Pretending He's Mine (12 page)

He didn’t even like Scrabble. But Jill said the game would help take her mind off the fact that she was about to sing and act with Patrick Carlson in an audition for a Frederick Stillman musical tomorrow. He understood the crazy kind of nerves and mind games you played with yourself as an actor, so he’d said yes to Scrabble.

“Jihad!” Kat declared as she placed four tiles around an “h.”

“Damn. Your prowess with words makes me hot,” Bryan said and looped his arms around her waist and dived in for a kiss.

Jill looked at Reeve and rolled her eyes. “It’s been like this for the last few days. Ever since they came out of the closet as boyfriend-girlfriend, they make googly eyes and practice PDA like it’s going out of style.”

Bryan pointed a finger at Jill. “Hey. PDA with my woman is never going out of style.”

“Stop it, Bryan,” Kat said but she elbowed him in a way that made it clear she didn’t want him to stop. “And let the record reflect that not only did I score an awesome word, I got a triple letter for J and a double word score so add it up, babies. Add. It. Up. That is 64 points for moi.”

“See? When you find a woman who has brains and beauty, you don’t let her go.”

“Yeah, you learned that lesson, didn’t you?” Kat said to Bryan in a playful, but pointed way.

“Learned it, and will live the good side forever and ever now.”

“God, I think I’m going to gag. I also think I need a coffee. Kat, come with me to the bodega,” Jill said as she stood up.

Kat shrugged. “If you need an escort for coffee, then I insist we go someplace with macchiattos.”

“Works for me. We’ll be back in fifteen. You boys want something?” Jill asked.

“Nah, I’m good,” Bryan said.

“Same here,” Reeve added, and the girls were gone.

There was an awkward moment, and Reeve wasn’t sure if he should apologize for having hit on Kat before or just talk about sports, the natural guy conversational lubricant. “Think the Yankees have a shot next year?”

Bryan nodded. “Hell yeah. The Yankees have a shot every year.”

There was another pause, but Bryan jumped in. “So you and Jill have been buddies for a long time?”

Reeve nodded. “A couple years, but we became tighter when we did Les Mis.”

“She’s cool. Kat thinks the world of her.”

“Yeah, so speaking of Kat, I guess you hate me because I asked her out for a drink once.”

Bryan laughed quickly and shook his head. “No, not at all.”

Reeve held up his hands. “She turned me down, dude. I swear.”

“We are good, Reeve. Trust me, we’re all good on this.” Bryan held out his hand for an official let-the-past-be-the-past shake. “What about Jill though? Are you into her?”

“Funny. Everyone asks me that, but we’re really just friends.”

“Are you…?” Bryan let the question trail off.

“I just told you I hit on your girlfriend and you’re asking if I’m gay? No!”

Bryan shrugged. “You never know. Whatever works, I say.”

“Besides, there’s someone else. At least I thought there was.”

Bryan nodded. “Ah. The picture becomes clear now. What’s the story?”

Reeve didn’t want to get into the details. He’d already been there with Jill. Besides, it was too complicated and confusing, so he kept it simple as he fiddled with some Scrabble tiles. “She’s hot and cold, and I don’t know why. But I think it’s because she doesn’t know or doesn’t believe that I’m really into her. It’s this weird thing with actors. It’s like, sometimes the people you go out with never really trust you because they always think you’re acting.”

“That kind of sucks,” Bryan said.

“Yeah.”

“But listen, are you into her?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Then you have to let her know.”

“I thought I had.”

“Maybe you thought you had, but if she’s not sure, make it clear,” Bryan said and there was something emphatic in his voice, like he was a preacher speaking from the pulpit. “Trust me on this. I fucked up with that girl,” he said and pointed in the direction of the door to indicate Kat. “I let her go for a stupid reason. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I was an ass. And I regretted it for five years. I’m even friends with her brother. I knew she’d graduated college and that I should try to reach out to her again, but I didn’t have the guts to ask him how she was doing. It’s like I was paralyzed with stupidity. So I just Googled her now and then. I read about her business. And even if I had asked her brother, I doubt he would have helped because I’d never told him in the first place I was in love with his sister. So at that point, you know what I had to do to get her back?”

“What did you have to do?”

