“What?” she asked, challenging him.
“You remind me of someone.”
Jess scowled. Her cell phone sat on the table between them and a notification flashed on the screen, distracting Nate. He glanced at it instinctively, catching the name ‘Dave’. Below it, two other notifications listed the same name.
Ah, right.The perfect rebuttal formed in his mind.
“Well, you could continue sleeping on the couch if you wish, but I assume your boyfriend—Dave, is it?—wouldn’t appreciate you sharing accommodation with another man?”
Jess yanked the phone close and flipped it over. “I don’t appreciate you looking at my phone messages, but no, Dave is not my boyfriend. And if that’s a subtle way of seeing if I’m single, it’s not very subtle. Yes, if you need to know, I am singleand I plan on keeping that status, so you can forget any of the charming moves you were thinking of making.”
He lifted his hands in surrender. “I had no such intention,” he said, meaning every word. No way would he put himself through that kind of hell again. Women like Jess and Samantha left a wake of heartache. Dave was probably her latest victim.
The fury rose again, and he allowed the comfort of it to settle across his mind. These beautiful women, like Jess, thought their looks gave them permission to do anything with no consideration for who it hurt. And she assumed he’d make a move just because she’s gorgeous? The arrogance of it. Anyway, if he did, he’d be setting himself up for an eventual long-distance relationship when he returned to London, and he already knew how those went. It was hard to maintain any kind of relationship with his usual job, let alone a long-distance one. Samantha clearly hadn’t been happy with it, and they’d been a matter of hours from each other most of the time. How would New Zealand to London even work—
Feeling awkward suddenly, Nate broke eye contact with Jess and checked his watch. Six fifteen. What was he doing considering it at all?
He cleared his throat. “I guess we’ll have to discuss the house situation later if we can’t work it out now. There’s a fifteen minute drive to set, and Frankie expects me there for makeup and hair by six thirty.”
“I have an early start, too.”
“That’s that then.” Nate drained half the black, sugary tea in one long gulp and stood to empty the rest into the sink, quickly rinsing his mug and setting it upside down in the dish-rack.
“See you on set.” Although he hoped not too often. She’d been a confusing distraction the day before, and he could do without the reminder of his ex constantly over his shoulder.
Jess parted her soft, full lips, as if to protest, and then closed them again. “Fine. We’ll discuss this later.”
“Lunch break is at one. We can go see Tom and let him sort it out. Does that sound fair?”
She lifted her chin, and he thought he saw it quiver slightly. “I’m sure it was a simple mistake, and he has somewhere else for you,” she repeated.
“One o’clock,” he insisted. Time was slipping away, and he hated being late.
Grabbing the jacket he’d left hanging next to the front door last night, he rummaged in the pocket for his car keys. Finding them, he stole a last look at Jess. She faced away from him, elbows resting on the table, shoulders tense. Her high messy bun and slim neck sent a jarring wave of painful memories through his gut. His lips tingled at the reminder. They knew the sweet taste of that neck. The silky softness. Except it wasn’t the same one, he reminded himself. He turned away, opened the door, and quickly put as much distance between himself and Jess as he could.
JESS HEARD THE DOOR SLAM AND CLOSED HER EYES.The coffee mug clasped between both her hands proved an ineffective barrier against the confusion of emotions pulsing around her body. She had to leave too; they were expecting her at the meeting, but first she needed to calm down. Two nights of poor sleep in a row left her struggling to control her emotions. It wouldn’t be a good look turning up to set flustered and angry. Or worse, crying. Who knew what she’d allow to slip out of hermouth? She’d never been good at faking her feelings or saying the ‘polite’ thing.
Reaching instinctively for the phone, she dialled her best friend Poppy’s number. Poppy, a neonatal nurse, was an early riser, so she’d be up, and she always knew the right thing to say to calm her down.
“Hey Jess…How’s everything going?” Poppy answered breathlessly. “How’s the…filming? Have you met…anyone famous?”
Jess felt a catch in her throat at the sound of her friend’s voice. “It’s pretty good,” she managed.
“Pretty good? That doesn’t…sound like you? Everything…phew…okay?”
Although complete opposites, the two women were inseparable. Poppy, with her quiet routines and sensible nature, was the perfect balance for Jess’s more extroverted, free-spirit.
“Are you running? At six in the morning?” Jess asked, steering the conversation away from herself temporarily. She needed to get her emotions under control.Wiping at her cheeks, she waited for Poppy to answer.
“My lungs…think I’m running…but sadly, the reality is a fast walk on the treadmill. ‘Jog’ at a stretch.”
Jess laughed and her friend joined her. After an exaggerated breath, Poppy continued. “Nope, I give up…What’s up? Is filming not the star-fest you imagined it’d be?”
“The filming is going okay, I guess. Busy. Not sure I’m being all that helpful, but I’m trying.”
“Do I need to come out there and check on you? You sound awful.”
“Thanks, Poppy, but I’m fine. There’s just…a guy issue, but it’ll hopefully be sorted—”
