Once Upon an Ice Queen

by Dallen, Maggie

  He cut her off with another kiss. “You’re also argumentative.”

  He felt her smile against his lips when he leaned in to kiss her again. “I prefer assertive.”

  Moving his head back just far enough to meet her gaze, he grinned. “Either way, it’s freakin’ hot.”

  Eleven

  Kennedy slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle as she waited for Caleb to come into her office.

  He was so going to hate this idea. And the thought of the look on his face when she told him about it made her giggle again.

  It was the second giggle in as many seconds and that alone should have sobered her. Giggling had become something of an epidemic lately. All weekend she’d found herself laughing and giggling and…ugh. She was disgusting herself with her giggles.

  Even Emma had called her on it when she and Caleb had returned to her place after seeing a matinee movie at her local theater.

  “I have never heard you laugh like that,” she’d said as she’d thrown another load of laundry into the dryer. Her smile had been knowing, her tone teasing.

  Kennedy had thrown a pair of Emma’s dirty jeans at her for it. “Shut up.”

  That had only made Emma laugh harder. “I’m happy for you. It’s about time you discover that life isn’t all work and no play.”

  That comment had calmed a subtle anxiety that had been growing all weekend with each passing minute she’d spent with Caleb. She’d tried to ignore it as they’d enjoyed their little staycation in her apartment on Saturday, playing card games and watching bad TV. And then on Sunday when he’d shown up once again with breakfast for the start of another date day.

  As Caleb put it, their time together was limited, so might as well enjoy the time they had.

  But Emma’s words managed to squelch the last of her anxiety over their date weekend. Like Emma had said, it was just fun. Not every date had to be a stepping stone toward marriage and family and achieving one’s life goals.

  She was young and temporarily single. It was basically her duty to have some fun.

  She and Patrick might have had a lovely relationship but she couldn’t say they’d ever had much fun. Which was just fine by her. She didn’t need to be laughing every second of the day. Or giggling, as the horrifying case may be.

  Of course, she’d enjoy it while she had it, but it wasn’t a requirement for her life partner.

  She dropped her hand from her mouth and set her lips in a firm line befitting this office environment.

  Then Caleb walked in and she found herself grinning like an idiot at his awesome smile.

  He was too freakin’ hot. No one should be allowed to walk around smiling like that, all dimples and chin clefts and eye smolders. It just wasn’t fair. “You wanted to see me, boss?”

  She shifted slightly at the reminder that she was kinda sorta his boss. Well, his supervisor. This whole temporary dating arrangement was probably a terrible idea. It was unprofessional and she was never unprofessional.

  But worrying about that now was pointless. The deed was done. They were dating. Casually. And there was no turning back the clock.

  “Are you all right?” Caleb slid into the chair opposite her. “You look like the milk in your coffee went bad or something.”

  She frowned. Did she? Dang it, now it seemed she’d lost all control over her facial expressions around this guy.

  He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Except I know that can’t be the case because I know you take your coffee black.” He sat back looking so absurdly smug she had to swallow a laugh.

  He’d been doing this a lot the past few days, pointing out all the ways he knew her as if he were trying to win some sort of Boy Scout badge on the topic of Kennedy Farlow.

  He leaned back in his seat now, crossing his long legs in front of him and looking completely at ease. He didn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that they’d crossed lines this past weekend. “What did you want to see me about?”

  Right. Business. If he could be professional, so could she. “I wanted to ask you a favor—”

  His eyes lit up and she added quickly, “A work-related favor.”

  He leaned forward. “I’m intrigued.”

  Don’t be. He was so going to hate this idea. She cleared her throat. This was business, not personal. And no, she would not laugh while she asked this favor. “As you may have heard, the star of Mr. Hermithead has gone missing.”

  He sat up straighter.

  “Not missing missing,” she clarified. “He’s done this before. He’s kind of a….” She waved her hand as she tried to come up with a nice, professional way of saying ‘flake.’

  “Diva?” Caleb suggested.

  “Yes, exactly. He’s the star of the show and he knows that the show is our biggest hit so he thinks he holds all the cards around here.”

  Caleb made a face of disgust. “Sounds like a nightmare.” He shook his head. “Every once in a while we got a diva like that on set but they never lasted long. One thing those types don’t realize is just how little influence they really have. Anger the writers one too many times and—” He made a slashing move against his neck.

  “Is that what happened to you?” she asked.

  He laughed. “Nah. They told me outright that they needed a big ratings booster. All the soaps are scrambling because their ratings are in the gutter. They needed something big to draw in some old fans.” He shrugged. “Apparently killing off one of the longtime stars and introducing some new blood was their big plan.”

  That sucked. She wanted to say something comforting, but was at a loss. Also, this was the office. She wasn’t here to console him or be his friend, she was here to be his supervisor. Shifting slightly, she folded her hands in front of her and tried to pretend he was just another intern.

  “Caleb, I know you’re here to learn new facets of the industry, but with Mr. Hermithead off on a self-declared hiatus, we’re at a bit of a loss.”

  His brows drew down and she saw his suspicion.

