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He's the Grinch, butmyheart grows three sizes.
"No," I whisper, shaking my head. I place my hand against his cheek, covering his scar with my palm. "I don't need anything."
"Are you feeling okay?"
"Kaiden, I'm fine." I haven't been nauseous at all today. In fact, I've felt fantastic. Hiding the truth from him for the past few days has been tough, but now that it's out, I feel so much better. I've been worried about him, but that's all.
He presses a kiss to my forehead, lingering there for a moment. "I'll find you when I'm done this afternoon."
"Can I come with you?"
"You want to watch me work?"
I nod eagerly. Watching him work is far more enticing than running lines and watching Edie sew any day. He's so sexy when he's being all bossy and commanding. I love how confident he is and how controlled. He doesn't second guess himself or his decisions. He trusts himself and his instincts fully. He's teaching me to trust mine too. Well…he'stryingto teach me. We usually end up naked after an hour or so when he trains me. My instincttends to be to jump his bones at every available opportunity. It counts as cardio, right? Right.
He takes my hand, helping me up from my chair.
"I'll finish getting this stuff ready for you," Edie says, offering me a bright smile. Her gaze darts to Kaiden in curiosity and then quickly back to me. There is no malice in the look, just genuine curiosity. I've never worked with her before, but she worked on Luca's last film. I think he brought her on for this one. I like her. She's warm and friendly and has gone out of her way to put me at ease.
"Thanks." I smile at her and then let Kaiden lead me from the trailer with his hand on the small of my back. Everyone else watches us the entire way.
"Think they're alerting the media already?" Kaiden asks, his voice suspiciously calm once the door closes behind us.
"What are you up to?" I ask, eyeing him sideways.
"Nothing."
If there's one thing Kaiden isn't, it's innocent. But I let him get away with playing the part, for now, knowing I'll get the truth out of him sooner or later. I have my ways. He may look tough, but he's not so hard to break once you know how. It just takes a little bit of effort.
Yay for me.
He leads me across the back of Stage 6. We dodge equipment, stepping over bundles of wires, ducking under balloon lights, and a camera boom. Kane and Scarlett are filming a fight on the main set, so most of the crew is over there, leaving this part of the set eerily abandoned. Then again, the dark corners have always been my favorite parts of film sets.
"When I first started acting, I used to climb up into the rafters and hide out," I murmur as we skirt around the edges of the set. "I liked being able to watch everything unfolding down below."
"Jesus, princess," Kaiden says. "You're lucky you didn't fall."
"Oh, I know. When I got caught, the director threw a fit. He threatened to fire me if I ever did it again." I smile at the memory, laughing quietly. "It scared me straight. Well, at least until I met Gage Bronx. He coaxed me back into the rafters when we were filming together. He was smart enough to secure us with straps so we didn't fall."
"Gage Bronx." Kaiden repeats the name, a furrow between his brows. "He quit acting years ago."
"Yeah. His brother had a heart condition like you," I say. "Gage only ever got into acting to pay for college. Once he did what he needed to do, he walked away and never looked back." We don't cross paths often since he left acting behind, but I'm always happy to see him and Troian when we do.
Kaiden stops walking and pulls me into a small recess where two large beams connect. He tucks his hand beneath my chin, lifting my gaze to his. "Why are you telling me this, princess?" he asks, his gaze searching my face.
"I don't know," I whisper.
"You do know."
"I…" I swallow the lie when he frowns at me, the bottom edge of his scar pulled taut. "I don't know. I sometimes think leaving it all behind wouldn't be so terrible if I did it for the right reason, that's all."
"I'm not the right reason, Laura." His firm tone sends my stomach sinking like lead. "You aren't giving up your career because you think it's what's best for me. I won't allow it."
"I…"
"So if that's what you're thinking, the answer is no," he growls. "You aren't giving up a fucking thing for me."
"Kaiden."
