Page 39 of A Reclusive Heart

He threw her a disbelieving look over his shoulder but didn’t slow his pace as he continued to drag her over to makeup. “You’re like the Energizer Bunny when you have chocolate, Jamie. If you want some chocolate, you’ll have to get through this interview, otherwise, I’m throwing it out,” Nick said, knowing that if he took her chocolate anywhere near a trash can that she’d probably kill him.

“You wouldn’t dare!”she hissed and he didn’t bother to answer her as he maneuvered her around a large group of people and planted her ass in a chair.

“Here she is,” he announced to Margaret, the makeup specialist who’d been hitting on him since he showed up an hour ago to make sure that everything was set up for Jamie’s interview.

“Thanks, Nick. You’re such a sweetie,” Margaret said, placing her hand on his arm and gave it a small squeeze as she sent him another inviting smile. His eyes shot over to Jamie to see how she was reacting to this, but the damn woman was still sending the bag in his hand looks of longing.

Did he want her jealous? No, not really, but some kind of reaction would have been nice since he couldn’t help but want to kill every bastard that got within speaking distance of her. He felt his lips twitch when Jamie tried to discreetly reach out and take the bag from him.

“This is just getting sad,” Nick said, sighing as he moved the bag further away.

She looked up at him with sad, puppy dog eyes as her lower lip began to quiver and he just barely stopped himself from chuckling, which she probably wouldn’t appreciate at the moment. Instead, he shook his head, which caused her shoulders to slump in defeat as she released a cute little sigh.

“Miss Harris?” one of the production assistants said in greeting as she approached Jamie. “My name is Carla. Is there anything I can get you?”

Jamie immediately perked up. “Yes, umm, is there any chance that I could get some chocolate? It helps settle my nerves,” his little recluse said, lying her adorable ass, which he planned on focusing on tonight, off.

Carla smiled. “I believe we can arrange that.”

“No,” Nick said, cutting the woman off before she did something they’d all regret later. “No chocolate for her whatsoever,” he said, earning a killing glare from Jamie, but he didn’t care.

Chocolate was Jamie’s drug of choice, and unfortunately for her, she didn’t seem to handle sugar very well. She got wired, then cranky, then sleepy and when she woke up from her sugar-induced nap, he usually had to wrestle more chocolate out of the addict’s grasp before she could make it to the toilet-hugging phase, which was probably his least favorite of all the phases.

“Then, can I have a Coke, please?” she asked, sounding hopeful.

Sugar and caffeine? No, that would never work.

“She’ll have water,” Nick said, thankful that the assistant knew better than to listen to Jamie.

When Jamie sulked in her chair, he ignored her even as he made a mental note to order a huge ice cream sundae for her later. The woman was a little sugar addict, and thankfully, could be bought easily. Actually, now that he thought about it, he should probably hunt down something sweet to give her once her interview was over. He could give her the chocolate in her handbag but judging by the looks that she was shooting the bag, the little junkie had already reached her limit for the day.

“So, what do you say, Nick?” Margaret asked, making him realize that he’d missed everything she’d said while he’d been smiling like a fool at his little recluse.

“Hmm?” he asked, barely able to take his eyes away from Jamie as Margaret fussed with Jamie’s hair and makeup.

“She wanted to know if you’d like to go over to her house after this so that she could cook for you,” Jamie explained casually, not sounding upset at all, but judging by the hurt expression on her face, she didn’t like the idea one bit. Why that made him happy, he didn’t know, but it was nice to know that he wasn’t the only one that got jeal-

“Actually,” Jamie said brightly as she sat up straighter in her chair, “why don’t the two of you go discuss your dinner plans,” she said smoothly as she reached out and snatched her bag out of his hand, “and I’ll just sit here and wait to be called for my interview.”

His eyes narrowed on her as he felt a tick start beneath his left eye. “You’d sell me out like that? Overchocolate?” he said with disgust.

She shrugged as she held the bag tightly against her chest and let out another adorable sigh. “It’s Belgium chocolate,” Jamie said as though that explained it all. That explainednothing. It also pissed him off that she clearly chose chocolate over him.

He reached over and tore the bag away from her, earning a gasp of horror that he refused to find adorably sexy. “Just for that, you aren’t getting this chocolate back until tomorrow.”

“B-b-b-but,” she stuttered, reaching for the bag, but he simply stepped back.

When she realized that she wasn’t getting it back, Jamie went back to slumping in her chair. He thought he heard her mutter, “Big jerk,” but he decided to ignore it since that was most likely the chocolate withdrawal talking.

“Are you busy tonight, Nick?” Margaret asked as if the odd conversation hadn’t just happened. Then again, she was probably used to weird conversations in this line of work.

He should take the woman up on her invitation. She wouldn’t drive him crazy or have him drooling after her like some kid. In fact, he was pretty sure he’d have her out of her panties and beneath him within two minutes of walking through her front door, but unfortunately for him, the thought of touching her left him cold. The only woman he wanted was coming down from a sugar high and would probably require some babying later tonight when the stomachache hit. What the hell was wrong with him, Nick wondered when he realized that he’d rather spend the night cuddling a cranky woman than fucking a willing one.

“That’s a very sweet offer, but unfortunately, we have to work tonight and then we have to catch an early flight in the morning,” Nick said, giving the woman his most charming smile and hoping it was enough.

“Maybe next time you’re in town?” Margaret said, giving him that coy smile that promised all sorts of naughty things between the sheets. Since this thing with Jamie would be over by the next time he swung through Virginia for work, he didn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t accept.

“That sounds like a great idea, sweetheart. Why don’t you give me your number so I can give you a call the next time I’m in the area,” Nick said, forcing his eyes away from his little recluse as he told himself that he had no reason to feel guilty. He never felt guilty for living his life and he sure as hell wasn’t about to start now.

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