Bryan shook his head and laughed. “I went to NYU and I signed up for this mentorship class. I knew she was at school there, and I figured it was the best chance I had just to spend time with her. To get to know her again. And I got matched with her, and it was a crazy time for my company. We were being sued and my business partner turned out to be insane, but in the end it brought us back together. And I had to lay it out there with her. I had to tell her how I felt. That it was always her. That I’d always loved her. That she was the one for me.”

“Good for you. That’s awesome. ‘Cause, obviously, she’s pretty damn happy.”

“I’m pretty damn happy. So listen, whether you love this chick or just like her, you need to make it abundantly clear. Put your heart on a goddamn platter and give her the choice to be with you.”

Reeve stood up. “You are a steely-eyed missile man. Or a wise man. Or Yoda. Or something. I’m gonna go find her.”

“One more thing,” Bryan said from his post on the couch. “Don’t show up empty handed. Bring her a gift. But not flowers or chocolate. Get her something that matters to her.”

Something that matters to her.

Reeve knew exactly what that was.

♦ ♦ ♦

“Is this going to fit?”

He held up the sweater thing and asked the saleswoman.

She nodded. “Yes, for that size and weight. It’ll be a perfect fit.”

“Okay. Can you wrap it? But nothing too girly. Maybe just a black bow or something?”

The saleswoman nodded, and minutes later she handed him the gift. He paid for it, thanked her, and ran the few blocks from the Madison Avenue shop to Sutton’s apartment building. He buzzed once and waited. There was no answer. He called her. She didn’t pick up her phone. Damn, this was going to hell quickly. So much for his big gesture. He looked down at the gift. Was it even the right big gesture?

He buzzed once more, but was met with silence.

“Come along, darling. Let’s go home and have some dinner.”

He smiled to himself at the sound of her voice, then turned around. She was looking the other way as The Artful Dodger sniffed a bush. She looked adorable in her jeans and pullover jacket. She had a scarf around her neck, and her hair was down. He loved her hair. He wanted to bury his face in her hair, and run his fingers through those beautiful strands.

He ran down the steps and stopped in front of her.

“Oh.” She seemed taken aback to see him.

“Hi.”

“Hello.”

“How are you?”

“I’m great. How are you? Are you so excited about the movie? I bet your agent is thrilled. I’m so proud of you. I knew you could do it.”

Reeve placed a hand on her arm. “You’re babbling. You’re making small talk. You’re chatting about business. I’m not here on business reasons. I’m here on personal reasons,” he said and smiled at her. He hoped she knew the smile was for her. That it was for real. But hoping and wishing wouldn’t be enough. “Sutton, I stand by what I said in the wine closet. You are the most stubborn and complicated woman I have ever known. But I also want to get to know you. I want to know the real you. I want to walk your dog with you and find out how you drink your coffee, and I want to see what you look like in the morning, and even if you think you don’t look hot in the mornings, I already know you’re wrong because you are always hot to me. I said yes to the job because I had a thing for you. I had a crush on you. And then I spent a week with you, and now I have a hell of a lot more than a crush on you.”

He watched her as her features softened, as her hard shell started to break. “What do you mean more than a crush?”

He rolled his eyes. “Sutton Brenner, I. LIKE. YOU. Okay? Not like fake fiancé like. Not like pretend boyfriend like. Not like an actor-trying-to-get-a-role like. I have fallen into mad like with you. And I have no idea if you like me back, okay? You needed something from me and yet it’s like you doubted me every step of the way, and I could be making a complete ass of myself and reading everything wrong, and maybe it was only one way. Maybe it was only me for you. But if you like me at all too, then let’s just see what happens when we’re not trying to get something?”

Sutton muttered something in a small voice.

Reeve shook his head. “I didn’t hear you.”

“I’m sorry I was difficult. I’m sorry I was infuriating. I’m sorry I was hot and cold.”

“It’s okay,” Reeve said and moved closer to her. He glanced down and saw The Artful Dodger wagging his tail. “Your dog looks happy.”

“He’s always happy,” Sutton said with a smile. “He’s also especially happy when I’m happy.”

“Are you then? Happy?”

She nodded. “I like you too,” she said, and he knew how hard it was for her to say those words.

“For real?”

“For real. So for real it’s like beyond real,” she said. “I like you almost as much as I like my dog.”

