Here All Along (13 page)

Sarah willed her body to move, but her muscles remained locked. Even worse, she couldn’t turn away from him. The Gideon she’d always known was laid back and carefree, but the man standing in front of her both frightened and excited her. He appeared strong, confident, and completely unyielding.

And it made her want him even more.

“So let’s talk,” he said in a calm, quiet voice.

The tone was enough to break the spell he had over her. She threw the pile of clothes into her suitcase and went back to the drawer to fetch an armful of panties. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Bullshit.” He grabbed her arm and threw her underwear back in the drawer. “Something has you rattled enough to make you want to pack up and leave, and I’m not letting you go until I have a chance to make things right.”

“You crossed the line.” Her reply was as raw as her nose, and tears threatened to spill out again. “Why did you do it?”

“It was in the script.”

“So it was all an act?” She yanked her arm free and grabbed her underwear again. “Funny, you’ve never followed those particular stage directions before when I’ve helped you rehearse.”

He waited until she dumped her panties in her suitcase before replying. “What do you want me to say, Red? That I’m sorry? Because I’m not.”

It took every ounce of strength not to break down right there. Even her voice threatened to give her away. “But you knew how I felt about this. You knew.”

“Yes, but I also know how I feel.”

“Which gives me one more reason to leave.” She reached under the bed for her shoes, but Gideon caught her, pulled her back to her feet and into his arms.

The kiss that followed was nothing like the prior one, yet it had the same effect on her. It was aggressive, passionate, barely controlled, and yet she found herself completely captivated by it. She matched him stroke for stroke, nip for nip, until they were both locked in a battle for dominance. The desire she’d felt before evolved into pure lust, and she secretly fantasized about him ripping her clothes off and completely ravishing her.

Too bad Gideon was too much of a gentleman to do that. Her clothes stayed on, and he managed to end the kiss before they ended up in bed. But he didn’t release her. He held her in his arms, her body pressed against his, while they both struggled to catch their breath. His gaze seemed to rip through all her defenses and stare directly into the confusion swirling within her soul.

“If you felt absolutely nothing, if this kiss didn’t leave you wanting more, if you’ve never lain awake at night alone in your bed and wondered what it would be like if I were lying next you, then leave. But if you felt even a fraction of what I feel for you, then please don’t run away from what could be something great between us.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips before releasing her. “Please, Red, give
us
a chance.”

Fury sustained her stony silence until he left the room. She refused to let him know how right he was. If he knew, he’d never give up until she surrendered to him. And she couldn’t do that, not to him. She had to be strong and resist him so she wouldn’t mess up his life like she’d messed up hers.

The second the door closed, however, she crumpled onto the bed. As much as her mind told her to leave, her heart wanted her to stay, if only to experience the love he offered her.

Of course, that would involve breaking her heart in the process.

As the night crawled on, she wavered between leaving and staying. She’d get up to throw a few more things in her suitcase and stop to remember how much she enjoyed the kiss. She’d curse herself for being a coward, but ten minutes later, she was packing again.

It was almost midnight when she discovered the box on her desk. It was the one Gideon had brought into her room a few days ago.

The jerk can’t even open his own mail, even when it’s some stupid football
.

The return address said it had come from his home in Pacific Palisades, but as she took a closer look at it, she spied another label peeking out from the one on top.

The memorabilia shop in Miami.

Dozens of questions turned through her mind as she studied it. She’d teased him about it being a football, but it was too heavy for that. And even if it was, why would he have it sent here? More important, why had he left it in her room and not come back to claim it?

Curiosity got the better of her, and she reached for a pair of scissors to cut through the tape. It wasn’t like she hadn’t opened his mail before. After all, she was his assistant. At least, until she turned in her formal resignation once she got back to LA.

Layers of bubble wrap concealed the object inside, but as she peeled them away, her throat tightened. She recognized the golden sphere on the top. Years ago, she’d pressed her lips to a similar globe after winning the award for Best Supporting Actress. But that award had vanished years ago on a night she barely remembered.

Her breath caught when the last sheet of bubble wrap fell to the floor to reveal the name on the plaque.

Her name.

Sarah’s gaze blurred until she no longer saw the letters, but her own reflection in the shiny metal. Almost four years had passed since she’d held her Golden Globe in her hands, yet thanks to Gideon, she held it again.

There was no holding back the tears now. She hugged the long-lost award to her chest and let them fall. Only this time, they weren’t from fear or sadness or frustration. She cried like she had the night she won the award—from pure joy.

Unlike the kisses today, this wasn’t something spontaneous. This was something he’d been working on for months. Something that spoke of love and commitment and dedication. He could’ve made a big show about presenting it to her, but instead, he’d quietly left it in her room for her to find. The quiet humility of the gesture made her heart long for him even more, but in a different way than the kisses. This went beyond pure sexual attraction.

Leave it to Gideon Kelly to make her furious and then make her fall in love with him all in one night.

Once her tears dried, she finally knew what she had to do. He’d wanted her to give him a chance, to take their friendship and turn it into something more. And now she needed the courage to accept his offer. No running away. No avoiding the topic. When he got home from the set tomorrow night, she’d face him—maybe even kiss him—and see where things went.

But first, she’d fall back on the familiar comfort of her normal routine and make his breakfast smoothie before going to bed.

Chapter Ten

Gideon slapped the alarm clock to silence it and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Three a.m. sucked. Especially when he had to drink himself to sleep.

Especially when he was alone in his bed and craving a certain redhead.

