You live in Pomona, right? I know a good Italian about a half hour from there. Want to meet me at Agrodolce at eight?
Juliette blinked at her phone in surprise. She knew the restaurant too, and it was the last place in the world she’d expected him to suggest.
“What is it?” Tami asked. “He propositioning you already?”
“No. He wants to meet at Agrodolce.”
Tami raised an eyebrow. “Surprisingly down to earth,” she agreed. “I say go for it. You won’t have as far to drive if you get bored with him.”
Juliette grinned as she answered the message with an affirmative. Then she looked at Tami in a moment of panic.
“What should I wear?”
“What do you usually wear on dates?”
“Who cares? I don’t usually date rich and famous men!”
Her friend laughed. “You always look nice.”
“Nice?” she repeated. “Okay, but—”
“But what? You’re going to run out and snag some haute couture in the next two hours?”
She sighed. “No, I guess not.” She chewed at her thumbnail. “Will you straighten my hair for me?”
Tami grinned. “Sure. I’ll also suggest that brown vegan leather skirt you have and the white shirt you never put with it. Then wear those strappy heels. You’ll look great.”
Juliette pushed her chair back. “I’ll be getting dressed then.” She wavered. “First I’d better shower. Okay. I’ll be in the shower. Well, I’ll probably be done by the time you’re done eating. I—”
“It’s a small apartment,” Tami said dryly. “I’m sure I’ll be able to find you.”
“Very funny,” Juliette replied, already halfway to the bathroom.
“Hi,” Dominic said from his place on the sidewalk near the door of the restaurant. “I thought I’d wait for you out here in case inside was crowded.”
“Thanks,” Juliette said, hurrying over to meet him.
As she did almost every single time she went anywhere in California, she’d gotten lost. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to get from point A to point B, but the roads here were nothing like the roads back home. Coupled with the fact that there were a hundred times more people on them than back in North Carolina, she’d gotten used to leaving early to get where she was going on time.
Today, the day she was having dinner with a famous actor, of course, she hadn’t left early enough. As she picked up her pace as much as she could in her heeled sandals, she scanned his face for any signs of aggravation. To her relief, she didn’t see any.
In fact, he looked even calmer than he’d been at the studio. Relaxed, in fact. Juliette didn’t stop to analyze why, but her nerves disappeared as well.
Dominic was leaning against the brick wall of the restaurant with one foot on the wall behind him and his hands in his pockets, looking for all the world like he was posing for a magazine shoot. Juliette was glad that she’d gone with Tami’s suggestion of what to wear. She’d been afraid that it would be too casual, but Dominic looked pretty casual himself.
He wore dark wash jeans and brown boots with an army green Henley shirt that conformed to every muscle in his torso. And she couldn’t help but notice that he had a lot of them. He’d been wearing a jacket in the interview that day so she hadn’t really been able to tell. Obviously, she’d known that he was in good shape, but seeing his physique in person was completely different.
Under the harsh fluorescent lights of the restaurant sign, his body looked more like sculpture than flesh and blood. All of that lean muscle shifted and moved as he pushed himself off of the wall and stepped up to meet her. Another one of those images flashed through her mind. This one involved tracing the muscles of his stomach with her tongue.
Juliette shook her head. It had definitely been way too long since she’d been on a date. If that was even what this was.
She decided not to worry about it as she stepped through the door that he held open for her. Whether it was a date or not, she was resolved to enjoy it. For one thing, this was the best day she’d had in a long damn time, and she couldn’t really think of a better way to celebrate it than this. For another, it was a scenario that she’d imagined over and over since she’d decided to move to California and try her luck.
She had imagined a movie star taking notice of her and inviting her out to talk about their industry while slowly getting closer and closer to her over dinner. The scenario had been a favorite of hers since she was fifteen. She knew that she wasn’t alone in that particular daydream either.
“You didn’t have to worry though,” she said once they were inside. They could see several empty tables from where they stood, and the host was already hurrying over to seat them. “It’s never too crowded. You have to remember that this isn’t Hollywood.”
“That’s one of the nicest things about it,” he said as they followed the host to a table.
“Don’t tell me that you’re jaded at the ripe old age of twenty-nine?” Juliette asked with a smile.
“You might be too if you had to live in Hollywood,” Dominic defended himself. “You’re smart to live in Pomona instead.”
She almost giggled and took a sip of the water that the waiter dropped off for them to cover it up. The last thing she wanted was to sound like a star-struck fan. “Smart. Broke. Same difference.”
Dominic smiled, appreciating her humor. “You won’t be broke for long. This movie’s gonna make a pretty penny.”
“You sound confident.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? Albert Price is a complete dick, but he knows production like no one else. Ed’s brilliant. And then there’s me.” He gave her a grin to show that he wasn’t being pompous. “You’re the only wildcard.”
“Is that why you brought me to dinner? To see if I’m going to drag the movie down?” She pressed her hand to her chest and twisted her face into a scandalized look.
Her acting must have been believable because, for a second, he looked almost worried. Then she smiled, and he shook his head.
