Page 56 of At the Heart of It
Jonah’s reply buzzed through three seconds later.
That looks amazing.
Kate had smiled to herself. See? They could do this. Chat about beer like good friends.
Two seconds later, he’d texted again.
The beer looks good, too.
Okay, so he was flirting. She should have put a stop to it. But instead, she’d just lain there in the tub feeling warm and languorous while soap suds fizzed around her.
“What are you smiling about?”
Amy’s question jolted Kate back the hallway where they waited for Elena to emerge from hair and makeup. Kate clawed her way through the recesses of her brain for something that wouldn’t give away her illicit memories.
“This hot chocolate,” she said, lifting the paper cup Pete had given her. “It’s—uh—really good.”
“It must be good if it’s giving you that I-just-had-a-dirty-thought look.”
“There’s whipped cream.”
“Okay.”
Amy tucked a blond curl behind her ear and gave Kate a knowing look, but she didn’t say anything else. Not for a moment, anyway. Then her eyes darted to something just over Kate’s shoulder and her expression shifted to a knowing smile.
“Hey, Jonah!” Amy called, and Kate felt her heart start to gallop.
She kept her eyes on Amy, reminding herself not to react, not to smile or flush or hold eye contact for too long. Turning slowly, she took in the faint stubble on his chin, the wind-tousled look of his hair, the weathered-looking chambray shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Jesus, the man had beautiful forearms. Kate licked her lips and commanded herself not to stare.
“Amy.” His voice was a low rumble. “Kate.”
Kate swallowed, glad he’d used that order for their names. She wiped her palms on her skirt, not sure why she felt queasy.
“Good morning,” she said. “Looks like wardrobe got you all squared away.”
“Wardrobe?” Jonah looked down at himself. “These are my clothes.”
“Oh. Well, you certainly look the part.”
He quirked an eyebrow at her. “I look the part of myself?”
“Um—”
“You look authentic,” Amy declared, and Kate said a silent prayer of thanks.
Jonah looked from Kate to Amy, then back to Kate again. “So how’d you like that beer last night?” he asked.
Kate felt all the blood drain from her face. She could feel Amy’s eyes on her, and she looked over to see the assistant producer’s brows rise.
“I texted him a photo of a pumpkin beer I found at that little shop around the corner from the hotel,” Kate said. “I thought he might like it.”
Amy’s eyebrows strove valiantly for her hairline. “I didn’t know you even liked beer.”
“I’m learning,” she said, ordering herself not to make a big deal out of this. She turned back to Jonah, focusing all her energy on looking professional, but courteous. “The beer was kind of intense,” she said. “I couldn’t drink very much of it, but I liked what I tried.”
“It’s an imperial, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what that means.”
