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“See how we fare alone in close quarters,” he responded, smirking when he felt my body twitch in surprise. “I wasn’t high last night, Elmer. I meant what I said. Just because I’m feeling greedy doesn’t mean I’m backing down.”
I loved that he still had the ability to surprise me after almost five years of being on and off again.
It was a chilly day,even on the ocean. The sun was out but the air was cool, making my skin pebble as I stepped into the hot tub on the deck of Noah’s yacht:America’s Darling. Noah was already inside, the heated bubbles rushing around him as he faced the sun with his eyes closed.
Holding out a hand for me blindly, I batted it away and stepped inside with a groan as the hot chlorinated water embraced me.
“Keep making sounds like that and we’re not going to be in here for long,” Noah warned, slipping the hand he’d offered me over my thigh. His eyes were still closed, face upturned to the sun, but it was canted to the side as he waited for my response.
“I bet you say that to all the girls.”
“Once upon a time,” he agreed, unabashed by his past.
“Dick.”
His smile upturned his lips, but he still didn’t crack an eye. He understood me better than to think I was serious. I hadn’t been jealous of his conquests in the past and I wasn’t going to start now. It would make what we had too toxic.
“So,” I said, determined to change the topic. “Bo said you were looking at scripts.”
Silence met me from the other side of the hot tub, but the hand on my thigh tightened infinitesimally.
“They don’t take me seriously.”
“Who?” I asked, keeping my tone even. “Theyseems like a broad term for a statement like that.”
“Studio executives, producers, directors.”
“You’re Hollywood’sitboy, Noah. Of course, they take you seriously.”
“They respect me for my craft, not for my creative input. I can get most romantic roles because that’s the narrow path they set me on. Anytime I try to deviate from that, they shut me down, speaking to me like I’m a petulant child who’s reaching beyond his abilities.”
“What have they sent you this time?” I asked, turning so I had one elbow on the side of the tub, watching as his eyes moved below the thin membrane of skin in slow sweeps.
“I couldn’t even begin to tell you. The scripts are all so alike, I’d probably mix and match them.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
Noah cracked an eye and gave me a look that challenged my last statement.
“Okay, it’s that bad.” I sighed, running my fingers through his hair. “Let’s try this instead. If you had your choice of anything right now, what would it be?”
Noah huffed out a laugh. “Anything besides romance.”
I rolled my eyes at him, making him chuckle even more. “Seriously. What would be your dream casting?”
“Something with substance. Dramatic or thriller, maybe action, though I’ve been assured I’d be no good in that kind of a role.”
“That’s bullshit, and we both know it.”
“I love that you have so much faith in me, babe, but when Marcus Rothman says that to your face, you kind of have to believe it.”
“I’m not denying he has an affinity for his genre,” I said, trying my best to sound industry savvy. “But have you ever read for him?”
“Auditioned?”
I nodded.
“No, Elmer. He won’t even let me get that far.”
