Page 30 of Finding Her Leading Man

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“As much as you want to. My mom has never seen me with a woman before, so everything is new to her. She doesn’t have any more expectations than this.” He held up their linked hands.

“I can act any part, Trevor. I just need the guidelines.” Her frustration leaked into her voice. Would he realize how much she wanted him to take away the uncertainty?

He kissed the back of her hand, lingering over it long enough that the rest of Rhonda’s Roadhouse’s parking lot faded away. His lips felt soft on her skin. She wanted him to kiss her, and it not for the benefit of his mom.

“I know,” he mumbled. “That’s what worries me. I don’t want to question which Sam I’m with. The real one or the actress.”

It worried her, too. It was easy to slip into a character, live in the world she created in her mind. Maybe that’d happened with Jasper. The warning signs were there all along. Did she choose to keep her head down and avoid reality?

Samantha’s head shot up when Trevor jerked to a stop.

Grayson blocked the door. He crossed his arms, looking like a bouncer in a movie. Big muscles. Mean look. Ready to kick Trevor’s ass, for no reason it seemed. “I told Jules about the deception.”

“Deception is a little harsh,” Trevor said. “Pretending?”

“Lie?”

Trevor’s fingers flexed in her own, but other than that, he still appeared unaffected by Grayson’s comment. “What’s your point?” The happiness from before left Trevor’s voice.

“Everyone standing here knows what Samantha went through.” His eyes shifted between the two of them. She leaned a little closer to Trevor as Grayson continued. “You know I’d do anything for Addie, too, but this is an extreme way to make sure her wedding goes smoothly. Sam, we don’t want you to get caught up in something and get hurt again. I’m not sure Trevor is thinking things through.”

“You seemed fine with it this afternoon,” Trevor shot back.

“I can see how hard it is for her.”

Again, Trevor’s hand tightened for a brief second before relaxing. The muscles in his arm grew tense. She pressed harder against his side, her free hand stroking over the muscles of his forearm, trying to comfort him. Support him. Jasper didn’t react to much. Standing beside a man who looked like he wanted to knock his best friend in the face put her in new territory. But she’d ground him. He’d do the same for her, and the sudden thought warmed her heart. Trevor was on her side. She had someone in her corner now.

Not for long, since he’d already made it clear he didn’t want a long-term relationship, but for now, she’d take it.

Juliana, Grayson’s fiancé, ran a hand down Grayson’s arm in a similar manner. “Isn’t there another way you can keep your mom happy, Trevor?”

The tension between Trevor and Grayson stretched tight. The stress curled her stomach into a tight ball. She wanted her antacids but remembered Trevor’s warning.

“I appreciate your concern, but Samantha and I have talked about it. We know the rules, and, believe me, I’m the last person in the world who wants to hurt her.”

“I can see you took my initial warning seriously,” Grayson snapped back.

“I’m your agent. We’re friends. But that’s where the line ends. I make my own decisions.”

“And they’re questionable.”

Samantha stepped between the two men and held up her hands. “Stop it. Both of you.” She looked at Grayson and Juliana. “I’m fine doing this. I’d rather be out with people than sit alone in my room any longer. I appreciate the concern, but I don’t believe for a second that Trevor’s trying to trick me the way Jasper did. And I enjoy knowing I’m helping Addie. I don’t like telling a lie, but seriously Grayson, it’s what we do for a living. I can go to dinner and pretend to be attracted to Trevor.” She had a hard time controlling her reaction around him as it was.

Juliana narrowed her green eyes and smirked in a female-way like she’d figured Samantha out. If she had, Samantha wished Juliana would give her some insight because she was still clueless about her feelings. She’d been so battered and broken before. Any emotion made her insides raw.

Trevor took her hand that still hovered in the air. “We need to go in. I don’t want to fight about this.”

Juliana tugged on Grayson’s shoulder, but he didn’t budge.

“You are welcome to leave.” The loud rumble of a motorcycle, and then the sharp smell of exhaust, punctuated his statement.

Grayson stood firm in his position, guarding the door. “Addie wants me here.”

The tension drained away from Trevor’s face. “And I do, too. Look, Samantha agreed to do this. I gave her several chances to back out. I’d never push her into something she hated. A heartless jerk hurt her, but she’s not fragile.”

Wasn’t she? It felt like it. As if the pieces of her soul, her heart hadn’t finished mending together. A stiff wind would scatter them all around the gravel parking lot of Rhonda’s Roadhouse.

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