by Peggy Jaeger
“That ought to make for some interesting commentary from Jade,” Todd said with a smirk. “I’ll make sure I have a spare camera trained on her.”
The table erupted in laughter. Stacy caught Nikko’s eye, her broad and easy smile making his stomach muscles clench. Her gaze lingered on his just a fraction of a moment, but enough for a deep ache to shoot straight up from his core.
Christ, how he wanted her. He wished this stupid meeting would end so he could send everyone on their way and be alone with her.
It didn’t look like that was going to happen anytime soon, since his production team was still in the thralls of discussing every aspect of the finale.
It was well after midnight before they were done. Stacy had been yawning into her hand for over an hour and he’d seen her eyes droop, then fly open, at least twice.
After everyone said their good nights, Nikko walked with her up toward the main house. The moon was a full, solid disc above them, shining bright against the blanket of stars surrounding it. The night air was warm, as the day had been scorching.
“Tomorrow should run smoothly from production’s end,” she said, tilting her head back and looking up at the sky.
“I’m not worried about the crew,” Nikko said, shoving his hands in his pockets when all he really wanted to do was toss an arm around her shoulders and snuggle her next to him. They had to keep up the pretense they weren’t personally involved for only one more day, he thought with a silent prayer of thanks. Once the show wrapped, they wouldn’t have to deny they were together any longer. But first, he needed to tell Melora.
“It’s our exhausted chefs and one pain-in-the-ass cohost that’s making me nervous.”
Stacy chuckled. The sound hit him—like a cheap shot—straight in the groin.
“It’ll all be over tomorrow night,” she said, stifling another yawn. “Sorry. It’s been a long day. Long few weeks, actually.”
“Do you know what your plans are when you get back to New York? What your next job is?”
He thought he sensed a subtle shift in her stance.
“I’ve got a few weeks before I need to worry about anything. Why?”
“I’ve got a line on something that sounds interesting. I thought, if you weren’t already planning on your next assignment, you might like to hear about it. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow after the wrap party.”
She was silent for a few beats and he wondered why.
The path veered, bringing them even with the copse of tall, bushy trees surrounding the main house. Nikko grabbed her arm and tugged her into an opening between them so they wouldn’t be seen.
“Nikko?”
He wove his arms around her lithe frame, pressing her in as close as he could. Inhaling the sweet scent of fresh oranges in her hair, he took a deep breath, laid her head down on his shoulder, and just held her.
When he let out a breath and rubbed his hands down her back, she squeezed his waist and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Now.” He kissed her temple. “If I’d had to sit in that room another five minutes and not be allowed to hold you like this, I’d have gone crazy.”
Her shoulders shook against him. “Why are we standing out here in the trees then, when we could be up in my room?” she asked, nuzzling his chest through his shirt.
“You have no idea how much I want that right now. But it’s late and I can tell you’re exhausted.” He pulled back and scrubbed his hands down her arms. “Tomorrow is a long, long day and we all need some rest.”
As if to underscore the point, another yawn broke from her.
“Lord. Sorry. I’m tired, that’s the truth.”
“As much as it pains me to say this—and I’m not kidding—I’m in some serious pain right now—”
“Your leg?” She glanced down and moved to massage it through his pants.
With a jagged groan, Nikko shook his head and said, “The pain’s just north of your hand, sweetheart, and if you keep doing that it’s gonna get worse.”
With her hand clamped over her mouth to smother the giggle he felt swelling up in her, Stacy stared back up at him, her eyes crinkling, filled with moisture in the moonlight.
Nikko took a breath and yanked her back into his arms. “Stay here for a second,” he whispered.
When she tucked her head under his chin and relaxed against him, Nikko experienced a peace he hadn’t felt in quite some time.
“We’re leaving early,” he said into her hair, “and you need some sleep. So do I. If I came up to your room right now, neither one of us would get much, that’s the truth.”
“Promises, promises,” she said against his chest.
