What it Takes (9 page)

She stared at him, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. “Um . . .” She focused on the phone she was spinning in her hands.

As the silence stretched, Patrick began to regret throwing in dinner. It made perfect sense to him; they had new lines to rehearse, a good portion of them together, and they had to eat. He feared she was thinking about that morning and the impromptu visit from those brats. He hadn’t invited them; he hadn’t even told them where the set was. As he opened his mouth to explain that to her, her expression softened.

“I guess so. Yeah.”

Excitement began to bubble in Patrick’s chest.

“I was just going to get room service.” She began to spin her phone again.

“We can do that,” he quickly agreed. “I’ll come by at seven?” He hadn’t meant it to sound like a question, but she nodded her agreement. Patrick admired her for another second before Kelsey turned to the window and he left.

Five minutes before seven, Patrick made his way down the hall, script in hand. He looked at his watch and nodded once. It was a weird feeling, this anxiety he had about spending time with Kelsey. It was definitely a new experience and he wasn’t sure where it was coming from or how he should handle it. He glanced at his watch again and with a minute to go, he knocked on her door.

She greeted him with a smile that Patrick returned as he entered the room. After a moment, Kelsey looked away and cleared her throat as she looked around the room.

“Shall we order?” She walked to the table and picked up the menu. He followed and took it from her and they ordered immediately.

As they waited for dinner, they read through their lines, without any actions per Kelsey’s request. Patrick thought it was odd but went along with it to make her happy. He insisted they’d rehearse the actions after dinner. She remained silent.

When dinner finally arrived, Kelsey carried it in and they sat at the small table to eat. She tucked a strand of light brown hair behind her ear, so focused on her plate that Patrick had time to study her without her knowledge. As nice as that was, the quiet was starting to get to him.

“So, what upset you at the bar?” Patrick asked after a few bites, hoping he wasn’t crossing a line.

She fought a grin. “That’s been bothering you?” He nodded and she looked back at her plate. After taking a bite of her chicken, she slowly chewed and he watched her thoughts playing out on her face. “It was nothing, really,” she started after she’d swallowed. “I used to go out to bars and clubs with my friends in college. I guess I just got a little nostalgic.”

“You cry when you’re nostalgic?” Patrick asked, sympathy squeezing his heart.

She laughed once. “Apparently so.” Kelsey shrugged. “The tears took me by surprise too.” He nodded and they continued to eat. “Why’d you leave early?”

“It was my sister’s birthday.” It was the truth but he hoped she didn’t think he was making it up. “I needed some quiet so I could talk to her.”

She nodded and began pushing food around her plate, playing with it more than eating.

“Tell me more about your family,” Patrick said when he felt a lull starting.

“What would you like to know?”

“You said your father’s a lawyer?” She nodded and he added, “Tell me about his favorite case.”

Her eyes narrowed and glazed over for a moment, then focused on him with a twinkle. “There was this woman,” she began and her dimple appeared. He nodded in response and she proceeded to tell him, in great detail, how the woman had tried to sue her hometown because the annual Haunted Tour had frightened her so much that she’d had nightmares until Easter. Kelsey was so animated relating the description of the events, her hands waving and voice changing as she mimicked different people. Patrick laughed until his sides hurt.

When he had the chance to recover, he encouraged her to talk about her family. She gave him a small shrug.

“You know almost everything. My dad’s a lawyer and my sister lives in my house and stays home with the kids.”

“What about your mother?” He felt as if she was holding something back but decided not to push for more. He hoped she would tell him in her own time.

Kelsey shrugged and looked at her plate. “She’s,” her eyes met his again, “Mom,” she finished on a sigh. “So, what about your family?”

Patrick’s father was a retired talent agent and his mother worked in costume design. His sister worked in casting and had married her restaurant owner husband three years ago, but didn’t have any children yet, which brought him back to the subject of Kelsey’s niece and nephew.

He loved the light in her eyes as she freely talked about them. He asked questions, simply to watch her answers. She promised to show him pictures when they were done rehearsing for the night.

On that note, he reluctantly pushed his plate away.

“Ready to get back to work?”

Kelsey glanced at her watch. “We probably should,” she said. “We don’t have too much left, right?”

The right corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “Just some kissing, I think. We’ve got the lines down pretty well.”

“We don’t need to practice kissing.” She shook her head.

Patrick leaned across the table. “Why?” he whispered, captivated by her vivid eyes.

She leaned closer and stopped, inches from his face. A lump formed in his throat. Outside of filming, it was the first time she’d ever been that close to him.

“Because,” Kelsey whispered in return.

Her breath caressed his lips and his eyes widened in response. She grinned impishly, then quickly stood and laughed as she walked away from him. Patrick sat frozen, pondering what had just happened and why his heart was racing. When his pulse rate returned to normal, he followed her to the living room.

“Because why?”

“Think about the characters for a moment.” She giggled when he rolled his eyes upward and pretended to think. He shook his head and looked at her. “Have they kissed yet?” she asked.

“Not recently, but that’s beside the point.” Patrick sat on the coffee table in front of her, not following her argument. He didn’t really want to. At the moment, he just wanted to kiss her. “Don’t you want to get it right?”

“Don’t you want it to be authentic?” she replied tartly.

He clenched his teeth. “It could still look authentic. That’s what we get paid to do.”

“I think it’d be more realistic if we didn’t practice.”

Patrick crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. She’d obviously given her argument some thought and he wondered why.

“If we practice, I could give you pointers,” he suggested. Anything to feel her mouth against his. When exactly he’d started thinking about this, he couldn’t say. “In case we need to make improvements.”

