Page 9 of (Un)Expected

Adam glanced at the guide on the counter, reading through the menu. “Fuck,” he sighed. “Closed. Looks like we’re eating the salmon and kale salads. I really didn’t want to see another fucking fishtoday.”

Nothing about that option worked for me. Rebecca might have been a world-class private chef, but her meals were prepared based on Adam’s demanding nutrition plan. No butter, no salt, no sugar, nothing that might make him look less than a camera-ready action star.

An evil idea popped into my head, and I nodded toward the phone. “What about the girl at the front desk?”

“Do you mean Alex?”

“The manager said she would be available at all hours.”

“And Alex looked like she wanted to crawl under the desk,” Adam said. “I don’t want to inconvenience her.”

That was why he was a better guy than me. Truth be told, riling Alex up was the most fun I’d had in a long time. My plan wasn’t to be a dick at first; I’d never been called open and friendly, but I also didn’t go out of my way to be an asshole to people. I blamed my shitty mood on the rocky flight and the press at the airport.

I’d already started my apology speech in my mind when Alex pulled me aside, but that plan died when she read me the riot act. The way her cheeks tinged pink and her eyes turned volcanic made a weird flicker happen in my chest.

For some reason, I wanted to do it again and again.

Usually when I was with Adam, everyone put on their best impression, trying to get into his good graces. When he was in the room, they’d slap me on the arm and pretend to ask my opinion about what we were filming, but the moment he left, they went right back to ignoring me, not bothering with someone who couldn’t help them advance their careers or wallets. I knew what they thought about me, that I was nothing more than a hanger-on, a professional best friend leaching off his successful buddy. It worked for me, though. They didn’t know what I had been through, and I had no desire to explain it to anyone. I didn’t give enough of a fuck to play their games.

But Alex didn’t care about Adam standing there. She was willing to cut me down to my knees, consequences be damned. It was a far cry from the first impression I had of her, assuming she was goingto be another name added to the long list of Adam’s conquests. The dude had plenty of women willing to join him for a few nights of fun, but ever since his ex, a singer with a severe grudge, made their relationship the theme of her new album, his reputation had taken a bit of a hit.

My jaw tensed at the thought, remembering the conversation with his team after it was released. The tension radiated off the walls of the large conference room, the giant screen filled with headlines about Adam’s perceived bad behavior. As they outlined all the ways he needed to improve his image, I watched my best friend deflate, taking their words to heart. It took weeks to get him out of his head.

I pulled myself back to the present, still wishing I had punched his manager in the face.

As Adam walked inside, I shifted to one of the barstools, watching as he inspected his options. He looked as disappointed by the meals as I did. Shaking my head, I said, “Fuck the meal plan. What do you want?”

“I’d kill for a cheeseburger right now.”

Before he could argue, I grabbed my wallet and moved toward the door. “We’ll make a deal: I’ll go to the desk to see if Alex is there, and if she is, I’ll ask if she can hook us up with some real food. If not, then we’ll stick with Rebecca’s plan.”

He gave me a knowing glance as he took a step closer. “Cole…we’re going to be here for at least two months.”

“Your point?”

“Try not to piss Alex off on our first night.”

Too late.

A few minutes later,I walked into the lobby, determined to get Alex to help us, but as I crossed the room, my mind stalled, too distracted by the view of the lake. It took my breath away. The moonlight glowed through the large picture windows, highlighting the lakeand the lights of town on the other side of the water. It was striking in the daylight, but there was something even more special about this place at night.

It was sights like this that I missed the most when I was overseas. For months, all I saw was sand and then the sterile, white walls of the VA hospital. I missed nature, the quiet serenity of being surrounded by nothing but trees and sky.

The same feeling came over me when I spotted Alex across the room. She was one of few employees left, her station much emptier than earlier this afternoon. Besides the person manning the front desk, we were the only people in the room.

With her distracted, I took the opportunity to look at her. Her long brown hair was twirled into a bun on the top of her head, a couple of strands sneaking out to frame her face. Her ivory skin shined in the low lighting, making her appear softer. There was peace in her expression while she read whatever was on her monitor. As her pen tapped against her plush lower lip, she grinned to herself, pleased with whatever it was she was focused on. With no one else around, she stole all my attention.

As I stared at her a little longer, I started to think it’d be impossible to look away, even in a crowded room.

When I stepped closer, Alex lifted her head, meeting my gaze. For a moment, I forgot why I’d come up here. One look from her had my head swimming with questions. What made her smile like that? What color were her eyes? From here, they looked light blue, paler than most others I’d seen, almost like the water on a calm morning. They were striking, like they could see through to your very core.

However, as soon as she realized it was me, Alex’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. That look worked just as well for me, though. I liked being the one who elicited that reaction from her. The corner of my lip quirked up as I resisted the urge to smirk.

When I kept moving, she muttered something under her breath, ducking her head behind her computer monitor.

This was going to be fun.

When I leaned over her desk, letting my arms rest against the wood, she didn’t even bother to look up.

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