I headed back to the hotel with lots to think about. Maybe Emmy was right, and I was being too hard on myself. Perhaps I could stand to lighten up and have a good time. I was still mulling this over when I stepped into the lobby and found Jax there with Declan and several other members of the cast.

“Hey, babe,” Jax said, coming over. “A bunch of us are headed out to the pub to celebrate a good day of shooting. Want to come?”

He gave me a look, and I realized that this was a perfect opportunity to really show the cast and crew that we were a couple.

“I’d love to,” I told him. “Can I freshen up first?”

“Of course.” He gave me a kiss on the cheek. My heart skipped at the contact, and my body screamed, Yes, please, more of that!

“I’ll meet you there,” I offered, not wanting to hold them up.

“No need.” Jax gave me one of those melting grins. “I’ll wait here and we’ll catch up with everyone else.”

Greg would have left without me. Even though he was a fake boyfriend, Jax was still the best one I’d ever had. I headed up to the room and changed quickly, exchanging my jeans for a little black dress and my favorite pair of sparkly blue heels. The same ones I had worn when I had first run into Jax at the bar. They seemed to give me luck, and I felt like I might need it tonight, when facing his co-stars. Could I really convince a bunch of actors—who pretended for a living—that what Jax and I had was real?

“Wow,” Jax said when I met him in the lobby. He gave me a slow once-over. “Have I told you how much I like those shoes?”

I blushed. I couldn’t help it. And my body got all tingly. I really couldn’t help that. He just looked so good, with his dark, messy hair and his tight jeans and his collared shirt unbuttoned just the right amount.

There was a reason he was a Hollywood heartthrob . . . And there was a reason I wasn’t, a little voice whispered, but I tried to push it aside.

Tonight, I was going to give a stellar performance.

The pub was just down the lane: an old, cozy place with low ceilings and wooden beams overhead. Jax took my hand as we headed towards the back room, where Declan and the cast were already throwing back shots of tequila. Morgan ran over, two full shot glasses in her hand, and shoved one at me.

“Come on,” she said. “You’ve got to catch up.” She looped her arm through mine and gave Jax a wink. “Sorry, mate,” she told him. “You get her all night. She’s mine for the evening.”

My entire body got hot at the idea of Jax having me all night, but I managed to smile at him and give him a little wave before I was pulled off towards the pool table.

“Do you play?” Morgan asked. “Because none of these wankers want to play with me.”

“That’s because you’re a pool shark,” Declan laughed. “Don’t let her talk you into betting any money,” he told me, with a warning look.

“I am not a pool shark,” Morgan retorted. “It’s not my fault that you’re so bad that you can’t even beat an amateur.”

Declan rolled his eyes and waved her off.

“Come on.” Morgan thrust a cue into my hands. “Let’s play.”

“But I really don’t know how,” I told her.

“Don’t worry about it.” She tossed back a shot and gestured for me to do the same.

The tequila burned but I took a sip. Emmy was right. I needed to have fun.

“We’ll learn together,” Morgan said, gesturing for another round of shots. “Besides, guys love to watch girls bending over a pool table. I am so going to get laid tonight.” She winked.

After a few more shots of tequila, Morgan wasn’t just bending over the pool table, she was making suggestive gestures with her cue at some of the local guys in the bar. I just watched, amazed by how fearless she was as she finally beckoned them over.

“So,” she said, leaning on the table, looking at the two good-looking guys who were in front of her. “Who’s taking me home tonight?”

One of them went wide-eyed and tried stammering out a response. Morgan rolled her eyes and, with a wave of her hand, dismissed him. Then she turned to the other guy. He didn’t say anything, just came over to her and dipped her low on the table with a long, hot scorching kiss. Everyone in the bar stopped to watch.

When they came up for air, Morgan looked a little dazed, but smiled.

“Fantastic,” she said, and then turned to the rest of the cast. “See you tomorrow,” she said with a cheery wave before the hot stranger practically dragged her out of the bar.

