. I’d let you shake my wife’s hand, but she gushed over you for too long when your last movie came out for me to allow it.”
Nate saw Gage wince and had a feeling the small, pale hand he’d seen flash between the two, pinched him on his side. “You won’t allow it? Wait ‘til we get home and see what I won’t allow.”
“Aww, come on, Sunshine,” he gave her a kiss on the forehead. “You’re making me look bad in front of my friend.”
Cassie gave him the look—do all women have that look down to perfection? “No, you’re doing that all on your own.”
Gage chuckled. “Okay. You win.” He turned back to Nate. “We’ll let you guys get back to your meal. It was nice meeting you, Victoria.” Gage gave him a chin lift. “Nate.”
Cassie smiled, and Victoria said, “Nice meeting you both,” before the couple made their way to their table.
“I can’t believe you know Gage Hunter. How did you two meet?”
“Engage did the title track for Days Without End.”
“Oh, that’s right. You were hot in that movie.”
She gave him a wink that had his dick hardening. Fuck, he had it bad. “Are you saying I’m not hot in all my movies?”
Her nose wrinkled, and her lips twisted into a cute grimace. “I’m pleading the fifth.”
He smirked. “Oh, now I’ve got to know.”
“Corruption.”
Nate laughed. He’d played a computer nerd in Corruption, and Victoria was right, with his greasy, slicked-back hair, large black glasses, and prosthetic face pieces, he hadn’t been looking his best. “I forgot about that one. You’re right.”
“Aren’t I always?” And there went that sexy wink again. Thank fuck he was wearing slacks, or he wouldn’t be sitting comfortably right then.
Their food arrived, and they ate until Victoria declared she was stuffed.
“Are you ready for your present now?”
“Yes!” She did a little hop in her chair, clearly excited.
He pulled a small square box from his inside jacket pocket and handed it over.
She opened it and gasped, lifting out the necklace and holding it up to read the pendant. Then reacted exactly as he’d hoped she would. She laughed, getting the joke. Diamond encrusted letters that spelled out #Leed. “I love it, thank you.”
“I’m glad. You ready to blow this joint? I’m dying to get you home.”
“You bet.”
He led her out of the restaurant pleased with how perfect their evening had been.
But it all went to shit as soon as they got home.