And because he was her best friend, she admitted, ‘But I want to.’
‘Yas!’ Markus started happy dancing right there in the Hunts’ guest room.
Nina watched him, and she couldn’t help but smile at his antics. ‘I missed you,’ she said loudly, trying to get his attention over his bopping and weaving.
Markus stopped dancing. ‘I missed you too, Neens.’ He tapped her on the nose. ‘But don’t think you’re changing the subject on me.’ He sat on the bed, crossed one leg over the other. ‘Spill!’
‘There’s nothing to tell really. Nothing much has happened yet.’ It wasn’t technically true, but Nina wasn’t ready to share the details of the kiss. She wanted to hold on to it, to keep it for herself, just a little longer.
‘Yet?All I’m hearing is that youwantsomething to happen!’ He clapped his hands excitedly. ‘Nina, in all the years I’ve known you, you have never, not once, thought about jumping into bed with a man. Especially one who is so clearly relationship material.’
‘That’s not true.’
‘It is,’ Markus argued immediately. ‘You’ve hooked up a few times, sure. But you only ever chose men you wouldn’t miss. And once you landedCamelotand people started recognizing your face, you pulled back completely. I mean, you know I don’t usually snoop in this area, but when was the last time your girl got some exercise?’
Nina groaned aloud, anxious all over again. ‘Since about a month beforeCamelotcame out.’
Markus was speechless.
‘It’s hard,’ she said, feeling the need to justify her actions, or lack thereof. ‘If I go on a date, do I have them sign an NDA beforehand, or do I just not tell them anything I don’t want the world to know? And if I do that, are they really dating me or Famous Nina Keller? And if I have sex with a date, do I have to worry that they’ll brag about it because I’m famous? Do I have to worry that they’ll tell all their friends what my body looks like naked or if I’m bad in bed?’
Markus didn’t focus on any of that. He said, ‘Camelotwas … four … Are you telling me it’s beenfour yearssince you got laid?’
‘Shhh!Markus!’ Nina cast an anxious glance at the door.
‘Okay. Okay.’ But he still shook his head one last time as he came to terms with her celibacy. ‘Also, the world knows what your glorious body looks like since you did the nude scene inDogs of Despair. Your problem,’ he told her, ‘is that you don’t trust men in general.’ Before she could argue, he held up both hands, raised his voice. ‘I’m not saying I don’t understand why. Lulu did a number on you in that department, so it’s allowed. But not all men are untrustworthy.’
‘I know that,’ she insisted. ‘I trust you.’
‘Oh, baby. That’s only because I’m your soulmate.’
‘I trust Maverick Hunt.’
‘Well. Shit.’
‘He’sdifferent, Markus. Really, truly different. But he is so clearly a long-haul kind of guy. He has a kid, for Pete’s sake! And his ex really hurt him.’ Nina thought about what Maverick had told her about Shannon, and added, ‘He’sso good. And I don’t want to hurt him.’
‘Nina, I say this with all the love in my heart and the carnal motivation of a male sex drive: he’s a single man with a kid. The dude is probably in desperate need of a lay. You’d be doing him a favour, really.’
Nina laughed even though she knew it wasn’t that simple, that Maverick wasn’t that simple.
‘Good Lord, baby. Go for it! If you’re that scared about hurting him, just be clear from the start. Maverick is a grown man who is perfectly capable of making his own decisions. And I don’t have to remind you, you are seriously smart. And you’re cautious. You don’t fuck around, so if you feel like you wanna do the dance with the cowboy, then do the damn dance! We are thirty-three years old,’ he said, his tone turning serious. ‘Life isn’t going to slow down for us to live it anymore.’
‘I’m thirty-four,’ she reminded him.
‘Not for another five days,’ he countered immediately. ‘And, even then, you’re only proving my point.’
‘I’ll think about it,’ Nina promised. Because as much as Markus was right about Maverick being a grown man, capable of making his own decisions, Nina knew that he never made any decision lightly and so she worried about that pull between them. If she thought it would just be sex, she would have been more confident.
But she already knew it wouldn’t just be sex.
Yes, she liked the way he looked. Yes, she felt that same heat. Of course she did. But it was more than that. She was an actress, as used to working with handsome, charismatic men as she was brushing her teeth, which is how she knew that Maverick Hunt was different.
She liked how strong but quiet he was, how competent. If a problem arose, Maverick handled it without a word of complaint. She loved watching him with the horses. He was so openly gentle and caring. And she’d only had to see him once with Poppy to know that he was a great dad.
‘See that you do—’ Markus’s words were cut off by a timid knock on the door.
Poppy’s little voice followed. ‘Nina?’
