gestured at her shirt and his eyes followed her movement. Damn it, she’d drawn his attention back to the now-sheer blouse clinging to her breasts. Just brilliant.
With what seemed like great effort, Ashton dragged his gaze away from her chest and back to her eyes. His expression was bland, but she caught the ripple of his throat as he swallowed.
Her skin grew hot with embarrassment and, damn it, attraction. This was so not how she’d imagined their first meeting unfolding. She had to get out of here.
Jasmine waved a hand toward the green-room door. “I’m, ah . . . I’m going to go change.”
Into what, she had no idea.
He nodded. “Claro.”
“Um, bye.” Jasmine hurried out and hobbled to the bathroom.
A glance at her phone showed she had less than ten minutes before the table read began, and she was drenched in super strong coffee and coconut milk. Not wanting to be late on the first day, Jasmine flagged down an office assistant. The woman had shoulder-length blond hair and a nervous tilt to her eyebrows.
“Hi. I’m Jasmine Lin. What’s your name?”
“Penny.” Penny’s rosy skin paled as she took a horrified look at Jasmine’s coffee-splattered attire.
“As you can see, I’m having a wardrobe emergency.” Jasmine shoved all the cash in her wallet—a whopping thirty-four bucks—into Penny’s hand. “Can you please run down to the nearest store and buy me a change of clothes? I seem to be in need of a new outfit.”
Penny’s light eyebrows drew together. “What kind of outfit?”
“Whatever you can bring back in the next five minutes.” Jasmine gestured at the restroom door. “I’ll be in there cleaning coffee out of silk.”
With a nod, Penny hurried off, and Jasmine poked her head into the restroom. An older woman with smooth brown skin was washing her hands at one of the sinks. She wore a sharp gray bespoke suit and a patterned head scarf. She did a double take when she saw Jasmine’s clothes, then jerked a thumb at the accessible stall.
“That one has its own sink,” she said. “Looks like you’re going to need it.”
Jasmine thanked her profusely and locked herself inside the big stall. She stripped off the wet, clammy clothes and ran them under cold water in the sink.
She hated to admit it, but the coffee spill had been a welcome distraction. The quick flash of alarm at being soaked in ice-cold liquid had been easier to deal with than the equally quick jolt of desire when she’d laid eyes on Ashton, so she’d clung to it. Because in that moment, McIntyre and his stupid, soulful green eyes had also disappeared from her mind, along with all the anxiety and despair she’d carried since spotting a tabloid cover photo of him kissing another woman in Mexico.
Ashton’s horror at spilling coffee on her had been genuine and kind of adorable, but she had no business whatsoever noticing her new costar’s magnetism. This was her MO, after all. A spectacularly messy breakup—although this McIntyre thing was even messier than normal—followed by a stars-in-her-eyes crush on yet another emotionally unavailable man. Rebound, relationship, breakup—rinse and repeat.
Well, not this time, thank you very much. She was a Leading Lady now. Carmen in Charge was a big step up for her, and she wasn’t going to let an inconvenient attraction get in the way of making this role a success. No matter how sexy her costar might be.
ALONE IN THE green room, Ashton cleaned up the ice cubes from the floor, then slumped into a chair and scrubbed a hand over his face. Well, that had been a fucking disaster. He’d never forget the sight of Jasmine limping away with a crushed foot and a soaked blouse. She would forever think of him as the guy who’d ruined her first day on the job.
He sipped the coffee Jasmine had returned to him, although he was so tense, maybe more caffeine and sugar were a bad idea. When he saw her next, he would apologize profusely. He’d find some way to make it up to her . . . while also keeping his distance. Maybe they’d be able to laugh it off at some point. Before the table read started would be ideal, but that seemed like too much to hope for.
Still, he’d ruined her outfit, and should try to make it right.
But first . . . Ashton shut the door to the green room and pulled out his phone to FaceTime his father in Puerto Rico.