B01EU62FUC (R) (2 page)

“Why? What will you get out of it?” Valerie shrugged. “I know that I won’t be humiliated in every tabloid in the country, but you? What’s in it for you?”

He let out a low deep chuckle, rubbing his thumb over her lips. “I get the passion that everyone sees and feels when we kiss. I get to touch you and make love with you. I get a wife that I already care for. What else could I possibly want?”

She swallowed hard. “So you want a real marriage. We’re not talking about a marriage in name only to help our ratings.” Was she ready for that?

“No, we’re not. I’m talking about a marriage where we make love as often as we can. Where we set the real world on fire, not just the television.”

“I’m not sure I could do that.”

He laughed. “I’m sure I could make you forget that you’re even a little worried about it in ten minutes flat.”

She rested her cheek against the hand still touching her. “I’m not sure this is a good idea, Jesse.”

“Will you let me try?” He wouldn’t kiss her against her will. He’d been well-aware of how controlling Curtis was with her for years. No, he would treat her as he always had. As his friend and co-star. As the woman he wanted to spend forever with, whether she recognized it or not.

Valerie stared into his familiar eyes, thinking about how good his lips had felt on hers just minutes before. Finally, she nodded. “Yes, I’ll let you try.”

Jesse’s eyes lit up, the way they always did when he went to kiss her. He leaned down toward her, something he’d done a million times, and his lips brushed hers, softly. She swayed into him, her hands moving up to grip his shoulders tightly. This was familiar. This felt so good to her. Jesse’s lips on hers. His hands touching her.

She parted her lips, and his tongue moved sweetly in to sweep through her mouth, also a familiar feeling. But the familiar feeling brought the same reaction it always did. She felt her nipples harden against his chest, and she wanted nothing more than to move closer to him.

Within moments she was on his lap, straddling him. His hands were under the loose fitting button up shirt she’d thrown on over a tee-shirt for their scene. She hummed low in her throat.

Jesse tore his mouth from hers, his breath coming in deep gulps. “Marry me. Now.”

She stared at him. “Isn’t there a waiting period to marry in Texas?” Her mind raced to come up with all the reasons she shouldn’t go through with this, while her body screamed at her that he was the one man she needed in her life.

He shrugged. “I have no idea. If there is, we’ll fly to Vegas. Tonight.”

“We have to film on Monday!”

“We can be back by Monday. It’s Friday. Two days.”

She bit her lip, staring into his eyes, only then realizing the position she was in. Never had she kissed Curtis the way she’d just kissed Jesse. It would never have occurred to her to try to get closer to him the way she always wanted to be closer to Jesse. Why did she feel so much passion for this man, when she felt nothing for the man she’d been with for so long?

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” She shook her head. “You know me. I believe marriage is forever.”

“So do I. I think you and I could make a better marriage than anyone else I know.”

She moved to the couch beside him, her face bright red with embarrassment. How had she ended up on his lap anyway? She didn’t remember moving there. “I…”

“You know I’ll treat you like a princess. There’s so much between us. Why hesitate? Do something spontaneous for once in your life.” He wanted to sweep her off her feet and carry her into her small bedroom at the other end of the trailer. He knew she’d marry him once he’d made love to her, but he couldn’t do that to her. She had to make the decision without guilt in the mix.

She frowned at his words. Curtis had once used them to try to get her into his bed. He’d been sure she’d been overthinking everything, which was a bit true. His kisses never held her attention, so she’d had plenty of time to think while he’d tried to persuade her to do what she didn’t want to do.

But this was Jesse. Her best friend. Her co-star. The only man alive who could set her body on fire. Finally, she nodded. “On one condition. I don’t want anyone to know we’re marrying to keep me out of the tabloids. I want everyone to think we did it for love.”

Jesse nodded. “I don’t want anyone to think anything else.” He stood, capturing her hand in his and dragged her out of her trailer and toward the main house, where he knew the director and producers would be re-watching their footage of the day, making certain nothing needed to be reshot.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to talk to Steven. Tell him we’ll be back Sunday evening.”

