by Lee Kilraine
“You’re afraid.”
She squinted up at him. “What exactly am I afraid of?”
He moved his hands from the belt to her shoulders, rubbing his hands in slow, practiced circles. “Afraid of the chemistry we used to have. You can’t deny what was between us. What if it’s still there? Simmering, waiting to explode again?”
Dirk was still rubbing circles on her shoulders and all she could think was “wax on, wax off” from the Karate Kid movie she and Pia had watched yesterday. “Explode is a good word, since that’s what you did to my life five years ago. Don’t you think we’d have noticed any chemistry if it had been simmering these past three weeks together? There’s nothing there.”
“Prove it.”
“I don’t have to prove anything.”
His emerald-green eyes crinkled down at her and he smirked. “You’re scared. I get it. You’re afraid my kiss will wipe Sijan’s right off the map.”
“Dirk, my memory may be foggy, but I think you’d need a GPS and possibly a rocket ship to get anywhere close to Sijan’s kiss.” Avery let her gaze fall to his full lips. When she was twenty-one, just a quirk of his lips had sent her pulse racing. Now, his lips came off as pouty and too soft looking, like a sulky boy’s. “Maybe you’re the one feeling the need to prove something. Fine. Lay your best one on me. No pressure.”
He didn’t slip into the cocky grin she remembered too well. Instead, he looked very serious as he tipped his head to the right then the left and adjusted his shoulders. He nudged her chin up with a finger and slid his other hand through her hair, his palm warm and firm. As he moved his lips down toward hers, her heart skipped a beat, and she panicked thinking she’d made a mistake. The moment and her memories fused for a fragile tick of time. But the instant his lips touched hers, her heart calmed, and she happily realized the man did nothing for her.
His lips felt too soft, mushy even, and he tasted . . . wrong. And what was with the “wax on, wax off” with his hands again. Whoa! Okay, she’d take the hand motion over the ass grab from him any day. She stepped out of the kiss. “I think we can run a stake through that now. Agreed?”
“Wait. Going to the left is my weak side. I need to approach from the right. Let’s try that again.” Dirk rubbed his hand over his lips, then cricked his neck the other way and rolled his shoulders twice. “Okay. Take two.”
“This is the last try. None of that ‘third time’s the charm’ business when this doesn’t work,” Avery warned. “And put your hands on my butt again and you’ll be taking female roles in all your future movies, got it?”
“Got it.”
Dirk bent down for a second kiss, his head cocked to the right side. His lips moved over hers a little slower than before, as if he were concentrating, trying to “make love to her mouth.” When he tried to add his tongue, she pulled her head back abruptly.
“How was that? Better?”
“Still nothing.” Avery shook her head, but, at the look of disappointment on his face, added, “But fine. It was fine, Dirk, really. Um, and nice.”
“Fine and nice? Avery, I’m a heartthrob to tens of thousands of women.”
“Then go kiss them and leave me alone.” So much for trying to be nice. She walked around Dirk, planning to escort him out, and saw Sijan leaning up against the door frame.
“Comparison shopping?” His tall body filled the doorway, arms crossed casually over his chest. The creases in his forehead and the straight, serious line of his lips hinted that his casual pose was just that, a pose.
“Proving a point.” Her gaze drank him in and her heart rate picked up its tempo. He’d obviously been off the farm, as he was dressed in black slacks and a crisp white dress shirt with the cuffs rolled up, setting off his strong tanned forearms nicely. A dark gray tie, pulled loose, still hung around his neck. He was a living, breathing Armani ad. “Well, you clean up nicely. Where have you been?”
“Away. For two days,” Sijan said, his voice clipped and his jaw tight. “I can see you’ve been a little too busy to miss me.”
The man went away for two days without so much as a good-bye and he was pissed? She narrowed her eyes up at him. “Maybe if you’d thought to say good-bye, I’d have known to put missing you on my to-do list.”
“I’ll put something on your to-do list all right, only it won’t be Ferris.”
“I believe we just established that, didn’t we, Dirk?” Avery didn’t take her focus off of Sijan, only quirked an eyebrow in Dirk’s direction.
