Page 26 of Kissing Games
‘Did you help design it?’
She snorted. ‘You don’t know much about Hollywood, do you?’
He shook his head.
‘I have less power than the caterers. There is nothing I can do about my costume, no matter what I think about it.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘So am I. But there are thousands of women who would kill for the chance to play this role. So, I wear what I’m given, no matter how much I hate it.’
‘I’m sorry.’
She gave him a faint smile. ‘So you keep saying.’
‘Sorry.’
Her smile broadened. ‘You’re very British.’
‘Yes, and also a dickhead. So I’ve got a lot to be sorry for.’
Valentina indicated the pan on the stove. ‘Would you like some? I’ve made too much.’
‘Yeah, sure, thanks.’ He moved into the room, closing the door behind him. ‘What is it again?’
Valentina raised an eyebrow. ‘You’ll drink it but you don’t know what it is?’
‘Story of my life.’ She could have offered him a cocktail of bleach and arsenic and he’d still have drunk it.
‘It’s chocolate caliente, Colombian hot chocolate with cinnamon. Come see.’
He looked over her shoulder at the swirling hot chocolate. He was so close that he could feel the heat from her, smell the scent of flowers from her hair as it mingled with the chocolate and spice. His mouth watered.
‘Smells so good.’
‘My abuelita used to make it as a treat when I was a little girl. And Abuela made it for me all the years I was working onLa Vida Familiar.It reminds me of home.’
His heart tugged towards her.
She stopped stirring. ‘It’s ready.’
Charlie reluctantly moved away and let her pour it. She handed him a mug and they sat opposite each other at the prep table in the middle of the room. She cradled hers and brought it up to her nose, a smile spreading across her face. Charlie stared, drinking her in. Her soft amber skin, her deep liquid eyes, the fluttering of her long lashes.
‘Why couldn’t you sleep?’ he asked.
She took a sip, then put it down and looked away. ‘I’m not used to having so much time on my hands. It’s strange.’
‘What do you mean?’
Her gaze came back to the mug. ‘I’m always working. Filming, publicity, meetings, auditions. It’s constant. But here, now?’ She drummed her fingers on the metal surface of the table. ‘I’m in so few scenes, it’s crazy. They should have flown me in right at the end for two days.’
‘So why don’t you kick back and chill out? Have a holiday?’
Valentina looked at him as if he’d suggested she start eating babies. ‘I can’t. I have too much to do. Too many emails. I can never keep up.’
‘Don’t you have a PA, like Shauna?’
She shook her head.
