Dreaming With My Eyes Wide Open (Hollywood Legends #2) (13 page)

That said, Nate knew what he looked like. Good genes played
a big part. He and his brothers hit the jackpot. A beautiful mother, a handsome
father. Both sides had a history of long, healthy lives. Add that to his
disciplined regimen of eating right and never missing a workout, Nate was what
one lady friend had called catnip. A fact that he took advantage of at every
opportunity.

Women liked him. And he liked women. It was a happy
symbiosis.

However, this was the first time he could remember reacting
so strongly to a woman’s appreciative gaze. With Paige, Nate lost all sense of
time and place. He promised Chuck that nothing would happen in his house. One
hot look from Paige and he almost forgot.

Nate reached past the shower curtain, turning the faucet on
full blast. In spite of what he told Paige, he made the temperature on the cold
side. Considering for a second, he shrugged and turned the hot water off.
Before he could think better of it, Nate shed his clothes. Damn dick, he
admonished his erect organ. This will serve us both right.

Taking a deep breath, Nate walked under the spray. The
string of colorful and inventive curse words that spewed from his mouth was a
testament to a childhood growing up on movie sets.

His mother tried to shield Nate and his brothers from the
coarse language while his father shrugged it off.
Boys are expected to pick
up curse words
he told their mother.
It would be different if they’d had
girls
. Not the most enlightened attitude and one that got him a dirty look
and a night in the guest room from his wife.

Callie Flynn insisted her sons curb their bad language
whenever possible. It wasn’t a problem — most of the time. However, icy water
hitting an engorged cock seemed like a good time to call an exception. Nate’s
mother would have been appalled. His father would have been the first to
sympathize.

The remedy didn’t cure his problem; it simply reduced it.
Nate stepped out of the cold shower. He should have jacked off — given himself
some temporary relief. However, sometimes his hand was a poor substitute.
Especially when having Paige was more than a possibility. Soon. Very soon, he
hoped.

He could suffer until then. If he’d done his job properly,
Paige pictured him in the shower. Naked. Touching himself. Misery loved
company. He suffered and since she was the reason, he thought it only fair that
she know a little of what he felt.

Nate slipped a towel around his waist and headed for his
bedroom. Unlike when he left for his run, the sun streamed through the window.
His bed was already made, no sign of his restless night remained. Another thing
he could thank his mother for. His parents expected them to keep their rooms
neat and tidy. Picking up after himself was second nature.

He was about to grab some clothes from the dresser when his
phone buzzed. Picking it up, Nate sighed. Great. A text from Garrett. It seemed
his brother hadn’t forgotten his promise. Or was it a threat. He supposed it
depended on what was in the text.

Resigned, Nate looked. Then looked again. Staring in
disbelief, Nate barely contained the impulse to smash his phone against the
wall. Instead, he sat on the bed. He looked at the screen. Then looked again.

Somewhere, Garrett was laughing his ass off.

“Son of a bitch!”

NATE SETTLED EVERYONE into their roles with surprising ease.

Working the camera that Chuck borrowed was simple. Aim and
shoot. That was it. The young grocery clerk assigned to the job seemed at ease
with the piece of equipment. Homer Freed informed Nate that he was an amateur
photographer. Nate patiently waited while Homer opened his iPad and scrolled
through some of his photos.

Nice composition. Good lighting. Homer had a good eye for
his subjects. Nate would keep an eye on the young man, but he believed Homer
knew what he was doing. It appeared he had one less thing to worry about.

The call sheet for the morning, or rather the phone calls
Chuck made last night, consisted of six people. Nate decided it would be best
to work with small numbers as often as possible. It was an intimate story.
Plus, the fewer people on set meant less chance for distractions and accidents.