“Well, you don’t have to rub it in.” Dirk shoved his hands in his pockets, then grinned over at Sijan. “Back already, Sijan? Did you handle your business in L.A?”
He wouldn’t have delivered the commercial without telling her, would he? “You flew to L.A. yesterday?”
Sijan uncrossed his arms and straightened up from the doorway. He stepped into the room as he moved his focus from Avery to Dirk. “Yeah. I had a few fires to put out, didn’t I, Ferris?”
Dirk played wounded innocent well. He shrugged his shoulders. “One man’s fire is another man’s way to put food on his table. Or Oscars on his mantle.”
Sijan laughed. “Whoa, Ferris. Even if I don’t get the brakes put on this situation, that will never happen. You’re not only a selfish prick. You’re a selfish, delusional prick.”
“You two have lost me. What are we talking about?” Avery looked back and forth between the two, trying to read their faces and body language. Sijan’s jaw muscles clenched and his nostrils flared. Dirk’s eyes avoided Sijan as he stood, arms crossed defensively.
“That set of lips you just tried on for size are attached to a slimy, ambitious weasel.”
“Oh, I believe I’ve read this book before. Fifty Shades of Ferret Face.” Avery shook her head and walked over to stand in front of Dirk, only Sijan grabbed her and pulled her to his side. “What did you do this time, Dirk?”
Dirk wielded anger as a defense. “I’m not the selfish one here. You’re the selfish one, Avery. I need this movie. And there is nothing wrong with being ambitious.”
“True ambition would drive you to get better at your craft, Ferris. What you’re calling ambition is pure backstabbing laziness.” Sijan grabbed a handful of Dirk’s shirt and escorted him to the door. “Rather than work at becoming a better actor, you’re trying to draft in Avery’s slipstream. And mine.”
Avery was getting nervous. This didn’t sound good at all. Working with Dirk over the past three weeks, she’d started to believe Dirk had changed for the better. Oh lord, she was never going get this trust stuff right. It was looking like the safe bet was to never trust anybody. “What did he do?”
“Our Ferris has been a busy boy.” Sijan made a noise somewhere between a sneer and a growl. “He snuck off the farm with a copy of the movie, made multiple copies, and sent them out all over Hollywood trying to promote himself.”
“The movie? Not the commercial?” Avery started to wheeze. “Dirk, you’re a selfish ass.”
Dirk pulled his shirt from Sijan’s grip and brusquely smoothed it back down. “No, I’m smart. Smart enough not to let opportunity pass me by. My career shouldn’t suffer just because you need to lie on a psychologist’s couch for a year or two.”
Sijan hit him. One punch to his stomach had Dirk doubled over and wheezing louder than Avery. “Ferris. You have five minutes to get out of my house. One hour to be on a plane to L.A. and twenty-four hours to get back all the copies I missed. Or your career is over in Hollywood. And you had better pray no bootleg copies end up on the Internet because I’ll crush you like the cockroach you are.”
Dirk’s face paled as it seemingly dawned on him that he’d made a grave mistake. Sijan’s threat was a stark reminder of who carried more weight in Hollywood. One word from Sijan and Dirk would never work again.
“Oops, Dirk. Looks like you forgot to think this all the way through,” Avery said. “I may be crazy, but I’m not suicidal like some people.”
“It might be too late.�
�� Dirk’s voice quivered.
“Fix it, Ferris,” Sijan said and slammed the door in his face.
Avery looked up at Sijan and started to speak, but stopped at the intensity of his gaze. Whoa, he was still pissed, and she had a strong feeling this wasn’t about the movie anymore. This was about the kiss. “You know that kiss meant nothing, right?”
“And yet, I seem to have strong feelings about it,” he said, taking a step toward her and then another.
For each step forward he took, Avery backed up a step until she was against the wall. “Sijan, you’re only the second man I’ve ever made love with. And in between you and Dirk, I’ve only kissed a few men. Two, maybe three. I don’t know. I wasn’t counting. I . . . I just wanted to see if what was between us was just a normal response to kissing or something d . . . different. Something more.”