He pinched her butt and swallowed her yelp with his mouth.
He could kiss her all night and never tire of it. Hell, all day and all night.
And longer still.
With her chin cupped in his palms, her brushed her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs and kissed her one last time.
“Let’s get you inside.”
He peeked between the trees, gave a silent thanks the path was empty, and pulled her along with him up to the front steps.
“I’ll see you in a few hours,” he said and squeezed her hand.
With a quick nod, she went through the door.
Chapter Twenty-one
“I’ve never been so hot in my entire life. Why can’t I go back to the trailer and cool off?”
Stacy glanced over at Jade from behind her sunglasses to where the woman sat under an umbrella, held by one of her minions. She was fanning herself frantically and Stacy had to admit, the diva looked drenched.
The temperature had already been an uncomfortable 80 degrees when they pulled into the location shoot by eight a.m. Now, at almost noon, it had to be 20 degrees hotter, the sun above them bright, blistering, and burning.
“Just a few minutes more, Jade, and then you can cool off,” Nikko said, never once looking at her, but keeping his eyes trained on the portable monitors stationed under the canopy. “I just need you and Dan to tell the chefs good luck with the final presentation. Then we can all break for a while.”
From her vantage point, Stacy could see the ring of sweat circling Nikko’s neck. Unlike his whining cohost, though, he wasn’t complaining about it. Stacy pulled a couple of bottles of cold water from the cooler next to her chair, handed one over to Jade, then Todd, and finally gave one to Nikko, dropping the bottle over his shoulder.
When he slaked his hand up and took it from her, his fingers lingered just a second on her own, wrapping around them in a silent thanks that had her insides heating as much as her outsides. As she settled back into her chair, she spotted Jade’s intent gaze on her as she took a long, full drink from her bottle.
“Okay, Jade. Dan,” Nikko said. “Get in place. Dan, call time when you’re ready.”
Jade was handed a pair of dark sunglasses by one of her assistants, then the same girl walked with her to her camera spot carrying the huge, opened umbrella over her head.
It didn’t escape anyone’s attention the girl had no protection of her own against the sun, either on her face or over her head.
Dan Roth called time and then the sound of utensils clattering down on the wooden slats they’d all used for counters echoed in the canyon.
While the camera panned each chef as the cohosts stopped by their stations, Stacy noticed a few of them were so red from the heat of cooking over an open pit and being out in the sweltering midday sun, that she quickly sent a group text to her producers, ordering them to stand by with bottles of water and towels.
Once the scene was finished and Nikko called “cut,” her crew moved in.
“Hey, Nikko,” Clay Burbank yelled from his station.
All eyes turned to the chef to watch him yank his sweat-doused uniform jacket over his head, leaving his muscl
ed chest bare and glistening. He took the water bottle his producer handed him and poured it over his head, then grabbed another and swigged from it. “What stupid asshole decided it was a great idea to have us cook out here? It’s a thousand-fucking-degrees.”
“What’s that saying, Burbank? If you can’t stand the heat…?”
Stacy couldn’t decide who was more surprised by Nikko’s lighthearted comment and rare show of humor: the crew, the chefs, or Nikko himself.
“And I’m the stupid asshole who decided to put your final challenge out here. Deal with it.”
He stood from his chair and swiped the bottle across the back of his neck, then down his temples.
“He’s right about the temperature, though,” he said to Todd.
Stacy watched Jade as the woman ambled under the canopy.
“Nikko,” she said, “I need a few minutes of your time before you rush off. Meet me in my camper.”
Without waiting for a response, she walked by Stacy without even a glance her way.
“What’s that all about?” she heard Todd ask.
“Jade wants me to direct a new program she’s developing.” He glanced over at Stacy. “Are you free for a few minutes?”
Surprised, she nodded and waited for him to come to her.
“I’m pretty sure this is about what I mentioned last night,” he said, lowering his voice. “Come with me so we can hear her out.”
