The Sweetest Mistake

by Layla Valentine

  Actually, they were a little ahead of schedule, which was why they weren’t filming today. So why was he still so determined that she and Dominic were going to do something to screw up the film? Being watched so closely would have made her nervous even if she wasn’t sneaking around with her co-star.

  Edward always had to do a lot more retakes when Albert was on location. Maybe that was why he thought that she was breaching her contract, but it didn’t have anything to do with Dominic. It was the producer himself that caused her nerves.

  “You’ve got plenty of experience,” Carol said indignantly, her voice rising. “You did all those plays and those commercials. And you did that other movie just last year.”

  Juliette smiled at her mother’s fierce defense. “That’s not the kind of experience that means a whole lot to Mr. Price,” she said.

  “Well, it means a lot to us,” her mother reminded her. “We’re so proud of you, Juliette. No one deserves this more than you. You’ve worked so hard, and I’m so happy to see that it’s paying off for you.”

  “Thank you,” Juliette said. It seemed inadequate, but it was all she could manage to say.

  Her throat was suddenly tight. She knew that her parents were both very proud of her. That made what she was planning to do for them feel even better. They’d supported her from the time that she was eight years old, doing her backyard plays. She had been waiting for a break like this to have a chance to repay them.

  “How’s Dad?” she asked, changing the subject while she got her emotions under control.

  “Good,” Carol said, sounding emotional herself. “As usual.”

  Juliette smiled, knowing how very true that statement was. Her father was the most cheerful person she knew. His bad days were incredibly rare, and that meant that he brightened other people’s days consistently.

  “Did he get the postcard I sent for him to show the class?”

  “He did,” Carol said, and Juliette could hear the smile in her voice. “He said to tell you thanks if you called before he got a chance to tell you himself. He said that the kids couldn’t believe how clear the water was. Does it really look like that all of the time or did they Photoshop it?”

  Juliette looked out at the sparkling sea that lay in front of her. “It really does look like that,” she said, surprised at the sudden wistfulness in her mother’s voice. Maybe she’d have to bring them back here someday, just as Dominic had offered to bring his family. Maybe they could all come out together.

  She cut the thought off quickly. Chances were that this wasn’t going to last, and she knew it. She just had to keep reminding herself so that she didn’t get hurt when the inevitable occurred.

  She gathered her courage and asked the question that she’d been holding back. “How’s Rob been doing lately?”

  Her mother paused, and Juliette suddenly wondered if the temptation to equivocate was there for her mother as much as it was for her. Either way, the prolonged silence wasn’t a good indication about the state of her older brother.

  “Tell me honestly,” Juliette said. “I’d rather know the truth than wonder about it out here where there’s nothing I can do.”

  “He lost his job last week,” Carol said heavily.

  Juliette caught her breath. “Again?” This was the fifth one in three years.

  “I’m afraid so, honey.”

  “He wasn’t drinking at work, was he?”

  “No, not this time,” Carol said. “There were just too many late starts to the day. The candle doesn’t burn at both ends, and he’d been staying up so late that he just couldn’t get up on time in the morning.”

  Or he was simply too hungover to care. Juliette didn’t say that part out loud. What good would it do?

  “I’m sorry, Mama,” she said.

  “Well,” her mother said, trying to sound cheerful. “I’m sure something else will come along soon.”

  Juliette chewed on her lower lip. There was another thing that she wanted to do when she got her first big check, but there was no point in bringing it up now, not when she didn’t know how her brother would feel about the offer. He should be the first one that she spoke to seriously about it.

  Dominic was walking back up the beach toward her now. His broad shoulders were slumped, and he was looking down at the path he was creating in the sand as he scuffed his feet into it.

  Her heart contracted. Whatever the conversation had been about, it looked like it hadn’t gone well.

  She’d beckoned him closer before she even realized what she was doing. Albert wasn’t on the island today. Surely two co-stars could sit next to each other without anyone suspecting anything.

  “I’ll let you go,” Juliette said to her mother. “I think I’m going to try to get into this book since I have a bit of time off.”

  “That sounds like a good plan,” Carol said, clearly relieved to have a different subject at hand. “I can’t tell you the last time I had time to curl up with a book.”

  If Juliette had her way, her mother might have a lot more time on her hands soon. She didn’t say anything about that though. There was no point in raising hopes if things didn’t pan out the way that she wanted them to. She said her goodbyes and looked up at Dominic when he stopped in front of her. He looked even worse up close.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked him, gesturing for him to sit down beside her.

  His dark eyes looked shadowed, but he nodded. “Sure. I think I’m going to take a swim though. Want to join me?”

  She held up the book she had brought out with her, and he gave her a smile. Or rather, he gave her the ghost of one. It didn’t look anything like his usual grin.

  “I’ll catch up with you later on,” he said.

  She nodded and watched him walk out, into the ocean. He dove in and swam out further than they usually went together. As she watched, he ducked under the bright waves and then bobbed to the surface several feet away.

