Capture

"Potatoes and fries…" Shaking my head, I rose from my seat. "…not the same, bro."

"Alright, traitor to men everywhere…" Demetri pointed at the door. "… make sure to treat Dani right so I don't have to kick your ass."

I burst out laughing.

No one else joined in.

"Shit, you're serious?" I glared at Demetri. "So much for brotherhood."

"Family trumps brotherhood." He held up his hand for a high five from Dani. "Sorry for partying."

I rolled my eyes. "I promise to bring her back in the same condition I took her."

"Good man." Demetri saluted me.

I waved him off and followed Dani out of the house.

She skipped to her side of the car, appearing to be in a better mood since our car ride over. I only hoped it would last after she saw the list of things I had to get done before I was expected on set.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Dani

DANI: DO YOU DO LAUNDRY EVER?

Lincoln flashed me a grin as he continued putting away our groceries. "Nope, I've never had to."

Dani: You need to learn.

I rolled my eyes and continued sorting his clothes, most of them workout clothes, which made me curious as to what he did. Was he a runner? I stole a peek at his jean-clad legs. I wouldn't be able to tell anyway. His arms were huge, bulging beneath his gray long-sleeve shirt.

"Oh, hey." He peeled the shirt from his body and tossed it in my direction. "If you're doing a load of darks, wash this one too. Someone spilled coffee on it this morning. Not that it wasn't deserved."

Had I not already been a mute, the sight of his bare chest and abs would have done it. His abs were chunky; he didn't just have a six-pack, he had freaking rivets that dipped into delicious golden skin, trailing all the way down into his jeans. Holy crap! He was built, and he was still putting stuff away — not flexing, simply breathing — and somehow that translated into muscles flexing and making my mouth go dry.

His biceps were bigger than my head.

A large tattoo wrapped from his right arm all the way down to his wrist. I hadn't noticed it before; in fact, the last magazine cover he was on didn't have the tattoo. I wanted to ask him about it. Maybe they covered it up all the time? Maybe it was new?

"Not that I mind…" Lincoln didn't turn around. "… because I'm used to it, but since you don't talk, it almost makes it more creepy that you're openly staring at me like that."

I jerked my attention back to the sorting piles, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Dani: Sorry. You just caught me by surprise.

His warm chuckle filled the air. "It's fine. Really."

Someone please let me disappear into the floor.

Dani: I wasn't staring at you because of your body — I was just curious about your tattoo.

There that sounded better, right? Less creepy?

"Well…" Lincoln chose to talk instead of texting me back. "… I went on this month-long hike through the woods, tried to find myself, and on my last day, I was so dehydrated I almost died. I cried out for water just as a snake slithered in front of me, and when I looked past him, I heard a creek. That snake saved my life, so I made a promise to myself to never forget how lucky I was, thus the tattoo."

Officially the weirdest story ever.

Dani: Um, cool.

Lincoln burst out laughing. "I'm shitting you, Dani. I was sixteen, drunk, and stupid. I wanted to get a badass python tattoo. It ended up looking like shit, so I turned it into a full sleeve so that it actually resembled something other than a man's penis on my arm, because honestly, that's what it looked like, no getting around it."

I covered my mouth to keep myself from laughing.

"It's okay, you know…" Lincoln glanced at me over his shoulder. "… to laugh… It doesn't mean you like me, just means I'm even more of an ass than you originally thought."

Dani: True.

Lincoln grinned at me then stared back at his cupboard. "Shit, we forgot waffle mix."

Dani: So?

He shut the cupboards. "Just another thing you get to make fun of me for." He swiped his keys from the counter. "First day on a new movie always starts with a breakfast of waffles and peanut butter."

Ew, officially the grossest combo ever. I made a face.

"Is that for the waffles or the peanut butter?" He leaned against the counter, his abs flexing at me, winking at me, begging me to reach out and touch.

Dani: Both.

Lincoln gasped. "Well, I guess we can't get married now."

Dani: And I had such high hopes of a quick betrothal.

He barked out a laugh. "I can go grab the mix if you want, or you can come with me, and I can buy you another Starbucks… maybe we can shake hands over the cup and vow to do that whole starting over thing?"

My hand hesitated over the laundry.

"Please?" His voice was too sexy for his own good.

That was the last thing I needed — to find the devil sexy. Because that's what he was. Hollywood through and through, a man who jumped to conclusions before he even knew the truth.

Demetri had already warned me.

As had Alec.

And Jaymeson, not that it mattered. A guy like Lincoln would never be interested in me, even if I wasn't mute.

Dani: Sure.

SAFEWAY WAS PACKED. I sent a text over to Lincoln that I'd grab the waffle mix if he wanted to wait in line at Starbucks. I knew he was thankful. Already he was getting odd looks from people. It was in the paper that filming was taking place for the next few months, and he was a dead giveaway with his Lakers hat and Ray-Bans.