by Sarah Curtis
“Simon,” he said absentmindedly.
She frowned. “Why?”
“So he can get someone to fill your fridge.”
Victoria placed her hand on his wrist before he could hit send. “Wait.” He looked up from his phone, and she continued, “If you text him that, he’ll know you were in my trailer.”
Cell phone still clutched in his hand, Nate crossed his arms over his chest. His shoulders were rigid as he sent a glare her way. “I can think of a million reasons why I’d be in your trailer and not one of them involves us fucking. That being said, we’re not each other’s dirty little secret. I don’t give a fuck who knows about us, and that includes Simon.”
She held up a placating hand. “Being who you are, I just assumed you’d want to keep things quiet. You know how the media likes to blow things out of proportion.”
He uncrossed his arms, shoving his phone in his front pocket before grasping her upper arms and pulling her close. “I don’t give a fuck if the media knows either.”
She knew very well tabloids weren’t the best source for accurate news stories, but even so, they did hold a grain of truth, and the truth was, Nathan Reed had never been in a serious relationship. He’d been wilder in his younger years, but in recent ones, there’d not been so much as a whiff of a romance scandal, real or otherwise. No secret love child. No jilted lovers. Hell, she couldn’t even remember when she’d last seen him photographed with a woman hanging on his arm.
So, it had been her conclusion, he was a very private person. But by his declaration, it seemed she’d been wrong. And if he wasn’t a private person, did that mean he wasn’t the player she’d assumed he was? For the first time, she wondered if maybe she’d read the situation wrong.
Victoria wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself closer. Deciding to change the subject, she looked up at him with a mischievous grin. “Is that a cell phone in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”
As she’d hoped, Nate smiled down at her, humor restored. “You won’t be finding out tonight.”
“I’m finding this role reversal rather strange. Are you playing hard to get, Mr. Reed?”
“No, Miss Lee, I’m ensuring you don’t see me as your best mistake, but your greatest success.”
Victoria tilted her head. Deep down, she'd known those words had been the catalyst for his anger the night before, but for the life of her, she didn't understand why, and she had a feeling even if she asked he wouldn’t answer.
“My greatest success? You don’t set the bar high for yourself, do you?” she teased, knowing he’d take the bait.
And there went up one dark brow. “Believe me, Tori, when I get you under me, you’ll discover the truth of my words.”
The man’s ego knew no bounds. “That sure of yourself, huh?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve never had any complaints.”
Victoria wrinkled her nose. “Gross.” She heard him chuckle, but two could play the “one-up” game. With a wicked smile, she detached herself from his waist and took a step back. “Well, I’ve never had any complaints either.”
She got a secret thrill watching his jaw harden and nostrils flare before turning on her heel and walking toward the bedroom. Had she been full of shit? Definitely. She was most likely a novice when it came to sex compared to Nate. Did she get the last jab in? Absolutely. Take that, Nathan Reed!
≈≈≈
Nate ducked his head to avoid the glare of camera flashes as he walked around to the passenger side of his car. Victoria stepped out when he opened her door, and he took her hand, leading her toward the restaurant’s glass double doors. He’d picked the trendiest place in Beverly Hills specifically, knowing the paparazzi hung out there nightly. He’d done it to prove a point. Not to the media. Not to the fans. To Victoria. And he’d keep proving his point until she finally got it.
He was in this for the long haul.
They reached the door, and he turned them, his arm slipping around Victoria’s waist, giving the photographers their money shot before slipping them through the door amid a frenzy of shouted questions.
He kept a hand planted firmly on Victoria’s lower back as a hostess led them to a corner booth, letting her slide in before he followed, plastering himself to her side. He secretly smiled when she didn’t object or scoot away as they were handed menus.
“Your server will arrive shortly. Can I get you anything to drink in the meantime?”
He looked down at Victoria, her face already buried in her menu. “Would you like anything to drink?”
Her head popped up and swiveled, their noses almost bumping. Her eyes widened, realizing how close he was. Her voice was low and soft, but he was close enough to hear her whispered, “What?”
His lips twitched before he repeated, “Do you want something to drink?”
“Oh, just water until I decide what I want to eat.”
He tore his gaze away from her lips before turning back to the hostess, “Two waters, please.”
After the hostess walked away, instead of opening his own menu, he wrapped an arm around Victoria’s back, supporting his weight with a hand on the seat by her hip to lean in closer to read hers.
“Ever hear of personal space?” she asked without looking up from her perusal of the menu.
He held back a grin. “Yes, but don’t worry, I don’t mind you’re in mine.”
He thought he heard a delicate snort before she flipped the page.
“I wasn’t done with the last page yet.”
“Then maybe you should read your own menu.” She quickly flipped the page again, but he saw the small smile that tugged at her lips and knew she did it just to fuck with him.
He’d been to the restaurant enough times to know what he wanted, but she’d backed herself into a corner. She’d flipped her way to the back of the menu, which held nothing but desserts and beverages. He chuckled again.
“What’s so funny?” She still refused to look at him.
