“That was no act. If that wasn’t an orgasm last night, I’ll stand naked under the Hollywood sign over there.” With a nod of his head, he indicated the iconic landmark in the distance.
“We are acting. This is fake. We’re on a movie set!”
“Yup,” he drawled and glanced around, “and I don’t see any cameras rolling right now. Just because we’re playing to the media doesn’t mean we can’t have fun along the way.”
She didn’t do fun. She left that to her dice-rolling father, who’d run away from responsibility—a wife, a child, a home...
“Oh, I like it!”
Chiara turned and spotted Odele.
“Did I interrupt something? Or let me rephrase that one—I hope I was interrupting something!”
“He needs to go,” Chiara retorted.
Odele looked from her to Rick and back. “What went wrong? It’s only been—” she checked her watch “—two days.”
“A lover’s spat,” Rick joked. “We can’t keep our hands off each other.”
Odele’s eyes gleamed behind her red glasses. “You can’t quit now. The press is reporting Chiara’s father was tossed out of a Vegas casino.”
Rick quirked a brow at Chiara.
“On top of it,” Odele went on, “there’s a big fundraiser tomorrow night, and I managed to secure a ticket for Chiara’s date.”
“And let’s not forget WE just got the exclusive interview that we are an item,” Rick continued drolly.
Chiara faced her nemesis. “You are impossible.”
“Just acting the p
art.”
“You’re giving an Oscar-worthy performance in a B movie.”
“I believe in doing my best,” Rick intoned solemnly. “My mother raised me right.”
She wanted to claim his best wasn’t good enough, but the truth was he’d been...impressive so far. “This isn’t working.”
“You don’t want me?” He adopted a wounded expression, but his eyes laughed at her.
Grr. “I’m stuck with you!”
“Then why don’t you make the most of it?” His voice was smooth as massage lotion. “Who knows? We might even have fun together.”
The last thing she needed was his hands on her again. “Fun is not the word that comes to mind. This is crazy. Are we nuts?”
“You know the answer to that question. I hang from helicopters for a living—”
“Clearly the altitude has addled your mind.”
“—and you are an actress and celebrity.”
“Fame is a dirty word in your book?”
Rick shrugged. “I’m camera-shy. Call it middle-child syndrome. I leave the high-profile celebrity stuff to my older and younger brothers.”
She frowned. “You’re an agoraphobic stuntman?”