“Good one,” he said as he opened his menu and looked at her over it. “No, I’m not worried about that. I’ve seen some of your work.”
Juliette laughed. “You have not. You’re the kind of guy that skips the commercials.”
“You’ve got me there,” he admitted. “But I saw you in the romance that came out last year. Something or other heart, right?”
“Ah, yes. The incredibly memorable Something or Other Heart,” she quipped.
Dominic nodded, matching her tone. “You never forget your first movie.” Then a smile lit his eyes. “But seriously, I do remember you from that.”
“I had three lines.”
“You said them with conviction.”
“Good to know. What are you having, by the way?” she asked. She was surprised to discover that her nerves had vanished. There was something about Dominic’s manner that made it impossible to treat him like a celebrity. He didn’t act like he was above her. He acted like a perfectly normal person.
“Here’s a dark secret for you,” he said, leaning across the table and inviting her to come closer. “I order the same damn thing every single time I eat at an Italian restaurant.”
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she asked, “And what’s that?”
“Chicken parmesan.”
Juliette sat back. “I wonder what that says about you?”
“I’m going to say that it means I’m funny, attractive, and great in bed,” Dominic said with a smug smile.
“Interesting,” she replied. “I’m pretty sure that’s the description for ordering the fettuccini alfredo.”
“Who orders that?”
“Me,” she said with a grin.
“It sure is a hell of a coincidence,” he said, leaning back to rake his gaze over her. “But I’ll allow it. I mean, I can prove the first two. Hell, I could prove them all if you give me a few hours.”
Juliette felt heat rise up from the collar of her shirt
as her breath caught. He certainly did move quickly. It didn’t bother her though. She’d meant what she said to Tami: she might not be looking for a relationship, but she wouldn’t say no to some companionship.
“Why did you ask me to dinner, anyway?” she asked once their food had arrived.
“Couple of reasons,” Dominic said. “The most important being that we’re going to be working closely together, and I wanted to make sure that we were going to get along. The next one down on the list is that I wanted to piss Price off because he’s a stuffed shirt control freak. The third reason is that I thought you were incredibly hot.”
Juliette raised her eyebrows. “Revenge was above how attractive you found me?”
“Okay, maybe those two were tied.”
“Then I guess you and Albert still don’t really get along,” she said. As a rule, Juliette did not put as much faith in the gossip magazines as Tami did. It still wouldn’t hurt to get his side of the story, however.
“Nope,” Dominic said, his tone completely unbothered by the producer’s lingering dislike for him. “We’re almost as different as two people can be. He’s all about the bottom line, the schedule, the budget. I’m more of a free spirit. Sometimes you have to go with the flow. Life’s too short to be worried about the bullshit.” He cut into his chicken. “But hey, it’s probably because the poor little rich boy has never had a problem in his life.”
Juliette thought that was an odd criticism from one of the highest paid actors in the business at the moment.
Dominic must have seen it on her face because he swallowed his food quickly and said, “I grew up dirt poor on the wrong side of LA—I can say stuff like that about people if I want to.”
“Did you?” she asked in surprise.
He nodded. “You don’t know?”
She shook her head. “No, how would I?”
He grinned. “Every cheap magazine pulled the sob story out of me when I finally had my big break.”
“Oh, the submarine movie,” she said.
“That’s the one.” He eyed her closely. “You didn’t watch it, did you?”
Juliette cleared her throat and looked down at her plate. “Well, no.”
He shook his head. “And here I thought that we were going to work so well together,” he said sadly.
“Such a short-lived chance at my Hollywood dreams,” she agreed with a wistful sigh. “Since I’m out of the business now, why don’t you tell me your story?”
“There’s not really much to it,” he said. “My dad wasn’t around, and my mom raised us mostly by determination. Watching her made me realize how hard I was going to have to work and how easy some people had it.” He looked at his food for a second and then raised his gaze to hers. “I decided that I was going to figure it out. Crack the code. That I’d find a way to reward her for everything she’d been through.”
“And you did,” Juliette said, impressed.
He nodded, a smile spreading over his features. “I bought her a house and a brand new car a few years ago. I would have done more, but that’s all she wanted. What about you? Any sob story that drove you out to wild and wicked Hollywood?”
“Not really,” she said. “I always knew it would be difficult, but I thought that if I could make it work, it would be the most fun job on the planet.”
“It is,” Dominic assured her. “My first few years on the job I took it really seriously, but once the roles started coming in faster, I realized that it’s all just a big game. Who else gets paid to pretend like we do? So why pretend that it’s serious? It’s a game. One of my favorite games.”
“One of them?” she asked, well aware that her voice had dropped lower. “What other games do you like?”
“It’s hard to pin them down,” he said. “It has a tendency to vary, depending on who I’m with.”
Juliette swallowed hard, but luckily she didn’t have to think of anything to say. The waiter stepped up and set a bowl down on the table between them. She glanced up at him in confusion.
“Dessert on the house,” he said. “Compliments of the chef, who wanted me to tell you that he’s a big fan.”