Nate worried about someone getting hurt. It wasn’t a huge
concern. The biggest, and only, stunt would come later when a pickup truck ran
off the road and into a tree. It would require one person. Nate. The biggest
problem was finding a vehicle to wreck. Chuck swore he had that taken care of
so Nate put it out of his mind

Nate shook his head in amazement. Chuck was a wonder. He
understood why the man had been in high demand when he worked in Hollywood.
Between the equipment, the volunteers, and God knew what else, all that was
left was for Nate to step in and make a movie.

“How did you get anyone to insure you?” Nate helped Chuck
unload some cables from the back of Paige’s truck.

“Wilt runs the local insurance office.”

Nate gave a shout of laughter. Leave it to Chuck. To get the
coverage he needed, he cast in the lead the man who could provide it. Genius.

“He
is
the best choice for the part,” Chuck added
with a smile.

“Undoubtedly.” Nate slapped him on the back. “If you ever
want to come back to Los Angeles, Chuck, you could make a fortune.”

“I did fine when I was there.” Chuck set down the box.
Taking a deep breath, he looked around. “This is home, Nate. Everything I want
is here. The only thing that would make it perfect would be my Erin.”

“I’m sorry, Chuck. You must miss her.”

“Every day.” Chuck breathed in again. “She’s with me, Nate.
Someday, if you’re lucky enough to have what Erin and I had, you’ll understand.
Her body was taken from me, but her memory, her soul, is right here on the
Double C.”

“Mom and Dad have that,” Nate said.

“Then you do have an idea of what I mean. You’ve been lucky,
son. You know what love looks like. You know how precious it is. When it
happens to you, you won’t make the mistake of letting it go; you understand
that feelings like that are a gift. They don’t come along every day.”

“No, sir. They don’t.”

“Dad, there’s a delivery that you need to sign for.”

Nate watched as Paige walked toward them, her smile bright
and easy. He tried to ignore the little ping he felt in the region of his
heart. All this talk about love and forever. It was bound to send a man’s
thoughts in that direction. Enter a beautiful woman? It was only natural for
him to feel… things.

When Nate told Paige he wasn’t looking for anything
long-term, he wasn’t lying. He wanted what his parents had — what Chuck and his
Erin were lucky enough to find. However, he didn’t want it now.
Did he
?
He gave Paige a longer look then shook his head. Nope. Not ready.

“I got a call from Dr. Mount.”

“The vet?” Nate asked. Happy for the distraction, he fell in
step with Paige.

“She has a horse at her place that she wants me to look at.
The former owner is in jail on charges of animal cruelty. They had to put down
all the horses but this one. Irene fought hard to save it. She wants me to give
her a second opinion.”

“It’s a tough job. Life and death decisions can’t be easy.”

“No.” Paige’s eyes were sad when she looked at him. “Irene
deals with it more than I do. When she
does
save an animal, the rest is
worth it.”

Nate made sure no one was watching before he took Paige’s
hand. The last thing either of them needed was gossip about a romance. Movie
sets were tiny worlds often shut off for hours, days, sometimes months at a
time. This one was smaller than most,
and
everyone already knew each
other. Word would travel fast. To Basic and beyond. He didn’t think Paige
wanted to be the subject of tabloid gossip.

If he had half a brain, Nate would stop what was happening
between them before they took the next step. He could slow down the gossip, but
he couldn’t prevent it. If he stepped back now, Paige’s name and face would
never hit the supermarket checkout lanes. She didn’t deserve the notoriety that
came with the Landis name. He chose to work in this business. Dragging Paige
into it wasn’t fair unless she knew what to expect.

“You know that I’m famous. Or rather, my family name is
recognized all over the world. I’m a minor player, but when you’re a Landis,
you can’t help but get sucked in now and then.”

“Minor player?” Paige’s eyes twinkled as she pulled out her
phone. “I’d say you’ve made the big time.”

Nate groaned when he saw what was on the screen.

“Don’t teenage girls have better things to do with their
time?”

