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Reece nodded, his expression sheepish. “I know you don’t like him, but except for a few stumbles, he’s done a good job managing my career.”
“Do you think you can trust him now?”
“I believe he’s learned his lesson. And since you broke his nose, he knows better than to get on your bad side.”
“I’m reserving judgment.” She turned away, searching for her sister and finding her in the corner of the room, conversing quietly with Damon Westmore.
Nicole tugged on Reece’s arm, gaining his attention and pointing her head in the young couple’s direction. “Should I be worried? They’ve been spending a lot of time together in LA. I have a hunch he followed her here.”
Reece followed the direction of her gaze. “I think he’s smitten. What is it about you DeLancey girls? What powers do you possess that you can turn a movie star’s head?”
“Plain old North Carolina, country-girl charm,” she replied with an exaggerated southern twang, reminiscent of Scarlett O’Hara.
He blinked, tugging her closer. “That was sexy. Say something else.”
She grinned flirtatiously. “I do declare, Mr. Collins, you truly do talk divinely.”
His body jolted in arousal. “I want you to talk dirty to me using that accent. Will you do that?”
She leaned up on her toes, whispering something quite filthy in his ear.
It took all his willpower not to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off to the nearest closet. “We’re going to do all that?”
She licked her bottom lip. “We’re going to do all that and more.”
To say Reece was on a mission was putting it mildly. He rushed through his toilette, hurrying their party away for a celebratory dinner. Time wasn’t moving fast enough for him. When they said their goodbyes to their families at the restaurant, he practically threw Nicole into a cab to get back to the Savoy.
As soon as they entered his suite, he had her against the wall and half-naked before she could blink. He held her to every whispered promise. When he finally fell asleep, it was with a satisfied grin on his face.
~ ~ ~
Nicole and Davis were finishing up the last pages of the screenplay, with not a moment to lose. The movie was set to begin filming in two days. They were nervous wrecks. If this didn’t go well, their heads were going to be on the chopping block.
There was so much riding on the success of this film—Reece’s career being her foremost concern. She wasn’t worried so much for her own life. She knew she’d always have her writing. Even if she never wrote another best-selling novel, she could say she had once upon a time.
There was a knock at the office door, and Reece popped his head inside. Nicole squealed when she saw him, running to greet him properly.
Davis turned to say hello, stopping instantly. His co-writer was kissing, rather passionately, the movie’s star. Had he missed something? “Nicole, what will I tell your fiancé?”
She turned abruptly, laughing. “Don’t you read the tabloids, Davis? I dumped my fiancé to carry on an affair with Reece Collins.” Her co-writer continued to stare. “Davis, this is my fiancé, Colin Woodhouse,” she said, deciding to let him in on the secret.
Reece offered his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Nicole can’t say enough about you.”
Davis put his hand across his heart as it all fit together in his head. “Oh my lord. You lied to me, girl. We’ve been working on this script for months. You never told me you were engaged to the man of the hour.” He focused all his attention on Reece. “She waxed poetic about this Colin chap and never once let on that you and he were one and the same.” He glared at Nicole. “You are so due for a spanking,” he swore in mock outrage.
She giggled. “Sorry, Davis, but I wasn’t at liberty to tell anyone. We were trying to keep his public and private personas separate.”
Her co-writer rolled his eyes. “Girl, you’re in the wrong business if you thought that was going to work.”
“I’ve come to realize that.” She turned back to Reece. “What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting to see you until filming began.”
He draped his arm over her shoulder. “I had to meet with the casting director and run lines with Lizzy. Have you met her yet? I think she’s going to do well in the part.”
The casting director had been searching frantically for an actress to play the lead role opposite Reece. It was coming down to the wire. The only actress to have that spark had been Melanie Daniels, and both Reece and Nicole had been adamant about her not being cast for the role. He had to threaten to back out of the project to get them to listen. Thankfully, a clip from Lizzy Thompson’s last movie was found, and they asked her to come in for a reading. She’d been hesitant about playing opposite Reece, but when they met, they’d hit it off. The rest was history.
Nicole hadn’t met the actress yet, but she was looking forward to it. She couldn’t help but wonder if the girl could play the character as she had written her. She had to remember not to be too judgmental.
“I think I’m supposed to meet her tomorrow. She wanted to get a few insights into the character,” she said.