  She could see that he was moving as fast as he could. Probably trying to outrun whatever he and his mother had spoken about. She wished that she could help, but she just didn’t know what to do.

  They didn’t talk again that day. She tried not to take it personally, because she could see that he needed his space. It didn’t mean that she didn’t miss him though.

  Chapter 16

  When the soft knock came at her door just after midnight, she was ready to greet him. Juliette gestured for Dominic to come inside her villa, but he shook his head and beckoned for her to follow him out instead. She did as he asked, walking along behind him through the sand dunes and up a small hill. Eventually, she found herself settled in the cave where they would be filming their sex scene when it came time.

  There was a makeshift bed set up already. She stretched out on it, surprised that something that looked so pieced together was actually comfortable. She made a mental note to compliment the prop department once they had filmed the scene where they would use the bed.

  Dominic lay down beside her, kissing her slowly, almost lazily. “You looked so damn good today,” he said when he drew back.

  “When?” she asked, confused. She’d spent half the day in her bathing suit and the other part in shorts and a T-shirt.

  “All day long,” he said, running his hand through her long hair, twining it through his fingers. “It was all I could do to keep my hands off of you, do you know that?”

  “I wish that you didn’t have to,” Juliette said, sighing as he kissed his way down her neck. It would have been so nice to be able to hold his hand when they walked along the island in their spare time. Stretching up and kissing him whenever she wanted would be even nicer. She also would have loved the chance to comfort him today when he had been so upset about the call.

  She didn’t want to pry, but she really hoped that he would tell her about that soon. She knew there was probably nothing that she could do to help, but sometimes listening was enough.

  “Me too,” he agreed. “Once filming is over, I say w
e go out and paint the whole damn town red. What do you think about that?”

  “Sounds good to me,” she said with a smile.

  And she meant it. She didn’t consider herself a social climber or a show off by any means, but the thought of being out at events on Dominic Hawk’s arm was delicious. Maybe it was simply because they’d had to sneak around for so long.

  “Good. And while we’re on the subject, there’s something I’d like too,” he said as he pressed a kiss to the hollow of her throat.

  “Oh? And what’s that?”

  He trailed his fingers down over her stomach, letting them dip under her waistband. “I’d like to taste you here.”

  Juliette wondered later if she’d looked overly eager, but she didn’t actually care if she did. She practically pushed his head down.

  Dominic looked up at her with a grin. “It won’t be that fast,” he said as he drew her pants down and tossed them to the side of the bed. He left her panties on, scattering kisses over her thighs as he trailed his fingers up over the cloth. “You’re so wet already,” he noted.

  Juliette didn’t bother to deny it. Instead, she spread her legs a bit wider and let him settle between them.

  He hooked his arms under her legs and brought her down to his mouth, but he still didn’t tug her panties down. Instead, he began kissing her stomach, trailing his tongue under the edge of her underwear, leaving a trail of wet heat that had her arching up. His fingers moved up the sides of her pussy, leaving it tingling as she waited for his touch.

  She wanted to clench her thighs together, to try to get some pressure on the ache he was creating, but she couldn’t. His broad shoulders kept her legs apart.

  When she was whimpering, her fingers tight in his hair, he tugged her panties aside and looked up at her. Juliette propped herself up onto her elbows, watching as he took his first lick. Heat flooded her when his tongue flicked her tight clit.

  “Oh, God,” she gasped out.

  After the onslaught of teasing, his mouth was merciless. He slid two fingers into her as he sucked on her clit, teasing it with his tongue again and again. She couldn’t help but writhe beneath him.

  “Are you ready to come for me?” he asked.

  “No,” she moaned. “No, I want you inside me when I come.”

  Dominic was more than happy to oblige.

  He rose to his knees and flipped her over onto her stomach, bringing her to her knees as well. She took him deep on the first thrust and felt his grip tighten on her hips as he pulled back only to surge forward again.

  She gripped the blanket and arched her back. He pulled her upper body up and toward him so that her back was against his chest and her head rested on his shoulder. Then he closed one hand around her throat. Not tight. Not painful. Just firm pressure. He dipped his head to speak into her ear. His voice was rough.

  “Come for me, Juliette.”

  There was no choice but to obey. When she tried to catch her breath though, she realized that he was nowhere near stopping. She let her head fall back to his shoulder and allowed him to have his way with her.

  Once it was over, he tugged her to him to let her head rest on his chest. His fingers trailed down her back, and she snuggled closer, enjoying the softer touches. Sometimes, with all of the tension of keeping things hidden, the sex got a little rough. She loved it, but it was always nice to come back down with him.

  “I don’t know a whole lot about you,” he said after a moment.

  Juliette looked at him. “What do you want to know?”

  “Everything.”

  “That might take a while,” she said with a quick laugh.

  “Okay, okay. Tell me about your family.”

  “They’re all back in North Carolina,” she said. “My dad teaches English at the elementary school, and my mom works as a manager at a fast food restaurant.” Juliette cleared her throat. “It’s not glamorous or anything—”

  “I started washing dishes at a cheap Italian restaurant when I was thirteen,” Dominic said. “They were the only place that would hire me under the table and still pay me okay.”

