Page 3 of Hollywood Humbug (The Naughty List)

If it hadn’t been portraying enemies, I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from asking her out. But I used it as an excuse—albeit thin—to convince myself that I wouldn’t be able to hide my feelings for her. Complete bullshit, of course. If true, people wouldn’t pay me millions to act in their projects. But I clung to the lie like a lifeline, determined to ask her out the day we finished filming.

Unfortunately, about a month before we were done filming, unbeknownst to either of us at the time, we were offered roles in the same movie. Parts that we accepted. When I received the script with the list of cast members, I punched a hole through my kitchen wall. I wanted to work with her again, but it meant waiting even longer to pursue her. How would I get through four more months of filming without giving in to my hunger for her? To make matters even fucking worse, our characters, though supporting roles, had their own romantic storyline.

I was determined to keep it to myself like I’d been doing so far, but then my best friend, August Zane, came to town. He was a singer—a multi-platinum rockstar—so we rarely got to see each other in person. But he was on tour, so when he came to L.A. for a series of shows, he stayed with me. Sensing that I was bottling shit up, he suggested we head to our favorite bar, then dragged the whole story out of me.

“I don’t know if I can make it until the end of this project,” I groaned, dropping my forehead onto the cool, wooden table we were sitting at. Damn, I was pathetic.

“I only know Scarlet by reputation,” he murmured before draining his beer and signaling to our server for another. “It’s rock solid…but even so…Kayla seemed pretty level-headed initially.”

I knew where he was going and sat up, shaking my head. “That was different. Kayla pursued me, then tried to get rich by staging a dramatic breakup based on lies, which ended up costing me twenty million just to shut her ass up and stop the scandal before it hit.” Not only did I have to pay Kayla to sign an NDA, but I’d also been forced to pay off the “reporter” who’d agreed to print the story. I was using the term reporter loosely. Mandi Donovan was a bitch who made it her mission in life to print as much bullshit and gossip in her rag,Star Watch, as possible.

“How do you know it’s different?” he asked as he nodded at the waitress and took his fresh beer from her tray.

“Scarlet has shown some interest in me but never acted on it.”

“Are you sure she isn’t playing a long game, Kane? She might not be after money.”

“You think she wants to ride my coattails?” My tone was skeptical, but it wasn’t something that had never crossed my mind. I was only five years older than Scarlet, but I’d been in the industry since I was five and starred in the sitcomA Boy Named Lancelot. But she was a rising star…she didn’t need me to further her career. Right?

August was very cynical after years of being taken advantage of by friends and family. Rather than letting them get in trouble, he’d taken the blame for their exploits and ruined his reputation. Now, he struggled to keep himself from being blackballed in the music industry and didn’t trust easily. So, I blamed his attitude on that, even though he’d tapped into questions and insecurities that were already there, though I’d buried deep.

“Wait it out, bro,” August advised. “Get to know her better, and when the project is done, you can choose whether to pursue her.”

“If you’re going to be logical about shit…” I trailed off, and he smirked.

***

Fuckingfinally.

We’d wrapped up filming this morning, and I’d rushed through all of my finishing tasks, hoping Scarlet would still be on site so I didn’t have to track her down.

She was just stepping out of the trailer she shared with two other cast members, carrying a small duffle. I jogged over and took the bag, giving her my most charming smile. “Let me help you with this.”

Her perfect mouth parted, putting all kinds of naughty thoughts in my head, and she blinked up at me in surprise. Then her eyes dropped to my lips, and a pretty blush stole over her cheeks before she met my gaze again. I could understand her confusion. I’d treated her like a friend for the past year, and now I aimed my best panty-melting smile at her.

“Scarlet?”

“Hmmm?” I held back a laugh when she seemed to snap out of her dazed state suddenly. “Oh, um. You don’t have to do that. It’s not heavy, and my car is—”

“I know I don’thaveto,” I interjected with a wink. “I want to.”

“Oh…okay.” She smiled softly, a side that she didn’t show often. Scarlet was strong and dynamic, confident in who she was and her abilities, so when I made her blush and stammer, I wanted to beat my chest in triumph. I also experienced a powerful wave of possessiveness that I hadn’t known was in me.

We walked in silence for the few minutes it took to get to her car, and then I set her bag on the hood and crowded her up against the driver’s side door. “I have a question to ask you, red.”

She rolled her eyes at the nickname I’d given her during our first project together. She’d assumed it was because of her name since Scarlet was a shade of red, which annoyed her. But that was only part of it, and I wouldn’t tell her the other reasons, which drove her up the wall. Somehow, she was both cute and sexy when riled up, so I kept using it.

“Are you ever going to tell me why you insist on calling me that?”

“That depends.”

Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. This was the first time I’d suggested I might one day tell her why.

I grinned, drawing her gaze to my mouth, causing her cheeks to redden. “Depends on what?” Her voice was a little breathless, and it went straight to my groin.

“On when you let me take you to dinner. I’ll tell you then.”

Scarlet smiled, and I was momentarily stunned by her beauty—something that happened frequently when she hit me with those perfect lips and straight, pearly white teeth. “How about tomorrow?”

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