Unveiled

by Alice Raine

  Even in my hungover state, my heart sped up a little bit as I continued to think about Jack, and annoyingly I found an accompanying smile curving my lips. Bloody man. Sighing heavily, I rubbed at my temples and wondered if he had any idea just how badly he’d thrown my life, and emotions, into complete turmoil.

  As much as those thoughts were playing on my mind, my stomach suddenly gave a huge growl, alerting me to the fact that I was ravenously hungry. I rarely got rip-roaringly drunk these days, but on the occasions that I did have a few drinks, I always found that a good breakfast the following morning would send any lingering hangover packing. I really hoped that would be the case today, because my head was pounding.

  Another grumble from my tummy had me cautiously standing up, peeling off last night’s clothes, dragging on my dressing gown, and stumbling in the direction of the hall. I needed coffee and food, and I needed them pronto. Preferably bacon.

  Unfortunately, once I was downstairs, one quick glance in the fridge showed no exciting goodies at all, meaning that there would be no bacon sarnies for me. But we did at least have coffee and milk, so I immediately set to work getting a pot going.

  Just as I picked up the jug in preparation to pour myself a mug, there was a knock at the front door. It was so unexpected that it startled me into spilling some of the coffee before I placed the jug down and traipsed in the direction of the door warily.

  We hadn’t exactly lived here long, and I didn’t think that anyone had the address, apart from Sean, and seeing as he’d been filming night shoots, he would no doubt be in bed by now.

  Checking the peep hole, which I always did, I almost leapt back in surprise when I saw Jack on the step. What the heck? Not only was I questioning why he was here, but more importantly, how was he here? I’d never told him where I lived, so appearing on the doorstep was slightly unnerving. Especially seeing as I was decidedly under par this morning and definitely not prepared to deal with him and his hormone-stirring presence.

  Wanting to run and hide but feeling too guilty to ignore him, I tried my best to disregard my pounding head and look relaxed and calm as I pulled open the door. Unfortunately, the bright sunlight was just too much for my poor eyeballs, and as it hit my retinas I ended up groaning and covering my face with my hands instead of being calm and relaxed. This really was just the perfect start to the day. Not.

  ‘Good morning, Caitlin.’ Wincing as I dropped my hands, I squinted up at Jack and saw he looked fresh as a frigging daisy, and just as hot as ever in a pair of reflective sunglasses, navy T-shirt, and the same grey jeans he’d had on last night. They were obviously his choice pair, and I had to say they featured fairly high on my favourites list too, because boy, did they fit him perfectly in all the right places.

  Glancing down at myself, I grimaced. No fresh as a daisy looks here; I was wrapped in a dressing gown, drowsy, dishevelled, and probably coated in the smeared remains of last night’s make-up. Awesome.

  ‘Morning,’ I mumbled, not able to add the ‘good’, because as far as I was concerned the morning was pretty abysmal. Not only was I lumbered with the most monstrous hangover known to man, but I had to deal with Jack too, the one man who took my carefully built defences and seemed to brush them aside with ease, leaving me open, vulnerable, and completely flummoxed about what the heck it was I was feeling.

  ‘I have to get to the studio, so I can’t stop long, but I brought you both some breakfast.’ He lifted his arm to waggle a brown paper bag, and then when I stepped back and wafted a hand to indicate that he should come in he happily wandered past me into the lounge and straight towards the kitchen.

  Huh? His mere presence here was confusing, but now he knew the layout of my place, and had brought food too? In what universe did Jack Felton deliver food to my door? In what world did he deliver food to anyone’s door? Surely being a movie star it should be him demanding deliveries and then sitting back to be waited upon.

  Following him through to the kitchen, I found Jack unpacking the paper sack onto the table and couldn’t help but stare at the oddly domestic scene for a few seconds. He was absorbed in his task of pulling out various tubs and packages and humming quietly to himself as he did so.

  Humming?

  Jack Felton was humming in my kitchen, while preparing my breakfast? God, this was weird.

  ‘How do you know where I live?’ My tone was more curious than accusatory, but Jack still paused and looked at me with a small smile and a raised eyebrow. ‘Got a few blanks, eh?’

  I nodded, my aching brain begging me not to repeat the action, but as I spotted some chocolate croissants on the table, my stomach gave an almighty growl and I found my mouth salivating.

