Page 37 of Please, Stay

Grayson shook his head. “I think we’d all rather be involved than know you’re dealing with him on your own. I’m still going with you in the morning.”

She sighed, feeling tired. “Why haven’t you left yet? I’m not worth having to endure this much family drama.”

Something strange flickered in his eyes a moment before he kissed her again. It wasn’t sweet. It was full of her frustration and his need.

A pot clattered behind her again. Cameron said, “Get a room,” before leaving with the trash bag.

Good idea.

Juliana broke off the kiss and tugged on Grayson’s hand, leading him to Becky’s living room. He spun her back around to face him, a hand fisting in her hair and dragging her head back, kissing her hard on the mouth.

She grazed her teeth over his bottom lip.

“Damn it, Juliana,” he whispered. Strong fingers dug into her hips. Her hands ran over his shoulders and down the muscles tight over his back. “You’re killing me.”

It gave her a strange surge of power. A feeling of being completely female and in control. While the rest of her life spun out of control, she had him. For the time he was in her life, she’d feed off his strength. And after spending so much energy on her dad and Eliza, she wanted this one thing for herself.Shewas driving Grayson Moore crazy.

After another long, consuming kiss, she stepped away, breathing heavily. She ran a hand through her hair. “I, uh, I should probably go.”

He nodded, watching her with a mixture of wonderment and desire. “I’ll follow you back. Make sure you get there.” His lips cocked to the side. “And not sleep worth a damn tonight.”

* * *

Grayson letthe hot water from the shower hit him in the face, trying to wake-up. He hadn’t lied to Juliana when he said he wouldn’t sleep after that kiss. It’d kept him up most of the night, so he’d made good use of his time by reading the script before doing some bodyweight exercises in his room.

His phone rang in the other room, and he jumped out of the shower to catch it. He’d almost banked on Juliana calling to cancel on him. He figured once she didn’t have to face him that her dad would force her to promise not to see him or something crazy.

“Trev?” Grayson glanced at the clock on the dresser. Quarter till six. “Are you alright? Addie?”

“We’re fine,” Trevor said through a yawn. “But your damn director is on Australian time, and he found out you fired your manager.”

Grayson smiled and managed not to laugh. Trevor hated getting up early. “But I hired you as my manager.”

Trevor yawned again. “Yeah, well, apparently I’m not good enough. He peppered me with a thousand questions about what you were doing, and I kept all my answers vague, and now I’m pretty sure he hates me.”

“He hates everyone.”

“I can see that about him.”

“So,” Grayson said, drawing out the word. “Why are you calling me?”

“I might have been forced to promise to name my first-born child after him and to ensure that you would not do anything that would cast a negative light on your character or the film. He wrote a bunch of things into your contract, you know, the one I didn’t negotiate.”

“And I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Good. One clause states that from the time you start training and until filming is complete, you’d have a member of your management team with you.”

“Trev, that is dumb. I’m an adult. I can take care of myself.” Grayson walked back to the bathroom and turned the shower back on. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“I know, but he explained that the investors are very sensitive to scandals. He doesn’t want to lose his backing.” Trevor spoke through a yawn and said, “I’m sure as hell not planning on babysitting you. So, I’m doing my job and reminding you not to find trouble in that sleepy town.”

“I promise. Now, go back to sleep.”

“Were you already awake?”

Grayson smirked at the thought. “Nope. I haven’t gone to bed yet.”

Trevor barked out a laugh. “Wow. You really moved fast with Juliana.”

---