The Unidentified Redhead (1) (16 page)

“Hey, Sheridan, where are you?”

My heart lurched at the sound of his voice. Even though it had only been a few hours since I'd seen him, I'd missed him.

This is getting serious.

No kidding.

“In here!” I yelled, and listened to him walk towards us. When he came around the corner, I grinned at the sight of him. I let my eyes travel over him. The late afternoon California sun was streaming through the windows, making him glow. Black leather jacket, green t-shirt, black jeans, and…the ball cap. Dammit, the ball cap would have to go. I needed to see those curls, they were just too good. He smiled, biting down gently on his lower lip, and I nodded to him as I continued talking to Chad.

“So, the colors for the painter have already been chosen and I taped the swatches up in each room. Also, there are some scuff marks on the tile in the shower that have yet to be removed. Can we take care of that this weekend?” I motioned to Jack to follow us as we finished our tour and he tagged along. He was smiling at me with that devious grin and I wondered what he was thinking.

He watched me as I walked around the house, making notes with the contractor on things that they were still working on. I noticed he was eying my legs with great interest. I was still wearing what I had worn to my audition, black pencil skirt, black turtleneck, wide red belt and red pumps, very 40's style. I had my hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail and I was still wearing my glasses. I winked at him over the rims when I was discussing the new Viking stove with Chad and he winked back. I felt his eyes on me as we walked around and I might have put a little extra sway in my hips. I knew he was watching, you see…

By the time Chad had left, the rest of the crew had disappeared and it was just Jack and I. Most of the lights were off and he'd wandered back into the house while I saw Chad out. Then, I walked through the rooms, looking for him.

“Hey, Hamilton, where are you?” I called out.

“In here, Nuts Girl,” he answered. He was in my bedroom.

I walked in and saw him looking at the walls where I had instructed the painter to test out different swatches of paint color.

“Hey,” I said softly

“Hey, yourself,” he answered.

We stared at each other from across the room for a moment.

“Is it crazy that I missed you, even for that short amount of time?” I asked boldly, putting it right out there.

“Is it crazy that I missed you and I almost called Holly to find out where your audition was so I could pick you up?” he answered.

“Is it crazy that I want to kiss you so badly right now I almost can't stand it?” I countered, walking across the room towards him.

“Is it crazy that when I saw you in that insanely sexy outfit that I wanted to ravage you on that pile of furniture pads in the other room?” he finished, crossing to me and meeting me halfway.

“Is it crazy that—” I couldn't finish, his mouth was on mine.

Is it crazy that you are probably in love with this guy after only a few weeks?

Yep. Apeshit, batshit, insane crazy in love. Shit.

Just don't tell him that…

Don't worry.

The_Unidentified_Redhead

Chapter Fifteen

We made out like teenagers, standing in my new bedroom, kissing and caressing softly. There wasn't the urgency of earlier, although I could sense that it could be brought to the surface within seconds. Now there was gentleness, a quietness to our exploration. I had forgotten what it felt like to simply kiss a man and have him kiss me back, echoing my pace. This was sweet, nurturing, lovely and loving.

This was a romance that was beginning.

We kissed until the sun began to set, and he leaned my head on his shoulder, catching me into a close embrace. He smoothed my hair back into a ponytail and kissed near my ear.

“Is it crazy that—” he began.

“Let's not start that again. We agree, we are both crazy,” I interrupted, patting him on the backside.

“I wasn't finished, you rude girl,” he said, frowning down at me.

“Oops, sorry. Please continue,” I apologized.

“I was going to say, is it crazy that I think your tits look amazing in that turtleneck?” I pulled back to look at him. He was gazing down at me with a twinkle in his eye.

“You have a one track mind, Johnny Bite Down.”

“That's true, I do.” He laughed.

“And the turtleneck might have something to do with the hickey you left behind!” I scolded, pulling it down so he could see what he did. He just rolled his eyes and laughed.

“By the way, I'm going to make a rule, right here and now,” I continued, pulling out of his arms altogether and facing him with my hands on my hips. When I saw him laughing, I jiggled my chest at him. He was mesmerized instantly. Now that I knew the girls had such power over him, I would be using them more often.

