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Brittani Belleview. The actress who had played his sister on the long-running family sitcom,Hudson House, had grown up on set with him. She’d been his first off-screen kiss. She had gone on to star in a slew of teen dramas and horror movies before she disappeared from the screen. Jake tried to remember the last time he’d seen her. He could at least hear out her request. “What does she want?”
“She wants to put together a reunion show.”
Well, that was an easy answer.
“No.”
He knew it was rude, but he’d been over this a thousand times. He wasn’t that kid anymore, and he couldn’t afford to look back. Plus, he wasn’t going to give his parents one more dime off his childhood.
“Jake, you might want to consider this one.” Her softer tone did little to soften his opinion.
“Melody, what’s the one thing I’ve always been crystal clear on?”
“No looking back, I know, but—”
“No buts. Was that all? I’ve got to run.”
Melody sighed heavily on the other end of the phone. He could practically hear the expletives she wanted to hurl at him racing through her head. From long acquaintance, he knew she’d let them fly as soon as he hung up.
“Yes, that was all.”
“Okay, talk soon. Bye, Mel.”
“Take care, Jake.”
He returned his attention to the dailies running on the screens in front of him. His job was to craft the best damn forty-three minute show possible from days' worth of footage. This would be his legacy. He didn’t want to be remembered as the boy with the dimple, or the awkward teen from the few high school rom-coms he’d done. That’s why he drew a hard line at projects that reminded everyone he’d been a cute kid. Jake Ryland refused to believe that the peak of his career was behind him.
He had zero intention of stepping in front of the camera again. No, he preferred being the man behind the curtain, pulling levers and keeping everything moving forward.
Speaking of pulling levers, he needed to nail down the first laughter beat for the Kaufman project. He checked the log and scrolled through the time-stamped takes from the demolition race.
He watched as Frankie took down drywall like a machine. He hit pause.That right there. That smirk was gold.No wonder the camera and their audience loved her. He would love to know what put that smile on her face. He would love to know too many things about her.
Trina, as usual, had found magical angles. The light filtered through the dust and rubble, making Frankie seem to glow as she went to town on the wall. Jake cursed when he realized he’d been watching the playback at regular speed for five minutes. He needed to keep his brain working in fast-forward. He couldn’t afford to get distracted by the repetitive flex and release of Frankie’s lithe form in motion.
She wasn’t the kind of girl he could pursue.
Not only was she nearly a decade younger, and the daughter of a man he was doing business with, but he was her director. And he wasn’t at a point in his life where he could indulge in anything more than a fling. He was crazy busy and living out of a hotel room in a city far from home. If he had a Magic 8-Ball, all signs would point to no.
And yet when her T-shirt rode up on an upswing and revealed the trim flesh at her waist, his fingers twitched at the memory of how surprisingly soft she was. Jake couldn’t help but recall the way she’d pressed that lithe body against his, his hands sliding over her hips as she'd pinned him against her door on Christmas Eve. Haunted by that smirk, he remembered that she'd done that right before she'd kissed him senseless. He licked his lips as if that would bring back her taste. Her taste… He reached for his coffee again, needing to erase the memory of sweetness and wine, and cursed to find it still empty.
It had been a memorable moment for him.
Even if she didn’t remember it at all.
He’d just have to do his best to forget.
Tired of being alone with his uncooperative thoughts, he reached for his walkie and called his head camera operator. "Hey Trina, can you come in here?"
"On my way, boss."
When she arrived moments later with a fresh cup of coffee, he nearly kissedher.Trina always seemed to anticipate him. That's what made her an invaluable part of his team. Jake inhaled deeply, letting the rich, dark scent swirl through his head, before savoring the first sip. It didn't matter that it was made in a five-gallon drum. Coffee was his sin and his salvation all rolled into one deliciously bitter mouthful. Maybe now he'd be able to focus beyond Frankie.
"Let's talk strategy for tomorrow. We are two houses from the end of season two on MDash and I want to end on a high note, really amp up the tension for the last two shows. What's our conflict?"
Trina didn't answer and stared down at her rapidly tapping Chuck Taylor's.
"What? No ideas?"
