The Boy Toy - Nicola Marsh Page 0,44

was all he needed, for the dickhead to be down on his luck courtesy of a screwup and even more determined to land the role.

“The producers are planning on pitching Renegades as a mix between Survivor and The Amazing Race, so if you haven’t seen either of those in a while, it wouldn’t hurt to put in some study hours and watch some reruns.”

“Done.”

Looked like he had a date with his TV for a marathon, considering he hadn’t watched either show in ages.

Chris snapped his fingers. “One more thing. I’ve managed to get a look at the audition short list, and to be honest, the other three guys going for it don’t have the right vibe. So it looks like it’ll be down to you and Benedict, and despite his recent indiscretion, with his track record, he’s going to be hard to beat.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Rory deadpanned, earning a bark of laughter from Chris.

“I wouldn’t have put you up for this role if I didn’t think you’d be perfect for it.” He held up his clenched hand for a fist bump, and Rory obliged, even though he found the gesture as annoying as his agent’s penchant for fancy-schmancy drinks. “You’ve got this.”

Actually, he didn’t, and the thought would keep Rory up nights until the audition.

As much as he wanted to reach out to Samira, maybe he should focus on the audition. Watch the reruns. Practice his dialect exercises. Get in the zone.

It didn’t sit well that she’d think badly of him, so he’d fire off a curt apologetic text, but for now he had to concentrate on nailing this audition, no matter how much he’d like to be curled up with her once they got past their hiccup.

Twenty-One

So much for getting Kushi off her back. Mentioning she’d had coffee with Manny on Monday ensured Samira had fielded phone calls from her mom every day this week. By Friday night, she’d had enough and needed to tell Kushi the truth.

Considering she hadn’t seen or heard from Rory beyond a short text, SORRY FOR BEING A DICK—though he hadn’t written “dick” but had used an eggplant emoji instead—AM BUSY, TALK SOON, since their argument at the center on Tuesday, what exactly was the truth?

She’d thought they were dating, meaning his flyaway jibe “so there’s an us?” hurt more than it should. They’d fallen headlong into a few steamy liaisons courtesy of an unforgettable one-night stand, and all that mushy stuff they’d said about dating had probably been nothing more than pillow talk.

Okay, so maybe she was making light of the situation because he’d really hurt her. And she wouldn’t be hurting unless she hadn’t fallen for him a tad. He’d crept under her skin faster than she could’ve anticipated, and not seeing him since their verbal altercation had left her grouchy all week.

She’d told Kushi she’d stop by after work around seven, but by the time she’d stopped off at the Punjab sweetshop to grab her mom’s favorite besan laddoos, it was almost eight when she pulled into the drive. To find both sides of the street jam-packed with parked cars.

It could be one of the neighbors having a get-together, but the moment she stepped from the car and heard the loud bhangra music coming from her childhood home, she knew her mom had ambushed her again.

If Manny was here, it would be the last straw.

However, as she let herself into the house and followed the raucous laughter coming from the family room at the back, she wondered if that would be such a bad thing. That way, she could show Kushi that Manny was nothing more than a friend and to stop meddling. As long as Manny didn’t mention anything about her seeing someone . . . That would send Kushi’s matchmaking radar into overdrive, and no way in hell would her mom approve of Rory.

She may have given up seeking Kushi’s approval a long time ago, but she didn’t want them to end up fighting over her choice of man, even for a short-term fling, not when they were tentatively reestablishing some kind of relationship.

As she entered the kitchen and spied a roomful of aunties, she breathed a sigh of relief. No Manny. A relief short-lived when Kushi caught sight of her and bustled toward her, her eyes gleaming. Samira knew what that glint meant: Kushi and the aunties were in full matchmaking mode. Though these gossiping women being here was a surprise. What were they doing