Here All Along (6 page)

Damn, I need to pay her more
.

But first, he needed to clear his head. He grabbed the half-empty box of coconut water from the night before and made his way to the main part of the villa.

Jason pointed outside. “She’s by the pool,” he offered without even looking up from his computer screen.

Sarah was sitting on her mat with her legs crossed and her hands palm-side up on her thighs. Her eyes were closed, and she drew in slow, easy breaths through her nose. She always started her morning session in the meditative state, and he took care not to disturb her as he sat down on the mat next to her and followed her lead.

With every breath, the tension flowed out of his muscles, out of his mind, out of his soul. When he reached the calm and relaxed state, he heard her instruct him to move his arms up and down in time with his breaths. After a minute, she added in some twists at the waist before rising to her feet.

He’d done sun salutations to greet the day enough times with her to know her routine. He started with his hands pressed together at the center of his chest and exhaled. With the next breath, he moved his arms above his head and let his shoulders fall. The movements flowed together with ease and grace, each one testing his strength and stamina while stretching out his sore muscles. The forward fold flowed into the lunge, then the plank, then the cobra, before coming back up into the downward dog, the lunge and back up to the original salutation pose.

The next sequence added in a few warrior poses, triangle poses, and crescent lunges. By the time they finished, his muscles twitched, and sweat rolled down his body. Anyone who said yoga was for sissies had never been through one of Sarah’s workouts.

Yet despite the fatigue that laced his body, she appeared calm and serene. As she led him through the final
shavasana
, the last traces of his hangover fell away, and he sat up with a clear head.

Sarah wasted no time rolling up her mat.

“What’s wrong, Red?”

“What makes you think anything’s wrong?” she asked without looking at him.

“You only eat yellow M&Ms when you’re upset.”

She snapped her head up and stared at him. “You were out late last night.”

“I was dancing.” He rose from the mat and rolled it up. “I’m allowed to have fun, aren’t I? Or is that not on my schedule?”

The slight flare of her nostrils let him know he’d pushed her buttons, but she didn’t say anything.

“Don’t worry, Red, I’m still a mass of sexual frustration.”

That earned him the stink-eye. She tucked her mat under her arm and went back into the villa.

And he was stupid to follow her, even after she’d made it clear she was pissed at him. “Red?”

She spun around so quickly, he collided with her. His arms reflexively reached to steady her, and before he could stop himself, he’d pulled her against him.

The next few seconds pulsated with a mix of fear, attraction, and frustration. Her eyes widened, and her hands pressed against his chest. But she didn’t push him away. At least, not at first. Her bottom lip trembled, and her gaze wavered between his eyes and his mouth. Then, as though she’d managed to put her shields back into place, she closed her eyes and wiggled free from him.

Damn it! One day, she’d give into temptation. One day, she’d give him permission to prove how good they’d be together. One day, he’d be free to tell her the contents of his heart.

But until then, he had to be patient and wait for the sign that she’d be open to it all.

“Did you tell Gabe who I was?”

“What do you mean?”

She rubbed her arm and kicked at the stairs leading back into the villa. “He called me Sage last night.”

That motherfucking—

Gideon dug his hands into his palms to keep from blurting out the vicious words streaming through his mind. Practical jokes, he could handle. One-upmanship was part of the acting game. But he refused to stand back while Gabe harassed Sarah. “I’ll have a talk with him when I arrive on the set.”

“No, please, don’t make a big deal about it.”

“But it obviously upset you.” He tilted her chin up until she was looking at him. “Or was there another reason why all the yellow M&Ms were missing?”

“Just be discreet. I like my life the way it is now.”

“So I’m not in danger of losing my favorite assistant?”

She covered his hand with her own and pulled it away from her chin. “Not unless I discover Mackinzie Donavan in your bed.”

The acid in her voice told him she knew about his escapades last night. “We just went dancing. Scout’s honor.”

“Then you don’t want to see what ended up on the Internet last night.” She turned and strolled back into the villa with a gentle reminder. “You’re the one who doesn’t want to give Donna Carlson anything to use against you.”

Shit!

He raked his fingers through his hair and gathered up his yoga mat. By the time he went inside, she’d already disappeared into her room, so he sidetracked to the computer station Jason and Raul had set up. “What’s this about pictures of me from last night being on the web?”

Jason typed in a few words and flipped the screen around to show him.

He stared at the picture of Mackinzie straddling his lap and kissing him. The drunken nausea from last night made an encore appearance.

Jesus, I’m in hot water
.

“I’m trying to see if I can shut it down before it gets too far, boss.” Jason placed a pencil between his teeth and typed at a speed that would put most transcriptionists to shame. The bodyguard looked like a corn-fed farm boy from Nebraska, but underneath all the muscles lurked the mind of a master hacker. “I’ve thrown a net up to limit the spread, but you know what they say about the web.”

“Yeah—nothing ever dies there.” He glanced once more at the picture, disgusted with himself. He wouldn’t have put it past Mackinzie to have planted a photographer there in the club to capture him in his moment of weakness just so she could get her name in the tabloids once again. “Any chance you can make it look like someone Photoshopped my head in?”

Jason paused and chewed on the pencil before pulling it out of his mouth to speak. “Maybe, but I’d have to change your clothing a bit, too, since you wore that coat for the magazine article.”

Shit, shit, shit, shit!

“Do what you can.”

“Ten-four, boss.” The pencil went back in Jason’s mouth, and he pulled the photo into some editing software.

Gideon made his way back to his room and cast a longing glance at the bathtub one more time before opting for a quick shower. He had to be on the set in less than an hour, and he’d already stirred up enough trouble for one day.

