Page 12 of Ruthless Passion

My heart flutters when his face flashes across my mind. His sharp cheekbones and piercing blue eyes ignite desire and lust when I can barely remember what those emotions are supposed to feel like. I have to shake him out of my head. It was harmless flirtation for the scene. That spark between us wasn't real. The kiss was him acting. We were both acting. I'm going to tell myself that until I believe it. Instead of letting my imagination delay the inevitable, I call Luca.

To my surprise, he answers. "This is a lot sooner than forty-eight hours."

"Hi or hello is the appropriate way to answer a phone, Mr. Devlin."

"You're right. Hello, Josephine." His voice is low with a huskiness that speaks to the woman inside of me that misses a man's attention. "Am I right that we need to schedule a meeting in the morning to discuss the role for Starlight?"

"Yes, you're right. I have to make a stop near City Hall to pick up some documents, but that shouldn't take long. We can meet for coffee, if that's okay with you? I would come out to the studio but I don't want to make you wait."

"I'd wait an eternity for you." The subtle pause brings us both to laughter as he continues. "Be honest, was it that bad?"

"It's not bad if we'd known each other longer than ten minutes, Luca."

"You are right. I'll leave the exaggerated romance writing to my script writers, and instead will tell you I enjoyed reading lines with you today. I want to apologize for ambushing you with the new role, but I'm happy you're considering it. By the time we've finished our coffee tomorrow, I promise you'll have all the answers you need to make your decision."

An exhale of relief pushes from my lips because I truly need the role. I hope it's everything I want and more, but I automatically think of our kiss. "Thank you, Luca."

"Don't thank me yet. Do it after we iron out the details. Until tomorrow, sweet Josephine. Have a good night."

"Good night, Luca." We end the call and my skin tingles with goosebumps. The fluttering in the pit of my stomach is from joyous anticipation. It's a stark contrast to walking on eggshells whenever I speak to Duke. However, before I dedicate the next few weeks of my life to being a full-fledged actress, I have to make sure Jett and Collin are taken care of. I make the last call of my night.

"Evening, Jo," Mom answers the video call as my Dad walks around behind her. He's pacing, and she's already shaking her head no. "I saw his eye, Josephine. He should have looked before swinging. If it came from the other guy and not security, we'd be more lenient. He's out of control."

"Mom, you and Dad both know why he did it. It's not his fault security got in the way. He can stay here at the house. I can keep an eye on him, but he can't take the semester off. He'll never go back. I'm taking on two acting jobs, and Collin's going to help me with Jett. I'll need your help with half his tuition."

Dad shouts from behind her while continuing to pace in circles. "You already have one child to take care of, Jo. Your brother doesn't deserve for you to still baby him. He has to be a man and face the consequences of his actions."

"There are going to be much deeper and financially burdensome consequences if we don't help him. Let me paint the picture. Collin doesn't sleep here, but goes to see that girl, Shannon. He'll stay with her. She'll get pregnant. Whether they stay together or not, Collin's spending the rest of his life paying for this action. We have the means to help him."

"She's got a good point, Henry. You know we wouldn't let any of our grands go without, which means we'll be footing a lot more bills if Collin brings a child into this world. It's sounding like we can pay a little now to delay paying a lot with the arrival of an unexpected baby." Mom talks from over her shoulder.

"April, I don't want to pay at all," Dad grumbles. "We'll pay for room and board. That money will go to you since Collin can't be trusted to make good decisions right now. However, what you use it for, Jo, is up to you. I'd make him hustle and work to pay the full tuition on his own."

"Thanks, Dad."

Dad keeps his tone serious as he warns me. "Josephine, make him work hard for that money. He has to realize we won't always bail him out."

"I will, Dad. Love you both, gotta go. Night, Mom." I end the call and turn around to see Collin coming down the stairs with a shit-eating grin on his face. I hurl one of the sofa pillows at him.

"Jo, you're the best."

"I know." I laugh, and he heads out for the night. It doesn't take long after a hot shower for sleep to find me. Dreams of a sexy kiss with a sexy studio owner allow me to revel in my fantasies until the sun snatches Luca away from me.

Its rays are like an imaginary hand shaking me awake fifteen minutes before my alarm. Collin takes his part of our bargain seriously, and gets Jett to school, giving me time to pick the perfect outfit for my meeting with Luca. I have to get rid of Duke as quickly as possible.

Traffic is abysmal, but nothing's going to upset me about this day as I make my way to the Family Court building. It doesn't take long to spot him. Duke's standing outside on the grand steps leading up to the stone pillars.

"Josephine," A voice calls from behind me. They're trying to get me to look their way. I can tell they're close, but not giving Duke my undivided attention is a surefire way to cause a scene on the steps of the courthouse.

I glance over my shoulder, but Duke yells at me. "It's about time you got down here. Who's that?"

A large hand attached to a muscular arm in a crimson dress shirt extends from behind me to shake Duke's hand. My heart thumps hard as I look over my shoulder once more to see the man of my dreams introducing himself to the man of my nightmares.

6

LUCA

The sight of Josephine going pale with dread is easy to spot as she stands a few feet in front of some guy who has the build of an athlete, but everything about him says snake. I don't like him.

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