“That’s my boy,” Sinclair said. “Yes, she’s single, and I know for a fact that she thinks you’re hot, so it could turn into a real thing, you never—”
“I’m with Lana,” I said through gritted teeth. “If Kristin was seeing someone, too, then it might be easier.” At least then Lana wouldn’t have to wonder whether any lines had been crossed. Things would be less messy. “It won’t work if she’s single.”
“We can make it work,” Brian said.
“If you keep seeing Lana in private, without publically dating someone, people are either going to think you’re gay or fucking everything that moves unless you’re a public couple,” Sinclair said.
“I don’t care if people think I’m gay.”
“You don’t need me to tell you that you’re not going to get a franchise if there are more than three rumors that you might be gay.” As usual, I hated what Sinclair was saying, but he wasn’t wrong. “The only alternative is to date Lana seriously and publicly. But I don’t like that option. It doesn’t give you the publicity push. And it could get very messy. We need someone who understands the game.”
Fuck.
I was pretty sure that Lana wasn’t suddenly going to be okay with going public. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if I was ready for that. Privately dating someone was something I’d only just got accustomed to—would it survive media scrutiny?
I sighed.
“I can set up a dinner for you and Kristin, see how it goes,” Sinclair said.
“No. Don’t do anything. Yet.”
“Listen, Matt, you don’t know how this Lana thing is going to go. I know you like her now, but she’s a long way away and she’s not used to the pressure of Hollywood.” Sinclair had a point. “You think she’s ready for all the attention and publicity? Give it twelve months with Kristin, then if you’re still crazy for Lana we can transition you into that relationship. By then the franchise is in the bag.”
“I don’t know.” Audrey and I had managed, but she’d been with the same guy since high school. More importantly, I hated the idea of pretending someone other than Lana was my girl.
“It’s the smart move, Matt. And like you say, you’re serious about your career,” Sinclair said.
“Don’t try to manipulate me, Sinclair. You know I hate that. I’ll make my decision and let you know.”
“Why don’t you just have a drink with Kristin? I think you’ll get along with her really well.”
“No. I’m not going to do that. Not yet.” If I gave Sinclair an inch, he’d take a mile. I just couldn’t see how dating one person but wanting to be with another was a good idea.
But I wasn’t sure I could convince Lana to date me publicly, anyway. I knew she didn’t crave fame or publicity, which was one of the things I liked about her. She understood the beauty of being in Maine and stepping out of city life. Her motives were clear to see—she wanted peace and happiness. How could I deny her such worthy aspirations? I didn’t want to be the one to take it all away.
Brian continued on about Kristin, but I was only half listening. “I said I’d call Audrey, but I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” The other end of the phone fell silent. “What I do want to speak to you about is The Brothers. Did you approach the author’s agent?”
Brian cleared his throat. It was how he built up to bad news. Shit. “I’m just not sure this is the way to go for you at the moment, Matt. You need to stay focused.”
Whose career was it, though? “Does that mean you haven’t approached the author’s agent? What about Fox? Did you talk to them about a production deal?”
“You don’t have any experience producing. And you came from modelling. It’s not an easy transition. You need to look focused. It’s not good to be overcommitted.”
“Every actor out there has a production deal.” I swept my hand through my hair.
“I know, and I understand that this might be frustrating to you.”
I hated when he adopted the tone of a parent of a two-year-old having a tantrum.
“But you need to take this business one step at a time. What you don’t want to happen is to get a production deal too early and then have it fail.”
I took a deep breath. He had a point. “Surely we can still option the book?”
“You think a decent agent would recommend an actor without a production deal taking an option on this? It’s not like you’re going to take it to a studio and say you’ll star if they make it. That I could get behind. But I read the fucking thing. There are no adult male leads in the book.”
Christ, Brian could be a douche. I was very close to telling him to fuck off. When someone told me I couldn’t do something, it lit a fire under me. If Brian wasn’t going to play ball then I’d have to change up my game. I hadn’t made it this far by playing things safe. “Okay. Well, keep your ear to the ground. If you hear of anyone else looking to option it, let me know.”
“Sure will,” Brian said. I genuinely believed he thought he was acting in my best interests, but it didn’t seem like we were aligned on what those were anymore. Yes, I wanted the franchise, but I could option the book and try for a production deal at the same time. I could do both, couldn’t I?
And as long as I wasn’t getting into trouble, I didn’t see why I needed any woman in my life other than Lana.
I’d never felt so out of sync with my team as I did right now.
Nineteen
Lana
I pulled my suitcase off the carousel, imagining the chaos on the other side of baggage claim if Matt had decided to turn up at the airport, despite the fact that we had agreed I’d take a car to his place. He’d be surrounded by screaming women, thrusting their phones and God knew what in his face. He’d never felt like a movie star to me. He was just Matt—the guy who sheltered in the bandstand in a thunderstorm, the man who could make me come again and again and again.
I set my suitcase on its wheels and headed for the exit. Nerves fluttered about in my stomach. What happened if things were different between us in LA? Our time together in Maine had been easy, but in Los Angeles, Matt was surrounded by the most beautiful women on the planet every day. Would he see me and wonder what he’d done by inviting me to come out?
After baggage claim I paused before I took the final few steps to the sliding doors out to the real world. Matt had said he was going to send his driver to collect me, so I’d look for someone holding a card with my name on it.
I took a breath and walked toward the exit. Jolting to the side, I grabbed for my suitcase handle, but went flying onto my ass.
What the hell?