HH01 - A Humble Heart (8 page)

slapped first thing in the morning.

“Why are you here?” she demanded. “Turn around while you’re explaining so I can get dressed.”

He did. “I’m here because I was up until four this morning. Then Amy, annoyingly chipper, woke me up a little after five

and dragged me here.”

She chuckled despite herself. Amy could really over do it with her cheerful attitude. “No, I meant why are you in this

bed?”

“Oh, well there’s only a twin in my trailer and it’s really lumpy. I didn’t think you would be here and I need more sleep.

I’m sorry that I scared you.”

She pulled on her tee shirt. “Okay, you can get dressed now.”

Edward looked at his watch. It was only six thirty. “Ah, actually I could really go for a little more sleep.” He gestured to

the bed. “Do you mind?”

She shook her head. “Of course not. I’ll be quiet.” She closed the door behind her, carrying her shoes and socks with her.

Edward dropped back on the bed. Seeing her naked frustrated the hell out of him. It had been way too long since the last

time he was with a woman and Dana was like filet mignon. He buried his face in the pillow and groaned his frustration.

For the past two weeks he'd dropped hints that he was interested in her. He asked her out several times and each time he

messed up and ended up hanging out with her and Amy or her and Deana or all three. Sometimes they spent the night with the

kids, which he actually really liked. Then they worked late at her house on the book. He came close several times to kissing her

and each time chickened out and kissed her cheek or forehead.

The way he was acting he really by all rights should be a virgin. He had no skills or confidence when it came to Dana.

He’d gone out with plenty of models and actresses without a problem so why couldn’t he ask out an author?

********

highly anticipated movie adaption of her book.

Amy walked up behind her. “That’s really not a bad picture,” she said casually.

Dana turned several shades of red. “It’s an embarrassing photo.”

“You don’t like your picture taken?” Amy asked offhandedly, but Dana detected something more than curiosity in her

words.

“Amy, what’s going on?” Dana asked, focusing on Amy’s suddenly nervous expression.

“They want you to do a photo shoot and an interview with People magazine,” Amy said apologetically.

Dana groaned, “When?”

Amy grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet. “Now!” she said excitedly. Dana closed her computer and placed it

under the couch.

“Okay, let’s go,” she said dejectedly.

Amy opened the door. “Okay, come in.” Several women carrying garment bags, make-up and shoes walked into the

trailer.

“What’s going on?” Dana asked.

“This is for the photo shoot,” Amy said innocently.

Dana gestured to the bags. “What do they expect me to wear? And why can’t I wear what I have on?” She gestured to her

jeans and tank top.

Amy rolled her eyes. “Honestly, between you and Edward I have my hands full. Just let them work their magic,” Amy

said.

An hour later Dana walked out in a baby blue silk cocktail dress with spaghetti straps. Amy was practically bouncing

along side of her. Dana leaned over and whispered to Amy. “You do realize payback’s a bitch, right?”

That seemed to make Amy giggle. “Totally worth it! You look amazing!”

“Thanks,” Dana said dryly. She liked what they did to her hair and make-up, but she refused to give Amy that knowledge

since she was already too damn happy. Dana feared they would have to cut sugar out of her diet, soon. She was just too damn

cheerful all the time.

Rick walked over to her, smiling. “Damn, Dana, you look great.” He took her hand and led her into the studio. She was

surprised to see a large white back drop with bright lights set up off to the side of the set.

Edward paced the area. She noticed he was wearing a black suit with a baby blue shirt. The first two buttons were undone

making him look irresistible. When he saw her he stopped pacing and noticeably swallowed, taking her new look in. He

walked over to her.

“I’m really sorry, Dana. The studio and your editor decided we needed to give an interview about the book. I tried to talk

them out of it, but they wouldn’t listen.”

She turned her focus on Rick. “Rick, we’re only ten chapters into the book. We’re not ready to talk about it, and we're

certainly not giving details,” she scolded him.

Rick tried to give her an innocent look but she wasn’t having it. “I’m not giving any details, Rick.”

He put his hands up. “That’s fine. Just talk about what it’s like to work with him, stuff like that.”

She sighed, “Fine.”

A man stepped forward in an expensive suit. She pegged him for a reporter instantly. “Dana, thank you for granting this

interview. I really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem.” She gave him a soft smile which he returned easily.

“If you don’t mind I would like to get some pictures of the two of you,” he said, leading her over to the white background.

She nodded. “I’ve never done this before.”

“I’ll help you,” Edward said.

“Thank you.” He took her hand and led her in front of the camera.

“Okay, guys, for this shoot I just want you to act normal. There’s no direction so just talk,” the photographer said.

Dana was beyond nervous. Not only had she never done something like this before, but now she had to figure out what to

do. She was so afraid of turning the wrong way or making a bad move and end up looking like a total weirdo.

“This is nice, let me guess, Amy?” Edward said, gesturing to her dress.

She looked down at her dress and looked back at Edward to find him smiling. “Yeah, I think she went a little overboard.

It took everything I had to get her to relax.” She absently pushed a strand of hair back over her ear. Edward reached out and

fixed it into place.

“Did you know your sister actually tried to get me to wear a gown to this thing?” she asked, laughing.

Edward easily returned her laugh. “I’m not surprised since she tried to make me wear a tux.”

Dana reached out and ran a hand down his jacket smoothing it out. “That definitely would have been overkill.”

Edward watched Dana smooth down his jacket and had to stop himself from grinning like an idiot. What the hell was

wrong with him? He forced himself to focus on anything but her silky dress that seemed to cling to every curve of her body.