“Are you going to tell him we’re going to get married?” As the words passed Valerie’s lips, she realized just how much they meant to her. She was marrying a man she respected and cared for. A man she could love—someday.

When Steven saw them walking toward him hand-in-hand, he grinned. “You two finally figure out what the rest of us have known forever?” he asked.

Jesse grinned at the words. Everyone had known how attracted he was to Valerie forever. He couldn’t hide his obvious reaction to their kissing scenes. No other woman had ever made his body react that way with so many people watching. There was just something very special about Valerie. “We’re taking off for the weekend.”

Steven raised an eyebrow. “You are? Didn’t I just see Curtis?” He looked around as if expecting the man to pop out of nowhere.

Valerie hid her internal cringe at the name. She knew he’d cause problems if he could find a way. “I called it quits with Curtis. Jesse and I are flying to Vegas to get married.” The grin that split the older man’s face surprised Valerie. Did everyone hate Curtis? “I guess you approve?” she asked.

“Anyone who has ever seen you two together approves.”

Jesse smiled at the words, lifting Valerie’s hand to his lips and kissing it softly. “We’ll see you Monday morning. I’m sure we’ll get back Sunday night, but I’m not wasting a single minute hanging out with you freaks when I could be alone with her.”

Steven laughed. “No one’s arguing with you there.” He waved his hand in a shooing motion. “Go. Have fun. Be ready to work on Monday.”

“We will,” Valerie promised. She looked at Jesse. “We’ll have to spend at least some time working on learning our lines this weekend.”

“We’ll take the scripts on the plane.”

They separated for a few minutes while they packed their bags, getting ready for the trip. Then they drove the hour and a half drive to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport from the small ranch outside Wiggieville, Texas, where the show was filmed. It was easy to catch a first class flight to Vegas, because there were planes leaving every hour for the popular tourist destination.

As they waited for their flight to be called, Valerie glanced at Jesse, who was reading his script, but clutching her hand. “Have we lost our minds?”

“Lost them? On the contrary, I think I’ve found mine.” He squeezed her hand and continued reading his script.

Once they were on the plane and buckled, she snuggled under the blanket provided. “I may sleep on the way there. Are we getting married as soon as we land?”

He nodded. “That’s my plan. I’m not spending another night without you in my arms.”

“Maybe we should take it slow. Get used to being married.” She knew he didn’t want to wait for sex, but she wasn’t certain she could just jump into bed that fast—even with Jesse.

“Sure. No problem. We’ll take everything nice and slow.” Jesse pressed his lips against her ear. “Except the sex. That’s going to be hot and crazy.”

She felt warm just thinking about it. She knew she was blushing. “You need to behave yourself.” She rested her head against his shoulder, knowing she really didn’t want him to behave. She felt so comfortable with him, in a way she never had anyone else.

“Oh my God! It’s Dylan and Jo! From
Lazy Love
!” A teenaged girl was standing in the crowded aisle looking at Jesse and Valerie.

Valerie smiled. “Hi.” She reached automatically into the oversized bag she always carried for a publicity photo of her with Jesse and took out a pen. “Who do you want me to make it out to?”

“My name is Megan.” The girl spelled it slowly. “I watch your show every week!” Her eyes darted back and forth between the two actors. “Are you two a couple in real life?”

Jesse smiled. “Can you keep a secret?” he asked, knowing the girl wouldn’t keep what they were doing a secret, and that was the reason he wanted to tell her. He wanted their elopement in the press before Curtis could get his story there.

Megan nodded, her eyes bright with excitement. “Yes, I can. Anything for you!”

“We’re on our way to get married. No one knows except our director.”

Megan’s hand went to her heart. “Seriously? You’re getting married in real life?”

Jesse nodded before taking the photo from Valerie and signing his own name to it. He handed it to her, while Valerie spoke. “He’s telling the truth. In a few hours, we’ll be married.”

Valerie put her hand on Jesse’s thigh, breathing a sigh of relief when he squeezed it with his own. She was so nervous. Not since the audition for the part of Jo had she been quite this nervous. Maybe it was only the really important things in life that made a woman so nervous.

“Wow. That’s so cool! When will you get married on the show?”

