Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
“Kid, I wouldn’t have bet my payday on your comeback if I didn’t think you could do it.”
“I’m not a kid.” My voice came out without the heat I’d intended, a weak puff of smoke instead of a lashing of fire.
Garrett’s eyes darkened further as he stared down at me, acknowledging the truth of it. His gaze slipped down again, reminding me of how short the dress was. I waited for the creeping crawling indignation to set in, but instead, my heart fluttered. My breath short circuited in my lungs. I swayed toward him, pulled in by an invisible force. His mouth was hard, but for some reason, that made my breath come shorter, my heart beat faster. How would it feel if he leaned down just a few inches and…
“Garrett,” I started, unsure of where I was going, but he cut me off before I could get wherever it was.
“If you’re not a kid, then stop throwing temper tantrums.” He reached past me and opened the front door, then made an uncommonly curt gesture to leave.
My pride burned white hot, making my back ramrod straight as I walked past him and out the door. His condescension was salt in the wounds I’d accumulated over the last week–the last few years, really. I couldn’t believe I’d thought–that I’d almost–
I slid into my car. The leather burned my legs up to the back of my thighs, but it felt good. Grounding. As I backed out, I squeezed the steering wheel tightly, a silent scream.
9
GARRETT
After I shut the door behind Destiny, I stood there for a long time, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Going back to brunette hadn’t dimmed her fire. Smoke was practically coming out of her ears, but she’d never looked better. Her dark hair made her eyes even more bewitching, and the crimson in her cheeks made her creamy skin glow. She didn’t look a thing like the twelve-year-old girl who’d clung to Noemi like a shadow on set, or the smiley teenager who’d been on the sides of billboards and buses for four years straight. She didn’t even look like the bikini-clad woman with legs up to her ears and a flag of red hair that made every magazine trumpet that Magical Melody was all grown up.
She seemed like something altogether different now, and it unnerved me. For a second, I’d caught myself looking at her like she was something other than a client, and that was a line I never crossed. Especially for a woman who was practically half my age. Especially for a woman who was like a little sister to Noemi.
For the rest of the week, I made up for my slip by not thinking about Destiny Pollock at all. I worked harder than ever, and when I caught my mind wandering toward her legs or her eyes or the way her mouth looked when she told me she wasn’t a kid, I swam laps in my pool. It wasn’t designed for laps. I was doing flip kicks every five seconds, but it wore the thoughts out of my brain.
By the night of the premiere, I’d convinced myself that nothing had happened. I hadn’t seen her any differently than I ever had. She hadn’t swayed toward me as though she felt a connection, too. She was just a client. Just Noemi’s pseudo-little sister. And I was just going to this premiere tonight to make sure she played her part with Andrew Quinn.
I skipped the red carpet because Destiny wasn’t going to be on it. It would have been overkill to have her and Andrew walk it together, and I didn’t want anyone getting the idea that it was pretty convenient that Destiny Pollock had snagged Andrew Quinn just in time to save her reputation. Instead, I found Dominic at the bar inside.
“Julian said you were coming, but I told him I wouldn’t believe it until I saw it,” Dominic said when I came up beside him.
“Not for long,” I said vaguely. I didn’t want to share details where an inside source might hear them. Inside sources were a gift and a curse. For instance, tonight they would report to People magazine that Destiny Pollock and Andrew Quinn were inseparable all night. Or they would unless I ran my mouth and accidentally gave them a better story, like the truth.
After we got our drinks, Dominic and I sat down at a table where I had a clear view of the entrance. You could tell the size of the celebrity about to enter the room by the size of the group coming in around them. Some came with small entourages; some came only with dates. I was surprised when Destiny came in with Noemi’s entourage instead of Andrew’s, but it was convenient. I could join that group without anyone batting an eye.