Chapter Twenty-Three

Alex

I sat in my cushy new desk chair and stared at the computer screen in front of me. I’d been working on the same press release for the past hour, but the words wouldn’t come out right. It was almost impossible to focus on the excitement of the new brew pub when all I could think about was how badly I screwed up with Damian yesterday.

It was just supposed to be a favor for my dad. A quick bug in Damian’s ear. But before I’d known it, he had been seething with anger, making me out to be no better than all the parasites in Hollywood, my family included. Then I had to open my big mouth to get in the last word, because apparently, I have zero self-control.

“Dammit.” I shut the lid of my laptop and pushed back from the desk.

“You okay over there?” Melissa called from her desk a few feet away.

I forced my face into a neutral expression. “Yeah. Just one of those days.”

Melissa grabbed her purse and stood. “Why don’t you come have lunch with me and Anthony then? My treat.”

I rubbed my tired eyes and shook my head. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve got too much to do here.”

She nodded and walked to the door, pausing in the threshold. “Does this day have anything to do with Damian's conspicuous absence around here?”

“No. What? Of course not,” I scoffed and waved a hand at her. “I told you already. His mom is visiting, so I told him to spend his time with her.”

“That’s good, since he’s heading up here right now.” She smiled a little too sweetly because she was my best friend and knew exactly what was up. “Later.” Melissa walked out the door.

Less than a minute later, Damian came in. He nodded at me but didn’t say a word as he headed toward his temporary office space. I watched him load up a laptop and grab a few reports while I pretended to read something on my own computer.

My legs itched to stand up and walk to him, but I stayed in my seat. I had said some ugly words, and that wouldn’t be fixed with a patented Alex smile and a hug. But I had to do something. My legs shook. “Hi.”

He glanced in my direction and offered a tight-lipped smile. “Hey.”

Fuck it. I was wearing my big girl panties today. Time to suck it up. I stood up and marched to the other side of my desk, still a safe distance away from him but without the buffer of my computer between us. “I’m sorry. I never should have pushed the issue with the movie, and what I said about your mom was a dick move.”

Damian snorted, and this time when he looked at me, his smile was a little more genuine. “A dick move? I wasn’t sure ladies could pull that off.”

“Now you know. We can be ballsy, too.” I gave him a real smile. “We are also perfectly capable of a good that’s-what-she-said joke.”

Damian turned toward me and propped his hip against the desk in a move that was casually sexy at its best. “Really? Lay one on me.”

“That’s what she said,” I shot right back at him, my face playing it cool while my insides leapt with joy that he was actually talking to me.

He took a few steps closer to me. “Guess I walked right into that one.”

“Pretty much.”

“Look.” He took the last few steps to my desk and leaned on the edge next to me. His tantalizing scent surrounded me. “What you said wasn’t wrong. I did lie to my mom. I had freshly returned from war with half my body burned off and had an overprotective mom ready to move into my house and take over. I panicked and convinced Walsh to pretend to be my boyfriend. I figured if mom knew someone else was there to take care of me, she’d back off a bit. Not my finest moment.”

“At least you figured out a way to get her off your back.” I nudged his shoulder with mine. “My parents still think I’m living in the bedroom down the hall, sitting around waiting to clean up their latest mess or wine and dine someone worth schmoozing.”

“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be the kid of a famous director and one of the highest paid actresses in Tinseltown.” Damian’s hand planted on the desk, and where his pinky touched mine, my skin came to life.

“Probably not too different from being the son of a media mogul and the president of a family-owned bank.”

“Touché.” He reached his pinky out and wrapped it around mine. “And you’re forgiven. Honestly, you don’t really have anything to apologize for. It was a simple question, and I shouldn’t have jumped down your throat like that.”

I turned toward him, careful not to dislodge my pinky from his. “Still, I want to make it up to you. How do you feel about a movie night?”

“Oh, I’m a big fan of movie nights.” He rose to stand in front of me and wrapped his free hand around my waist. “Especially if they end up anything like our last one.”

“Not a movie at home, you horn dog.” I pounded my fist into his shoulder but then pulled him closer to me. “I’m talking about a movie...out.”

Damian stiffened in front of me, so I used my free hand to massage his shoulder.

“We only have one theater in town. The rundown place I was telling you about. All they show is old movies that hardly anyone cares about. But...” I ran my fingernails up his neck eliciting the exact eyes-shut, deep-sigh reaction I was going for. “They also have the world’s best popcorn thanks to their secret seasoning, and this week, they’re showing Bring it On.”

Damian dipped his forehead down to rest against mine. “Can I think about it?” He opened his eyes and ran his thumb along my jaw. “It has nothing to do with you. I’m just not sure if I’m ready for a public gathering with a theater full of strangers.”

I laughed and held his hand tighter. “If it makes you feel any better, The Palace is never even close to full, but I want you to be comfortable.”

He nodded and closed his eyes again. “Thank you, Alex.”

“Anytime.”

I really meant it. Somehow, I’d gone from stopping in to check on him as a favor to losing my mind over a few hours of separation. Even if we never went on a single date, I was already hooked on Damian Thorne, and that was a very bad thing.

I didn’t get hooked. Hooked meant I’d get hurt. Hooked meant I cared. Caring led to heartbreak and Bloody Marys at nine o’clock in the morning every day for breakfast. I’d determined a long time ago that would never be me. But here I was...hooked and loath to change anything about it.