I watched the whole thing, feeling impressed and a little turned on. It also helped that I was four shots of tequila into my night and feeling pretty warm and good about myself. A hand came up around my waist and I didn’t even have to turn to know who it was.

“There’s no one like Morgan,” Jax said, sounding impressed.

“Mmmhmm,” I managed, leaning back against his hard chest.

“Are you drunk?” he asked, his voice close to my ear.

“Maybe,” I giggled. “I feel good.”

“You look good,” he told me, his voice low and husky. A chill went through me. A good one. “Except when it comes to your pool game,” he teased.

I spun around a little too quickly and might have even fallen if Jax hadn’t kept his grip on my waist.

“My pool game is awesome!” I argued unnecessarily. My pool game was terrible, and we both knew it. But I wasn’t someone who was going to back down from a challenge.

And from the gleam in his eyes, Jax knew that too.

“I’d be happy to teach you,” he told me.

“I’d like to see you try,” I shot back, feeling sexy and reckless and definitely like I was going to have some fun.

“Want to place a little friendly bet on it?” he asked.

I tossed my hair over my shoulder. “Sure,” I said stubbornly. “But I don’t have anything you want.”

Jax gave me a scorching look. “Oh, I don’t think that’s true at all.” He came in closer, lowering his voice. “If I win, I get a kiss.”

My throat went dry, and suddenly I really, really wanted him to win.

But I also knew that if that happened, I would be in trouble. Big, big trouble.

“What if I win?” I asked him.

He shrugged. “What do you want?”

“A trip to the Jane Austen House Museum in Hampshire,” I blurted out without thinking.

I regretted it, realizing that I had just taken Jax’s incredibly sexy wager and made it into the nerdiest, most boring wager of all time.

But if Jax thought so, he didn’t say anything, instead he just stuck out his hand to shake mine.

“Deal.”

* * *

I was going to lose this bet. I was going to lose it bad. Because I didn’t know how to play pool. I was absolutely terrible. And while Jax wasn’t that great either, he at least knew how to hold the cue and hit the ball, while I just kept missing in the most embarrassing ways possible.

Each time, I’d look up and find Jax trying to hide a smile. He knew he was going to win. And I knew that I couldn’t let him—because one kiss from this guy, and the whole “playing pretend” part of our deal would crumble.

I was going to have to play a little dirty.

My black dress was fairly modest. It was short, but it buttoned up all the way to my neck and had long sleeves. The first thing I did was roll up those sleeves. Jax noticed, and paused a little before taking his next shot, but he didn’t say anything.

But at his next turn, I unbuttoned the top button of my dress.

He gave me a look.

“What?” I asked, innocently. “It’s warm in here.”

He shook his head, but his eyes kept returning to the open neck of my dress. So before his next shot, I undid another button. He miscued. So I undid another one. Another miscue.

Somehow, I managed to sink a few balls, out of sheer dumb luck, and soon we were tied. I wasn’t going to let Jax win, so I ordered a beer, and took the frosty mug and pressed it against my throat, making sure that the front of my dress was gaping open slightly. It was a good thing I was wearing a pretty lace camisole underneath, because I’m guessing I wouldn’t have been having the same effect with my grotty sports bra.

Jax just stood and stared at me.

I felt drunk off of the power he was giving me. Also, just plain drunk. But it didn’t matter, because I felt good. Really, really good. So good that I managed to sink my next shot. If Jax didn’t score in his next round, then I would win. And I really, really wanted to win.

So even though I was bordering on the verge of obscene, the minute he bent over the table, I unbuttoned another button. He miscued so hard he ripped a hole in the top of the pool table.

“Whoops,” I said innocently. “Guess I won.”

He stalked over to me, his eyes blazing.

“Come here,” he said, grabbing my wrist.

I barely had time to put my beer down before he was pulling me out of the room and into an empty hallway.

Then, before I could say anything, he pressed me up against the wall, and kissed the hell out of me.