“Eyes up here, Hamilton…my rule?” I dragged his focus back.

“Yes, your rule. What is it?” he asked, moving closer to me again.

“This,” I said, flicking his lower lip. “You are not allowed to bite down on that lower lip unless you are planning on spending at least an hour using it on me,”

“What is with you and my lip? I don't see the big deal.” He frowned, making a show of biting down aggressively.

“It's hot OK? Just plain hot, so knock it off! Promise me…hey, promise me!” I snapped my fingers and squeezed his face, pushing his cheeks together so that his lips werepushed out. “Promise me you'll be my Johnny Bite Down, and mine alone or no more slap and tickle.”

“Grace, please, if I want a little, what did you call it? Slap and tickle? I do believe if I want a little of anything, you'll be begging to give it to me,” he challenged.

I raised my eyebrows at him and prepared to go nuclear on his ass.

He called your bluff. You will totally give him anything he wants, whenever he wants it.

Dammit.

“But, in the interest of keeping the peace…and our dinner reservation,” he began, “I will agree to attempt to restrain the biting down until I can, what did you say, use it on you…as much as I can help it…agreed?” He smiled that grin that he knew I couldn't resist and I melted.

“Yes, please, thank you.” I smiled back. He kissed me softly again as I fixed his hair and we made our way back through the house, locking it on our way out.

We decided to take my car, but he drove. We went to Yamashiro's, a Japanese restaurant in the hills with amazing views of Los Angeles. He had timed dinner just right so that when we were pulling into the lot, the sun was finally setting in the west, leaving behind a lovely glow around the gardens. This restaurant was actually situated in a series of Japanese gardens and was a rather famous place to dine in L.A. It was also very romantic, something that was not lost on me. The boy did good.

We settled into a table by the windows so we could watch the sunset, and after ordering our sushi and sake, I excused myself to run to the ladies room. I checked my reflection in the mirror, smoothing my hair, and noticed the flush in my face. Right before I had left the table Jack had mentioned what he planned to do to me later that night, and it was enough to get my blood pumping.

It may have involved his tongue.

I overheard two girls talking back and forth between the stalls, obviously discussing a celebrity that was dining here tonight.

“I saw him over by the window! Damn, he looks good. He is all dressed up; normally when I see him out he's much grungier.”

“He is fucking hot is what he is. I wonder who he's with?”

“Eh, some woman, it must be business related. Maybe it's a meeting. That's probably why he's dressed up.”

The hairs on the back of my neck began to prickle. I had a pretty good idea who they were talking about and who “some woman” was. I ducked my head into my purse to hide my face, but as they exited the stalls, I took a quick look.

They were tall. They were beautiful. They were young. They stood at the counter, washing their hands and touching up their lip-gloss. I suddenly felt like a fool, an old fool. One of them, I'll call her Stunning, caught my eye in the mirror and she spun around.

“Oh! You're the one that's eating with Jack Hamilton, right?” she exclaimed. The other one, Also Stunning, took me in, eyes flickering over me head to toe. Not being judged any kind of threat, she turned around as well, with a saccharine smile.

I looked at Stunning and said, “Yes, yes I am. Did you want me to relay a message to him?” I asked, remembering my manners and that Holly would not want me to start a brawl over her client in a ladies' room.

“Oh no, we'll maybe stop by the table later. Will you two be meeting long? We were hoping he might want to grab a drink with us afterwards,” Stunning answered, as Also Stunning smiled at the thought.

Breathe, Grace…

The fact that they had already dismissed me as competition pissed me off royally, but I kept my cool. “You know, I really don't know how long, but you're welcome to stop by the table. Jack always enjoys meeting his fans.” I took one last glance in the mirror and swiftly exited.

My heart was pounding as I made my way back to the table. This was ludicrous, what I was doing, the idea that this could work past a few manic sexy times…ludicrous. We were worlds apart, despite the connection that we truly had.