***

Sarah arrived at the set at noon with Gideon’s lunch and afternoon smoothie. He insisted on eating almost the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and snack every day, and splurged at dinner. The consistent balance of protein, fats, and carbs helped keep his body lean and muscular. And after being his assistant for three years, she had his system down to an art.

A warm rush of nostalgia enveloped her as she made her way through the tangled forest of lights, cords, boom mics, and crew. From the age of seven, she had spent more time on a set than at home. It didn’t matter if it was for a movie or a TV show—they all had the same hustle and bustle of a city street at rush hour, and it felt like home for her. The shouts and bumps and groans and creaks all blended together into a wild cacophony that sounded more like home to her than any house she’d ever lived in. And she dreaded the day when she’d have to walk away from it all.

Stay focused. If you can get into costume design, you’ll still have access to the set.

The thought comforted her enough to keep her on course with Operation Independence.

She found Gideon sitting in a chair on the fringes of the set, reading over the script. He didn’t look up as she approached, but Gabe waved at her from ten feet away. She hesitated and returned the greeting with an awkward yet cautious wave of her own. She didn’t want to piss him off and have him blab her identity to everyone on the set. At least, not until she had a chance to confront him first.

She tapped Gideon on the shoulder and set the soft insulated cooler on his lap. “Lunch time, Kid.”

“Thank you, Red.” He stood to place a kiss on her cheek and opened the zipper. “What kind of salad did you make for me today?”

The base of the salad was almost always the same: a mix of lettuces, spinach, and kale. It was topped off by lean steak, chicken breast, or fish. Then she was allowed to add in extras to enhance the flavor as long as she stayed within the designated ratios. “Grilled salmon, mixed berries, low-fat goat cheese, toasted almonds, and champagne vinaigrette.”

“Sounds awesome!” He found the salad container and dug in. “And tastes even better than it looks.”

“How’s shooting going?”

“Good.” Gideon swallowed the mouthful of food before continuing. “You came at a good time. We’re on hold until Mackinzie gets here.”

“Poor girl,” Sarah said with extra sarcasm. “You kept her out too late last night, didn’t you?”

He looked up at her, a hint of anger simmering in his eyes. “Don’t start, Red.”

“Fine, I won’t.” She opened up her water bottle and took a sip, her attention wandering to his co-star. “Did you have a chance to speak to Gabe yet?”

“Nope. Too busy trying to get these scenes done.” He stuffed another bite of salad into his mouth and chewed it. “What’s for dinner?”

“I made reservations for Guy Savoy.”

The famous French restaurant always held a special place in her heart. She’d taken Gideon there for his twenty-first birthday and gotten them the famed Krug Chef’s table near the kitchen.

He made a moan of ecstasy. “I love that place. And you made it for two, right?”

His hopeful smile eased some of her guilt. “Of course. Eight o’clock.”

A shrill female voice sliced through her warm happy thoughts of sharing an elegant French dinner with Gideon. Mackinzie Donavan wedged herself between them and threw her arms around Gideon’s neck. “Sounds perfect! I can’t wait to have a nice, romantic dinner with you tonight.”

It was times like these when Sarah wished her manicurist had left her nails longer. She stood back, inwardly seething as the actress ran her fingers through Gideon’s hair.

To his credit, he appeared genuinely mortified. He gathered Mackinzie’s hands in his and created some distance between them. “I think there’s a misunderstanding. I’m not having dinner with you tonight.”

“Of course you are. Who else would you be taking to Restaurant Guy Savoy?”

Sarah cringed when Mackinzie mispronounced the famous French chef’s name.

Gideon looked to her for help, but she shook her head. There were some battles worth fighting, and then there were airhead bimbos who would make Gideon’s life miserable if she overstepped her bounds as his assistant. He was a big boy, and he needed to handle this for himself.

“I’m sorry, Mackinzie, but I’m taking someone else.”

The actress jutted out her lip in an exaggerated pout. “But who could be more important than
me
?”

Sarah rolled her eyes and turned away before she told Mackinzie exactly what she thought.

Gabe beckoned her with his finger.

She squared her shoulders and marched toward him with every intention of silencing him about her past.

But before she could get a word in, he said, “I’m surprised at you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Letting her have him without a fight.” He leaned forward, his elbows resting on the arms of his chair. “Or am I reading your
piss off and die
expression wrong?”

“How do you know it’s not directed toward you?”

Gabe threw his head back and laughed. “Because if it was, I would’ve borne the full force of your wrath last night. So what is the story between you two?”

She glanced over her shoulder and noticed with a twinge of ire that Gideon still hadn’t managed to get rid of Mackinzie. Yet her voice sounded flat and emotionless as she replied, “It’s like he said last night. I’m his assistant. Nothing more.”

“Right.” He drawled out the word like he knew she was lying. “Then I don’t suppose you’ll mind if he takes her to a nice, romantic dinner at Guy Savoy instead of you.”

Her heart pounded, and blood rushed to her muscles as she glared at the overly sexified actress.
If he took Mackinzie to
their
restaurant…

“Yep, just as I suspected. Nothing at all going on between you two.”

She snapped her attention back to Gabe, who was watching everything unfold with an amused grin. “Not in the way that you’re implying. And second, I wanted to talk to you about something you said last night.”

He laced his fingers behind his head and reclined in his chair. “What?”

“You called me by the wrong name as I got on the elevator.”

“Did I?” he asked with mock innocence.

Damn him! She fought the urge to stomp her foot or shove her finger into the center of his chest and tell him to shut up. Next to Gideon, Gabe Harrison was the most frustrating man she’d ever had to deal with. “Why?”