Two weeks fly by in a blur of budget meetings, weather warnings, and actor tantrums.
It’s only late at night, when I’m finally alone in my tiny apartment that I feel the time that’s passed since I last touched Kaden.
The one consolation is that I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time or opportunity to make a fool of myself again in front of our leading man, Luke Hart.
But that doesn’t mean I haven’t had the chance to see him in action. There’s a reason why women line up to see him.
Listed as number one in the Top 100 Most Eligible Bachelors, Luke Hart has fronted GQ, Men’s Health, and Playgirl in this last month alone.
And rumor has it that he’d been approached my Time and People as well.
I’ve been watching the female assistants, actresses, and extras flutter around him for weeks. It’s embarrassing how they’re always desperately trying to strike up conversation or somehow be useful to him.
The man is so charismatic, he practically glows when he smiles.
Add that to the fact that he radiates the kind of sexual energy that promises many very satisfying encounters between the sheets and you have a magnet for every woman who’s ever felt sexually frustrated. The man is a catch.
I’m so glad that I’m immune to all that silliness.
I have a yummy sexy man already, thank you very much.
Not that I thought of Luke as yummy, I just…
The butterflies in my stomach when I see him and the sudden spike in my pulse when he zeroes his gaze on me has nothing to do with wanting him.
I’m merely excited because I, as the producer, can see the clear monetary potential of having him star in my movie.
See?
Nothing sexy about that.
‘Strangle Hold’ is an erotic thriller set just after the Second World War. It tells the story of a beautiful young wife trapped in a huge mansion by her cold, much older husband. He’s wheelchair-bound from a gunshot to the spine and is both unable to take care of himself or unable to perform any kind of marital duties.
The film starts when an old war buddy, Grey Bentley, played by Luke, arrives to stay for a month while he himself recovers from his time as a soldier.
What starts as a forbidden flirtation between the wife and the overpowering Grey becomes a full-blown affair.
But it’s when the wife, riddled with guilt, tries to end the affair that things get dark.
Right away, the idea caught my interest and I could see it’s potential.
My thoughts are abruptly pulled back to the present by someone pushing by me.
A pretty young assistant brings Luke a coffee and a meatball sub for lunch and he gifts her with his sexiest secret smile and a wink.
“Thanks, Patty,” he says, his voice deep, quiet and smooth. “I can always count on you to know exactly what I want.”
He lowers his voice on that last word and licks his lips.
“I’m here to serve,” the girl jokes, her voice cracking slightly. “Anything you want or – need – you let me know.”
His eyes glimmer and he leans closer. “I may hold you to that. You may come to regret offering.”
She looks like she might pass out, her legs visibly shaking, her face flushing.
Oh, for heaven’s sake!
Shaking my head, I return to my office, the background noise of the director yelling instructions and yelling for silence following me as I go.
My phone vibrates in my pocket and I close the door and take a seat before answering.
“Hi, Olivia. Yes, Mr. Sexy Pants is here on the movie set, no you cannot sniff the shirt he’ll be ripping off in the scene we’re about to shoot.”
Olivia’s answering laugh makes me smile. “You’re no fun. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
“Just tell him how gorgeous he is and bring him food and he’ll let you sniff anything.”
“Really?”
“Don’t even think about it. I’m not losing my job over ten seconds of your perverted behavior.”
She laughs again. “I resent that remark.” After some more snickering she sobers. “So, do you want the bitchy news or the bitchy news?”
I sigh.
That could only mean one thing.
Melinda.
The woman had been a thorn in my side ever since Kaden and I got together. She was beautiful in a cool, perfect China doll kind of way.
Glamorous, rich, stunning.
And she is a social queen who is adored by many.
I hated her from the moment we met and I soon learned that she hated me just as much because I had the one thing she could never seem to get her claws into: Kaden.
They’d been good friends forever and I knew he loved her like a sister but that was all.
He just didn’t feel that way about her.
He wanted me.
Okay, I know it’s nasty of me to smile at that, but I can’t help it.
“What’s she doing now?” I ask.
“Turning thirty-five. She’s doing the circuit to promote the book she wrote and is talking about life and love and her special friendship with a certain reclusive billionaire.”
I swear and wish I had something to hit.
I know it shouldn’t bother me—they are friends, but I already know how she’s going to be wording that.
“How bad is it?”
“Do you want me to send you the link from the interview with Oprah or 60 Minutes?”
I suck in a breath and force myself to count to ten. “Neither. It’ll just piss me off.”
I frown.
If it’s Melinda’s birthday, it means she’ll be having another one of her outrageous parties.
Kaden didn’t say anything about us going and he’s always invited to all her events.
But he also knows how Melinda and I feel about each other.
Did he just not want to upset me?
That thought bothers me.
True, Melinda and I would rip each other apart if given the chance, but we always remain coolly polite in public. Still, it’s always awkward when the three of us are together and I have a hard time not grinding my teeth when she takes Kaden’s arm, strokes his chest, kisses his cheek.
I never asked him to stop seeing his old friend.
I understand that he values his friendship with her in the same way I value my friendship with Jeremy and Olivia.
And I trust him.
If he wanted Melinda, he could have her, could have had her for years, but he chose me.
At the same time, I can sort of understand him wanting to spend time with her, without the added tension.
Was that why he hadn’t mentioned the party?
Would he prefer to go alone?
I’m still brooding about that when my door opens a crack and Luke’s handsome face pokes through.
“Are you busy?” he asks.
“Nope, just finishing up.”
At that he pushes the door open and steps in, closing it behind him.
“We’re just packing up out there too. A few of us were going to grab some dinner and you and me haven’t really had time to talk since the—” He mimes a dramatic collision, complete with the tidal wave of coffee and an strangled cry of, “It burns!”
I can’t help laughing and at the mention of dinner my stomach gives and impatient grumble.
I don’t think I’ve eaten since breakfast. “I guess I can eat.”
He rolls his eyes but smiles like he doesn’t quite know what to make of me. “Well, don’t sound too excited or anything.”
“Why, are we eating at the fireworks and puppy dog factory?” I smile at him, feeling cheeky but my pulse races a little when he returns my smile with a much too mischievous grin of his own.
“Nope, just boring old me,” he replies, holding out his hand.
I take it and let him pull me to my feet. “That’s okay, I need a quiet night anyway.”
He spies my laptop screen and leans down to get a better look.
I cringe, remembering that I’d been scrolling through news about Melinda.
“I’ve met her,” he says. “She’s an heiress or something, isn’t she? Yeah, I met her at some charity do about a year ago.”
I grit my teeth.
Of course they’ve met.
“She’s apparently just good friends with my boyfriend.”
He chuckles. “I get the feeling she’s good friends with lots of boyfriends. I thought she seemed a bit stuck up, personally. The whole time she was more interested in bragging about her new dress than the homeless kids we were supposed to be feeding.”
That gets my attention and I blink at him. “So you… didn’t like her?”
He shrugs. “She was an empty shell. I get that she’s so rich that she doesn’t have to work. But she doesn’t do anything except shop and preen. What’s the point in that?”
I can feel a goofy smile spreading across my face and a crazy part of me wants to hug him. It’s about damn time someone else noticed!
Instead, I grab his arm and pull him towards the door.
“Come on, stud. I need feeding.”