Sijan took one last step so that only an inch of air separated their bodies. The heat from his searing liquid-silver gaze melted her to the spot. Warm heat spread low in her belly. The spicy scent of his cologne wrapped around her. Her own heartbeat pulsed, providing a building backbeat that twisted her higher and tighter. Her breath quivered, and when he finally touched her, with just the tip of his finger down along her jaw, she shuddered.
“So you were comparison shopping.” Sijan ran his finger along her bottom lip. His other hand hovered ever so close to her breast before moving up to trail along the pulse in her neck. “Then you’ll need to take my kiss for a test drive, too.” And he touched his lips to hers and the world disappeared.
He used his lips, firm and warm, with a sureness of purpose to pleasure. He teased and coaxed. He promised . . . something more. He pushed her robe off to touch her skin, caressing her shoulders and arms. The slightest touch up her rib cage had her breath tangling in her throat, as she waited, in panting needy breaths for his hand on her breast. But instead, the teasing lout moved both his hands to cup her jaw and turn up the heat to spontaneous combustion. He touched his tongue to hers, and all she could think about was the last time his tongue had caressed her body. Her knees gave out from under her. Only his firm body pressing her against the wall held her up. That must have been his aim . . . to sweep her off her feet, because that was the end of the test drive. He drew away, holding her until her legs were steady, and then stepped back, his eyes boring into hers.
“Let me know when you’re ready to buy.” Then he turned and left her room, closing the door firmly behind him.
What? Why would he do that to her? Her head hit the wall behind her with a thump. Her knees buckled again, and she slid down the wall until she was sitting on her butt, legs extended out in front of her. What kind of man gets a woman ready for blast-off, then walks away from the launch tower?
Chapter Twenty-six
The next day, Avery and Sijan sat in Dave’s Diner for the first time after being cooped up on the farm filming for over three weeks. Sijan got the paparazzi to leave early in the morning by driving down to the gate looking ready for travel. He let it slip there would be an interesting press conference in L.A. the next day at Majestic Studios. The paparazzi had cleared out in record time, trying to beat each other to the airport in Greensboro and onto the afternoon’s flight.
Avery expected Sijan would still be angry with her after last night’s Ferret-kissing experiment, but he seemed fine. Maybe even too fine. Although, he did seem to touch her every chance he got, as if he was teasing her like he had with last night’s kiss. Which was mean of him. Yet very hot. The question was, was he taunting her or trying to tempt her? Two very different things. One thing was clear. He was waiting for her to make the next move.
Renee stopped by with a coffee refill and an update from the Grapevine. “Avery, hon, word is your sister is on her way here along with an older couple.” Renee placed the coffee carafe on her tray and patted Avery’s shoulder. “Not that I want to butt my nose in here—do not roll your eyes at me, Sijan Cates—but with her bleaching her hair and the pregnancy test, I figure you might want a heads-up since you’ve been through so much lately. You want me to put the closed sign on the door, hon?”
“Thanks, Renee, but I’ve got to deal with Tansy sometime. It might as well be now.”
“Are you sure?” Sijan asked. When she nodded firmly, he said, “Okay. Renee, can we get one of your red velvet cupcakes? It’s just in case you need it, Avery, and if you don’t, I guarantee it’s one of the best cupcakes you’ll ever eat.”
“Aren’t you a sweet-talker, Sijan? One cupcake, coming right up.”
Avery moved restlessly in the booth. “I’ve been thinking about this weird relationship I have with cupcakes. I think when I was a little girl I connected cupcakes with love.”
Renee delivered the cupcake in record time, just as Tansy walked in the entrance directly in front of Avery. “We’re here for you, Avery,” Renee said.
Avery laughed. “Wasn’t it only a few weeks ago you ‘ran out’ of to-go boxes rather than let me make a quick exit to avoid this guy?” She tipped her head toward Sijan, who winked at her from across the table.
“Oh, well, we’re here for the entertainment too.” Renee grinned, gave her one last pat on her shoulder, and moved off to another booth.
Tansy, her face pale and eyes shadowed, stood ramrod stiff, holding a miniature Chihuahua in her arms. Michelle and Bob stood behind her. Michelle’s eyebrows were low over glaring, searching eyes. When she spotted Avery and Sijan, she pushed past Tansy and stalked across to the booth.