  “It wouldn’t be forever,” she started.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  She met his stare with what she hoped was a businesslike seriousness. Oh crap, she was going to laugh. Think of dead puppies. Think of Grandma’s funeral. Do not laugh right now, dang it.

  She let out a weird little snort instead. Not much better, really.

  His eyes went comically wide. “You want me to be a clown?”

  “He’s not a clown, exactly,” she said quickly. Too quickly. They both knew he was a clown. Or a mime. She didn’t exactly know how to classify the Hermithead character, to be honest.

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” he muttered.

  She pressed her lips together. This was serious. She needed someone. An actor, preferably. And he was here. She didn’t have time to find a new candidate and they couldn’t risk word getting out that their star had gone missing… again.

  “It would be temporary,” she said.

  His eyes narrowed. “You say that word a lot, you know.”

  She felt a wave of… something. Guilt or shame or embarrassment. Whatever it was it was stupid and it made no sense. They’d both agreed to the temporary plan. And it was a good plan. The right plan. He’d said so himself.

  But that was beside the point because she needed him to focus on business. “Look, I can’t force you to do this. It doesn’t fall within the scope of your internship. But I’m hoping you’ll look at it as a chance to be a team player around here.”

  She’d used her best HR tone—the same one she used when she gave the annual lecture on sexual harassment laws.

  In return he raised one brow and gave her a look that said, ‘Really? You’re going to use your schoolmarm voice on me?’

  What he actually said was, “I am all for being a team player. But a clown? For a kids’ show?” His horror and disgust were obvious, and she couldn’t entirely blame him.

  Still, she threw her last card. “I thought you said you didn’t have
a big ego,” she said. “I thought you said acting wasn’t about being a sex symbol or a leading man.”

  His brows drew together as he frowned at her.

  He was way too hot when he was pissed.

  But then she watched as his shoulders slumped and he let out a long exhale. “All right, fine. You win.” He held up a warning finger. “But this is only temporary.”

  She nodded quickly. “Absolutely. We’ll have you back to making copies and running out for coffees in no time.”

  He was clearly not amused by her humor.

  * * *

  He was brilliant. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised, but she was. She totally was. She’d watched from the sidelines as Caleb interacted with the director, the props guy, the costume people, and then… the kids.

  Oh man, was he adorable with the kids. She didn’t even want kids and she could hear her ovaries weeping at the utter adorableness before her when he played with the kids, both on camera and off.

  The best part was, it looked like he was having fun. Or at least, he looked like he was into it. Again, she probably shouldn’t have been surprised by his good attitude considering the eagerness with which he approached his internship. But still, she was surprised.

  If he was mortified by the extraordinarily unsexy outfit or if his ego was pricked by the silly makeup and the fact that he was often the butt of the joke—he didn’t let it show. He honestly seemed to be enjoying himself.

  And the kids loved him. They laughed and shrieked and had more giggly fun than she’d ever seen outside Disneyworld. The atmosphere on the set was more lively and contagious than it had ever been with the rogue star.

  If that translated to the TV audience at home, Caleb could make the show an even bigger hit than it already was.

  She shook her head, stepping out of the way of a crewmember as she kept her gaze fixed on the stage. She needed to get a grip. There was no way Caleb would want this gig even if the higher ups approved such a major casting shake-up. The casting people would have to get involved and then they’d have to find a way to buy out—

  “Don’t tell me you forgot about lunch.” Emma’s sweet southern drawl brought her back from the brink of insanity.

  Turning she found her roommate standing behind her, her hands planted on her hips. “We were supposed to meet at that café on the corner, remember?

  Crap. She’d totally forgotten about their lunch plans. Kennedy winced. “Sorry. It’s been kind of a crazy day.”

  Emma’s gaze had moved past her to the set where Caleb was rehearsing the next bit, making the kids laugh like hyenas at his antics. “Oh. My. Gosh.”

  Kennedy’s gaze followed hers. “I know.”

  Emma’s sigh was slightly sickening. Granted, she’d been over here drooling over the adorableness before and she didn’t even get into that stuff. She could only imagine what this did to Emma, who actually wanted the family, the dog, the backyard, and all that crap.

  She turned to watch her friend who was watching Caleb.

  Something heavy and sickening fell to the pit of her stomach making her instantly queasy.

  Emma was his dream woman. She was everything Kat and Yvette had described even when they were jokingly exaggerating. Emma was the freakin’ Disney princess come to life—she was sweet, funny but not sarcastic, she loved animals… and people, for that matter. She was nurturing and would make the ideal mother and wife for someone who was looking for that sort of thing. She was smart but not a know-it-all, she was strong but not abrasive or pushy.

  Oh crap. Emma was perfect for him.

  Maybe Emma felt her stare because she turned to face Kennedy with a quizzical frown. “What’s up? Why do you look like you might murder me in my sleep tonight?”

  Kennedy shook her head. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

  They both turned back to watch the stage. Apparently both of their appetites had taken a backseat to outright ogling the hottie on stage.

  Her hottie.

  The possessive thought came fierce and loud in her mind. Mine. He’s mine.