Sometime after they had met, Jenna and her friends made a
Facebook page devoted to Nate. And Instagram. And Twitter. And God knew how
many others. The pictures were easy to come by. The internet was filled with
them. However, seeing them all together, some with hearts drawn around his
face, was more than Nate could stomach. He wasn’t a movie star. Or a public
figure. He was a hard-working grunt. And he liked it that way.

He knew it was a temporary blip. The minor excitement these
girls generated would die down as soon as they found someone else to lift onto
their wobbly, impermanent pedestals. He would survive with little, if any,
damage.

He worried about Paige.

“You know I would never hurt you.” Nate squeezed her hand.
It was friendly. Comforting. Not the least bit sexual.

“Nothing that starts like that can end well,” Paige said
with a smile. Inside, her stomach wound into a mess of knots. Was it possible
to dump someone when nothing had happened beyond a few kisses?

“I didn’t think ahead of the here and now.”

“I like the here and now. I thought we already agreed. This
lasts as long as you’re in Montana. What’s changed?”

“That?” Nate pointed toward her phone. “The Landis name
draws its own attention. I’ve managed to avoid the publicity circus — with a
few exceptions.”

“Like dating Nina Starr?”

Nate barely contained his wince.

“We didn’t date. We…” How could he put it delicately?

“Screwed?”

Nate nodded. If he were honest,
screwed
was too nice
a word. For one gloriously hedonistic month, he and the lead singer of
Wanderlust
fucked like overheated rabbits. Then it was over. No regrets. No
recriminations. By mutual agreement, they ended it as quickly as it began —
walking away friends.

The press glommed onto them as the next hot couple, dubbing
them N & N. One clever headline read
Landis sees his Starr rising
.
He and Nina got a good laugh out of that. One of the reasons they remained on
good terms was that neither wanted anything beyond what they’d had in the
bedroom.

Nina was successful. She wasn’t using his name in hopes of
taking another step up the Hollywood ladder. Nate was his own man. He didn’t
need her money or the shine some men hoped would rub off on them when they
spent time in the company of a famous woman.

“What are you afraid is going to happen, Nate?”

“The tabloids can be brutal.” Nate frowned, his eyes a
little sad. “I don’t want you to have to duck cameras or nasty questions. If we
do this.”

“Sleep together?”

“Yes.” Nate tapped her phone. “That seems harmless. Funny.
And it is. When you see your face, with a not very flattering caption, you
won’t be laughing.”

“I see.” Paige pulled her hand from his. “You don’t think
much of me, do you?”

“I think about you all the time. That’s the problem.”

“No. I’m not talking about how your dick reacts to me.”
Paige’s eyes weren’t sad. They were angry, headed rapidly toward pissed off.
“You think I’m weak? You see me as a woman who would crumble because of a
little negative publicity?”

“Paige—”

“You’re right. We need to stop.
I’m
no longer
interested.” Slowly, her gaze traveled up the length of Nate’s body. “No matter
how pretty the package.”

“Damn it, Paige. That’s not what I meant.”

Ignoring him, Paige slid into the cab of her truck. “Go fuck
yourself, Nate. I won’t.”

Nate stood with his mouth open, watching Paige drive away.

What the hell just happened?

“Hey, Nate.” Chuck walked into the barn, his confused
expression mirroring Nate’s. “What sent Paige out of here with a bee in her
bonnet? She was steaming worse than my Granny’s teapot.”

“You explain women to me, Chuck, and I’ll tell you why she
was mad.”

“It’s like that, is it?” Chuck grinned. “Paige’s mother
didn’t lose her temper often, but when she did? Watch out. Most of the time I
didn’t know what I’d done.”

“That’s a big help.” Nate’s words dripped with sarcasm,
mixed with a big dose of frustration.

“I’ll share a secret. If you’re interested.”

“Jesus, Chuck. I have a movie to make and a woman who gets
pissed off when I’m trying to be a good guy. Hell yes, I’m interested.”