“Are you suggesting that I’m a bad kisser?” Kelsey sounded amused, but he quickly scanned her face to make sure. She had an eyebrow raised, her lips slightly puckered.

That pout was quite distracting. “No . . . no . . .” he stumbled over his thoughts. “But since you’re kinda new to this, it couldn’t hurt, right?”

Before he knew it, she was slowly leaning closer, staring into his eyes the whole time. When their noses were inches apart, she stopped. Every nerve suddenly sizzled and he smiled in anticipation. Her eyes dropped for a moment before she met his gaze with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“I’m willing to risk it,” she whispered.

“You’re sure?” Unable to hide the lust in his voice, it took every bit of control he had to sit perfectly still.

Suddenly, her eyes rounded. “Oh,” Kelsey sighed as she stood up. Taking a step back she put her fingers to her mouth. “Sorry about that.”

Patrick didn’t break eye contact with her and waited for the panic to subside. “Sorry about what?” He rose and slowly approached her.

She waved her hand and shook her head. “Nothing,” she murmured and walked around him. She picked her script up off of the couch. “Shall we rehearse?”

Bewildered, Patrick turned and watched her straighten with her back to him. “I thought that’s what we were discussing.”

She turned and bobbed her head. “Of course.” She flipped her script open and gave him a page number to begin on.

For the next hour, they recited lines with ease. Patrick forced himself to the other side of the room when they got to any physical part. His need to be close to Kelsey had nothing to do with script now, but it seemed the behavior that had been so exciting to him had added a layer to the wall between them. And he’d thought he’d been doing so well.

“Dessert?” he asked when they finally put their scripts down.

Kelsey saw the hopeful look in his eyes and realized she wasn’t quite ready for him to leave. “Sure,” she agreed. He placed the order as she picked up the dinner mess. “Thanks,” she said after they’d placed the plates in the hall by the door.

“No problem.” He wandered over to the clean table and sat down. “Can I ask you something?”

“You just did,” she replied.

He tried not to laugh as he raised an eyebrow. Kelsey nodded and after inhaling deeply, he asked, “Why’re you such a loner?”

She considered him for a moment then sat down as well. “I’m not,” she answered softly. “I’ve done things with you all since day one.”

He shook his head. “You’ve talked to us since day one. You’ve let us come to your trailer and hang out with you. You didn’t do anything with
us
until we asked last week.”

“Well, why didn’t you ask sooner?” Kelsey teased.

“Don’t turn this on us.” His eyes looked even warmer than usual and his serious tone caught her off guard.

Sitting back in her chair, she shook her head. “I just didn’t think we were interested in the same things.”

“We’ve discussed this already, but you haven’t really taken the time to get to know me.” His accusation was lighthearted, but Kelsey heard the hurt behind it. “And you haven’t given me the chance to learn about you.”

She looked at her folded hands on the table. “That’s not true,” she murmured. “I’ve told you all kinds of things.”

“Kelsey, I don’t mean about your family. I want to get to know you.”

“I’ve talked to you about more than just my family.”

He placed his hand over hers. His warmth tingled up her arm and made her stomach flip. She looked up and met his penetrating brown eyes.

“True.” He nodded. “But it doesn’t get much more personal than the safe topics, your favorite book, movie, food, color.” A smile touched his lips and he leaned closer. “I’m curious to know more.”

“Why do you want to know so much?” She looked deeply in his eyes and her heart skipped. “What’re you looking for?” She suddenly wanted to kiss him, wanted to be held in his arms and share everything with him. The want was so strong it was almost terrifying.

He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. “What’re you afraid of?”

She sat quietly, staring through him as she considered her answer. As the silence stretched, he stood and walked to the counter where he crossed his arms to wait for her response.

She slowly rose and walked toward him. “I want my life to stay separate from my job.”

“Don’t we all?”

“That’s not the impression I get,” she replied. “You, for example.”

“Me? What’ve I done?” He uncrossed his arms and stepped closer.

She fought to suppress a grin, oddly enjoying the spark of confrontation. “Because of your job, everyone knows you, everywhere you go. You embrace that. You run with it. Those women this morning, for example—”

He put his finger to her mouth to stop her. She felt a flutter at his touch. She wanted to lean into his hand and kiss his finger. She sucked air deeply into her lungs to help resist the urge. What had come over her tonight? First the flirting after dinner, now this. It was almost unsettling how far in the other direction she felt like she was heading.

“That’s just part of this life,” he argued quietly, studying the spot where his finger touched her mouth.

She laid her fingers on his and looked into his eyes. She felt the intensity of that look in her toes. Closing the distance between them, she pulled his hand away from her face. Holding it between them, his heat coursed through her blood. “No, that’s part of
your
life. My life is completely different.” The breathless tone surprised her and his eyes grew slightly larger.

“How?” His free hand rose to her face. She swallowed at the thought of him cupping her cheek, and again at the realization she wouldn’t stop him. He dropped his hand, running a finger along her arm as he did. She suppressed a shiver, unsure if it was disappointment or something else. She wouldn’t allow herself to consider it.

“Acting is my job, and I love it. But my
life
is in Virginia, with my family.” She gave a small laugh, part pride, part self-deprecation. “I can go out in public without being swarmed by fans. I’m hardly recognizable. Look at the people in the bar the other night. Except for your lovely,” she rolled her eyes for emphasis, “dance partners, no one noticed me.”

He smiled and squeezed her hand. “It won’t always be like that,” he promised.

A knock at the door interrupted them. Reluctantly, she let Patrick go to answer it. It seemed he’d ordered cheesecake, cookies, ice cream and two different cakes. She couldn’t help but laugh as he brought the desserts into the room.