Page 70 of Love On and Off Set

“I can help.”

“Maybe just…” I considered. “Sure. You can make the salad.”

An hour later, we sat on my rooftop deck with a view of the skyline. “Hallstein and Myles live just a short walk from here.” Right, because your boss is a safe topic. What the hell is he going to think of you bringing your protectee here? “I need to tell him you’re here. He needs to make certain the hotel isn’t billing him. They reimbursed the studio for the one night. Seeing as they clearly were at fault.”

“That was….” He furrowed his brow as he poked his salad.

“Fucked?”

“Yeah, that works.”

“Food okay?”

He met my gaze. “Yeah. I just…today didn’t end up being what I was expecting. Like, kissing Norah wasn’t part of the script. But I think the director liked the choice I made. At least Norah wasn’t mad.”

“Why would she be mad?” I cut a piece of chicken.

“Well, I didn’t ask her permission.”

“Right.” Consent was everything. “You’ve got some bedroom scenes next week.”

“Yeah. And I’ll ask her permission before, uh…” His cheeks pinkened.

“When did you become so prudish?”

“Hey.” He frowned. “I’m not…that is…” He sighed. “I loved the guy. Or at least I thought I did. And we’re not going to talk about that fucking tape again. Ever. Clear?” He held my gaze with his intense light-blue eyes.

“Clear.” I had a million questions for which I wanted to demand answers. Number one was how could he be so stupid? What had become abundantly evident over the last couple of days was, though, that he regretted whatever impulse had led him to trust someone enough to pose naked.

We finished eating in silence.

“Look, I’m going out with friends tomorrow. Do you want to come?”

He cocked his head. “You were going to leave me alone in my hotel room, weren’t you?”

“I planned to drop by in the evening…”

He glared.

“Uh…okay…maybe that wasn’t the nicest thing to do. Still, you had a stunning view, unlimited entertainment, fantastic food—”

“And you expected me to spend my day off alone.” He pursed his lips.

“When you put it like that…”

“Even dogs get walks.” An epic pout.

“Humans have indoor plumbing for a reason.”

He barked out a laugh. “You don’t mind me coming with you to see your friends? I won’t embarrass you?”

“Chances are they won’t know who you are. But I can hold my own. I’ll call them and give them the heads-up.”

“Right. Sure. Can I bring something? Like a bottle of wine?”

“That’s a nice idea. I’ll ask Troy.” I shot my friend a quick text.

Seconds later, he said he was excited to meet my friend and a nice bottle of red would be great with the steaks Rocco would be grilling. And yes, they had enough for one more.