TAMING HOLLYWOOD'S BADDEST BO- Max Monroe Page 0,62
of the best things I’ve ever experienced.
Jesus. I don’t want this to end. Not yet.
“Uh, can we stop?” I ask, and he briefly glances at me over his shoulder.
“You want to stop? Is something wrong?”
Yes, I’m kind of freaking out over the idea of this trip ending because I’m obviously losing my damn mind!
“Uh…I need…” More time with you. “I need to…uh…pee.”
He nods and gives me a thumbs-up over his shoulder. “No problem. Give me a sec.”
A minute or two later, Luca pulls over, and I hop off the four-wheeler and head toward a discreet spot behind brush and trees. But I don’t pee. Instead, I just kind of stand there and try to figure out what in the hell is wrong with me.
I tell myself this is because he hasn’t finished reading the screenplay, and I don’t want to go back to LA without him actually wanting to do the movie. It’s because of my career and accountability and finding a place for myself at Koontz Productions.
It’s not at all because the thought of sleeping alone in my downtown LA apartment without a body to block the view of the strip club down below and the rugged scratch of a beard on my neck and a warm hand on my hip is downright appalling.
Nooo.
I’m an independent woman with priorities and a membership to the LA Chapter of the Future Boss Bitches of America, and there is no way I’m actually falling for the token bad boy like some kind of teenage girl in a young adult novel.
Right?
Ah God. My head is so fucked up.
“You okay?” Luca’s voice reaches my ears.
Cripes, I need to get moving or else it’ll seem like I’m over here struggling to poop or something. And I’m not. The only thing constipated is my ability to form a rational thought.
“Billie?”
“Yep! I’m good!” I yell back, and it’s so loud, my voice echoes off the trees in booming waves.
Bailey barks like a maniac in response, and I sigh.
I’m a disaster right now.
But you have to get it together.
Slowly, I make my way out of the brush and find Luca standing by the four-wheeler, and holy macaroni salad, why does he have to be so damn handsome?
I always hate when people use the word literally like it’s some kind of fun adjective to toss into a sentence. But my personal pet peeves aside, the sight of him standing there literally makes my chest ache.
He quirks a brow. “All set?”
“Uh…yeah. Sure.”
He tilts his head to the side. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lie and close the distance between us, but before I can slide back onto the four-wheeler and pretend that I’m all set to head back, he stops my momentum by stepping in front of me.
Gently, Luca reaches down and lifts my eyes to his with his fingers under my chin. “Something’s wrong, princess. I can see it all over your face.”
Shit.
When I don’t say anything, he keeps prying.
“C’mon, what’s going on?”
“I…uh…I’m a little sad this is our last night…of the trip,” I admit, but then I coat that honest statement with sugar like a real fucking coward. “I kind of wanted to sleep under the stars one more night.”
His lips quirk up into a smile. “You want to camp out tonight? You, the girl who couldn’t even build her own tent?”
I shrug and glance down at my boots. “I guess you could say camping has grown on me a little.” You’ve grown on me.
“Okay.”
My eyes go wide, and I look up to meet his amused gaze. “Okay?”
He leans forward and surprises me by pressing his lips to mine. “Okay. Tonight, we’ll sleep under the stars.”
Luca
The only thing better than the warmth of a fire is the warmth of a woman. The fire crackles and pops, and Billie sits in my lap, a blanket wrapped around us and my arms wrapped around her.
We could’ve already been back to my cabin, using actual electricity to stay warm, but she surprised the hell out of me this afternoon when she asked to add one more night in nature to our itinerary.
I don’t know what came over her, or why she’d want this when she’s been bitching about camping since we left my cabin several days ago, but here we are. Together, by the fire, enjoying one more night of camping.
Your last night of camping.
A pang of discomfort shoots across my chest, but I swallow hard against it and wrap my arms tighter around her.