“Thanks,” Dominic said, looking down at the gelato. “This looks great. Hey, do you have a spare piece of paper?”
The waiter tore one from his book, and Dominic borrowed his pen. Then he took a bite of the gelato and nodded. Putting pen to paper, he wrote, “The only thing better than the gelato is the service” and signed it with a flourish. He handed it back to the waiter who carried it reverently back to the kitchen.
Juliette leaned over the table. “What would you have said if the gelato was awful?” she asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously.
“I would have lied like hell,” he said.
She laughed as he dipped the spoon into the gelato and scooped up a generous bite. Then he held it out to her.
“Open up.”
For once, Juliette didn’t second-guess herself. She leaned forward and parted her lips. The spoon slid between them, chilled and smooth, the gelato a delicious combination of pistachio and fior di latte. She closed her lips on the spoon as he withdrew it, licking it clean.
He swirled the spoon through again but this time when she leaned in, he put the spoon into his own mouth, meeting her eyes as he did so.
She shivered at the look in them. It was playful and teasing, but only on the surface. Underneath, she saw a hunger that entirely matched her own and that had nothing to do with dessert.
“Are you always this greedy?” he asked innocently when he’d swallowed.
Juliette let a smile curve her lips. “Only when it’s something I really want,” she said.
Dominic scooped up another bite of gelato and beckoned her close. She tilted her head and leaned away.
“I’m not sure I trust you,” she said with a smile.
He leaned forward. “You can always trust me,” he said, his voice low and serious suddenly. As Juliette took the bite of gelato, he went on. “Would you like to come back to my place? I can show you how much Hollywood traffic sucks.”
She swallowed the bite and ran her finger over her lower lip to catch a bit of gelato that had spilled. As she did so, she noticed his eyes follow her hand. She also noticed him bite his lower lip.
Juliette wasn’t an idiot. She knew exactly what he was asking her to do—and it wasn’t analyze traffic patterns.
She felt her heartbeat ramp up, but it was excitement not nerves. All she had to do was promise herself that things would stay professional on set. There wasn’t a single reason she could think of why this wasn’t a good idea.
They were both consenting adults. In fact, she was close to being a desperate adult. Something about the way that he looked at her while he waited for her answer sent heat all through her body.
“You’re killing me here,” Dominic said with a laugh.
So he was just as eager as she was. That was an amazingly good feeling, knowing that she drove him as crazy as he drove her. She let the moment stretch out before she nodded.
“I’d love to.”
Chapter 4
She’d been worried that the ride to West Hollywood would be awkward, especially with the new tension in the air. To her surprise, though, it really wasn’t. They went right back into the chatty, flirty chemistry they’d eased into at the restaurant, and the drive flew by in what seemed like minutes.
As she got out of the car, Dominic having opened her door for her, Juliette couldn’t help but stare up at the huge luxury condo building. It was decorated and landscaped in the Mediterranean style, and it all looked very, very expensive. Nothing like the place that she called home in Pomona. He took her arm as they walked up the lush plant-lined pathway to the door.
When Dominic nodded to the doorman on the way to the elevator, Juliette remembered something. Dominic was a known playboy. How many times had the doorman nodded to an actress just like her in the past?
Heat flooded her cheeks as she thought about it. That doorma
n would know exactly what they were coming up to his place to do. A friends-with-benefits arrangement was one thing. Even a one-night stand wasn’t all that bad, at least in her opinion. But being just another notch in Dominic Hawk’s bedpost? That was just embarrassing.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, looking down at her as they got out of the elevator. “You’ve gotten awfully quiet.”
“Sure,” Juliette said, trying to pull herself back into the moment. “Yes, everything’s fine.”
Dominic seemed to sense that she wasn’t exactly in the same place she’d been in when she agreed to come home with him. He didn’t push for more information, but his touch went a little lighter on her arm. Juliette glanced up at him and was relieved to find that he didn’t seem like he was angry or annoyed. He was simply leaving her space to decide what she wanted to do.
When he unlocked his penthouse door and ushered her in, all he said was, “Would you like a drink?”
“I’d love one,” she said. “Vodka and cranberry without the vodka? I’m a little sleepy already.” That wasn’t the reason that she didn’t drink, but she wasn’t about to get into that story with a virtual stranger.
“I can do that,” he said with a grin. “Feel free to wander around or to have a seat.”
She chose to wander.
The apartment looked like something straight out of a magazine. All of the furniture was covered in manly neutrals, and the accessories were glass. It was gorgeous, but it felt cold and sterile.
“I picked it all out myself,” Dominic said as he stepped into the living room and handed her a glass clinking with ice and filled with red liquid.
“Did you really?” Juliette asked, raising her glass to her lips.
She felt bad for thinking that it was sterile. On the other hand, somehow it didn’t seem right that he’d picked everything. It didn’t fit with the personality he’d displayed tonight, that was for sure.
He snorted before taking a sip of his own drink. The cocktail in his hand was amber colored with no ice. She could smell the rich scent of whiskey when he lowered the glass.
Baby Surprises 7 Book Box Set Page 3