He tapped her menu with his index finger. “It’s okay to flip back. I won’t hold it against you.”
Finally, he got her eyes. “Maybe I want to eat dessert for dinner.”
“You’re already sweet enough. You need real food.”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you trying to sweet talk me?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “That depends on if it’s working.”
“I’m not the one withholding sex in this relationship. You don’t need to butter me up.”
He zeroed in on her word choice. “Relationship? Are you admitting we’re in one now?”
“I’m not admitting anything.” She turned back to face the menu. “You know what I meant.”
He plucked the menu from her fingers, setting it to the side before draping his arm on the table in front of her. With his other arm still at her back, he had her caged in. She still didn’t scoot away. He liked that. A lot.
He placed his lips close to her ear. “Admit it. You like me.”
Her back stiffened. “I just said, I wasn’t admitting to anything.” She turned her head to face him, and he backed his up, giving her space. “But if I did—"
“Are you ready to order?”
Fuck. Nate turned heated eyes to their waiter, hating he’d interrupted when Victoria was about to tell him something important.
Nate watched his Adam’s apple bob. “Or I can give you a few more minutes.”
Sighing at the ruined moment, he forced himself to relax his expression and moved his arm back to his side of the table. “No, it’s okay. I think we’re ready.” Lowering his voice, he asked Victoria, “Do you know what you want?”
Her lips tipped up, and her eyes sparkled with mirth as she conceded, “I didn’t get a good look at the menu. I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
“Are you sure you trust my judgment?”
Then she said something that had the organ in the center of his chest beating a little faster. “I wouldn’t be here right now if I didn�
��t.”
“You don’t like it,” Nate accused, glaring down at Victoria’s barely touched plate. He’d ordered his usual, thinking she would like it. For such a snobby place, they really made a great burger. “I know you’re not a vegetarian, you ordered bacon at the deli, and yesterday, I saw you eating a turkey sandwich for lunch.”
She nabbed a fry from the pile she’d been picking at, taking a nibble off the tip. “I’m eating.”
Nate pushed his plate—with its own half-eaten burger on it—away before leaning forward to place his forearms on the table. “What’s wrong? You’ve been acting funny since our food arrived. Do you want me to order you something else?”
She pushed her own plate away and leaned into him speaking softly. “Doesn’t it bother you at all?”
He furrowed his brow. “Doesn’t what bother me?”
She spoke barely moving her lips, “All the people staring at you.” She widened her eyes and darted them about the room, presumably silently pointing them out.
Nate casually glanced around and noticed several pairs of eyes on them.
“I noticed it when we first got here, but it didn’t really bother me until I tried to eat,” she continued. “I’m not usually so self-conscious, but the thought of biting into that burger and dripping guacamole down my dress is making me internally cringe. I don’t know how you do it.”
“Honestly, I never pay attention to it anymore. If I did, I’d never get anything done.” He leaned in closer, lowering his voice. “I’m sure at least half of them are making a mess while eating. But if it makes you feel better, I promise, if you spill guacamole down your top, I’ll spill some down mine, too.”
That made her laugh, her eyes lighting as her smile grew. She was beautiful. “Deal.”
“Do we need to shake on it?” he asked in a serious tone though he fought a lip twitch.
She held up her little finger. “I accept nothing short of a pinky promise.”
Entwining his pinky with hers, he said, “I suppose now would be a bad time to tell you, you have ketchup on your chin.”
She almost fell for it. Her hand raised halfway to her chin before she stopped and smirked. “I wasn’t eating ketchup with my fries.”
He grinned back before pulling his own plate back toward himself, happy to see she did the same. Then nudging her with his shoulder, he told her to eat.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Victoria!”
Pausing with a hand on the commissary’s door, Victoria swiveled when she heard her name shouted. Rick Massey, who played Nate’s business partner in their movie, was flagging her down.
She waved back and waited while he did a fast jog to reach her.
“Getting something to eat?” he asked barely winded.
She nodded. “Yep.”
“Mind if I join you?”
Victoria had planned to grab a salad and take it back to her trailer to eat before needing to be back on the set in two hours, but she didn’t mind changing her plans. She didn’t know Rick well, but he seemed like a nice guy, and she didn’t want him to have to eat alone. “Sure.”
He gave her a wide smile. “Great.”
He pulled open the door for them and motioned for her to go in first. The studio commissary was really just an upscale cafeteria with a food bar in the back and a dining area up front. They made their way through the restaurant and stood at the back of the line.
Victoria recognized many famous and not-so-famous people, and it was hard not to feel a bit star struck in a room full of so many well-known faces.
After waiting in line and collecting their food, they found a four-seater table and sat across from one another.
“I saw you in Morning Song. You were great.” Rick said after taking a bite of his sandwich and swallowing.
Embarrassment heated her cheeks. Morning Song had been her first movie role. She’d barely been in it and had only four lines. She had a feeling he was full of shit, but not to be ungracious, smiled and said a polite, “Thank you.”
She took a large bite of her salad, stalling, trying to remember the name of any of the movies he’d been in. She was pretty sure one had been a pirate movie, the name of which was on the tip of her tongue.