“So, I hear the third book is coming out today,” he said casually.

He was surprised to see the look of confusion on her face. “What day is it?” she asked him.

“June twelfth.”

Her hands went to her face. “Oh no!” she cried.

Edward was instantly alarmed. His hands went to her arms and gently pulled her closer to him. “Dana, what’s wrong?”

She dropped her hands from her face. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. I

just forgot about something.” She looked into his eyes and tried to force a smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

Something was wrong. Granted, he'd only known her for a couple of weeks, but he knew this wasn’t her. It was like the

life had instantly been sucked out of her. She stepped away from his embrace.

“I’m all set guys.” The photographer informed them. “Mike, they’re all yours.”

The reporter stepped forward. “Okay, where’s a good spot to do this interview?”

“Dana’s trailer,” Edward said. He took her hand without another word and gently tugged her in the direction of her trailer.

*******

You must be very excited,” Mike said.

She nodded. “It’s still very overwhelming.” She tried to smile.

For the last half hour Edward studied her. This was definitely not her. She ran a hand through her hair and looked at her

watch every two minutes. She crossed her legs again. He sat back and let his eyes run over her long tanned smooth legs while

he tried to figure out what was wrong. He wondered if she had a date and decided he didn’t like the idea and moved on to

something else.

“Edward, what do you think about writing a book? You’ve been an actor for the last six years. How does it compare?”

Mike asked.

He forced himself to look at Mike. “I find myself really enjoying the process. Acting is still my passion, but I can

definitely see why Dana does what she does. It’s exciting and interesting.” So was she, he thought.

“Dana, your very first book is being made into a movie, I hear you’re currently writing another book aside from the one

you’re working on with Edward, you have two small children…how has this affected your personal life? Or you able to have a

personal life with a busy schedule like that?”

Dana looked at him nervously.

“Not to touch on too personal an issue, but I’ve heard from several sources that since your divorce you have kept dating to

a minimum, why is that?” he pressed.

Edward turned to watch her as he eagerly waited for her answer. “Well, my life is pretty chaotic at times. I enjoy

spending my free time with my kids and weekends are completely dedicated to them. I’m a bit of a workaholic I guess you

could say. I make it a point to write every day no matter what the day holds. Other than that I spend a great deal of time with my

kids and friends.”

Mike smirked. “That didn’t answer my question about men.”

“I guess you could say I’m shell shocked from the whole experience. I would rather wait for the right man then go for the

right here in front of me guy. I’ve gone out with several men in the last few months. They were nice, but there was nothing

beyond friendship.”

“What are you looking for in a man?” Mike asked and Edward had to fight the urge to kiss the man for this.

She blew out a breath slowly. “Well, I guess I would like a laid back guy, someone who loves kids, funny, smart and kept

it interesting.”

Edward gave himself a mental overview. He believed he could meet that description. He hoped. For the past three weeks

he tried to build up enough nerve to ask her out. That never happened to him before. Usually he asked a woman out the second

the thought occurred to him, but with Dana he was a bundle of nerves. He was afraid he was already half in love with her. Amy

teased him nonstop when Dana wasn’t around. And when she was, Amy made little innuendos that Dana seemed to either

ignore or was completely oblivious of them.

“Edward, I have to ask on behalf of the women out there. How’s your love life been affected by the addition of this

book?” he asked Edward, but he was staring at Dana in a way Edward didn’t like.

“I’ve taken myself off the market for now. I’m focusing on work and my family.” Edward glared at the man who saw

staring at Dana with great interest. Dana didn’t seem to notice. She was staring at her watch when she wasn’t gently pulling the

edge of her dress over her knee for the thousandth time, not that Edward was staring, but of course he was. He couldn’t help

himself.

“I have everything I need. You guys have been great,” Mike said, smiling. He stood up and shook their hands. Edward

went to gesture towards the door, but was completely taken back when Mike put his tape recorder away and moved to sit next

to Dana.

“Dana, I have to be honest with you. I don’t usually do pieces like this. I took this assignment hoping to talk to you. I’ve

wanted to ask you out since the luncheon we both attended two months back, but I couldn’t manage to work up the nerve. I was

wondering if you would have dinner with me tonight.” Mike asked in a gentle voice, trying not to come off as intimidating or

desperate.

Dana’s eyes shot up to Edward’s. She looked nervous and….she was gauging his response? He was sure of it. He shook

his head slightly, telling her not to accept. He would have screamed it, but that seemed too obvious to him. Dana bit her lip

nervously. She seemed unsure what to do or what to say. He had no claim on her so he couldn’t say anything. The only thing he

could do was wait for her answer.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to put you on the spot,” Mike said apologetically.

She turned to look at him. “No, it just took me by surprise that’s all.” She smiled.

“So, would you?” Mike prompted.

Edward opened his mouth to say something when she looked back at him quickly. Damn, she really didn’t know what to

do. He never saw her act like this before. He personally saw at least ten guys ask her out a day and she always politely

declined and he'd heard from Amy that she was asked out several more times when he wasn’t around.

Dana sat nervously between Edward and Mike. She hadn't expected Mike’s invitation and she was really uncomfortable

mostly because Edward was standing there waiting a little too eagerly for her answer. He seemed to be more anxious about it

then Mike was. When he shook his head she had to stop herself from asking Edward what was going on between the two of

them in front of Mike. She could only think of one vague answer that would satisfy the situation and not hurt Mike’s feelings.

“Off the record?” she asked.