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“I agree. Next time, no clothes.”
“Adrian, be serious.”
“I am serious. Why wouldn’t we want to do that again? I’d like to do that and more every day of the week. You’re amazing, Sofia.” He reached for her, and she stepped back before she gave in to the impulse to tackle him to the floor and ride him like a cowgirl. The image sent a flush to her cheeks, this one definitely desire. But no. She didn’t belong with a guy like him.
They needed to work together. She could be friendly and totally forget that she had pants feelings for him. The alternative was too scary to consider.
“I can’t.” Before she could make the situation any worse, she ran.
Thankfully, she made it into her car and out of his driveway before the tears began. She pulled over around the corner so she didn’t end the night in an accident with her bra unhooked. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she grimaced at the thought of the splotchy cheeks and puffy eyes that would follow. Adrian would back off fast if he could see her now, with her careful façade disintegrating. The cashmere sweater, the tight jeans, the hair and makeup—it was all a shell to make her palatable for the home audience. He’d been attracted to the artifice, not the real her, or he’d have made his move a long time ago. The tears overflowed her dam for the second time that week, weakened by the passion of the evening. She cried over her cowardice and her wounded pride. She cried over her fear that she’d just screwed up big time. She cried over what her life had become. By the time the tears wound down, she was utterly spent.
Sofia felt like a fool, but she was a fool who could recover from this. She just had to pretend like it never happened.
* * *
Adrian was still confused as hellthe next morning. Sofia had torn out of his apartment like a bat out of hell after what he thought had been an excellent make-out session on the couch. What had he missed?
He’d replayed the evening in his head so many times, he had entire swaths of her dialogue committed to memory. And he still couldn’t read between the lines. What would he say to her today? He felt like there was a bomb ticking down and he was the only one who could detonate it. And he had no manual, no wire-cutters, and no backup. He hoped his MacGyver skills were up to the challenge.
Using the excuse of needing more coffee, he strolled out to the craft services table set up in the driveway. If he scanned the street for her car while he mixed his cream and sugar, well, he was just being aware. Damn, even he didn’t believe that lie.
“Hey, Adrian! Just the guy I was looking for.”
Adrian forced a smile as Jake Ryland bounded up with his trademark energy. Did the man ever do anything with normal intensity? “Not sure if that’s good news or bad.”
“Good, I hope. I just wanted to give this to you. I borrowed it to check some timelines last night.” Jake hefted the site binder into Adrian’s arms.
Jeez. How distracted had he been to not even notice that the binder had been missing? “Thanks. I was, uh, looking for that.”
Jake reached around him to fill his travel mug with more coffee, drank half the cup down, and refilled it again before turning his full attention to Adrian. Mainlining caffeine like that, no wonder the man was wired.
“So, how are things going?”
Great, now he wants to chat?Adrian tried to keep the chagrin off his face. He didn’t trust Jake as far as he could throw him, and his “casual chats” always had a purpose. He was in no condition to filter his thoughts this morning. This guy’s job was to find, create, and film conflict. The last thing he wanted was to have his feelings splattered all over the TV. Drywall and tiling? Fine. Deep emotional confessions? Hell no. “Things are good. We are clipping right along.”
“And things with Sofia?”
Adrian felt the blood drain from his face.
“What things with Sofia?”
“Well, it seems like you two have very different perspectives on the job. How’s that going?”
Whew. Bullet dodged.
“It’s going fine. We had a few kinks to work out in the beginning with the budget, but now I think we are on the same page.”
“If you say so.”
Don’t take the bait…Damn it. He couldn’t resist that lure.
“Why? Did she say something to you?” Adrian tried to keep the curiosity in his voice professional, but he had a feeling Jake saw everything roiling through his mind anyhow.
“She hasn’t said a word, but the cameras don’t lie. Get you two in a room alone together and the gloves come off.”
Jake’s laugh made Adrian grit his teeth. That would be the only item of clothing coming off between them. He bit back the sarcastic retort. None of Jake’s business. “I’ll try to be more flexible.”
“Oh, God, please don’t! You two fighting makes for great TV. I don’t know how you’ve managed to keep working together for so many years, but whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!”