“It isn’t a mystery. If you asked him, your dad would probably
tell you the same thing.”

“Should I call him or are you going to spill?”

Chuck laughed. Nate had the feeling the other man enjoyed
this way too much.

“No need to bother him. Three words.
You. Are. Wrong
.”

“I’m wrong?
I’m
wrong?” Nate scrubbed a hand over his
face. “What if I’m not?”

“Trust me. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, you are.”

“But—”

“Never mind about that one time. You’re wrong ninety-nine
times, son.”

“I—”

“
Ninety-nine
.”

Nate didn’t like those odds. Nor was he convinced it was
true. He scoured his brain, remembering the times his parents argued. It was
often. Oh, they had some spectacular blow-ups. Loud voices. Outrageous verbal
exchanges.

Down to earth on most days, when Callie Flynn chose, she was
the ultimate drama queen. Hand gestures that could knock an eye out if one
didn’t watch where he stood. She liked to recite Shakespeare. Lesser-known
passages filled with fury and blood.

His father might be a producer by profession, but deep down
a thespian longed to be heard. He gave as good as he got. She wanted to do
Shakespeare? Caleb Landis countered with Marlowe. It was a sight to see.

It ended the same every time. In the bedroom. Confusing when
you were seven. Embarrassing when you were thirteen. Now? Nate cheered his
parents’ unflagging libidos. He hoped he was still hot for his wife when he was
in his sixties.

However, real, deep down fights were rare. Nate could count
on one hand, with fingers to spare, the times his parents walked away from each
other. Silence signaled true anger.

“Mom and Dad rarely fight.”

“When they do?” Chuck prompted.

Nate pictured flowers. Big, over the top arrangements.
Jewelry. His mother was a fan of emeralds. Some were given on her birthday. Or
Christmas. The spectacularly large ones came after fights.

“Don’t get me wrong, Nate. Women make mistakes. They blunder
around. They say and do stupid things. The difference is, we do it more often.
And when we do, we do it spectacularly.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Nate’s head was swimming. He
felt more confused than when he started. “How do I fix something when I don’t
know what I did? When I don’t
think
I did anything?”

“Think about it,” Chuck advised with a little too much good
humor for the mood Nate was in. “If you don’t figure it out, Paige will let you
know. In her own good time. Oh, I almost forgot. Paige asked me to tell you.
She took Beauty with her so the vet could check her out.”

“She could have told me personally that she was taking my
dog.”

Laughing, Chuck grabbed a box and headed out of the barn.

The sound of a familiar ringtone had Nate snatching up his
phone. A picture of his mother filled the screen. Not only was she a woman, but
she was also the smartest person he knew. Hoping for a voice of reason, he
answered.

“Mom. How do you always know when I need you?”

“EXCEPT FOR A bruise on her left rump, Beauty is in perfect
condition.”

“Do you think she fell?” Paige ran her hand over the puppy’s
head. It was meant to comfort, though whether it helped the dog or herself, she
wasn’t sure.

“My best guess is someone kicked her.”

“Poor baby,” Paige crooned.

Beauty cocked her head, as though sensing something was
wrong. What, she had no idea. She couldn’t be happier with all the attention.
Even better, Paige smelled like Nate. To her, that meant he wasn’t far away.

“She knows that she fell into a pot of jam when Nate Landis
found her,” Dr. Mount said, observing Beauty’s vigorously wagging tail.

“It was love at first sight.”

“Puppy love?”

Paige groaned.

“Really, Irene? How often do you pull out that old
chestnut?”

“I work with large animals. I don’t get many chances to make
puppy puns. I figured I better jump at the opportunity.”

Irene Mount was a strong, independent woman. Her mother
swore she came out of the womb ready to take on the world. Born in Boston to an
old-money family, she was expected to follow one of two paths. Marry into a
family of equal wealth and status. Or go to college, work in an acceptable
profession for a few years — then marry the man her parents handpicked.