Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93575 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93575 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
She stormed out, and it took me a while to relax. I glanced through the script, rolling my eyes. Doable? I would have to train intensively, and the weight loss would be significant. As I’d learned the last time, I didn’t handle those extremes well.
Had she forgotten, or did she simply no longer care?
It hit me that perhaps she never really had—at least not for a long time.
That led to more thoughts, and I forgot the time, making me late.
Mila pursed her lips, shaking her head, bringing me out of my woolgathering.
“I never thought about it that way,” she mused. “I saw him as deeper than that. Complex and trying to handle everything on his own.” She huffed out a long breath. “Not because he wanted to, or even made the conscious decision to, but because he didn’t know how to do it any differently. How to ask for help,” she explained. “Does that make any sense?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “I get that.”
“Do you?” she asked. “Know how to ask for help, I mean?”
I sat back, surprised by her question. Amber was out of the room, and Andi was on the phone again at the other end of the conference room.
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “I’m not given the choice most of the time.”
She nodded, looking thoughtful.
“Do you?” I queried. “Have someone you can turn to?”
“Yes,” she stated firmly. “My family. They would help me, no matter what.”
“You’re very lucky.”
“I know.”
Our gazes held, and I slid my hand onto her leg, entwining our fingers briefly. I had found it torture being this close and not able to touch her. Walking in here, I wasn’t sure how she would react to me this morning after last night. She had been on my mind all night. The last thought in my head when I finally fell asleep, the first one when I woke up. It was her name I groaned low in my throat as I stroked myself in the shower.
I had heard the slight hitch in her voice when she greeted me. Saw the soft color on her cheeks, the welcome in her shy, sweet gaze. The urge to cup her face between my hands and kiss her full mouth was strong, but I’d managed to resist. I wanted to know if her blush warmed her skin. To trace the heat with my lips and discover how far down her neck the pink went. I settled for sitting close and inhaling her floral perfume, listening to her voice, losing myself in her world. She was magical as she talked about the characters and her vision. The shy woman melted away, and she became animated, her voice taking on a different tone. She used her hands to emphasize her points, was adamant in her beliefs, not offering an apology for her thoughts. I loved seeing this side of her. It was so different from the more timid version she usually showed.
“You can ask me,” she whispered, squeezing my hand and bringing me to the present again.
I smiled, glancing over to make sure Andi was still busy on the phone. I liked her. She seemed to be a straight shooter, and I had half listened to her when she was talking to someone. Always polite, but firm. She represented her artists well. MJ was abrupt, bordering on rude at times. She insisted she had to have balls to “play with the big boys,” but it seemed to me that Andi did the same thing without the attitude.
It gave me pause, wondering if perhaps it was time to look for new representation. I had always been loyal to MJ. She was there when no one else would look at me. We’d fought together. She’d stuck with me through some rough times. Celebrated my achievements.
Or at least, she used to.
I tried to recall when that changed. When our relationship changed. When we went from fighting together to fighting each other.
I shook my head. I was maudlin this morning.
Satisfied that Andi was still busy and not remotely concerned about Mila and me, I leaned a little nearer. No one had objected when I sat next to her this morning. It gave me the chance to touch her occasionally. I liked having her close.
“Have dinner with me.”
“What?” Mila responded.
“Dinner. Tonight.”
She glanced at Andi. “Where?”
“I don’t care.”
“I’m not sure it would be a good idea…” She trailed off.
“There are lots of places we can go and not be discovered,” I urged her. I knew her need for privacy was for her own anonymity, not because she didn’t want to be seen with me.
Her lovely eyes lit with mischief. “Oh, a clandestine dinner. Will there be passwords and secret handshakes?”
I chuckled. “A good meal, some conversation, and if I have my way, my mouth on yours as often as I can get it,” I said honestly.