28. Chapter Twenty-Eight
And the memo at the network reads, “Numbers on Malloy/Crowley views are up. We need to market their relationship and get them to the next fan event. This is gold.”
* * *
William and Yvette have gazed into one another’s eyes all day.
William has used his charm.
Yvette has played into his arms.
William takes Yvette’s face in his hands, orchestrated by Jean-Claude himself. William tilts his head to the right and moves his lips over Yvette’s—closed lips of course.
For the first time, after all the movies we’ve made together, I feel Christina ease against me. She’s not rigid, even though she keeps her lips from parting, her mouth is soft.
Jean-Claude shouts, “Cut!” and we ease apart, only slightly.
“That was different,” Christina whispers.
“We have chemistry,” I say.
“Who knew?”
The scene is filmed another dozen times and the kiss just gets better and better—well, for me it does. I can see irritation beginning to brew in Christina.
When she’s had enough of something, there is glassiness that coats her eyes. Her breath comes in short puffs. She scratches the back of her neck. And though she’s quiet, the energy around her becomes dark.
She’s sitting in the chair with her name on it, beyond the cameras. She has a lemon water in one hand and her script in the other.
Her trim legs are crossed and her foot bounces.
On any other day, this would just be the norm and I’d catch it out of the corner of my eye. I’d be much too busy talking to those around the sound stage or sitting in my trailer working on my novel.
Today, I want to defuse this bomb that is Christina Malloy.
As I walk toward her, Penny is handing her pills from a bottle. I’ve been around enough people in this industry to wonder what she takes, but then I notice the bottle says Tylenol and my shoulders release a bit. I’ve also been around enough people to know Christina would never take illegal or unnecessarily prescribed drugs.
What she needs is some protein. I haven’t seen her eat since lunch, and that was just lettuce.
My chair is next to hers, so I sit down and pull a bag of Doritos from the pocket of my suit jacket.
Her eyes go directly to the bag and then lift to look at me. Penny is gathering things and shoving them into Christina’s bag as if she’s going to make a run for it.
“Are you kidding me with those?” she blurts out the words so sharply, spit flies.
I grin. “Did you want some?”
She eyes the bag again and takes a breath. I think if she had a coffee mug...
“I most certainly don’t want any. And you’re an asshole if you’re going to eat those before we’re done.”
My smile widens as I look at her. Once upon a time, I would have opened that bag and poured the entire thing into my mouth just to get a reaction from her. Then, when she was steaming mad, I’d have walked away.
Now, I study her. This has nothing more to do with the Doritos than it has to do with me. She’s tired. She’s hungry. She’s worried that she’s upset Jean-Claude, without merit, mind you.
She needs a good, deep kiss, a protein bar, and a cuddle from a dog that seems to adore her.
I reach into my other pocket and pull out a granola bar. I hand it to her.
“What’s this for?” she snaps.
“You’re in need of fuel. We have at least three more hours of this. Do your body a favor.” I nudge her with my hand until she takes the bar.
“You’re really not going to eat those Doritos, are you?”
“No, sweetheart. I’m not.” I lean over the arm of the chair and kiss her softly.
The icy demeanor melts and she smiles. Even Penny’s shoulders ease.
“I was just teasing with the Doritos,” I say, handing them to Penny. “Put them in her bag for later,” I tease.
Penny purses her lips to keep from smiling as she drops the chips into the bag.
Christina’s eyes are on me. She wants to lash out at me. She wants to curl up in my arms. There’s a fine line of emotion that swims in her gaze.
I take back the granola bar that I had handed her, and I open it.
“Seriously, sweetheart,” I say the word from my heart. “Fuel your body.” I hand her back the opened granola bar, climb from my chair, and stand in front of her.
With my hands on either side of her, leaning in on the arms of her chair, I press a kiss to her taut lips, holding there until hers go pliant under mine.
I can feel her dissolving back into the Christina that trusts me.
“Need anything else?” I ask.
She eases back a bit, her eyes still closed and her tongue brushing over her lips.
She slowly opens her eyes and looks at me. “I think I’m good here,” she says.
“I’m going to go see what’s holding us up. I’d like to get to my dog.”
The corner of her mouth curls up. “I’d like to get to him too,” she says.
My chest squeezes at that. The later we go today with filming, the less time I’ll have with Christina and Loki. That would be the norm for production weeks, but today, I want that time.
I watch her watch me, and I can’t believe this is where this little farce has led. I want to spend time with this woman, kiss her, feed her, take care of her.
I want to be the one she can lean on.
I want to be the one she can trust.
I want her to be herself, and sometimes when she’s alone with me, I think she lets down that guard a bit.
The call is made for us back on set, and Christina lets out a breath.
“I guess we’re back on,” she says.
“Eat the granola bar. You have plenty of time.”
She nods and takes a tiny bite. It’s not enough to keep her going, but it’s something.
“I’ll meet you on set. I’m going to go find a bag of Funyuns,” I say, and Penny snorts out a laugh and quickly reels it back in when Christina’s eyes go wide on her. Then Christina turns those wide eyes on me.
“Seriously?” There’s heat in her cheeks again, and I smile at her.
“No, not seriously. Now eat that granola bar and let’s go. I have more kissing to do with you today.”
She takes another bite, her eyes never leaving mine.
Yeah, she heard that right. I didn’t just mean the rest of this scene. I have a lot more kissing planned.