Valerie smiled at the question she was so used to hearing. “As soon as the writers write it in. I’m glad we don’t have to wait for them in real life, though.” Her eyes were on Jesse’s face as she spoke.

“Not as glad as I am,” Jesse muttered under his breath as the girl was moved down the aisle toward the back of the plane.

“I can’t believe we’re doing something quite this spontaneous. It took us six months to even kiss on the show.”

“There’s a big difference though. I’ve been kissing you for four years as we film. I don’t want to wait for a long engagement. Whatever they do with Jo and Dylan, Valerie and Jesse are going to live the lives they want to live. And I want to be with you every minute of every day.”

Her breath caught at his words. “Really?”

He chuckled softly. “I haven’t made that obvious with everything I do? How many nights have I been at your place until three in the morning practicing the lines I’d had memorized for days?”

She grinned. “You were helping me. You’re a good friend.”

“I’ll be a better husband,” he said with a grin, his dimples showing.

“You will?”

He nodded, his eyes meeting hers. “Oh yeah.”

She reached out and caught the front of his shirt, pulling him to her for a kiss. “I’ll be a good wife to you.”

He returned her kiss, a smile on his lips. It was something her character had done many times, and he liked the way life was imitating art. Jo was much more outgoing than Valerie was. He was surprised an actress could be as tenderhearted and nervous as his co-star.

“Where are we staying?” she asked, as she pulled back from the kiss. As many times as they’d kissed in front of a crowd for a television camera, she still didn’t feel like kissing in public was something they should be doing.

“I got us a suite at Caesars. Not that we’re going to need any more than a bed.”

She blushed at that. “We’re going to have to eat as well.”

“Speak for yourself.” He caught her hand and brought it to his lips. “I don’t want to set foot outside that room even once.

“Room service?”

He shrugged. “I guess we can do that!”

She shook her head. “Are you trying to channel Dylan?”

“Dylan thinks about Jo the way I think about you! No need to channel him. I’ve given the writers lots of ideas for what he’d say to Jo.”

“Have you really?” She hadn’t heard that at all.

He nodded emphatically. “I even thought about writing an episode once, but the producers said we couldn’t spend an entire show in bed, so I gave up on the idea.”

She laughed softly. “Jesse, you are so bad!”

He shrugged. “That’s why you’re marrying me.”

Valerie frowned at that. She was marrying him because he made her feel safe. The passion was just a bonus. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. Ever. She thought back to an episode where some men had gone into the ranch house with rifles, because they were hiding out from the police. It had been her mild-mannered veterinarian who had rescued her, and she’d rushed into his arms. Never had she felt so at peace as she had filming that last scene of the episode.

He caught her look and frowned. “Why do you think you’re marrying me?” He was almost afraid of what her answer would be. With as long as he’d had feelings for her, she’d never given any indication she returned them. Other than the passion she brought to their kissing scenes, of course. And that passion told him everything he needed to know about how she
really
felt. He just hoped she was aware of her feelings for him.

She looked down at her hands, trying to find the best way to tell him how she felt without hurting his feelings. “I—well, you make me feel safe. I love our passion, don’t get me wrong. But it’s the security I crave from you.”

He nodded slowly. “I can understand that. In a week, you’ll forget you ever felt safe with me.”

She looked at him with surprise. “I will?”

“You’ll be too busy remembering how good the passion feels to worry about security.”

She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. “You’re probably right. So I’ll enjoy feeling safe with you until we get to Vegas.”

He put an arm around her shoulders. “Do you want me to wake you when the meals come?”

Valerie shook her head. “No, I’m more tired than hungry.”

His smile looked positively feral. “Then you sleep. I’ll wake you when we land.” He kissed the top of her head as she snuggled in even closer. She’d need all the sleep she could get.

CHAPTER 2

F
ive hours later, Jesse ushered Valerie into their suite at Caesars. “I’ll buy you a ring when we get back to Texas,” he promised. “I hope you don’t feel less married because you don’t have one.”

She looked at her bare hand. “I don’t think I feel any less married without one. I don’t feel married at all. How does married
feel
?”