  “What did your mother do?”

  “My mom did a little bit of everything,” he said. “Retail, food service, telemarketing, data entry. Most of the time she did two or three of those things at once. I kept that in my head when I was trying to get my career started and had little chicken-shit gigs booked all over the place. Sometimes I didn’t sleep, but sometimes neither did she, and I knew the reward could be worth the shit of getting there.”

  “I’m glad it was,” Juliette said, tracing her fingers down his stomach, over the crisp line of hair that led down to one of her favorite parts of him. “You said that you bought her a house, right?”

  He nodded.

  “I’d like to do that for my parents too. That’s what I’m hoping to do with part of the check for this movie. That and maybe find a way to put my brother in a clinic.”

  “A clinic?” Dominic repeated.

  “He’s got some pretty serious problems with alcohol,” Juliette said, her voice heavy. “I keep thinking that if maybe he could just get away from it completely for a while, he’d manage to kick the issue. He doesn’t have the money though. He can’t hang onto a job because of his drinking, but not having a job makes him drink more. It’s this vicious cycle for all of us. He lives with my parents which causes a lot of stress for them.”

  She paused and sighed. “There would probably be more stress if he lived somewhere else though. They never know when he’s going to drink too much.”

  “Juliette, I’d be happy to pay for—”

  “No,” she cut in, her face heating with embarrassment. “No, that’s not why I was telling you that story.”

  He rolled over so that she faced him and cupped his hand around the back of her neck, his smile gentle. “I know you weren’t shaking me down,” he said. “If it makes you feel better, I could just front you the money and then pay me back once you get your big check.”

  “I’ll—I’ll let you know,” she said. “I haven’t even asked him yet.”

  “Okay,” he said easily. “Just let me know.”

  She snuggled into his chest, pressing her lips to his warm skin. “Thanks, Dominic.”

  There was a long, contemplative pause before he spoke again. “I kind of hate that we’re going to be heading back so soon,” he said. “There are so many more eyes on us in Hollywood.”

  She gave a sad smile. “Yeah, you’re right. We’ll just have to let what happens in Mexico stay in Mexico.”

  “Until the contract is up?” Dominic said, making it a question.

  Juliette couldn’t deny him any longer. The weeks they’d spent together, working by day and making love by night made it impossible. The chance that this was what life with him could be like was too good to let go.

  “Until the contract is up,” she agreed.

  He didn't say anything, but he yanked her against him, pressing kisses to the top of her head. They lay together as long as they dared.

  Chapter 17

  Three Days Later

  “Oh my gosh, I’ve missed you! Welcome home!” Tami said as she threw her arms around Juliette in the middle of the restaurant.

  Juliette had flown in from Mexico so late the night before that she’d booked a room in the hotel across from the airport and slept there. She hadn’t wanted to wake Tami up by bringing in all of her luggage and everything at three in the morning, especially after her friend had mentioned how hard it was getting to sleep and staying asleep.

  Another consideration was the fact that she had to be out at Horizon Studios at two this afternoon. She just hadn’t been able to face the idea of the hour-long drive to Pomona and the hour-long drive back to the studio. This way at least, she had gotten some decent rest.

  It was strange to be back in LA after the long weeks of sun and sand and crystal-clear water in Mexico. Even stranger was being away from Dominic. The night in the cave had been the last time
they’d been able to be together, and it was going to be that way for a while.

  She already ached with missing him, but she was determined not to let that show. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy being back in her adopted town and catching up with her best friend. They’d done their fair share of chatting while she was on the film location, but it wasn’t as good as seeing one another in person.

  “You’re so tan now, I can’t believe it,” Tami gushed.

  “Time in the sun on an island will do that,” Juliette agreed with a laugh. “You look great too, by the way.”

  Tami really did look amazing. She was wearing a white sundress, her stomach gently rounding out the front of it. Her face and skin were glowing, and she looked like she belonged in a piece of classical art.

  “Thanks,” she said as they followed the waiter to the table. She put her hand on the swell of her stomach as she lowered herself into her chair. “I like the glow, but I really hate the sitting down,” she said with a laugh as she pushed back her chair a little, trying to position herself comfortably.

  Juliette grinned. “No one ever said that a pregnant lady had to be graceful.”

  “And thank God for that,” Tami said fervently.

  Once they’d placed their orders with the waiter, Juliette turned to her friend. “You said you had big news for me.”

  It was the main reason they’d set up the lunch; Juliette had told Tami that she’d be back at the apartment they shared that evening, but Tami hadn’t been able to wait. She’d told Juliette that she had to tell her what was going on or she was going to burst.

  “Quit leaving me in suspense and tell me what’s up,” Juliette went on when Tami grinned.

  With some difficulty, Tami leaned over and picked up her bag off of the floor. She rummaged through the massive purse for a few seconds and then pulled a photo from the highly disorganized depths of the bag. Instead of handing it over, though, she gazed at it for a second.