like she’d been kissed within an inch of her life.
She nodded slightly and turned to go, but her words made me pause before I moved to pull the door open.
“I really am glad you stayed, Salinger.”
Fuck me. So was I.
Maren
“HAS ANYONE EVER told you that you look a little bit like Kate Beckinsale?” I glanced at the photographer who was doing the shoot for the magazine cover I was supposed to be on in a few months. The shutter of the very expensive camera kept clicking as an assistant nodded and mumbled about the shots on a monitor that was set up nearby. “So similar. You could be the American version of her.”
I tried not to roll my eyes since the gesture would end up on film, and I always tried to be as professional as possible when working. “I have heard that a time or two. I think it’s just because we both have dark hair.” And we were both on the taller side and thin. Our features weren’t alike. In fact, I’d say she looked better than I did, even though she was quite a bit older than I was. “I always take it as a compliment.” She was beautiful. Even more so in person. I’d only met her briefly once, but up close, she was just as gorgeous as she appeared on the screen. I hoped everyone who compared the two of us was left with the same impression of me.
“Your looks aren’t all you have in common.” The mumbling assistant finally looked up from the images he was critiquing and gave me a knowing look. “She also likes to date fetuses.”
I couldn’t hold back a blink of surprise. Even the photographer let her camera drop for a second.
“Excuse me?” The words rushed out in a deeply offended tone. “What are you referring to exactly?”
The assistant balked as if he didn’t realize he’d spoken aloud. “Oh. Uh, nothing. Just that Kate Beckinsale is often in the news because of her love life. She’s photographed with men much younger than her. I happened to see a picture of you and Salinger Dolan on a magazine cover when I was getting my hair done the other day. I didn’t mean to be offensive. But he is a bit younger than you, isn’t he?”
He was, but not twenty-one years younger like Kate’s last well-known lover.
“Barret!” The photographer snapped her head around and glared at the young man. “What have I told you about thinking before you speak? I told you if you embarrassed me in front of a client again, I would no longer let you apprentice under me. This behavior is unacceptable.”
The young man flushed but didn’t look the least bit apologetic. “I just said what everyone else is thinking. He’s super-hot and really young. Ms. Copeland is recently divorced and older by Hollywood standards. Those kinds of relationships are doomed from the start, if you ask me.”
I snorted and finally gave in to the urge to roll my eyes. “No one did ask you. However, I’ll clarify that Salinger and I have known each other for a long time. We worked together when we were much younger and are working together now on a new project. We’re colleagues who are friendly with one another. Nothing more or nothing less.” I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to justify anything to an assistant who had no business butting into my personal life, but the instinct to deflect attention away from a romantic entanglement with Salinger was too strong to ignore.
It wasn’t clear if I was trying to protect my image or his, but either way, it made me extremely uncomfortable to have anyone’s attention on the two of us outside of the project we were working on together.
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Copeland. Barret is my cousin, so I’ve been forced to keep him around even though his behavior is deplorable. After today, I promise he will be fired. Please don’t tell the magazine about this. I work freelance, and if they find out about this, I’ll never get another gig with them.”
The woman looked like she was going to cry, so I waved a hand to dispel her concern. “It’s fine. It’s actually kind of refreshing to be spoken to like a normal human being instead of a celebrity. That usually only happens when I’m at home visiting my dad.” I clicked my tongue and wagged a finger at the young man. “I wouldn’t get too comfortable doing