Ignoring Avery completely, even after not seeing her in two years, Michelle faced Sijan with her hands on her hips. “Well, Sijan Cates, what are you going to do about my pregnant daughter?”
Sijan’s gaze landed on Avery, and she lost her breath at what she read there. She’d expected anger, accusation, and cynicism, but her heart skipped a beat at the sexual heat, want, and acceptance in his gaze. “Sweetheart, did you forget to tell me again?”
“Not her, you idiot. Tansy.” Michelle reached back and yanked Tansy forward, where she stood looking ready to burst into tears. The Chihuahua had the same look. Avery couldn’t stand the pain in Tansy’s face, and she reached out a hand and patted her forearm.
Sijan looked at Michelle coldly. “Nothing. I never slept with Tansy.”
“You did. I know you did because I read it in The Tattler last week. Bob, do you have the papers?” Michelle reached her hand back behind her, and Bob smacked a few copies of last week’s tabloids in her hands. She fanned them out on the table for all to see. Each front page had a photo of Tansy and headlines like, MOVIE STAR SIJAN CATES AND LOCAL BEAUTY PREGNANT! and SIJAN CATES: LOVE TRIANGLE? and sadly also SIJAN CATES SISTER SWAP.
The first thing that struck Avery was how protected they had been on Sijan’s farm. Five years ago, she would have been mainlining cupcakes and wheezing into paper bags, still unable to escape the tabloid reporters and paparazzi with these headlines. Instead, she’d spent the last few weeks safely cocooned in Sijan’s world and happily oblivious to the wild rumors.
Her second thought was how utterly miserable Tansy looked. The girl was in real pain. Avery scooted over on the bench seat and gently drew Tansy down next to her. “Tansy, no more lies. You need to explain what’s going on.”
Like an erupting fountain, Tansy started spewing both tears and details of the past few weeks. “Avery, I’m sorry, but after you kicked me out, I was scared and lonely. Someone on the hotel staff must have told one of the reporters about the pregnancy test kit. They started asking me questions, hounding me really, and I was already mad at you for leaving me, so I said I was pregnant with Sijan’s baby and that he abandoned me for my sister. They kept snapping pictures even when I said not to.”
“It’s okay, Tansy. Take a breath. It’s going to be okay. All right?” Avery used a napkin to dry the tears from Tansy’s face, soothingly tucking a strand of her hair off her face. “Tansy, are you okay?”
Tansy nodded, but her eyes dull with pain. “I’m s . . . sorry, Ave
ry. I really am. I know I’ve been h . . . horrible, but p . . . please d . . . don’t make me leave you. You’re like a mother to me. Please, Avery.”
Avery couldn’t quite bring herself to hug Tansy. She honestly didn’t know if their relationship could be salvaged. Her gaze caught on the tiny quivering body of the Chihuahua puppy in Tansy’s arms. Those huge eyes bore into hers. Help me, they silently begged her. Yeah, you and me both, buddy. But I’ve got to secure my own oxygen mask first.
Tansy sniffed loudly. “I’m sorry about Sijan too. I just wanted someone to love me, Av.”
“Yeah, well, I know that feeling.” Avery pulled back, ignoring the impulse to pat Tansy’s hands in comfort. Her gaze shot up to Michelle. “Trust me. I know.”
“Tansy, what are you saying? I’m your mother. I love you. Didn’t I just give you that dog for your birthday?” Michelle reached out and stroked Tansy’s hair.
“Tansy’s birthday? You gave her a dog for her birthday?” Avery couldn’t take her gaze off Michelle’s manicured hand as it ruffled softly through Tansy’s hair. Years of memories with Michelle and Bob flashed through her mind like an old home movie. There wasn’t a memory, not a single frame, when Michelle had ruffled her hand through Avery’s hair.
Michelle harrumphed. “Some mother. You forgot her birthday. I bought her a cake.”
“What?” Avery’s gaze moved from Michelle’s hand to her face. “You bought her a cake?”
“Of course I did. That’s what mothers do, Avery.”
Right then, it clicked. “It’s what mothers do. Every kid in all my classes growing up got cupcakes on their birthday. Their moms would bake or buy them for the whole class. You baked them for Tansy, Tracie, and Tommy. But not for me. Never for me.”
