Touching the Billionaire - Holly Jaymes Page 0,11

I had to act like I was in love with him. And of course, he would have to do the same with me.

I knew he could look at me with a lecherous gleam in his eyes, because he’d done that when I arrived this morning. But, maybe he was right. If we could have some sort of truce, we would be able to have that balance between having sexual chemistry and animosity that was needed for the characters. So I opened the door and gestured with my arm for him to enter.

“I hope you’re not hungry, because I don’t cook. I do have cheese and crackers that might go well with this wine.” I took the wine from him, noting the California label. I wasn’t a wine aficionado, but I suspected this one had a fairly decent price tag and so would probably taste pretty good.

I went to the kitchen area and found two wine glasses and a corkscrew. Theo had wandered over to the large window and took in the view of the river.

As I worked to get the cork out of the bottle, I occasionally glanced at him. I could definitely see why women threw themselves at him. From the back, he had broad shoulders that tapered down to narrow hips. His jeans looked well-worn, and made his ass look squeezable. I wondered how he’d feel if I turned the tables.... I shook my head. Most men didn’t mind if a woman touched them.

I brought the glasses of wine to the living area, handing him one and putting mine on the coffee table. I went back for the refilled plate of cheese, crackers and grapes, setting them on the table as well.

“So, how long have you lived here?” he asked as he made himself comfortable on the couch.

I sat in one of the other chairs, tucking my feet under me. I took a sip of my wine, studying him over the rim of my glass before answering.

“I haven’t been here very long at all. But my sister has lived here for a year or so.” I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he’d seen Nadine here in the building and what he thought of her. I knew they’d never spent any time together, because Nadine would have said something about it. She had a tendency to avoid celebrity types in her personal life. Like me, she had seen celebrity marriages and relationships just didn’t work. Not only did she have a front-seat view of our parents’ disastrous marriage, but also, as an entertainment lawyer, she saw it in her clients even though she didn’t do divorces or those types of disputes. Her clients were frequently involved in personal dramas they felt compelled to share with her. She never gave me details, because that would be unethical, but she did often tell me that Mom and Dad were the norm when it came to celebrity relationships.

“Is she in the business too?” he asked, sipping his wine.

“Not exactly. She’s an entertainment lawyer.”

“So why are you back?”

I guessed he wanted to get to the nitty-gritty of my life and why I was back, and in his movie. I realized that while he was being friendly, and telling me he wanted to get to know his co-star, in reality, this was likely more of the same. I was still auditioning.

“I tried to stay away and have a normal life, but as it turns out, I like acting and I miss doing it.” I considered telling him that I thought I was good at it, but he’d just think I was being conceited.

“There’s lots of ways to act without coming into the movie business again,” he said.

I wondered what he was getting at. Why not come back into the movie business? “I like the movies.”

“So, you never thought about television or theater?” he asked, reaching over to get a piece of cheese and a cracker.

I wanted to tell him to mind his own business. I wanted to tell him that if he didn’t want me in his movie, to just say so to my face or fire me. Trying to convince me I made a mistake and might be better suited to other acting options wasn’t going to work.

“I like television. I got my start there. And I even like the theater, although I don’t have much experience there. But I much prefer movies. I think maybe I have a little bit of acting ADHD. I like to do short-term projects where I