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“Are you ready to head out?” Carter asks me.
“Yep,” I say. I rise and swing the straps of my black mini backpack around my shoulders.
“You’re so lucky the boss gives you a ride back to your hotel,” Gavin groans as he and Carter stand up. “Mr. Cogswell, you’ve never given me a ride before.”
Carter nudges my arm. “You’re not a threat to the road like Mia is.”
I shoot him a glare. “Hey, I take offense to that.”
Gavin eyes me, his gaze locked in on me for a few lingering moments. “I never noticed before, but you’re looking really tan,” he points out. “Both of you actually do. Have the two of you been sunbathing during your time off?”
Uh-oh. I forgot all about the tan I got while we were in Monaco. Now that I get a good look at Carter in his white, long-sleeve button-up, he’s looking a bit tanner, too.
“Basically,” I say because nobody aside from Amber knows I went to Monaco with Carter. “The hotel I’m staying at has a great pool.”
Gavin’s jaw drops. “No way. Mine doesn’t even have a pool. Can I join you?”
“You have too much work to do before you head back to New York,” Carter chimes in. Great save.
Gavin sighs. “You never let me have fun, Mr. Cogswell.”
“I promise I’ll drive you to the beach onceRunaway with Meis a massive success.” He gestures toward the door with his chin. “Let’s go, Mia.”
“Bye,” I mouth to Gavin as we pass by him.
He gives us both a pitiful wave. “Goodbye. Enjoy sunbathing until the sun goes down without me.”
“Poor Gavin,” I say as Carter and I walk toward his black luxury SUV in the back parking lot of the casting office. “We really do have to take him out once the series is wrapped.”
Carter unlocks the car doors with the key fob as we draw nearer. I slide into my side, buckling myself in as Carter takes his seat and does the same, then puts on a pair of black sunglasses.
“How did we end up adopting a twenty-five-year-old man again?”
I chuckle. “I thought he was your son first.”
Before Carter starts the engine, he takes his phone out of his pocket and powers it off before dropping it into one of the cup holders. I furrow my brows.
“You’re turning off your phone?” I ask as he brings the engine to life. “You never do that.”
“We’re done with work until we head back to New York tomorrow.” He drives out of the parking spot and heads toward the exit on Cahuenga Boulevard. “What’s wrong with unplugging for the night?” he asks.
I let out a huff. “Because you’re a workaholic who always likes to be available in case something important comes up.”
“Maybe I just want to enjoy the California weather for a bit.”
I narrow my eyes on him. I know he’s hiding something from me. He isn’t exactly the best liar.
Carter grabs onto my hand and gives it a kiss. “My parents found out I’m in town,” he says, keeping a delicate hold on my hand as we wind up a narrow road.
“And that’s a bad thing?” I ask.
“I have no desire to see them.”
I raise a single brow. “Are you on bad terms?”
“Technically, no, but I don’t particularly like to spend time with them.” He waits, then turns to me when I don’t say anything further on the matter. “You’re not going to ask me why?”
I shake my head, despite being filled to the brim with questions. “Family relationships are complicated. If you want to tell me, you can. But I’m not going to press you about it.”