  Presented with the food, I suddenly wasn’t quite as bothered by my headache or the answer to my question, but Jack seemed intent on giving it anyway. ‘I dropped you and Allie home last night. You mentioned a craving for bacon, but Allie said there wasn’t much food in the house so I figured you might like a breakfast delivery.’

  Wow. How thoughtful. Not to mention slightly embarrassing that I had apparently been drunkenly rambling on about bacon. Oops.

  ‘Turns out you’re quite the chatterbox when you’re drunk,’ he murmured, his words making my stomach drop. Oh god. What had I said last night?

  ‘Uh … really? What else did I say?’ Please don’t tell me I’d said how gorgeous I thought he was. Please not that. Anything but that.

  ‘Just bits and pieces. Nothing to panic over.’

  Hmm. There was a twinkle in his eye that said otherwise, but I wasn’t going to pursue it if it meant I would embarrass myself even further. Changing the subject, I eyed the bag of food hopefully. ‘I think I might love you forever if you’ve bought me bacon,’ I mumbled, as my eyes scanned the table trying to work out if he had a packet hidden away somewhere.

  Suddenly, I brought myself up short. Oh god. Had I just said the ‘L’ word to Jack Felton? Why had I chosen that word? I could have said I’d be forever grateful or hugely appreciative, but no, I’d said I’d love him forever.

  Thankfully, Jack seemed to overlook my slip and merely smiled at me, pulling out a bowl of fruit salad. ‘That’s one of the things you said last night,’ he murmured, his voice dropping slightly and causing me to lift my eyes from the food to look at his face.

  There was a strange, soft look to his expression that made my stomach clench and heart leap as our eyes locked and held, but before I could make any more of it, we were interrupted by Allie practically falling into the kitchen and clutching her head in both hands.

  ‘I am hungover as fuck! Please tell me we have coffee. Oh! Jack …’ Allie’s cheeks flushed beetroot red, presumably over her hilariously filthy mouth this morning. ‘Hi, sorry, I didn’t expect to see you here.’ She might have been talking to Jack, but Allie was now staring straight at me, clearly wondering where the heck Jack the breakfast bringer had appeared from.

  I gave a shrug, then Jack jumped in.

  ‘Morning, Allie. I was passing on my way to the studios and seeing as you said there was no food in the house last night I decided to bring you girls some breakfast.’

  ‘Wow. Wow… thank you. That’s amazing.’ Allie’s gaze bounced between Jack and me curiously before landing on the coffee pot on the side. ‘Coffee … thank God …’

  ‘Wait, drink this first.’ Jack dug into the paper bag and produced two small bottles containing a pale white liquid, one of which he handed to Allie. ‘You too, Caitlin,’ he said, passing me an identical bottle. ‘It’s coconut water, great for hangovers because it’s rich in potassium and magnesium, which help the body to hydrate.’ Our fingers brushed as I accepted the bottle and as I felt a heated tingle rushing up my arm, I was instantly reminded of how good it had felt to cling on to Jack yesterday. I couldn’t be entirely sure, but from the way our eyes joined again for a heated second or too, I’m pretty sure he felt it too.

  Feeling decidedly hot under the collar I looked away from him and popped the cap on the
bottle before taking a tentative sip, allowing a tiny amount to slip over my tongue. To my pleasant surprise it tasted great: icy cold, sweet, and so refreshing that I proceeded to down the entire bottle in one go. Licking my lips, I smiled and placed the bottle down. ‘Tasty. Thanks.’

  Jack gave me a sweet smile and looked to blush a little. ‘You’re welcome. Now have this.’ He handed me a paper-wrapped package which I began to open, and paused as my nose latched onto the smell of bacon and sent my saliva glands into overdrive.

  Oh my god. He really had brought me bacon? My eyes jerked back to Jack, where I found him with that same weird, soft expression on his face as he watched me carefully.

  ‘Ask and you shall receive,’ he murmured with a wink. ‘Let’s hope you keep your end of the deal someday,’ he added, causing my brain to completely flip out. ‘Well, enjoy, ladies. I’m afraid I’ve got to go.’

  With that, Jack was gone, leaving Allie and me with just a hint of his scent in the air and the vast quantities of food on the table to show he really had been here. What a completely bizarre way to start the day.

