Page 34 of Nothing to No One

“On set?”

Was that a good thing? What set? She couldn’t mean Roman’s set… could she?

“Perry and I will join you. And Mieux, of course, she’ll make sure everything is just right for you.”

Three months in LA and already someone was offering to peel her grapes. Impressive. If that had ever been her goal. It hadn’t. So much for Struan calming her down. Her last dose of him was wearing off, she needed his coaching, needed him, again already.

TWELVE

SHE’D NEVER BEEN on a movie set, or a TV show set, or any kind of set. The hubbub of activity was wonderous to witness. Or it might be if her head wasn’t already full.

Most of the people at the Brooker Agency meeting hadn’t spoken a word. Which was fine because she hadn’t either. Mieux was on the ball, taking notes, asking questions, and accepting commands as they were dished out by Renata and her supervisors. It was only a few seconds before the meeting ended that it struck her why there were so many purposeless people present: her.

They wanted a look at the small-town girl who’d come to Hollywood, hit the jackpot, and stolen the heart of one of the best-known, handsomest, faces in town. No one acknowledged that his face was so recognizable because of his scandalous exploits, not his acting talent. Maybe that was it, maybe it was exactly that. His face was recognizable for all the wrong reasons, yet she’d caught his eye and turned him around. Her, the opposite of wild, had tamed the untamable.

Funny, she’d moved away from home to experience new things and take risks. Men. Jobs. Opportunities. Adventures. Whatever came her way, she was supposed to embrace each chance, to be untameable herself, kinda. And there she was, tied down by a man, and a job, opportunities she didn’t want, and escapades outside her control. Not that she wanted escapades with the man tethering her.

Struan. He’d be a different escapade. One she’d embrace.

After dispensing with the formalities at Brooker, they’d been driven to the set ofUndercover Opsand escorted through security without a hitch. They were directed to chairs and told to wait, that someone would be along to speak to them. So they waited… and waited.

Outside in the fresh air and glorious sunshine, they only got peeks at what might be going on inside the huge soundstage. It didn’t look like any filming was taking place. Though she hadn’t seen Roman, and didn’t know what any of the surrounding people did. How accurate were her uneducated assumptions? Not even a little.

She didn’t care about seeing her supposed fiancé and wasn’t looking for him. Given the choice, she’d avoid him at all costs. If he wanted her time, he’d have to get in line behind the Lowe at the front of that queue: Struan.

From that angle, she couldn’t see fully inside the main soundstage, she could, however, see into the smaller building next to it. With its massive doors wide open, shadow concealed some of its secrets. But it didn’t hide him. The Lowe she’d kissed, the Lowe who’d held her. The Lowe who’d looked out for her, supported her.

After the fact anyway.

He should’ve told her who he was in the hotel basement. She should be angrier that he hadn’t. Why was she giving him a pass? Why did she accept what happened?

Because he did what he did for family. That’s why. Revealing himself would’ve exposed his brother’s secret. That left Struan two options. Embrace the moment and surrender, as she had, to the intangible force attracting them to each other. Or shut down, sit there cold and quiet and distant. Where would they be if he’d chosen that course? Not there, no, they’d be apart, strangers…Did she want a life free of Struan?

He hadn’t noticed her spying on him doing his job, not as far as she could tell. He and a dozen other guys were talking and practicing fight sequences in slow motion. Though all big guys, well-built and strong, some seemed more confident than others. All looked to the mesmerizing man at the helm, the one she couldn’t tear her eyes from. Even his abrupt actions seemed precise, choreographed. He was so careful, yet definite, in the way he worked each muscle. Was it art? Function? Both.

Why hadn’t she asked about what he did day-to-day for his brother? There, busy, in some kind of leadership role, nothing was hidden, certainly not his existence. Hmm, curious, she’d tap that well later. Since the truth came out, they hadn’t spent much time talking. With so much she didn’t know, communication was important.

Elbow on the arm of the high wood and canvas chair, she relaxed her head against the heel of her hand, resting her curled fingers on the front of her chin. Damn, he was hot, which was nothing to do with the way he looked, okay, yeah, he was easy on the eyes too. That wasn’t all though, he exuded it, that energy, the enticing force didn’t let up for a second.

Struan Lowe. He’d kept her safe and calm when everything went wrong. He’d stepped in for her, looked out for her, apologized to her.

Struan Lowe, whose main concern when first seeing her on that new day was her wellbeing.

Renata and Perry were talking to each other, she could hear the murmur of their conversation but chose not to involve herself or pick out specifics. From the frequency of words passed between them, she guessed their excitement matched what anyone would feel on their first time in such a dynamic environment.

Although not at the most advantageous angle, her lips curled when Struan eventually noticed her. With any other man,she might be embarrassed about being caught drooling. Not with him. Her smile was rooted in his. His attention flicked over her to dart back, his reaction to her presence mirrored hers. Could she be just as enticing? Actually, his interest went a step further. In that second, his lips stopped moving and his body took over, instantly setting course for her.

Correcting her posture, her shoulders went back and hands dropped to her lap. Should she go meet him? Would it be too eager to jump off the chair and run to him? The hurrying over part would quickly be forgotten by onlookers when she threw herself against him.

Why was she so obsessed? They’d seen each other earlier, not that long ago. She shouldn’t want to embrace the joy and thrust herself away from the chair to leap into his arms. That was crazy and not something she’d done with any other man… ever.

This wasn’t the crescendo of any chick flick or holiday movie that saw the main characters finally coming together. Their story had barely begun. They didn’t have a story. Weren’t supposed to have a story. Did they have a story?

Confusion must have shown on her face because his eyes narrowed, though his pace didn’t slow.

Roman never entered her thoughts unless someone brought him up. She and everyone else on the inside understood why. There wasn’t even an inkling of interest, of acknowledgment. It wasn’t just that she wanted to be near Struan, to be in his arms, talking to him, or just alone in that basement without power, once again.

Struan Lowe felt vital to her existence.

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