Page 80 of Beneath the Blindfold

The bubble appeared like she was typing, but it vanished. My chest tightened as I waited. What if she thought I was joking?

Anna:Go on vacation together?

Me:I’ve got two more races and I’m done. When’s your tour over?

This could work. Hadn’t she told me she wasn’t slated to start her next shoot for a few weeks?

Anna:I think I’m back in LA by the end of the month.

Me:Awesome. Where do you want to go?

I set the phone down beside me and took off my shoes, dropping them to the floor with two soft thumps. Any second now, the phone would chime with a new message. She could pick any place; it didn’t matter to me. Wherever she wanted to go, I was on board—as long as she was there.

I pulled my racing suit down around my waist and fought the chill of the air conditioning. My white undershirt was damp with sweat, and as the seconds of silence ticked by, I began to sweat all over again.

Had I put her on the spot? Maybe I needed to give a suggestion. The best bet was someplace sexy. I’d take every advantage I could get. Ideally, someplace tropical and romantic. What was close to LA?

Me:Hawaii?

The flight time wasn’t too bad—easier than going to Europe. I was proud of myself for the quick thinking, and for a moment, my brain went fuzzy as I pictured us on the beach, her in a bikini.

But there was no response. Not even an attempt to type from her. I glanced up at the icon on my screen. I had a full signal, and she’d read the message.

Oh, shit.

I was so stupid. Anna had told me about a co-star a few months back. They’d become friends while filming, but he’d mistaken her friendliness for more. She hadn’t said much about it, but I could read between the lines. The guy hadn’t handled her rejection well and had made things really awkward.

I was fucking this up and making things weird between us. Suggesting a trip together was kind of strange, and it probably crossed a line. Nervous wasn’t a feeling I got too often, and it freaked me out. I grabbed my phone and typed as fast as my thumbs could keep up.

Me:Or wherever. I think it would be fun to hang out as friends.

I grimaced as I sent the message to cover my ass. I didn’t want to friend-zone myself, but better to be zoned than nothing at all.

I sighed with relief as a bubble popped up on the screen, filled with blinking dots. The anticipation of her reply was worse than waiting for a photo finish result.

Anna:Sorry, the driver wanted an autograph. This is crazy, but YES! And Hawaii! How do we make that happen?

THREE

Anna

Planes rolled by in the distance, taxiing toward the runway. I stood in the center of the luxury private suite with my arms crossed over my chest and my nervous gaze out the oversized window. As each plane lofted into the air, I had a similar feeling in my stomach.

Jamie should be here any minute.

He’d sent a text a little while ago that he’d landed. By now he’d gotten off the plane, been picked up by the suite escort, and was being driven across LAX. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, wanting to get the nervous excitement out before he arrived.

I knew him growing up. I’d watched his interviews and promo spots. We talked every day, meaning Jaime knew me better than my agent, my assistant Sato—really everyone. He was closer to me than any other friend.

And yet we hadn’tseeneach other in eleven years.

In that time, he’d become a devastatingly handsome man. A very attractive, verysingleman. Jamie hadn’t always been. When we’d first started talking, he’d been with someone. He didn’t talk about her much, and I didn’t pry, but they’d called it quits not long after our daily conversations began. I suspected his long chats with me had something to do with it.

I uncrossed my arms and ran my palms down my skirt, smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles. I hadn’t sat down since I’d entered the suite fifteen minutes ago. I hadn’t turned on the TV or touched the snack bar, because balancing on pins and needles was taking all of my energy.

Friends.

I mouthed the word silently, reminding myself. That was how Jamie had pitched this trip to me. Would I be able to keep my desire for him stowed away so I didn’t jeopardize our friendship? He’d never hinted he was interested me. Hadn’t flirted, or even mentioned if he’d seenThe Blindfold Club. The movie had been out for a month.

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