  ‘What did he mean when he said “let’s hope you keep your end of the deal”?’ Allie asked as she slumped into a seat and began to shove a chocolate croissant into her mouth. Following her to the table, I bit into my bacon sandwich, hummed my appreciation, and then swallowed before meeting her curious gaze. Gosh, this was embarrassing.

  ‘Uh … apparently when I was drunk last night I, uh… I said I would love him forever if he bought me bacon.’

  The croissant fell from her hands onto the table in a shower of flaky crumbs as Allie gaped at me. ‘I didn’t mean it literally, I was drunk,’ I added quickly, deciding to leave out the fact that I had also said it this morning sober. Well, sober-ish. ‘Anyway, he was just joking around,’ I murmured, hoping to convince both myself and Allie.

  ‘Hmmm.’ Allie picked up her croissant and took another bite, looking at me thoughtfully. ‘He could certainly teach Sean a thing or two about how to treat his woman, that’s for sure. Lifts home, breakfast deliveries, special hangover-curing drinks … I could get used to this kind of service!’

  ‘I’m not his woman,’ I corrected quickly, but looking at the table I gave in with a smile. ‘But yeah, this is all really thoughtful.’ A really thoughtful gesture by my bacon-bringing, handsome as sin new ‘friend’. Hmm. I certainly had a lot to process.

  ‘Do you remember much of last night?’ Allie asked curiously.

  Peeling off a crispy bit of bacon, I popped it in my mouth, savoured the deliciously salty taste, and licked my fingers clean. ‘Not really. Jack said he brought us home, and I certainly don’t remember that.’

  ‘He did. Helped you up the stairs and got us glasses of water and some paracetamol.’ The drink and tablets had been from Jack? His list of gallant deeds just went on and on, didn’t it?

  I recalled the strange half visions I’d had of Jack standing by my wardrobe. ‘He was in my room?’ I squeaked, not entirely sure how I felt about that.

  ‘Yeah, but not for long. I had to run to the toilet so he helped you, that’s all. He promised not to touch you, and he stuck to it.’

  ‘He actually promised that?’ I whispered, my voice suddenly feeling quite tight for a reason I couldn’t quite place.

  ‘Yep. I told you he was a genuinely nice guy. He is a total gentleman, Cait. It was really rather sweet.’

  Sweet. And genuinely nice.

  Damn it, I really wished I hadn’t been so drunk so I could remember what he’d said. As I considered that, a more alarming thought entered my brain. ‘Did I say anything embarrassing?’

  Allie giggled, then took a sip of her coffee and sighed happily. ‘Nothing much, just that you think he’s totally hot.’

  The final bite of my sandwich went sailing across the room as I choked on it and spluttered loudly. ‘I told him that?’ I screeched, all thoughts of food gone, along with the lingering remnants of my hangover as panic flooded my brain thick and fast.

  Swallowing another sip of her drink, Allie eyed me innocently over the top of her mug, and finally gave in and laughed. ‘Nah, of course not. But the look on your face is priceless.’

  Holy shit, I’d believed her, and now my pulse was racing and my head was banging again. ‘Jeez, Allie, don’t do stuff like that.’ I felt my heart hammering below my breastbone like a freight train.

  Grinning at me cheekily, she wiggled her eyebrows and shrugged. ‘You could have said it, it’s obviously true.’

  I was about to resort to my custom denial, but seeing her sceptical look I instead gave in with a groan. ‘Yeah, yeah, he’s good looking, and kind and ‘genuinely nice’ and all sorts of appealing. I’m celibate, not blind,’ I added snappily, before picking absently at some crumbs on the table. ‘But seeing as we’ve only just established a friends thing, I don’t exactly want to go blabbing how attractive I find him, do I?’

  ‘I guess not …’

  Allie’s tone made it obvious that she wanted to say more so I pulled in a deep breath and raised my eyebrows. ‘What?’

  ‘Nothing, really. I’m just really glad that you’re giving this friendship a chance. I’m really proud of you.’

  Proud of me for being friends with a man. It was embarrassing. That was something most women took for granted and did naturally without any fuss. But I guess for me, with all my baggage, it was a big deal and something to be proud of, so instead of saying anything, I just nodded and gladly accepted the hug Allie pulled me into.

