Although I wanted to go with him, the sane part of me knew this was a bad idea. Where was Stella? I glanced back, but didn’t see her. Dallas stopped just outside the back door. My gaze drifted to a group huddled several yards away and the cloud of smoke around them. The smoking section.
Lisa hadn’t followed us outside, probably because she’d already gotten what she needed. Dread settled in my stomach. Jackie was supposed to be on sabbatical. She didn’t need to read a bunch of garbage about herself while she was still recovering from her previous humiliation. I glanced at Dallas.
He was staring at me. “That was odd.”
Oh, geez, what had I done?
“You know they wouldn’t serve a minor here. Or was that just a clever way of getting attention?”
Oh, crap. Of course they wouldn’t serve me with the press around. Worse, while I was being an idiot, I confirmed what a media whore Jackie was.
“C’mon. You’re going to pretend you’ve never been served in a public place before?” I lifted a careless shoulder.
“Not with the press around.”
This impersonation gig couldn’t end soon enough for me. Life was much easier when I could just be myself. Except then I wouldn't see Dallas again.
“So I forgot myself for a moment.” I rolled my eyes. Acting was kind of like lying. I felt bad deceiving Dallas, but isn't that why I was there?
“Well, Lisa won’t see it that way. She’ll put a crazy spin on you refusing a drink, along with some trashy speculation. It’ll probably get picked up in every tabloid across the country.”
“Does that kind of stuff ever bother you?” I asked, overlapping the lapels of his jacket against the chill night air and tucking myself into the fabric.
He held his arms close to his sides and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Not tonight. You?”
“It’s expected, right? Without publicity, an actor’s career could die. Goes with the job.” A generic enough reply while not really answering the question. I felt uneasy blatantly lying to Dallas and needed to keep it to a minimum.
“It sure does.” He studied me a moment. “Do you want to go back inside?”
Jackie would say yes. Not me. I’d shown up at the premier and that’s all that was required. My job was done. “No. You?”
“Not really. Are you hungry?”
I knew I shouldn't say it, but… “Starving. Haven’t eaten all day. I was afraid the dress wouldn’t fit right and I didn’t want to feel fat when I had to look good.”
“It’s great to be a guy.” He flashed me a smile. “Did you drive here with Stella?”
Stella. I kept forgetting about her. “Yes.”
“Why don’t you leave the limo for her and I’ll drive you home?” He grinned. “Since I’m going there anyway.”
He was impossible to resist. But he was my sister’s ex. Forbidden territory. Going there was not a reality for me, no matter how fab he looked in a tux. But I rationalized that we already knew he wasn’t interested in Jackie. He'd even made that clear to Lisa. What kind of trouble could I possibly get into? Dallas would drive me home and we’d say goodnight.
“Sure. I’ll just text her and let her know the car’s all hers.” I reached into my purse to grab my cell. Four texts had come in, all from Stella. If I hadn’t turned my ringer off during the movie, I would’ve heard the alerts.
The first text, Stella said she was sorry for allowing Dave to distract her and that she said she was looking for me. Knowing now what Dave looked like, it was easy to imagine how he could delay a girl. The next three texts wondered where I was, each more hysterical than the last.
“New phone?” He nodded toward it, smirking. “Or should I say old phone? Downgraded, huh?”
Oops. Right. Jackie and I hadn’t switched phones.
“The other one was acting up, so I had them connect to this one until Stella could sort it out.” I returned to texting Stella, hoping he bought my lie. Lies would be so much easier to avoid if I walked away and drove home with Stella. But I’d already committed…
My cell phone vibrated and I checked the text. Stella again. Don’t go a/where with him. 2 risky. Where r u?
I glanced at Dallas and the thrumming in my veins reaffirmed my decision.
It was just dinner.
Leaving the volume down, I closed my phone and dropped it in my purse. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Four
As Dallas backed his black, Mercedes SUV out of the parking spot, I retrieved my phone and replied to Stella. Sorry. Already gone. Dallas will drop me off.
It vibrated again seconds later. Are you INSANE??!! Stop the car! I'll pick u up wherever u r. Say u hv a headache, say ANYTHING. Just get out of the car!
Too late now. Sorry! I typed back. I bit my lip, suppressing a smile. I wasn’t big on breaking rules. What had I been thinking in saying yes? Maybe Jackie’s personality was rubbing off on me. I’ll c u in the a.m.
After a long silence, a new text came in. Tmrw is Sat. U hv that gig @ 2. I will b there @ 12 sharp & help u get ready. If I still hv a job by then.... As soon as I finished reading it, another text appeared. U better not blow my bonus.
I probably would blow it with Dallas. Obviously, the more time I spent with him, the greater the chance of him catching on — if he hadn’t already. But something in my gut told me that Dallas wasn’t the kind of guy who’d sell me out.
And didn't I deserve one nice meal for all my hard work on the red carpet?
“Why didn’t you arrive in a limo like everyone else?” I asked.
“I prefer driving over being a passenger,” he said, glancing at me as I dropped the phone back into my purse. “You seem better. I'm glad. I know how hard it’s been for you lately. People don’t recover from that kind of thing overnight.”
