suspicion.
“I didn’t invite you,” I said stiffly. He grinned and tucked a strand of messy hair behind his ear. The gesture I’d once found sexy as hell now caused bile to rise in my stomach.
“Well, that’s not very kind,” he said.
I wanted to walk away, but I stood my ground. “No, it isn’t. I only give kindness where it’s due.”
“I sense some history here,” Alicia chirped with a gleam in her eye, her tone sickly sweet. I wasn’t a violent person but I sort of wanted to smack her right then.
“Rosie’s my ex,” Blake explained, all matter-of-fact. “She doesn’t like me very much.” The smile on his face said he was enjoying my prickliness, and I couldn’t for the life of me say why. I was also furious that he’d outed our past to at least five cast members. Everybody would know about it by the time the day was through.
“Aw, he calls her Rosie. Isn’t that adorable,” Alicia went on, and again, not a violent person but….
“I prefer Rose,” said Damon, and I sent him a grateful look before addressing Blake.
“I’m not your ex. If I recall correctly, we were never actually a couple.”
He waved a hand lazily through the air. “Semantics.”
“There are no semantics about it. I wasn’t your girlfriend, Blake, so stop trying to make people believe otherwise.”
“Ouch, somebody got out of bed on the wrong side this morning,” he said in a lilting voice, and took a step closer so that our shoulders brushed. Now he whispered, “Or are we a tad sexually frustrated? What’s it been, five weeks?”
I swear, I could have decked him, but instead I clenched my fists and kept my calm. “I bloody knew you couldn’t keep the act up for long.”
“There was never an act. I swear I’m not here to cause a lot of trouble, Rose.” He paused before amending his statement, the innuendo evident. “Well, maybe I am here to cause a little.”
Before I could say another word a shadow fell over us. Damon had come to stand behind me, his posture protective. “Back off” were the only words he uttered, and Blake laughed like he was being ridiculous.
“We’re just talking.”
A hand came to rest on the base of my spine, and I shivered. I liked how it felt when Damon touched me, even though I knew I shouldn’t. “Aye, well, go talk to someone else. Rose isn’t interested.” The territorial tone to his voice made my stomach clench. In the time I’d known him, Damon hadn’t struck me as a confrontational person, although he did have an intimidating side. But maybe that was just because he was always so stoic. The fact that he was confronting Blake on my behalf had tingling butterflies wreaking havoc on my insides. My heart wouldn’t stop thrumming.
Blake’s eyes turned calculating as he glanced at Alicia. “I’ve been meaning to ask — do you need any extra help moving your piano later, or would you prefer to have Damon come alone?” The placid look on his face was at odds with the trouble he was trying to stir. It took me a second to digest what he’d said as I turned to look at Damon, a question in my gaze.
You’re going over to her place later?
Now the butterflies transformed into blades cutting at my heart. It was ridiculous, because I had no claim over Damon. So why did it hurt so much to think of him making plans to be alone with Alicia?
His lips firmed, and now he was the one who looked like he wanted to punch Blake. Reaching out, he moved to take my hand into his, but I pulled away, too many feelings bubbling up inside me. I needed to get of there.
Thankfully, Iggy provided me with the perfect escape as he called my name, needing my help with something. I stepped away from the two men and followed my boss out to his office, only exhaling when I shut the door behind me.
“What do you need?” I asked, my voice strained.
He peered at me speculatively. “Nothing. You just looked like you were stuck between a rock and a hard place out there. Thought you could do with rescuing.”
I heaved a sigh. “I did. Thank you. Blake’s being…difficult.”
Iggy pulled a folder from one of his filing cabinets and began flicking through it. “Realised what he threw away, has he?”
Pressing my fingers to my temples to relieve the headache I could feel forming, I answered, “I don’t know. He’s being very