Page 81 of Hollywood Undercover
Chapter 34
SEBASTIAN pickedup their used dishes from the dining room and took them into the kitchen. Dinner with Alexandra was unnaturally quiet. She was distant, distracted, and could barely keep eye contact with him this evening. He quickly washed the dishes and put them to dry on the rack, mentally running through everything that had happened. Before the fire, they had this connection. As crazy as it seemed, her disguise made it easier for him to get to know her. Now under his roof, she wouldn’t get anywhere nearhim.
She’s giving me the cold shoulder, and I’m tired of acting like I don’tnotice.
When Alexandra had agreed to stay with him for a week, he wasn’t sure what he envisioned—well, maybe he knew what he had hoped for. He had pictured her slipping up enough for him to call her bluff about who she was, and then everything else would progress naturally. He would have told her he had known all along, and probably add that he had a crush on her for years. Then he would take her to his bed and work through all that pent-up sexual tension that had been building up between them over the past month. After that, everything else was up in the air, but in that sequence of events, they would have some closure if she never saw him ever again. Overall, it was a good vision—maybe a little lofty, but at the very least, they could continue their friendship in some way. The last few days were nothing like he had imagined. The distance between them was growing, and he couldn’t understandwhy.
He walked into the living room and found Alexandra frowning at herlaptop.
“Why won’t you give me the answers I need, dammit?” she huffed to thescreen.
Sebastian took it to mean she clearly wanted to engage in a conversation with him, even if she didn’t show it, and he casually sat on the sofa next to her. He ignored her surprised expression when she pointedly looked at him as though she hoped he would go over to the chair on the other side of theroom.
“What’s wrong, dude?” he asked. “Techproblems?”
“No, I’m looking for…wait, don’t you have something else you need todo?”
“At the moment? No. Well, wedidtalk about hitting the video games this evening, but that’s nobiggie.”
Alexandra shrugged. “It’s not a bigdeal.”
“Maybe I can help with whatever’s bothering you, and afterward, we can kick back and relax. You seem pretty preoccupied. You’ve been acting so weird the past few days.” Sebastian said the last part with a slight chuckle, hoping it was light-hearted enough that Alexandra wouldn’t have any hardfeelings.
She closed her laptop and set it aside. “No. There’s nothing weird going on. I’ve just been busy the past few days,bro.”
Sebastian lifted a brow, unconvinced. Alexandra tried to hold his gaze, but was the first to lookaway.
What’s going on withher?
“I’ve checked so many local construction websites, and spoke to a dozen people today, and I still have no idea which one I should hire to do the repairs next door. I think I just need a carpenter, but God, the people I talked to keep throwing around that they’re contractors, construction workers, brick layers, cement companies. I just need them to come out here and give me a damnedquote.”
Wait, is she changing thesubject?
If she was, he went along with it. “No, you need to look for someone with the right credentials. Looking for just a carpenter, you might come across anybody with a hammer. Give me a second. I think I have my contractor’s business card here. It’s the company that did the renovation work here at myplace.”
He found his wallet and rifled through its contents. Pushing aside a random assortment of business cards, he found the right one and returned to the living room. “Yeah, here you go. These guys remodeled the kitchen and the third floor master suite a couple of years ago. I can take you over to their officetomorrow.”
“Are you sure?” Alexandra asked, taking the card fromhim.
“Positive. It will keep me from sitting around the house allday.”
“Thanks. You’re alifesaver.”
Alexandra relaxed. She kicked up her feet up on the coffee table, getting comfortable as she lounged back. It was the first time Sebastian had seen her decompress since she became his house guest. He studied her face, riveted by her eyes and the smile that finally crept up herface.
“Now, how about that game, Bash? I don’t want you thinking I’m being weird on you by ducking out earlyagain.”
“Aww, I’d let any weirdness slide tonight on account of that smile.” Alexandra blushed a beet red, so he left it alone. “So seriously, that construction thing…is that what was botheringyou?”
“More or less. I wanted to make sure I get this right, you know? I don’t want my uncle to have all that to worry about when he getsout.”
“I hear you. Okay then. Gametime.”
“Deal,” shesaid.
When Sebastian glanced over, she was yawning. He remembered she had been up quite early, and now it was pretty late. Even he wasn’t in the mood for this. What he wanted was to spend time with her—ideally in his bed. Alexandra was barely holding on to consciousness. Her eyes were already flutteringshut.
“Alex?”
