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Is she acting, or did I hurt her feelings?
When tears well in her eyes, I have my answer.
I rub one hand along my jaw and curse. "Are you crying?"
"No."
"You are, aren't you?"
Her withering glare confirms my suspicions. She is crying. And I'm an asshole.
She whirls around, giving me her back. I stare at her, not sure exactly how we ended up here. Or why she's here at all. Or how to fix it. But I'm all but positive that I fucked up.
"I don't know what's sadder, Kaiden," she finally says, speaking quietly. "The fact that you don't know how damn sexy you are, or that you've let this town reduce your sense of self-worth based on something that happened to you. With or without that scar, you're still a legend. Anyone who treats you as anything less than that isn't worth your time."
"Don't pity me, Laura."
"Pity you? I'm mad at you," she sniffs, making me want to smile. "The Kaiden Huxley I heard so much about wouldn't give a damn what anyone thought about him. He certainly didn't when he was doing things everyone said couldn't be done."
"How do you know so much about me?"
She shrugs noncommittally. Interesting. Laura Groves is not like any starlet I've ever met. This one is…mine. Fuck, that's not what I meant. And yet, it's precisely what I meant.
"What do you need my help with, princess?" I ask, my voice softer, gentler. It's still gruff and gritty, but there's nothing I can do about it.
"I need you to spend Thanksgiving weekend with me," she blurts, shocking me to the core.
Did she come here to ask me to spend the weekend with her? My cock throbs, pounding out my answer against my zipper. I think my fucking heart does too. Yes, yes, yes.
She turns to me, her face screwed up like she's ready for war.
"Don't say it if you don't mean it," I growl, the only warning I'm capable of giving her. Don't invite me into your life if you're just going to kick me out again later. Because once I'm in, I'm not fucking leaving, princess. You'll be mine. I won't let you go.
"I told you that you don't know me." She sashays toward me, putting a slight sway in her hips that has me fighting for my damn life, and pats me on the chest. "If you did, you'd know I mean exactly what I say."
I reach for her with a groan, desperate to get my hands on her.
She steps out of my reach, smiling brighter than the fucking summer sun.
Just that easily, my heart falls into her hands.
Chapter Two
Laura
"Jesus Christ," Kaiden growls, raking a hand down his face. A mangled bouquet is clutched tightly in the other. I think they were lovely at one point today, but the petals droop, and the stems are crushed as if he's been clenching them in his fist. The sight of them still brings a smile to my lips.
"You came," I say, throwing my front door open wide. I wasn't sure he would. I've been a nervous wreck all day, thinking he wouldn't show up despite agreeing to spend the weekend with me. He doesn't strike me as someone who spends much time around people. Actually, I don't think he spends much time at all around people anymore.
I've been asking about him ever since my agent told me I was up for a role in a big action film after the holidays. It's the one genre I haven't tackled, and I'm woefully unprepared. But I want to nail the part, and Kaiden can help me do that. He can teach me how to be an action star, considering he was one in real life.
Every studio in Hollywood scrambled to sign him to projects. He could have been a leading man if he'd wanted the job, but everyone who knew him said he didn't have the patience to learn lines or play the game. He wanted to do his part and be done.
He doesn't even do that much now. After his accident a decade ago, he just sort of…faded into the background. Most people I talked to couldn't remember the last time they saw him. Most couldn't even remember the last time they spoke to him. They all deal with his business partner, Jackson Reed, now.
But Jackson Reed isn't the man who worked on all my favorite movies. Kaiden is. So I sought him out two days ago to offer him a job. Instead, I invited him to spend the weekend with me. I didn't mean to do it, but I think it was the best decision I ever made.
I've never been one to back down from a challenge, and this man has difficult stamped all over his hulking body. But he's the sexiest man I've ever met…and that's saying something because I've met a lot of men the world considers beautiful.
