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‘Of course!’ She tiptoed into position behind the crew and filmed the sequence of Caleb’s superhuman drop to the ground.
She only plucked up the courage to do it once and kept it firmly in her camera roll, not daring to even upload the video to drafts until she’d spoken with Caleb and production. If it was approved, Caleb could add it to his business account, as it would be a great showcase of his talents. And, well, she wouldn’t mind having a picture with hunky Caleb in his wig. Just for her.
When the crew broke for lunch, Caleb seemed to make a beeline for her, and she tried to smother her excitement. ‘Thanks for taking care of me, by the way,’ he said, although the goofy smile on his face suggested he didn’t believe he needed looking after in the slightest. Considering what she’d seen him do this morning, she had to agree.
‘The black hair is different,’ she said, not quite able to bring herself to say hot. After all, it probably only looked so good because of the make-up and costume; she was sure she’d find it weird otherwise.
‘Want a picture?’ Caleb tossed his wig back dramatically with a flick of his wrist and she couldn’t help but laugh. Before moving into position, he whispered in her ear, ‘Maybe I’ll keep the guyliner on, if you like it?’
‘God yes!’
He grinned and glowered into the camera with his best sexy dark prince impression. She had to hold the phone steady with both hands to stop from ruining the photo with her trembling fingers.
She couldn’t wait to jump him later.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The party at Bianca’s house had been delayed by a couple of weeks, as Bianca’s friends (all fifteen of them) had had to rearrange their visit due to an unexpected Vogue shoot, or something along those lines; Caleb hadn’t been listening.
Bianca’s temporary home was in Ashmore, a beautiful and wealthy suburb with views of Mount Tamborine. The mansion looked like something you might find in the Hamptons.
Caleb had spent the last couple of hours trapped in the garden with Franco, Lucas and a couple of execs. They’d been having a heated discussion about the balance between action and romance in the film, and he’d been unable to get away. Although he’d mentioned Hannah’s take on the popularity of the romance in Star Wars, and had been pleasantly surprised by Franco’s enthusiastic agreement.
Eventually, he’d managed to excuse himself before being drawn into yet another conversation. Caleb honestly didn’t care for more networking – he wanted to find Hannah. They’d arrived separately, and he hadn’t seen her since this morning.
Now that they were sleeping together, he’d thought his obsession with her would begin to fade. That they would have fun and enjoy their time together, but that he would ultimately lose interest – as he’d always done in the past. If anything, the opposite had happened. He was excited for their evenings together. Not only for the sex, which was great, but also to talk about their day, eat and watch TV.
He’d been with Lucas all day training, and her absence made him irritable.
As he approached the house, he realised things had gone from coastal chic to debauched diva very quickly.
Two different stereos were playing at full blast in different areas of the house. Stony-faced staff swept slowly around the outer edges of the guests like ghosts, silently tidying up every empty bottle, glass, discarded plate of food and spill.
Around the pool women in bikinis were being squirted with water guns by Jackson and some of his team. There was also a conga line of people, dressed in a variety of beachwear and business suits, dancing through the house while carrying magnums of champagne with sparklers flaring out of the tops.
Usually, Caleb would be the one firing water pistols or jumping in the pool. But he had no interest in those things unless Hannah was there with him, and she’d somehow eluded him for hours.
Where the hell was she?
Most people seemed to be in the huge open-plan kitchen area, so he made his way through the crowd, keeping an eye out for Hannah.
A gang of women in skyscraper heels were dancing on the marble counter. The staff stared at them helplessly, while Bianca’s frayed assistant begged them to get down. Bianca’s friends were wild, not an unusual trait in wealthy circles. Caleb had partied and dated women like them in the past; they were always happy to move on, search for the next big thrill – same as him.
He kept his head down as he scanned the kitchen for Hannah and was about to leave when he managed to catch a woman who’d toppled drunkenly from the counter.
He set her back on her wobbly heels, and she swayed against him as if in a daze, slurring in a crisp English accent that was nothing like Hannah’s precious melody, ‘Well, aren’t you lovely! I almost fell!’
‘You did fall,’ he said, not entirely happy with how his shoulder now ached from the sudden jolt.
Her manicured nails dug into his shirt, scoring across his pectorals. ‘But you saved me!’ she gasped, doe-eyed and more than a little out of focus. He took hold of her arms, carefully peeling her away from him as she struggled to regain her balance.
Of course, that was the exact moment he saw Hannah emerging from a side room. She walked past them less than a foot away. She must have seen him, but her eyes remained firmly fixed ahead as she headed out to the hall. His stomach dropped at what she must have been thinking. He’d said he didn’t do relationships, but that didn’t mean he slept around. From the hard expression on her face, he imagined she thought differently.
‘You good?’ he asked the woman, not entirely bothered if she was or wasn’t anymore. He nudged her towards the counter, so that she’d have something solid to hold on to, and then let go of her and sprinted away as if she were a bomb.
Emma and Zach had followed Hannah from the same side room. Emma grabbed his arm to stop him, Zach swaying like a palm leaf beside her. ‘Please tell me you’re not leaving! I need to get Lucas out quick.’ She lowered her voice. ‘The neighbours are threatening to call the police, and even a bribe isn’t working. I want Lucas out before there’s trouble.’
Frustrated with himself for not catching Hannah and for staying at this party far longer than he wanted to, he snapped, ‘He’s an adult, Emma!’