He grinned, giving her a knowing look. “Blackbird, Savages, and Under the Sun.”
She grimaced after swallowing her bite. “Sorry, was I that obvious?”
“Other than your look of panic and twitch in your right eye? No.”
She rolled her eyes dramatically. “My eye did not twitch.”
Rick smirked, before conceding, “Okay, I might have made up the eye twitch.” He paused a moment before continuing, “Listen, I hope this doesn’t sound lame, but I’m a huge fan of your mom. It was a dark day when she gave up acting.”
Victoria knew he was speaking in generalizations, he was far too young to actually remember that day. She gave him an understanding smile before taking another bite of salad. Shannon Lee had given up her acting career when she’d discovered she was pregnant with Victoria. People had called her crazy, but her mom had stated countless times, she’d never regretted her retirement from acting to become a full-time mother and always said, when anyone asked, she’d make the same choice all over again. Seeing how happy her mom had always been, Victoria had never doubted her word.
Rick gave her a sheepish smile. “Not that I would ever invite you to lunch just to get Shannon Lee’s autograph, but seeing as we’re here…”
Victoria laughed. “Story of my life. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride.” She fluttered her lashes at him. “I’ll see what I can do.”
A plate thunked down on the table beside hers, and she looked up to find Nate’s towering figure at her side. It had been almost a week since their dinner date. Long hours filming and sheer exhaustion, inhibiting any further ones.
She smiled up at him before he took the seat next to her. “I thought you were still filming a scene.”
“We got done early.” His eyes slid to Rick, and Nate gave him a tight smile. “Massey.”
Rick gave him a chin lift. “Reed.”
Victoria frowned. “I thought you guys were friends?” They’d always seemed friendly on set.
Nate opened his water bottle, leaned back in his chair, throwing his arm over the back of Victoria’s, and took a long swig, eyeing Rick the whole time. “That’s up to Massey.”
Rick’s eyes flicked from her to Nate and back to her again before landing on his plate. He picked up his sandwich and shrugged. “You won’t have any problems from me.”
Victoria eyed Nate then Rick before putting down her fork. “Did I miss something?”
Nate sat forward, set the bottle of water on the table, then picked up his own sandwich. “Nope,” he said, taking a bite.
She looked at them both skeptically. Rick still had his eyes planted on his plate.
Nate nudged her leg with his knee. She turned to find him staring at her. She frowned, trying to get a read on him. He didn’t look angry, but he didn’t look pleased either. Maybe something in between?
Trying to cut the sudden tension at the table, she hastily came up with a topic for discussion. “So, Rick, you got any big plans this weekend?”
It would be their first weekend off since they began filming. A big deal to a lot of the cast and crew.
Rick took a sip of his soda before answering. “Not much. Probably mostly catch up on lost sleep. You?”
“We’re going to San Diego,” Nate answered before she could reply.
Say what? Her head swung Nate’s direction, eyes bugging. She swallowed funny, causing something to go down the wrong tube and started coughing.
Nate’s hand shot out, grabbing his water bottle and handing it to her as his other hand slapped her on the back. “You okay?”
She nodded, coughing a couple more times before taking a long pull of his water. She set it back on the table. “Thank you.”
She looked over and caught Rick eyeing them. He picked up his
soda, indicating the space between them with it. “You guys look good together.”
“We’re not—” Nate’s hand landed on her knee, stopping her flow of words.
“Don’t worry. I won’t say anything if you’re trying to keep it a secret.”
“No secret,” Nate clipped out.
Balling up his napkin and throwing it on his plate, Rick stood, giving them a sly smile. “Well, I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.” He picked up his trash. “See you back on set.”
Victoria gave him a small wave and watched as he weaved his way to the nearest trash can before giving her attention to Nate. He was calmly eating his sandwich, a peaceful look on his face as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. “What the hell was that all about?”
“What?” He nonchalantly raised his brows then took a sip of his water.
For some reason, his attitude pissed her off. “The whole thing.”
“You’re going to have to be more specific.”
“Your caveman attitude. Spilling the beans about us. San Diego,” she hissed between clenched teeth.
Nate shrugged, popping the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth. Shrugged! Could she hit him over the head with his water bottle and not draw attention? She made a noise in the back of her throat that sounded suspiciously like a growl.
Nate wiped his mouth with a napkin then sat back in his seat. “I didn’t like the way he was looking at you. People are going to find out soon anyway. I promised my mom a month ago I’d visit on my next weekend break.”
She sat a full minute without saying anything. She knew she should mention how silly he’d acted, how Rick hadn’t looked at her in any particular way. Or say something about the fact that while people might learn about them eventually, there was no need to broadcast it for all to hear. But she didn’t say either of those things because mom was the one word he’d said that she couldn’t stop fixating on. Nate had told Rick they were going to San Diego. And that meant only one thing.
He wanted to introduce her to his mother.
She took a deep breath, in through her nose and out through her mouth, as she’d been taught in acting class in times of stress. Deep breath in. Slow breath out.