The married guy, of course. But I didn’t want to go there, since I’d never even met Pete. Instead, I just nodded.
We went to one of those cute little sidewalk cafés on Franklin, close to our building. Everyone stared as the hostess seated us at a table in the corner where we weren’t as conspicuous. Like that was even possible the way we were dressed.
Crowded white-clothed tables surrounded us and waiters bustled, weaving between customers. Several girls slightly younger than me giggled at the curb and pointed at Dallas. But the chaos of the restaurant, and the passing cars just yards away, deterred them from approaching us. Fine by me. I wanted him all to myself.
A few minutes later, a waitress with dark, spiky hair stood by our table and took our order. He ordered a burger with fries and I chose the garlic roasted chicken.
“Where’s the restroom?” I asked Dallas.
He narrowed his eyes. “We’ve eaten here before.”
Oops. “Extreme hunger is draining my brain.” I lifted one bare shoulder and gave him my best helpless-damsel look.
He didn’t look any less suspicious. “All the way in the back, take a right.”
I left and, a few minutes later, made my way back to Dallas and the chair across from him.
He greeted me with a smile. “Two things women can always depend on at those red carpet events. Sore feet and starvation.”
“No kidding.” I giggled.
Our waitress set a basket of bread on the table, along with our entrees, then hurried off.
“That was fast.” Dallas leaned sideways and reached under the table out of my line of vision. A moment later, his warm hands wrapped around my ankle. Gently, he slipped off one shoe, then the other. “Better?”
Too much better. Seeing him all sweet and considerate made him a real person. Someone I could actually fall for in more than a crush way.
Oh, God.
I would not fall for this guy. I had to shake it off. Just had to.
“Thank you.” Stella was right. Hanging out with him had been a bad idea. Even knowing Stella would pick me up in a heartbeat, I couldn't make myself leave.
I took a bite of my garlic roasted chicken with renewed determination n
ot to let myself develop any more feelings for Dallas than I already had. But while I was there, no harm in learning more about him.
“If you weren’t an actor, what would you be?” I asked between bites.
“Acting is all I ever wanted to do.” He lifted his glass for a sip of water.
That’s how I felt about photography. But it was more practical to get a degree in something else, so I had a career to fall back on. “You must’ve thought about it,” I said. “What else would you do? Back-up career.”
“Hm.” He tore a piece from his garlic bread and popped it in his mouth. “I didn’t see my older sister for a year. She came back when she was seventeen to drop her baby off with my parents, then she took off again. A couple years later, I started hanging out with these guys and getting into trouble. My parents decided to send me to military camp, rather than watch me follow in my sister’s footsteps.”
“I guess it worked. Unless you have a kid somewhere no one knows about,” I joked.
“No kids. Just my niece I told you about.” He smiled. “She’s adorable.”
With Dallas’s shared genes, she had to be super cute.
“Anyway, it might be cool to run a camp where troubled kids could work with horses, learn how to fish, hike, maybe build things. I loved it when I went. Straightened me out. Put things in perspective for me. If my sister had something like that back then, maybe little Bridget would have a mom right now.”
Apparently, Jackie hadn’t met Bridget yet, which made it safe to ask questions. “When was the last time you saw her?” I asked.
“Last weekend, we went to Disneyland.”
I’d meant his sister, but I loved how his eyes lit up talking about his niece, so I kept quiet. “I bet she loved that. It’s so magical when you’re a kid.”
“We had a blast. She’s five now and she’s got this big head of curly, black hair and dimples. And, man, you’d be amazed how much kids can talk when they have a captive audience.”
I laughed. “Just the two of you went to Disneyland?”
“Yeah. I told her it was Uncle/Niece day. You gonna finish that?” He pointed at my plate.
His devotion as an uncle made me all warm and squishy inside. That he loved her enough to endure a full day with crowds and squealing kids left me speechless. I shook my head and slid my plate across the table.
“So your next movie, what’s it about?” I asked.
A slow smile spread over his face. “Chick flick. Not for you.”
If he only knew how much I loved the girly movies. “I always wonder why guys do those when they don’t even like them.”
“That’s like wondering why a chef cooks meat if he’s a vegetarian. Or why a jeweler sells diamonds if she prefers rubies. It’s part of the business and it was a good script. I don’t watch my own movies anyway.”
After the comment on the jewelry, I barely heard anything else. Why not used cars or something? Did he suspect that my summer job was really at a jewelry store? It was a quick reminder who I really was and that this dinner was all pretend.
He ate the last bite of my chicken and set the fork down.
Time to go. I patted my lips with the linen napkin. “We should probably head home.”
Dallas rotated his wrist to glance at his watch. “Kind of early to call it a night. For you anyway.”
As appealing as it was to hang out with Dallas a little longer, it was way past my bedtime and I didn’t want to get so exhausted that I completely forgot to be Jackie. “Maybe I’m unpredictable.” I scrunched up my nose and grinned.
“I’m beginning to see that,” he said.
My insides fluttered uncontrollably. Despite my vow that this was just dinner, I fell for him just a little more.