But every time he replayed the kisses, he wouldn’t take them back. Not even as horny as he was. Because both times, she’d kissed him back.

Now came the hard part—convincing her they belonged together. He ran through the steps in Gabe’s plan, but he couldn’t help but suspect there were a few crucial details his co-star was leaving out. Still, it had worked in his favor so far. He’d finally made a move on Sarah, and she’d responded. He just hoped she’d stayed in her room last night and didn’t make a break for the airport as soon as he went to bed.

He crawled out of bed and wished he had a sunrise yoga session scheduled with her this morning. Instead, he forced himself to do a few stretches and threw on some clothes in the dark. At this time of night, he didn’t care what he looked like. And he doubted he’d be shooting the scheduled scenes with Mackinzie today since she was still in London and didn’t have a clue that she’d been duped by Gabe.

Of course, the director and the rest of the crew had no idea where she was. For all they knew, she’d walked away from the movie, which might be a small blessing. Gideon could name at least a dozen other actresses who would make a better Rae than her.

But Sarah’s performance yesterday… It had been so good, it gave him the chills. If there was a snowball’s chance in hell that he could convince her to return to the screen, he’d beg her to take over the role.

He went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Just like the mornings before, there was a smoothie ready to go for him. He grabbed it and found Raul. “Did Sarah make this?”

“Yeah, she came out around midnight and made it for you,” the bodyguard answered, never looking away from his computer screen.

“Where is she now?”

“In her room.” He motioned for Gideon to join him. “You need to come take a look at this, boss.”

Gideon came around to see what he was talking about. His stomach tied in knots when he saw the screen. There, posted on YouTube, was a fuzzy, amateur video of him and Sarah kissing on the set yesterday.

“Is that why Sarah was all
loca
yesterday?” Raul asked.

“Yep.” The video ended when the clapping started, so he didn’t have to watch Sarah run away in terror again. Whoever had posted it had been kind enough to either stop filming or had deleted that part. “Where did this come from?”

“Looks like it was shot on someone’s phone.” He made a few clicks on the keyboard. “It was posted by someone who goes by the screen name ‘YankeesFan1718,’ and it doesn’t look like he’s posted anything else.”

Gideon pressed his lips together. It didn’t take a detective to recognize Gabe’s handiwork.

“Here’s the kicker, Boss.” Raul took him to a search engine and typed in “Gideon Kelly mystery woman.” Twenty hits appeared on the first page. “The gossip sites have already picked up on it.”

Gideon’s head was beginning to ache from how hard he was gritting his teeth. He had no idea why Gabe had posted the video, but it was already causing a hell of a lot of trouble. “Don’t tell Red.”

“I won’t, boss, but I gotta say—she’s good.”

“I know that.” He took over the mouse and clicked on one of the sites to scan the story they’d spun around the video. “Do they all say she’s my secret girlfriend?”

“Some. Others say she’s auditioning for Mackinzie Donavan’s role since the actress was just spotted in Rome yesterday. None of them have named her.” He paused and sat back in his chair. “Yet. It’s only a matter of time.”

“I know. And if she ever finds out, it’ll make yesterday look like a walk in the park.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “If any of them identify her, let me know.”

“Will do.” Raul turned off the monitor and grabbed his things. “Ready to go to the set?”

“Sure.” Part of him felt a little silly being escorted by a bodyguard, but at this time of the morning, there were more than enough drunks wandering the Strip to cause him trouble. Raul was a big-enough deterrent to keep them from approaching him.

When they arrived on the portion of the casino floor that had been reserved for shooting, he headed straight for Gabe. “What were you thinking, posting that video on YouTube?”

“Who says I did anything?” he replied in mock innocence.

Gideon grabbed the Yankees cap out of Gabe’s bag and threw it at him. “Don’t deny it. Just tell me why.”

“It’s all part of my plan.”

“What are you trying to accomplish?” He closed the space between them, his fist itching to connect with Gabe’s smug face. “Causing a scandal? Smearing her name all over the tabloids?”

Gabe stood taller and didn’t back away. “I merely intended to show people how talented she really is.”

“To what end?”

“That remains to be seen.” His lips curled up into a grin a few seconds before Gideon heard his name being called from the other side of the set.

Karl stood by a makeup chair and pointed to it.

“Looks like the director has a few words for you,” Gabe murmured before walking away.

Gideon crossed the set and sat down in the chair. One of the artists swooped in and started airbrushing the foundation on his face, but Karl stood in his line of sight, his arms crossed.

“Were you pulling my leg about your assistant yesterday?”

“Depends on what part you’re referring to.”

“About her being Sage Holtz.”

Gideon stopped the makeup artist and indicated she should leave. Once he was alone with Karl, he said, “She’d be pissed if people knew who she was.”

“I don’t give a damn what she thinks. I have a movie to film, and my star actress is MIA. Furthermore, the production company saw your little performance with your assistant, and they’re breathing down my neck for details that I can’t give them.”

“Why do they want to know more about her?”

“They want to see her in a goddamn screen test, and they’re threatening to halt production until they get it.” Karl leaned forward on the arms of the makeup chair and came within inches of Gideon’s face. “So, either you get her ass on the set now, or we’re all out of work.”

“It’s not that simple, Karl.” Gideon pushed him away and jumped up from the chair. “Red has no desire to act again.”

“Well, she could’ve fooled me ’cause she gave one hell of a performance yesterday.”

“I know, but…” He ran his fingers through his hair once again and paced. God, when did things get so complicated?