Page 29 of Act Like You Don't Care
Tam spent a lot of his career fighting the cultural idea that omegas were less, that they were over-emotional and unfocused, that they were happiest looking after other people and having babies. And maybe they were, and maybe Tam was, but if he had even the slightest penchant in that direction, he didn't dare let that side of him out at all. It must have felt like living inside a very small, not very comfortable box. All the time. No wonder he partied so hard.
"You leave any drawers open for me?" I asked, and checked off the 'good answer' box in my head when he grinned and pulled out a couple of the drawers. "Two?"
"I'm an actor," he said grandly, but with a lot of laughter in the words. "I can't be seen in the same outfit twice in a year. You should know that, doing your job."
"My bad," I said as I unloaded my case into the drawer. It was going to be a tight fit, but it wasn't all that important that I appear wrinkle-free.
"Maybe I should move some stuff around," Tam mused, giving my unpacking the side-eye.
“It’s fine,” I told him. “You up for going out for a meal or do you want to eat at the hotel here?”
“Was kind of thinking of getting room service.” Tam stretched and I had to look away. It was unprofessional to stare at that strip of skin just above the waist of his jeans in the way my body wanted to ogle it.
“Public appearance. We need to let the world know that I’m here and in your life.”
Tam’s arms dropped like they weighed ten tons. “Damn. I kind of wanted a quiet night. It’s been a long week.”
“I know, but it’s safer to establish me as the new love interest up here, where he isn’t likely to get to you. By the time we get back, all the other safety measures should be in place. He might even have made a move and gotten caught.”
Tam looked thoughtful at that, then nodded. “Okay. Anything in particular you want to eat?”
I shrugged. “I’m pretty easy.”
With a shrug, Tam picked up the room phone’s handset, hitting one of the buttons on the front with casual certainty. After a moment, he straightened, almost like he was acting, and said, “Hi, it’s Tam Laydon. Just wondering if you can recommend a good restaurant. Someplace nice.” He listened for a moment, then said, “That sounds great. What’s good on the menu?”
I went to the bathroom while Tam was talking and came back out a few moments later to find the phone call ended and the star half-naked in front of the dresser, poking through the clothes he’d packed. I had to wonder if constant exposure to the well-kept body in front of me might eventually blunt my appreciation of it. A man could only hope.
“I didn’t really bring anything fancy with me,” Tam said as he pulled a brightly patterned button-down from the pile and shook it out. “This’ll have to do.” He glanced at my t-shirt and added, “You should probably lose the t-shirt.”
“They’ll serve me with no shirt?” I joked.Hurry up and get dressed.We were only faking this relationship.
Tam shook his head and pulled the button-down on over his naked chest. “You wanted to go out. Let’s go out.” He finished buttoning up the shirt, much to my relief, and picked up his phone. “I’m going to let Will know where we’re going.”
I nodded and found a dark brown sweater that I’d packed. Sure, it was summer, but we were in the east. And the sweater was a good one—it should be fine at any restaurant that Tam might pick out. I checked for my wallet and my room key, then shoved my hands into my jeans pockets and waited for Tam’s verdict.
“That looks good on you,” he said. Was his voice just a little softer than usual? Hard to say and the moment was gone almost immediately when Tam shoved his phone into the pocket of his jeans and picked up his room key. “Let’s go. I’m hungry.”
Tam
Miles had no business looking that good in a plain brown sweater. It definitely wouldn’t be a problem at the restaurant we were going to.
A couple of quiet hours to talk about how this would all work would be a good idea—this whole thing had happened so fast, I felt like one of those cartoon characters, running down a hill faster and faster just trying not to trip.
So that was the evening’s entertainment organized. If we took our time over the meal, there would be just enough time for a shower before I had to be in bed. Shooting would start early and end late while we were here, to keep costs down as much as possible.
Except the damn room only had one bed in it—I hadn’t thought about that at all until I’d walked into the place and nearly tripped over my own feet when the implication hit me.
But Miles was a professional security expert, and I was a professional actor and amateur playboy. If I did anything stupid in the night, I could probably just laugh it off, and he probably would just shrug it off.
Ten days… Maybe by the end of it, I’d have some armor against him. Maybe the attraction would have completely worn off—it wouldn’t be the first time I’d gotten tired of someone after only a couple of weeks. It was just the first time I wasn’t allowed to touch the object of my desire while I was still attracted to them.
Please let this fade…But I couldn’t finish the thought, in part at least because the start of a relationship was a lot like the high of starting a new project.Don’t live down to their expectations. You’re not a foolish omega, driven by your hormones and your reproductive organs.
If only he wasn’t so damn nice. And genuine. That was the kicker.
He felt like family. Which was weird on such short acquaintance, but there it was. And it was fucking with my head. Hard.
We left the room and headed down in the elevator. I still had my hat on but took it off before the doors opened.
