Chuckling, I left her side to approach our first cameraman, Jim. “Move in a little more on their faces toward the last half of the scene. I don’t want the corpse distracting the audience as they talk.”
Jim nodded. “Got it.”
I stepped away as Olivia’s makeup artist hurried off set. “Rolling in five, four, three …,” I trailed off, mouthing two and one as I counted down with my fingers in the air.
Sarah’s right, I thought as Olivia and North delivered their lines with such ease and tension, even I forgot for a moment itwasn’t real. And that’s when you knew you had magic in your hands.
Juno would be a success. I could feel it in my bones.
“Someone tooka photo of us walking to the studios this morning.” Sarah thrust her phone in my face as I lounged on the couch. There were two photos of us on the screen—one of us holding hands as we walked with coffee cups, and another of me kissing her hungrily on the street. I remembered she’d tasted of hazelnut.
“That’s a keeper. Makes me horny looking at it.” I grinned as she pulled the phone back with an eye roll.
“What doesn’t?”
“When it comes to you, I am a caveman controlled by my libido,” I cracked as I scrolled through a streaming service looking for something to watch.
“Your libido aside, why are people still interested in us?” Sarah huffed, throwing her phone on the coffee table.
I turned my head on the back of the couch, running a soothing hand over her legs resting across my lap. “Because you are the enigmatic and beautiful best-selling author of the number one book series in the country, and I am the second son of a viscount turned reformed playboy director. We make a good story.”
“It’s our story.” She pushed up, moving to straddle me.
I immediately dropped the TV remote to rest my hands on her hips. “Hello there.”
She grinned wickedly as she smoothed her palms over my chest. “I don’t want to share you with the world.”
“You don’t,” I assured her. “No one knows what’s between us but you and me.” She slipped her hands beneath my T-shirt and I hissed. “Bloody hell, your hands are cold.”
“Blame it on this unseasonably cold and damp day.” She wriggled on top of me and I felt my blood rush south. “Why don’t you warm them …,” she trailed off as her fingertips traced over the healed knife wound. There was barely any raised skin on it, but Sarah could find the wound blindfolded. It still upset her to see the dark red scar left behind.
Frankly, I wore it like a badge of honor. Not only had I protected Sarah from Quinn Gray, but I’d been the luckiest bastard on planet Earth to walk away mostly unscathed. My surgeon, Dr. Hyatt, had run tests once I was awake and well enough. No nerve damage. I could feel all my little toes and fingers.
Recovery was a bit of a bastard because I proved to be an impatient patient, but I tried for Sarah’s sake. I didn’t want to drive her away now that I finally had all of her.
During those weeks, we worked from my flat on getting the show on its feet. Skylark bought it, and I made sure Sarah’s percentage was more than fair. Moreover, we’d have to buy rights to the other books if the series did well, which would prove very lucrative for her.
I also talked with my brother a little more. Our relationship might never be perfect, but I’d heard how Sebastian had shown up for Sarah at the hospital. And he apologized. I supposed I owed him something of an apology, too, for refusing to make amends. Everything wasn’t miraculously perfect overnight between us, but we were working on it. As long as he didn’t expect me to welcome our father back into my life, we’d keep working on it.
As for Gray, we’d delayed filming to be witnesses in his trial last month. It was all very public and had brought scrutinyback on us,King’s Valley, on North … but we all got through it. Thankfully, helping bring Gray to justice had not only eased some of my guilt, but it fostered a positive public opinion of me and North.
It hadn’t been easy.
Sarah had just gotten over her nightmares when the trial brought them all up again. This was the first week since Gray had been sentenced to life in prison with no parole that she’d slept through the night. I think working on Juno had distracted her well enough.
It had distracted me too.
From the memories. And from the victims’ families whom I had to look in the eye in court. They were gracious, perhaps too gracious to me, considering it was my work that had been warped. They even thanked me for bringing Gray to justice.
I told them it was a team effort because it had been.
The police who’d gotten Gray’s DNA.
Sarah, who’d fought him off like a warrior, giving us time to get to them.
I couldn’t even bear to imagine what might have happened if she hadn’t.
“Hey.” She brushed her lips over mine, crushing her delectable tits to my chest. “Where did you go?”