  Right on the heels of that thought came terror, plain and simple. Kennedy didn’t often get afraid, but when she did, it came in the form of night terrors. Although, at this moment she was definitely awake so she supposed night terrors wasn’t the right term. But it was the only way she could think to define this crippling, immobilizing, sickening dread.

  He wasn’t hers. He wasn’t supposed to be and she didn’t want him to be.

  Emma was watching Caleb with that sweet smile of hers and Kennedy had the distinct impression that she was watching the beginning of a love story. The part when the heroine first catches a glimpse of the hero being awesome and then they meet and he says something funny and she says something cute and then boom. Sparks fly, birds sing, and the adorable couple finds true love.

  The practical, sarcastic sidekick friend is left to watch from the sidelines as they fall madly in love and find happily ever after.

  Why was she feeling sorry for herself? She didn’t do self-pity and there was nothing to feel sorry about. So she’d be missing out on a few fun times with an overgrown child. No big whoop. She’d been content with Patrick before and she would be again.

  Somehow that thought was not even remotely comforting at this particular moment.

  Emma turned to her with a grin. “Girl, you are so lucky. That guy is too good to be true.”

  Kennedy stared at her for a moment. And there it was. The start of this hero and heroine’s meet-cute. And really, they deserved each other. They were both kind, lovely people. They’d make the perfect couple. She should be happy for them. “You should ask him out.”

  Emma blinked at her. “What?”

  “You should ask him out.” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded weird. Robotic. Monotone.

  “What are you talking about? You’re dating him.” Emma said it slowly as though she was an idiot who didn’t recognize the sexy stud in clown makeup.

  “Yes, but Caleb and I agreed there’s no long-term potential, and I think you two would hit it off.”

  Emma muttered something she couldn’t hear. Then she said, “You can’t be serious.”

  Something was wrong with Kennedy. Her emotions seemed to have shut down entirely. It was a good feeling, actually. Freeing. For the first time since that disastrous first night when she’d kissed a stranger, she felt sure. She felt like herself. No weird giddiness or giggling, no odd angsting over someone she logically knew she shouldn’t want.

  Once she took her emotions out of the equation, it was all so simple, really. “I’m totally serious,” she said. And she sounded totally serious. “You two would like each other.”

  Emma was still staring at her with her mouth partially open and her eyes wide with something akin to horror when Caleb came over to them.

  He flashed Kennedy a smile which she did not return. She needed to end this. Now. Things had gone too far. A little siren was going off in the back of her head every time he looked her way.

  Now he too wore the same look Emma did. It was part concern, part confusion. She couldn’t worry about that now. She was having some sort of out-of-body situation going on and she needed to roll with it. For the first time in what felt like forever, she felt like herself.

  Sort of.

  Well, she felt like a shell, actually. A hollow automaton that was nodding and going through the motions as her brain raced and her heart said “see ya.”

  That earlier surge of possessiveness had been the wakeup call she’d needed. She was in too deep. It was time to get out.

  She watched Emma and Caleb make small talk. This… this was her perfect escape hatch.

  Studiously ignoring an incessant stabbing pain somewhere in the solar plexus region, she focused on the task at hand. Run. Escape. Abort, abort!

  Caleb made it easy. Turning to Kennedy, he said, “Some of the crew were talking about going out for drinks after work to celebrate.” He shrugged, all modesty as he added, “Ap
parently today’s shoot went way smoother than usual.”

  Not surprising since he was far more professional and less needy and demanding than the usual star.

  “Do you want to come?”

  She shook her head. “No, thank you.” She ignored Caleb’s hurt look as she turned toward Emma. “You should take Emma. You guys would really hit it off.”

  Emma stared at her. She could feel Caleb staring too.

  She tried to encourage Emma with a look. Come on. You said it yourself, this guy is too good to be true. Just like you. Take him. Have him. He’s all yours!

  In reality, what she said was, “What do you say, Emma?”

  Emma stared for a moment longer but if she was trying to telepathically speak to her, Kennedy did not get the memo. Suddenly and abruptly Emma’s entire demeanor shifted. She went from stunned mute to bubbly Southern charmer in a heartbeat, flashing that dazzling pearly white smile in Caleb’s direction. “Of course! I’d love to go.”

  Caleb looked stunned. Like, literally stunned as though he’d just walked into a glass door. It might have been funny if Kennedy didn’t feel like her stomach was about to empty itself at his feet.

  Her chest was hurting and her stomach churned. Yet, her emotions were still in mute mode.

  Later.

  She’d have all the time in the world to deal with whatever emotional tsunami was to come once she was safely out of harm’s way.

  And this guy… She watched Caleb, whose confusion and hurt were like a shouted indictment of her prickly, non-romantic ways. This guy was danger personified.

  “Oh, um… yeah, great,” Caleb said. He gave Emma a smile, even though he was still casting questioning looks in Kennedy’s direction.

  Kennedy started to back away. Sure he looked hurt now, but give him some time alone with Emma and he’d see that this was for the best. They might have been having fun but it wouldn’t last. He knew that as well as she did.

  She kept her voice even as she walked backwards several more steps. “Great. You two have fun.”

  They stared at her as she turned. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked onto the elevator that would take her back to her office.