The Sweetest Mistake

by Layla Valentine

  “Did I miss him?” the man asked as he dropped down into a chair beside Juliette. “Hey there,” he went on, turning and holding out his hand. “Dominic Hawk.”

  “I—I know,” she stuttered.

  It would have been impossible for anyone even loosely connected in the industry to not know who he was. Actually, she seriously doubted that there was anyone in the country who didn’t know who he was. Even if a person never went to the movies, they would have seen his face in any number of places.

  She would have been lying if she’d said that she hadn’t studied his face a few times in the past. Now that he was right in front of her, she realized that his good looks didn’t need help from Photoshop or any type of movie magic. He really was sinfully attractive with those dark blue eyes and that golden tanned skin.

  Juliette couldn’t help but let her eyes stray to his firm jawline. It had always been one of her favorite features about him. Today there was just a hint of dark blond stubble on it, as if he’d skipped his morning shave. A sudden unbidden flash of curiosity jolted through her. She couldn’t help but wonder what that would feel like scraping over her skin.

  Just as she realized in horror that she was drifting off into a full-fledged fantasy, she felt the producer’s eyes lock on her. She straightened her back and brushed her hair back behind her ears as she made a concentrated effort to pull herself together. She’d worked with some pretty well-known people before on stage, after all. Of course, Dominic Hawk was more well-known than the average stage actor; he was at the very top of the A-list.

  He was also still holding out his hand for her to shake. God, what a first impression. Juliette shook it quickly, feeling her face heat up. He grinned at her, and she saw that the megawatt smile that crinkled the corners of his dark blue eyes was just as devastating in person as on screen.

  “Juliette Dietz,” she said, deciding to keep it simple to avoid embarrassing herself further.

  “Then you’re going to be my new co-star?” he asked.

  “I audition tomorrow,” she said, keeping her answer vague. It was better not to count on anything in this business. Even if she’d been likely to, she wouldn’t have acted overly confident in front of the producer, who was still watching her closely. The last thing she wanted him to think was that she was just another arrogant up-and-coming actress.

  Dominic chuckled and twitched his sleeves up just slightly before he took a sip of the coffee he’d brought in with him. “Yeah, me too,” he said. Apparently, he didn’t mind sounding a little arrogant. He glanced across the table and said, “But Ed’s pretty much already decided, hasn’t he?”

  “Edward isn’t the only member of this production,” Albert said.

  Juliette’s gaze swung back to the producer when she heard the tone of his voice. His jaw was clenched so tight that she could see a muscle ticking in his cheek. She was worried for a moment, but then she realized that she wasn’t included in the sudden annoyance. It was all reserved for the man sitting beside her. Dominic Hawk did not seem to care.

  “When does filming start?” he asked, raising his cup for another sip of coffee.

  “When casting is done.”

  Chris raised his head from the papers, seemingly unaware of the tension at the table. “And when will that be?”

  As they discussed it, Juliette snuck another look at Dominic. He was looking down at his phone, texting. Another glance at Albert told her that it probably wasn’t the best thing he could be doing at the moment. He was apparently already on thin ice with the producer. What on earth was he thinking, answering texts at the table?

  That triggered the memory. A few years ago, Albert Price and Dominic Hawk had worked on a project together. Afterward, Albert had filleted Dominic in the press. He’d called him unprofessional and a mediocre talent at best. Dominic hadn’t responded except to say that there were different strokes for different folks and that he’d had fun on the project.

  “How did Ed hear about you?” Dominic asked as Chris and Albert began to talk about the time for the audition tomorrow. He slid his phone into the pocket of his jeans and turned back to her. He seemed much more willing to give her his full attention than he had been for the producer.

  Juliette wasn’t sure if she was honored or if she wanted to warn him to stop playing with fire. Then again, it wasn’t really her place. Surely he knew more about managing his own career than she did.

  “I’m not sure,” she said, glancing at Chris. “Did he say how he found me?”

  “He saw one of your plays,” Albert filled in when Chris shook his head. “He liked your southern accent. He can’t stand the fake one most actors do these days, and he thought that it would lend some charm to the character you’ll be playing in the movie. If you get the part,” he hurried to clarify.

  Juliette smiled. “Tell him that I said thank you,” she said. “If you speak to him before the audition tomorrow.”

  Albert nodded, his expression becoming a bit less frosty at her genuine appreciation. “I’ll do that.” Then, seeming to give in, he said, “The auditions really are just a formality. Unless your performance has gotten significantly worse in the past few months, the job is yours.”

  “Which means that we should probably have dinner,” Dominic said. “Since we’re going to be spending the summer together on a private island.”

  “A private…” She let the sentence trail off when Albert’s gaze narrowed on Dominic again. It might be better to answer quickly before the situation spiraled out of control.

  “Of course,” she said to Dominic. “I’d love to get to know you before we start working together.”

  “Great,” he said easily. “Give me your number. I’ll call you tonight.”

  She did as he asked, writing her number on a scrap of paper that Chris pushed over to her. Dominic slid it into his pocket and then stood up without waiting for the producer to dismiss him. The muscle was ticking in Albert’s jaw again.

  “Okay,” Dominic said. “I’ll see you later tonight, then.” He turned to the producer. “And I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Albert. Tell Ed I’m looking forward to it.”

  With that, he was gone. Juliette stood up as well when a look from the producer made it clear that she was dismissed.

  “So you’ll contact me with the time for the audition tomorrow?” she asked Chris who nodded in response. She reached for the script, but Chris held onto it.

  “I’ll email it to you,” he said. “Edward doesn’t want any paper copies floating around at the moment.”

  “Oh, okay,” she said. She’d heard that the director had that small eccentricity. “Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Price?”