Nikko wrapped his fingers around her forearm and started walking. Stacy couldn’t think of an excuse to beg off quick enough. Before she knew it, he opened the door to Jade’s camper and went in.
The frigid air inside was such a stark contrast to the outside temperature, Stacy shuddered from the difference. The front of the camper was empty.
“It’s like a freezer in here,” Nikko mumbled when he climbed in behind her and closed the door. “Jade?”
“I’ll be right out,” she called. “I’m just getting changed.”
“Make it quick,” he called back, the irritation that had flown from him for the past few days back in his voice again. “I’ve got to get lunch ready for Melora.”
“Your daughter won’t starve to death if she has to wait five minutes for her lunch.”
Stacy gasped and, turning to Nikko, saw his nostrils flare.
Was the woman so blind, selfish, and ill-mannered she didn’t even realize the import of her words to the girl’s father?
She reached out a hand and squeezed his forearm, turning his attention to her. Before Stacy could say anything, Jade pranced from the back of the camper dressed in a floor-length silk bathrobe. From the way her legs peeked out when she walked, it was obvious she had nothing on under it.
The seductive smile she’d planted on her freshly fixed, made-up face, died the moment she spotted Stacy.
“This is a private meeting,” the diva told her, her pout pulling into a thin, crimson line.
“I asked her to come with me,” Nikko said. “I assumed you wanted to talk about your program proposal. I want Stacy’s take on it and it was just easier hearing it from you and not having to repeat everything later.”
Bald annoyance filled Jade’s glare, but after a moment it was replaced by something that had a nasty edge.
Jade moved to the built-in kitchen counter, pulled open the small refrigerator, and took a bottle of wine from its depths.
Nikko hissed in a breath. “You know Amos Dixon’s ranch is dry, Jade.”
With a flippant hand wave, the woman said, “He’s nowhere in the vicinity and I want a glass of wine. I’ll assume you don’t, Nikko, since you’re being such a prig about it.”
She didn’t bother to offer one to Stacy.
After taking a large sip—more a gulp, to Stacy’s mind—the woman turned to them, skimmed her eyes over Stacy, then settled on Nikko. With a grin channeling a Cheshire cat, she asked, “What do you think of my little idea? Intriguing, no?”
“It could be. If done correctly. You’ll need a lot of preproduction and research. Plus setting up the travel needed to each place. That’s why I asked Stacy here. Organizing something like this is right up her alley.”
“I’m sorry,” Stacy said, her gaze settling on him. “What kind of show are you talking about? A new food contest?”
Jade set her wineglass down on the counter and folded her arms across her chest. The upswell of flesh pressing against the fold of the robe proved Stacy’s suspicion the woman was naked underneath it.
“Not a contest, no,” the woman said. “The idea has more depth than just a simple competition.”
When she didn’t elaborate, Stacy turned to Nikko.
“Jade has this idea to tour around the country, visiting old-fashioned mom-and-pop restaurants and diners off the beaten track. Sample good old Americana cuisine and promote the kind of family dinners we grew up having.”
Stacy’s heart tripled in speed as he went on to describe the logistics of the show.
Her show.
Her fingers started to tingle and she could hear her blood coursing through her body. Slowly, determinedly, she turned to Jade. It came to her the moment the woman’s gaze met her own what she’d seen floating there just seconds before: a malicious glee.
How? How had Jade found out about her program concept?
As soon as she asked the question she answered it. Teddy Davis. She remembered the rumors claiming Jade was sleeping with Teddy. He’d either told her of Stacy’s plan, or she’d found out another way.
Stacy wouldn’t put it past the odious woman to have conspired with Teddy’s assistant, Althea, against her. Stacy remembered exactly how horrified Althea had been when she’d had him sign her guarantee, claiming Stacy was blackmailing him. She hadn’t wanted Teddy to sign it and made her thoughts known. Loudly.
“Stacy?”