  THIRTY

  Allie

  It had been four days since I’d gone with Cait to the batting cages, which meant four days since she had agreed to be friends with Jack. It also translated to four long, hard days of me desperately wanting to push her on the subject but knowing I needed to refrain so she didn’t freak out about it.

  I had, however, decided that today was the day to broach the subject again and see if she had spoken to him since the weekend. Gossip was practically my middle name, and if this had been a different friend we were talking about, then I would have been all over them like a rash the very next day. But this wasn’t just any girl, this was Cait, my best friend and someone so hesitant about relationships that I knew what a big deal it was for her to even be moving forward with a friendship with a man, let alone anything more.

  It was a little past ten in the morning, and we were heading out onto the deck to lounge over a second pot of coffee, which seemed the perfect opportunity to corner my bestie on the topic of Mr Hot-to-Trot Jack Felton.

  Before we’d even got outside though, my phone started to ring on the kitchen table. Turning back for it, I saw Savannah’s number flashing up and sighed. God, this woman was persistent. I’d accepted her apology, even though I didn’t truly believe that she was actually sorry, but she suddenly seemed to want to be my best bloody buddy.

  Cait held the coffee pot up and waggled it in my direction so I nodded and gave her a thumbs up to indicate I would like another cup. That would probably be my third for the day, no wonder I was feeling so alert.

  Answering the call, I lifted the phone warily to my ear. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Allie, darrrrling. How are you?’ I winced and rolled my eyes, still hating the way she rolled her rrrr’s.

  ‘Fine, thanks, Savannah. And you?’ I disliked being this friendly with her, but I didn’t see that I had any other option. Sean had to work with her, and if I wanted to be able to see him when she was around then being polite was the best course.

  Savannah began droning on about her morning and there didn’t seem to be any stopping her, so it seemed easier to just join Cait outside, sit back on the wicker sofa, sip my coffee, and let her get on with it. Finally, Savannah paused for breath.

  ‘You’re very quiet, darrrrrling.’ That’s because you won’t shut up, I thought, rolling my eyes at her over the top tone as I kicked my legs up onto a footstool.

  ‘Are you still terribly angry with me for my little prank?’ My eyes
widened. Telling someone you had slept with their boyfriend – no, not slept with, ‘fucked’– was not just a little prank, it was downright deceitful. But I kept quiet. Savannah was exhausting and I couldn’t even be bothered to try and compete.

  ‘What more can I say? I’m an actress, sometimes I get off on using my talents to wind people up. It was wrong of me, I know that. Please, Allie, say you’ve forgiven me? If you’re dating Sean and I’m working with him, you and I need to get along.’

  Reluctantly, I had to agree. If Sean and I worked out, which I was determined that we would, then I would have to see Savannah for the next few years whenever they were filming.

  Stubbornly, I stayed silent though, not wanting to have to agree with her about anything. ‘Look, the reason I was calling was to ask you if you wanted to come to the set today. You and I could grab a coffee and start over. Please?’

  My eyes narrowed. Coffee with Savannah? I couldn’t think of anything I’d like less. Poking my own eyes out with the coffee scoop would probably be more enjoyable. ‘Sean said you like writing, so I was thinking I could introduce you to some of the scriptwriters.’

  Hmmm, I’d always fancied moving across to screenplays, or scriptwriting, so that offer did sound pretty tempting, but hearing my continued silence, she persevered. ‘He mentioned that he was disappointed that you can’t come down to watch him in action because you have to stay secret, but if I sign you in as my friend no one will suspect anything. What do you say? He’d be so thrilled if you got to see him acting, I just know it.’

  Watching Sean act was high up on my list of fantasies, so was a temptation too great to turn down. I’d have to delay my chat with Cait, but that could always wait until tonight. Weighing it all up, I shrugged. Savannah had been pretty persistent with her apology texts and flowers, so perhaps she really was trying to extend the olive branch. In the end, the offer of seeing Sean on set was just too much to resist.

  ‘OK, sounds good.’

  ‘Yay! Oh thank you, Allie, we’ll have such fun.’ Resting a hand on my hip, I gave an ironic smile. I very much doubted we’d have ‘such fun’ but it would be an interesting way to spend the day.