  She held out her hand and Albert stood, remaining behind the big wooden table. His gaze was incredibly calculating all of a sudden. What had she done wrong? Should she have turned Dominic down? Surely the producer was too professional to let a years-old feud ruin a new project—right? Or did he think that she was trying to get into bed with her co-star?

  “Yes,” he said, his tone professionally cool once more as he shook her hand. “Have a good evening, Ms. Dietz. And please try not to be late tomorrow.”

  Chapter 3

  “How was the cab ride back?” Juliette asked when she walked into the apartment an hour later and found Tami cooking spaghetti.

  “I didn’t have to get a cab,” she said, stirring the noodles. “Jason picked me up.”

  “Oh, the guy from your studio you said was super helpful?”

  Tami nodded. “Yeah, he called about a client, and when I told him where I was, he offered. Are you hungry? I can throw some more noodles in if you are. I just got this started.”

  “No, I’m good,” Juliette said, taking the change in subject to mean that Tami didn’t want to talk about Jason. “I’m going out tonight.”

  She could hardly keep her voice steady, causing Tami’s head to snap up.

  “With who?” she demanded. “Oh my God, I didn’t even ask about the int
erview. Are you going out with someone from it? To one of those fancy movie parties? Tell me how it went!”

  Juliette laughed. “Okay, let me start from the beginning.”

  Tami shrieked with joy as Juliette explained that the job was pretty much hers, flinging her arms around her and squeezing tightly. Juliette hugged her back just as enthusiastically. After years and years, this really might be it—her big break!

  “But who are you going out with?” Tami asked, drawing back. “Edward Ainsworth is practically a recluse and Albert Price is married, right?”

  “Actually, my new co-star—if all of this works out—asked me to have dinner with him tonight,” Juliette said, as casually as she could manage.

  Tami waited impatiently. Juliette let the silence drag out for a moment. Then Tami whacked her with a pot holder.

  “Who is it?” she asked.

  “Dominic Hawk.”

  Tami’s reaction made the build-up worth it. “Are you kidding me?!” she asked, her voice dropping from an excited shrillness to a low shock. “Dominic Hawk? The hottest man of the year? The award-winning actor? The hottest actor out there right now?”

  “The very same,” Juliette said.

  Tami dropped down into the kitchen chair and stared at her. “I don’t even know what to say,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Your pasta is going to stick,” Juliette said.

  “Shit.” Tami jumped up and went back to the stove, stirring the noodles around briskly.

  Juliette moved around her and began to set the table. She gathered the pasta sauce and parmesan cheese and put it on the table as well.

  “Thanks,” Tami said, still stirring. “So, what’s the movie about?”

  “Good question,” Juliette said. “Chris said he would email me the plot—Edward doesn’t want copies circulating.” She opened her email and saw her agent’s name at the very top. “Here it is.”

  She opened the message and read the description aloud: “A couple meets on a cruise ship, and although they are extremely different, sparks fly between them…” She skimmed over a few details and then picked up again. “Little do they know, an asteroid is aiming on ruining their vacation. When their cruise ship capsizes in the waves, they manage to make it to the shore of an island. Slowly they come to realize that it’s like no island they’ve ever seen before. Can they unlock the mystery of the island and return to Earth or will they be trapped there forever?”

  “Sounds fun,” Tami said as she drained her pasta and walked over to the table to dump it into the bowl Juliette had placed there. “And it also sounds like a whole lot of one-on-one time with the hottie actor.”

  Juliette nodded and dropped into the chair across the table. “Yeah, it will be mostly just the two of us the whole time.” She skimmed the email some more, and her eyebrows went up. “They’ll be shooting most of it on location in Mexico.”

  “Oh wow,” Tami said. “I’m jealous.”

  “I’ve never even been outside of the U.S.,” Juliette admitted. Nerves suddenly blossomed. “What if they think I suck?”

  “They’d be wrong,” Tami said flatly. “I’ve seen you act. You don’t suck. If you did, I’d have offered you a job as my receptionist or something. I wouldn’t be letting you go out and make a fool of yourself every day at a job you can’t do well.”

  Juliette laughed. “I appreciate that.” Then, after a pause, she said, “You follow a lot of celebrity gossip, right?”

  “More than my fair share,” Tami agreed as she shook parmesan onto her noodles.

  “What do you know about Dominic Hawk?”

  Her friend took a bite of pasta and held up one finger. “Sorry,” she said. “I know some women lose their appetites when they get pregnant, but that hasn’t happened to me. From everything I’ve read our boy is the life of the party.” She chewed another bite and, once she’d swallowed, said, “I don’t want to tell you how to live or anything, but I wouldn’t…expect too much from him.”

  Juliette tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “Dating his co-stars is sort of his thing,” Tami said. “The relationships usually don’t even make it until the end of the movie. That’s one of the reasons that Albert Price swore he’d never work with him again—his failed relationship with the actress in one movie almost derailed the entire project. Luckily the movie did well, but if it hadn’t, I’m not sure what Price would have done. Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads-up. So that—”

  “So the country girl doesn’t get her heart broken?” Juliette asked with a grin.

  “It wouldn’t be the first time someone has come out here with stars in their eyes and gone home broken-hearted.” Tami stuck another forkful of pasta into her mouth.

  Juliette reached out and patted her friend’s hand. “Thanks. I mean it. I’m not planning on falling in love with the guy though, so I think it will be okay.”

  “Good,” Tami said. Then her green eyes took on a wicked glint. “Now that we’ve established that, feel free to do anything else you like with him. The only stipulation is that you have to tell me all about it.”

  Juliette laughed. “Cross my heart,” she promised, just as her phone vibrated. “It’s him,” she said, opening the message.

  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.”