She realized Nikko had been speaking to her. Brows furrowed together over his eyes, his head was cocked to one side.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked what you thought about the idea?”
Before she could reply, his cell phone pinged. After checking it, he told Jade, “Look, I’ve gotta go. We’ll talk more about this after filming is completed.” He moved to the door. “Are you coming?” he asked Stacy.
“You go on ahead, Nikko,” Jade said. “I need to speak with Stacy for moment. A quick question about later on. Go on, though. She’ll be right along.”
He squinted at her and then Stacy. She gave him a subtle nod.
Once the door closed behind him, Stacy turned back to Jade.
With a simpering grin that bordered on cruel, Jade sipped her wine as she regarded Stacy over the rim of her glass.
“I’m not surprised you didn’t say anything to him.” Seething, Stacy did what she always did when anger lashed up inside her: called for calm.
“After all, how would it look to the man you’ve been sleeping with if he knew the real reason you were in his bed?”
“You’re despicable.” The words shook from her. Even though she was able to keep her voice low, it cracked with emotion.
“I’m despicable? That’s a little like the pot calling out the kettle, dear. You’re the one who blackmailed Teddy. The one who only agreed to work on this show so you’d get your own if you stuck it through to the end.”
“Did he tell you that? That I’d blackmailed him? Because that’s not what it was.”
“I have my ways of knowing things. And you can call it whatever you like: The end result is the same.”
“Why are you doing this? Why are you being so cruel? I’ve never done anything to you.”
“Oh you poor, sweet, naïve little girl. It’s not about you.”
“Then what? You’ve basically laid claim to a show idea I’ve been developing for the past two years. An idea I’ve done the research on, I’ve sw
eated over the budget, the production value, the promotion. You’ve done nothing. Nothing but steal the idea.”
“I have my reasons.” She took another sip of wine.
Stacy took a step closer, her hands grasping her notebook so tight the tips of her fingers tingled.
“Your little idea would never even have been considered,” Jade said, “if Teddy hadn’t needed someone to keep the reins on Nikko. He only gave his consent in order to get you to agree to come out to this godforsaken place. He truly had no intention of going through with it.”
Stacy felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. “You don’t know that.”
“Oh, I do. When you backed him into a corner, he signed your little document—which, by the way, won’t stand up in any court, especially when the network’s lawyers destroy it.”
“If that’s true, then why did you present the idea to Nikko? Why bother?”
The malice on her beautiful face turned, hardening her soft features. For a brief moment, Stacy knew fear.
“Let’s just say he needed to be punished and this was an easy way to do it?”
Stacy shook her head, the raw edge of a headache sharpening across the back of her neck. “You’re not making any sense.”
“No? Well, let me put it as plainly as I can.” The smile dropped, her eyes darkened to two hard stones, and she fisted her hands on her tiny hips. “How do you think Nikko is going feel once he discovers the only reason his newest little bedmate is with him is because she believes she’s getting a huge payout? I don’t think he’ll be too happy knowing that you’re sleeping with him as a means to an end.”
“It’s not like that. You know it isn’t.”
“Do I?” She cocked her head and regarded Stacy as if she were a spider who’s just found a fly trapped in her silken web. “Do you know the story of Nikko and his ex-wife? Of why he divorced her?”
“No.” Stacy rubbed the back of her neck, trying to ease some of the tension coiled there.
“Flannery Adair was a minor bit player. A fair actress at the most, nothing certainly that would propel her to the stardom she so wanted. Nikko directed a small television movie she was in and she saw him for that proverbial meal ticket to success. She went after him like a heat-seeking missile, conveniently getting herself pregnant. Knowing the kind of man Nikko is, she knew he’d never ask her to get rid of it. After they were married, she badgered him endlessly to help her get roles in commercial movies. Which he did. Once she’d made a name for herself, she moved on to someone more influential in the business and blindsided Nikko with a divorce. Knowing he was used as a stepping-stone gave him a rather jaded view of the rest of our sex.”