I was a thirty something with a giant mortgage and a fledgling career. He was about to be a huge movie star that should be with girls like Stunning and Also Stunning back there. A thousand thoughts ran through my head in the thirty seconds it took me to walk back to our table and all but one ran back out as soon as I saw him.

He stood up when I got to my chair and pulled it out for me. His hand found the small of my back as he guided me into my seat, and then it rose up my spine and landed at the nape of my neck, his fingers tapering out to slide under the fabric, grazing the skin underneath. It was a sweet moment, more telling than a dozen red roses or a box of chocolates or anything else he could have done.

He wants you. Why, we don't know. But he does. He wants his crazy girl, his Nuts Girl.

I caught the eye of Also Stunning as the pair walked back through the bar. I couldn't help but plant a soft kiss on his fingertips as they moved from the back of my neck to my cheek. His hand finally settled over my own on the tabletop, clasping my fingers with his in clear view of everyone in the restaurant.

I saw her nudge Stunning and the two of them stared at our entwined hands. I could not stop the slight smirk that flitted across my face as their eyes narrowed at me. Jack was oblivious to all of this, as most men are in the ways of snide womanly behavior.

I sipped my sake, sucked my edamame, and in spite of the slight confidence burst the smirk had given me, tried to ignore the quiet but persistent alarm bells that had begun to ring in my head.

***

After dinner, I dropped Jack off at his car, agreeing to meet him at Holly's as soon as he picked up a few things from his apartment. There was no discussion about him spending the night, it was just silently agreed upon that neither one of us would be sleeping alone any time soon.

I pulled into Holly's driveway, thinking about what had happened right before we left the restaurant. We'd had a wonderful time. On two occasions girls approached the table, and they were so young it was sweet to watch Jack interact with them. Thankfully, the Whores stayed away. I think they knew better.

We were standing by the valet stand, waiting for the car to be pulled around, and Jack held my hand while I naughtily kissed his neck. That's when I saw flashes. There was a photographer…and he had gotten it all. I immediately dropped his hand, trying to melt away into the background. He smiled for the camera a few times and then the person backed off. I looked guiltily at him as the valet brought my car to the front, and Jack walked around to open the passenger side for me.

“Don't worry about it. No harm done,” he whispered, getting me tucked in before tipping the valet, taking the keys and pulling away from the restaurant.

“Oh man, that's not good. I know Holly is going to kill me.”

“Grace, if I'm not concerned, why should you be? Maybe soon you'll be the identified redhead,” he teased. I smiled, but I knew she was not going to be pleased if that picture showed up anywhere.

Thirty minutes later, I let myself in the backdoor, hearing her call out my name from the living room. She was curled up on the couch watching the news.

“Hey, asshead. How was dinner?”

“It was good.”

“Where's Jack? No orgy tonight?”

“He's stopping by his place to pick up a few things and then he'll be along.” I smiled, grabbing a piece of the brownie that she was munching on.

“So we have a few minutes to talk?” she asked.

“Yeah, what's up?”

“Well, remember the meeting with the producers for that musical you auditioned for a few weeks ago? The one that's still being work shopped? They want to see you again.”

“Seriously? That's great! When is it?”

“Tomorrow, so I wouldn't recommend any screaming tonight. Besides, I can't take another night like last night.”

“That's OK. I can't either.” I smiled, thinking of how much I'd enjoyed myself, then shook my head to clear it and started up the stairs.

“Will you send him up when he gets here?” I called over my shoulder.

“Yes'm.”

As I headed upstairs, my thoughts moved from my Brit to the meeting tomorrow. This musical was very exciting, exactly what I would love to be doing.

'My Brit?' When did you start calling him your Brit?

Shhhh…

***

I changed into my white Polo button down, yawning. I was still tired from last night. I slipped between the sheets and was already starting on the last story in the series when I heard Jack coming up the stairs. I smiled in anticipation of seeing him again, and when he opened the door to my bedroom, his smile mirrored my own.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey, yourself,” he answered, bringing a duffle bag and a guitar case into the room with him.

“What, are you moving in?” I asked, shocked at the size of his bag.