His Leading Man
Page 18
Not that Drew could complain. He’d had one hand in his pocket since they got out of the car. He didn’t want anyone to see the outline of the jewelry box he was saving for their very private after-party, and guess what it contained. Steve deserved to be the first to know.
After Marla, of course, who caught Drew looking at Steve and raised her eyebrows.
Right. Drew had a job to do.
He cleared his throat. “Well, Steve’s working on another screenplay. I don’t think he’s ready to share it with the world yet, though. And I have this premiere, and then I’m off to Vancouver to film part of a Netflix series next month, and then I’m taking a sabbatical.” A whole month and a half with no work. He thought he might go crazy, but his mom would put him to work with last-minute details for Sarah’s wedding, and Steve would probably at least pretend to bounce plot ideas off of him out of pity if Drew seemed bored enough.
“What about personally? I heard a rumor you’re looking for a house?”
They’d put an offer in that morning, actually: a ranch-style home a few minutes’ drive from Marla’s, with a privacy hedge and a pool and a couple hundred thousand dollars in pending renovations. A writer deserved a proper office, after all.
But Drew had learned in the past few months. He could gush about Steve personally, but the specifics of their relationship were off-limits. “Am I? Lucky me.” He smiled to soften it, and then Marla called his name, and he made his excuses to cross the carpet.
“You didn’t tell anyone you took your mother as your date, did you?”
Steve looked away from the interviewer, expression exasperated layered with affection and, beneath that, relief. “I should be so lucky.”
Drew grinned and slid his free arm around Steve’s waist. “Are we ready to wrap this up? We’re needed inside for….” He waved his hand. “I don’t know, but I’m a very demanding and organized producer, so I’m sure it’s something.”
The interviewer laughed like she was meant to. “Just one more question. Steven, how does it feel to be the one to take Hollywood’s hottest bachelor off the market?”
The question was innocent enough, but it betrayed a fundamental misunderstanding on her part. Before Steve could answer, Drew broke in, turning to face Steve instead of the camera. “Oh no,” he said, shaking his head. “You’ve got it all wrong. I’m not his leading man.”
Steve was laughing at him, Drew could tell from his eyes, but they held a sweetness and a depth of emotion that made Drew feel like swooning.
“He’s mine.”
You are cordially invited….
THOMAS & REBECCA BEAUMONT
together with
MARLA ROMANIC STONE
request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their sons
ANDREW FRANCIS BEAUMONT
and
STEVEN MORTIMER STONE
on the fifteenth day of July of this year
at four thirty in the afternoon
The Aquarium of the Pacific
Cocktails and reception to follow
Best wishes only
ASHLYN KANE is a Canadian former expat and current hockey fan. She is a writer, editor, handyperson, dog mom, and friend—sometimes all at once.
On any given day she can usually be found walking her ninety-pound baby chocolate lapdog, Indy, or holed up in her office avoiding housework. She has a deep and abiding love of romance novel tropes, a habit of dropping too many f-bombs, and—fortunately—a very forgiving family.
Twitter: @ashlynkane
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ashlyn.kane.94
Coming in July 2018
Dreamspun Desires #61
Stranger in a Foreign Land by Michael Murphy
Losing his old life and finding a new love.
After an accident stole his memory, the only home American businessman Patrick knows is Bangkok. He recovers under the tender ministrations of Jack, an Australian ex-pat who works nights at a pineapple cannery. Together they search for clues to Patrick’s identity, but without success. Soon that forgotten past seems less and less important as Jack and Patrick—now known as Buddy—build a new life together.
But the past comes crashing in when Patrick’s brother travels to Thailand looking for him… and demands Patrick return to Los Angeles, away from Jack and the only world familiar to him. The attention also causes trouble for Jack, and to make their way back to each other, Patrick will need to find not only himself, but Jack as well, before everything is lost…..
Dreamspun Desires #62
A Fool and His Manny by Amy Lane
Seeing the truth and falling in love.
Dustin Robbins-Grayson was a surly adolescent when Quinlan Gregory started the nanny gig. After a rocky start, he grew into Quinlan's friend and confidant—and a damned sexy man.
At twenty-one, Dusty sees how Quinlan sacrificed his own life and desires to care for Dusty’s family. He’s ready to claim Quinlan—he's never met a kinder, more capable, more lovable man. Or a lonelier one. Quinlan has spent his life as the stranger on the edge of the photograph, but Dusty wants Quinlan to be the center of his world. First he has to convince Quinlan he’s an adult, their love is real, and Quinlan can be more than a friend and caregiver. Can he show Quin that he deserves to be both a man and a lover, and that in Dusty’s eyes, he’s never been “just the manny?”
Coming Soon to
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Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
His Leading Man
© 2018 Ashlyn Kane.
Cover Art
© 2018 Bree Archer.
http://www.breearcher.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64080-108-0
Mass Market Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64108-004-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017912388
Digital published June 2018
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America