* * * *
A half hour later, evil stilettos in hand, I exited the elevator and onto the floor of our building.
“I like you without those heels.”
“You mean you like me super short?” I smiled up at Dallas. He was a foot taller than me, which put him about six-two. I didn’t necessarily like it when guys towered over me, because it made me feel even shorter than I already was. But on him, I didn’t care. He was exactly right just the way he was.
“I like you either way.” He stopped in front of his door. “Coffee?”
Coffee inside his place? I halted mid-step and whirled around to stand right in front of him. My mouth opened, but words warred with the will of my tongue.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Dallas, what are we doing? You wanted to stop seeing her… I mean me, remember? So what’s all this jacket offering and dinner business about?”
“Hey.” He brushed a finger under my chin. “It’s just coffee.”
Except that the way he touched me didn’t feel like just coffee. It felt more like come inside and we’ll brew up something hot. “If that’s the case, then maybe we should do it not in your home.”
“Deal. We’ll go to Anna’s Café. They have great pancakes. Around nine tomorrow morning then?” His brows rose as he waited for my answer.
Maybe he was just one of those guys who touched a lot, but didn’t mean anything by it. I shouldn’t read anything into his gestures. Breakfast was probably just a buddy thing for him. That was for the best, right?
“Sure. See you then.” I spun and made a dash for my door — before I let myself believe that maybe he liked me more than just a friend. Getting involved with him would be a road to disaster.
* * * *
Waking with a jolt, I immediately glanced next to me. The silk sheets on the other side of the bed were smooth and the pillow fluffed. No one had been there.
But in my dream, Dallas had come to tell me how much he loved me. He’d carried me into the bedroom and gently laid me down. Then I’d awoken without getting that kiss or anything else. Probably my subconscious telling me it wasn’t going to happen. Ever.
Future or not, I couldn’t stop thinking about him — the gray of his eyes and the subtle hint of beard that had begun forcing its way out by the time he’d dropped me off the night before.
It wasn’t just his looks that gave him power over my brain. Looks didn’t mean much — as I’d found out when I’d dated Tyler the quarterback during my senior year, and Adam who I’d met last summer. Adam had floppy hair and the sexiest dimples I’d ever seen. Those guys weren’t half as captivating as Dallas. For one thing, neither had gazed at me the way Dallas did.
Lending me his jacket so I wouldn’t be cold, making sure I got something to eat after the premier, taking off my shoes at the restaurant and rubbing my feet, being madly in love with his five year old niece — yum.
Yep, I’d gone from infatuation over a fantasy to a huge crush. I couldn’t let it turn into anything deeper. I’d make breakfast quick. Get in. Get out.
Half expecting to hear my parents chattering as my mom made breakfast, I yawned and stretched. I missed them. Living alone wasn’t my thing at all.
With an hour and a half to kill before our breakfast appointment — not date — I could indulge for a bit, maybe grab some orange juice and read the newspaper in bed. Jackie liked to keep up on current events. At the very least, the papers would get a quick scan. She probably had them delivered.
I stretched my barely-there tank top down past my waist and stepped onto the cool wood floor.
I opened the door to the hallway and jumped at the sight of Dallas reaching down to pick up the newspaper in front of his door. I had a vague awareness of dark, messy hair, but was too distracted by his bare chest.
“Good morning.” His gaze lowered to my tank top, then lowered still to my teeny tiny shorts.
He gave me a lopsided smile. “I’m glad you’re up. We can do breakfast now.”
The twinkle in his eyes commanded me to smile back. I couldn’t help it. “Just rolled out of bed.”
“I can see that.” His eyes swept over me. “You should roll around in your bed more often.”
“Um…” Lord, wha
t the hell was he trying to do? The only image going through my mind was him rolling around in my bed. He was already dressed for it too — flannel boxers and nothing else. I pushed away the image of his arms wrapped around me and dropped my gaze to my toes, so he wouldn’t see the heat rushing into my cheeks.
“Change of plans,” he said. “We’re doing breakfast at my place.”
Chapter Five
“Breakfast here? Anna’s delivers?” I asked, angling myself with my arms crossed over my chest so I didn’t feel as naked.
“No. I’m cooking.”
Dallas cooked? Another thing to add to my long list of what made him desirable. “You sure?”
“Absolutely.” His eyes strayed to my tank top before meeting mine again. “Go get dressed and come over in twenty minutes.” He turned to go, then paused. “On second thought, what you’re wearing is just fine.”
When I raised one brow, he shrugged and then went into his condo.
I brushed, washed and combed everywhere possible, then raced to Jackie’s closet. Hopefully, she’d have something appropriate for a stay-in breakfast. Something that didn’t require stilettos.
My eyes scanned the selection of skirts, tops and pants in every color and style, then landed on the shelves lined with boots. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found some with less than four inch heels.
The weatherman had warned that the temperature would reach the mid-eighties later. Grabbing a pair of jeans riddled with holes, I sifted through Jackie’s blouses until I found a sleeveless top — something that covered more than what I’d worn to bed, but still kept me cool.