She winked at Evie. “I stalked him. Ended up basically accosting him at the bar. And he’s such a gentleman he even bought me a drink.”
“Yeah, but I do that for every beautiful woman who tells me she loves my script.” That was a lie. He never bought women drinks. That was a ritual that led down a path he never traveled. He still had no idea what prompted him to signal Cam to bring her a glass of wine. Had he simply been flattered that she liked his script? Or had he been hoping for something more?
“I was shameless,” Beverly continued, unaware of the direction of his thoughts. “Told him it was brilliant. After a few drinks, I told him he was brilliant. And I said that I wanted to be attached, and if he told me I wasn’t what he had in mind, I’d have to go lay down in front of one of the horse-drawn carriages they pull tourists around in.”
“I didn’t believe her,” he said. “But I didn’t want to risk it. So I said yes. Seemed like the best choice at the time.”
“I love that story,” Evie said. "So you two decided to start working together on the script?"
"Oh, no!" Beverly said. "Griffin doesn't need my help. I'm just giving him a little bit of an actress’s perspective, and urging him along.”
"She's being modest, Griffin said. "She's been a huge help. I wasn't expecting it, but we make a good team.”
Beverly tilted her head as she turned to him, her eyes soft as they studied him. "Yes,” she said softly, “we do.”
Griffin felt that tightening in his gut again. That sparkle in his soul. He knew he needed to ignore it. Knew that there was only friendship between them. But even so, wisps of memory kept taunting him. The way they laughed when they worked together. The fire in her eyes when she was passionate about a line. The sweet bells of her laughter when she teased him.
And every one of those memories was bittersweet because each one brought on a craving that he couldn’t satisfy. A longing that would never be fulfilled.
But that didn’t change the wishing.
Thank goodness the script was polished and done, because each time she came over to review the script or discuss the characters was sweet torment. At least they were busy—no time to talk about their pasts or what they wanted, or life in general. No time to really get close.
As far as Griffin was concerned, that was a good thing. He needed to keep his distance. And lately, the ache of unfulfilled desire for this woman was becoming more and more painful. Which was why he was so damn relieved that the script was done, it was going to a studio, and he could get clear of Beverly at least long enough to draw a deep breath and push his own reset button.
“So now we wait, right?” he asked Holt. “They’ve got Bev attached, but they’ll start talking with other actors and—”
“All true. Except for the waiting part. They have notes.” Holt looked between him and Beverly. “Mostly about Angelique. They want her role beefed up, and they specifically want Bev in on the revisions. They love the script, don’t get me wrong, but they intend this movie to be a star vehicle.”
He flashed a broad smile at both of them. “In other words, this project has the potential to catapult you both to the next level.”
“Oh,” Beverly said, as Griffin’s stomach did a brand new series of somersaults.
“I’ll schedule a call for tomorrow and we can go over everything, but then they need the revisions back in a week. Ten days max if we’re going to do this thing.”
“Do this thing?” Griff repeated. “But I thought it was a done—”
“We’re on it,” Beverly said. “Hell, I’ll move into Griff’s place if I need to.”
Griff frowned. “I don’t think—”
“I’ll call Donovan at Apex after we’re done,” Holt said. “I’ll tell him how excited you are.”
“You won’t be lying,” Griff said as Beverly reached over to squeeze his right hand.
He stood up like a shot, in the process tugging his hand free. Excited? Yeah, that was a fair assessment of the situation.
She rose as well. “I’d like to prepare for tomorrow. Maybe go over the script together and break down Angelique’s scenes?”
“Um, yeah. Sure.” He glanced at his watch. “You have to be at The Fix in a few hours, though.” Tonight was a Man of the Month contest, and this time the crowd would be choosing Mr. October. The bar had started having the contest as a way to bring in more customers, and it had worked like a charm.
Griff knew the female customers came to see the parade of shirtless men, but as far as Griff was concerned, the biggest draw was the emcee—Beverly had been hosting the contest since the beginning. And knowing what he now did about how she came back to Austin to meet him, Griff couldn’t help but wonder if she’d accepted the job as a way to stay close.
If that was the case, he knew it was only about the script. Even so, the thought pleased him more than it should.
Tonight, Griffin had a reason other than Beverly to go. His personal trainer Matthew Herrington was entered. And on top of that, following the contest, The Fix intended to air the series premiere of The Business Plan on their big screen televisions. A real estate reality show, the program documented the bar’s remodel and included bits from the bi-weekly calendar guy contest.
Considering how close he’d become to the owners, staff, and regulars, Griff didn’t intend to miss any of that.
Beverly looked up from where she was tapping something out on her phone. “Megan’s going to bring her case to The Fix and do my makeup there. That means I don’t have to leave your place until six. So we have plenty of time. I’ll meet you there?"
Apparently, he was all out of excuses. “Sure. Give me an hour or so head start. I need to clean up.” Or, more accurately, he needed time to make sure he was in control before he sat at his computer with Beverly behind him, her breath on the back of his neck.
Maybe he should invest in a second monitor…
She leaned closer, her hand going to his shoulder as she leaned in. “We did it,” she whispered. “You did it.”
Maybe so. But there was still a long way to go.
He hoped he could focus. Because God knew being next to Beverly was really starting to mess with his head.