Julie felt her face flush as the women looked her up and down.
Emily nodded. “We could definitely work with this.”
Julie worked hard to keep from shrinking into herself. She’d never thought of herself as beautiful and having the other women blatantly appraising her made her uncomfortable. Eric watched her over the other women’s head, obviously enjoying her discomfort. Maybe that wasn’t right. Maybe it was the attention she was getting that mattered to him. It was his fault she was in the spotlight to begin with.
“Let’s get you mic’d up and on set,” said Emily, turning her laser focus back to Eric. “The producer will have my head if you’re late.”
Mandy led Julie to spot to the side of the cameras where she could see everything without being in the way. She watched as someone fastened a mic pack to the waistband at the back of Eric’s gray dress slacks. Another assistant rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt so he looked casually gorgeous before helping him into an apron with the Comme Ci logo printed on it. Every few minutes, he’d glance at Julie and smile or give her a wink. He wasn’t making any effort to hide their relationship, and if she’d had any doubt how serious he was about her, the matter of fact way he outed them to the cast and crew dispelled them. He was letting the world know that they were together and Julie didn’t think she could love him any more than she did in that moment.
“God, he’s gorgeous,” said Mandy, standing beside her. “And look at him. He can’t keep his eyes off of you.”
Julie made a noise that could be taken as agreement or not, but she couldn’t help but grin. Eric had that effect on her. He’d always made her feel beautiful. Wanted.
She watched as he interacted with the crew getting his segment set up and then as he taught the cast of the morning show how to make hearty soups with winter vegetables. He talked about local seasonal produce, educating without preaching while he chopped and sautéed, and by the time the five minute segment was over, he had soup simmering in the pot and the host as well as most of the people watching convinced they could duplicate the dish at home.
He was amazing. Honest and highly skilled with an energy that vibrated like a current under everything he did. Intense and approachable at the same time, it was an intoxicating combination and one that made him perfectly suited for living in the spotlight. Her heart swelled watching the man she loved do something he loved with a skill few people possessed. By the time he handed the mic back to the assistant and made his way over to her, she knew she must be glowing with pride.
He searched her face, looking for something – approval maybe – and before she could think it through and censor herself, she stood on tip toe and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling the tender skin behind his ear and breathing in the unfamiliar scent of the makeup he wore.
“You are an amazing man, Eric Auxtres. Amazing.” She caught his ear lobe between her teeth and smiled at his answering growl.
“You have no idea, Jules,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her off her feet. “I’m just getting started.”
HE’D BEEN SO worried when he saw Julie’s face as she’d tried to send the pictures to Mandy. He couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to forget they were there. All that nastiness waiting for her to stumble over it. He’d already sent Adam a message to replace her phone, but he was kicking himself for not taking care of it sooner.
It at least seemed like she’d gotten through the worst of it, and when he’d come off the set she’d beamed at him. He loved the way she looked at him – like she was proud of him. The segment felt good, and seeing her reaction made it even better. Everything felt better with Julie beside him. Things that last month he’d been doing by rote felt new again, and he was finding joy in things that had started to feel routine.
He only wished he could take some time to sightsee with her but his schedule was packed until dinner. He stole one more quick kiss, giving in to the sweet pleasure of her lips warm and soft under his. When he felt the kiss start to shift to something hotter, he forced himself to pull away and smile down at her, hating that he couldn’t spend the rest of the day with Julie in his arms.
“I’m sorry, cher, but I have to go if I’m going to be on time for my next appointment. James can drop me off and then you can have the car to go wherever you want as long as you promise to keep Peter with you at all times.” He watched her face fall and it twisted something inside him. “Or you could go with me if you want.” The idea felt so right. He realized it was exactly what he wanted, but he didn’t want to push her into spending her whole day in boring meetings instead of wandering the museums he knew she’d love. “I don’t want to push you,” he said, wanting to push her. “I understand if you’d rather sightsee. That’s sure to be more fun than trailing after me to endless production meetings.”
“No,” she said, her smile lighting her eyes. “I’d love to go with you. I’ve been to the city before. I’d rather wait until we can go to the museums together, and I want to see what you do. If you’re sure I won’t be in the way,” she added.
Pulling her closer, he answered her with his kiss. “You could never be in the way.” Nodding to Peter that they were ready to leave, he kept his arm wrapped around her as he ushered her out of the studio and into the waiting town car.
“We’re going to the Master’s building on 8th, James,” he told his driver when they were settled in the back seat of the car. Hitting the button to raise the privacy window, he reached for Julie, dragging her onto his lap. She squealed but didn’t fight him, snuggling against him and wrapping her arms around his neck. They only had a few blocks to drive but they were right in the middle of the morning rush hour and traffic was at a standstill.
“You said Masters. Is it Luke’s?”
“Yes, it’s one of the buildings he owns in the city. He has another one on the other side of the island with a penthouse he uses when he’s in the city.” Eric had fond memories of that penthouse but they paled in comparison to anything he and Julie had done together.
“What kind of production meeting is it?” she asked, wiggling her butt in a way that had him rethinking pulling her onto his lap. He had to be able to get out of the car when they got there without his cock leading the way and the thin slick fabric of their slacks wasn’t helping.
“The first meeting is with my publicist to go over the upcoming TV and appearance schedule. I’m sure she’ll have scheduled lunch at some have-to-be-seen-at restaurant where the food’s trendy enough to be irritating. After lunch we have a meeting with the publisher who’s doing my next cookbook and the merchandizing people who are producing the new line of cookware and accessories. After that maybe another restaurant and then we should be done.”
“Is that all?” she asked, nuzzling his neck.
It sounded both tedious and overwhelming when he listed it out like that for her, and he was sure she must be rethinking her decision to go with him.
“It’s not too late for you to get out of it if you want. You could spend the day at the Met instead of chasing behind me,” he said, hoping she wouldn’t change her mind.
“Don’t be silly. I’m curious,” she said, catching his earlobe between her teeth and giving it a gentle tug that sent heat straight to his cock. “But it does make me realize how lucky I was to keep you to myself for as many days as I have.”
“I’ve gotten so used to working hard, I’d stopped thinking about taking time off.” In the beginning he hadn’t wanted to and then later on, he hadn’t been able to because everything needed his attention. He’d have to figure out some kind of new balance, because he planned to make Julie a priority in his schedule.
Anna, his publicist would simply have to get used to the idea. If he got his way and he almost always did, Julie was going to be around for a long time.