Reeve wrapped her in an embrace. “Now that’s saying a lot. And speaking of, I got him a gift.”

♦ ♦ ♦

Sutton’s fingers nervously undid the ribbon. Her heart was fluttering and her body was singing, and she felt so foolish for having doubted him. She’d been falling for her actor boy, falling so hard she’d feared how much it would hurt. Now, he was here and he had a gift for her dog. She held the leash tightly in one hand as she opened the box.

She gasped when she saw what was inside. A perfect navy blue fleece coat for the winter months. She pulled it out quickly. “It’s the perfect size for him! How did you know his size?”

Reeve shrugged. “Told you I was good with sizes. I took a wild guess that he was about nine pounds. Was I right?”

“He’s exactly nine pounds! You got my dog a gift,” she said and maybe it seemed small, and maybe it seemed silly, but the fact was Reeve knew the way to her heart was through her dog. “I can’t wait to put it on him. Let’s get rid of this old ratty coat and take him for a walk in his new one.” Then she stopped talking and her nerves came back. “That is, if you want to?”

“Sutton Brenner, I went into a dog accessory shop on Madison Avenue. Yes, I want to walk your dog with you. But there’s also something I want you to do for me.”

“Yes?”

“I want you to ask me to spend the night with you, and I want you to let me stay over.”

She blushed. “Reeve, will you spend the night with me?”

He nodded, and leaned in to brush his lips against hers. It felt good. It felt right. It felt real.

The metal dug into his wrists. The bright lights shone on him. He was handcuffed to the bedpost, wearing only his boxer briefs and cowboy boots. Because that’s what the script dictated the lead actor in Escorted Lives should wear in this scene. And Reeve had not only won a part, as Janelle had promised, he’d won the starring role.

“Tell me when it hurts.”

“Doesn’t hurt,” he said.

A pair of hands wrapped around him, tugging on each end of the handcuffs, tightening them. He felt another pair of hands slide up his back. He sucked in a breath. He could have acted. He could have pretended it didn’t feel great when Sutton Brenner touched him. But it did, it had and it probably always would. Even now, four months later, four months into their real relationship, everything with her was amazing, right down to the real ring he’d put on her finger last week. They weren’t fake fiancés anymore. They’d fallen fast into real like during that one week, and even faster into real love in the months that followed.

But she wasn’t acting in the film with him so she stepped back to take her post with the crew and watch the pivotal scene as the leading client had his way with her male escort. Somewhere, along with the crew too, was Janelle, the peeping tom. She was quite the voyeur, but then everyone had their peccadilloes.

Reeve and Sutton had theirs. They’d done plenty of wild things in their time together, but Reeve’s favorite and Sutton’s too was when he asked her to beg for it. She always did, and he always made sure she was rewarded.

Then they’d fall asleep together, and wake up together, and go to dinner and the movies and dog walks together, and every real second with her was as excellent as every pretend second had been.

Better, actually.

But for now, he put Sutton and their times out of his mind. He had a role to play. A job to do. He was an actor, and he was giving it his all as the camera started to roll.

Dear readers: As a thank you, I wrote two additional scenes from
Caught Up In Us
and they are newly published in eBook form here for the first time! Both are from Bryan’s POV. If you haven’t yet read
Caught Up In Us
, these two scenes contain spoilers.

Xoxo
Lauren

Scene: This scene takes place when Bryan finds Kat at the movie theater midway through the story to tell her how he feels…

I can’t concentrate with her in the conference room. I can barely process a single word my VP of Operations is saying. We have a major problem with a supplier and all I can think of is Kat and how she won’t even talk to me. She’s sitting at the other end of the table, taking notes with a purple pen, and it’s just so her. She’s always loved purple.

I rub a hand over my chin. God, I can’t believe I’m in a meeting thinking about her favorite fucking color, when I should be focusing on the company I’m running so I don’t drive it into the ground.

I push back in my chair and stand up. “Let’s wrap this meeting. I’m going for a run,” I say, then I take off for my office, shut the door, and change into workout clothes. I’m not going to be able to solve any of these supplier problems if I have to be in the same room with her, given how she’s been ignoring me. I need to get her out of my head, since she doesn’t seem to even want to be in the same room.