I chuckled. “Yeah, let’s not do that.”
“If you’re used to the Presidential Suite at the Mandarin Oriental, what were you thinking booking my little cottage in Maine?” she asked. “You could fit both cottages in this place.”
I was learning that wherever Lana was, I felt at home. Even if it was Friday at just past six and we were naked, in a hotel bed, overlooking Central Park. I pulled her closer. “Hey, I love your place. This suite is ludicrous. They upgraded me. I would never book something this huge. I don’t need two bedrooms.”
“But now that we’re here, we have to take a bath in that tub. That view is just—”
“There’s no better view than looking at you.”
“Who writes these lines for you?” she asked, lifting her head from where it rested on my chest.
“It’s all my original work. And I mean it. If you’re in the bath, I don’t give a crap about the view. Your boobs are awesome.”
She giggled. “That’s the best compliment I’ve ever heard.”
“Like you said, I have all the words.”
She dipped down and kissed my torso. My dick twitched.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand and I groaned.
“Sinclair,” I said.
“Take it. Otherwise he’ll keep calling.”
I slid my finger across the screen. “Hi, Sinclair.”
“We’re stuck in traffic. We’ll be twenty minutes,” he said.
“You’ll be where in twenty minutes?”
“Kristin and I will be with you. We agreed to this last week.”
I’d told Sinclair that I wouldn’t sign the contract with Kristin Cooper until Lana had met her. “But we said tomorrow night.” I’d not had a chance to get Lana up to speed. Talking about your next girlfriend wasn’t the kind of conversation you had over the phone with your current girlfriend.
“No, we said Friday night. Christ, are you not in the hotel?”
I glanced at Lana. “Yeah, we’re here.”
“Good, we’ll see you in twenty minutes.” He hung up.
Lana frowned. “He’s coming here?”
“I said we’d see him tomorrow. He swears we agreed tonight. But he’s bringing Kristin. I wanted you to meet her before we sign contracts.”
“Sign contracts?” Lana’s whole body stiffened. “I didn’t realize that deal was done.”
“You knew I was talking to her.” I’d deliberately not mentioned it a lot because I didn’t want Lana to think I was pressuring her into going public. But I definitely had told her that things were progressing.
“And she’s coming here tonight to sign?”
“And to meet you. In twenty minutes.”
She shook her head and bounced out of bed. “I’m getting first shower,” she said as she ran into the bathroom.
It wasn’t anything I was looking forward to. I didn’t want to live this lie. But at least we’d get this over with. Hopefully Lana would be comfortable with her and everyone would be happy.
Lana
Staring into the mirror on the dressing table, I applied a thin layer of blush. Kristin Cooper was beautiful. Blonde. Not much more than a hundred pounds. She probably had her hair professionally blown out and her makeup done by a glam squad. And here I was, my trusty L’Oréal cream blush smeared on the back of my hand, hoping to make myself look healthy, rather than like I was trying out for a circus. The thought of coming face-to-face with Matt’s next girlfriend, even if she was fake, filled me with complete and utter dread.
My conversation with Ruby had brought everything into focus. I didn’t know what the future held for Matt and me, but I knew that I couldn’t lose him. I’d been waiting for a moment to tell him, in between kisses, that I wanted to be with him and that I’d put up with the scrutiny, the lack of privacy, and that I just wanted us to have a proper shot at being together. If that meant we didn’t hide, then so be it.
Sinclair’s call might have come at the exact wrong time. But perhaps it was fate. Wasn’t it better this way? Didn’t I get the best of both worlds—Matt and my privacy?
In the bar with Ruby, as soon as I’d decided that I’d go public with him, a weight had lifted off my shoulders. I’d been happy with my decision and I couldn’t wait to tell Matt.
I hadn’t understood that negotiations with Kristin had gotten this far. It made sense that Matt wouldn’t tell me all the details—it was awkward and uncomfortable for us both. But if I’d known we were due to be meeting Kristin tonight, then I would have told him. Perhaps I still should. But there was still that voice at the back of my head, telling me that this was what I’d wanted.
But was it?
What I wanted was Matt.
Hell, if it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t be in New York at all. I wouldn’t have had the courage to start making jewelry again, and I wouldn’t have had the confidence to follow up on an introduction Mr. Butcher made for me to one of his contacts in the fashion industry.
I dressed quickly—we weren’t going somewhere fancy—and checked my lip gloss and fluffed my hair before going to find Matt and Kristin.
I walked in to the living area from the bedroom just as Matt passed Kristin a drink. She was even more gorgeous in real life. She wore skinny jeans and a cami. Her makeup was flawless and her glossy blonde hair looked like she’d just stepped out of a Pantene commercial. My gaze flitted between them as I took them both in. They looked perfect together—two beautiful, talented actors. The public would lap them up.
I patted my stomach, trying to stave off the nausea that stirred in my belly, and went across to join them.
“Kristin,” Matt said, rising when he spotted me, “this is my girlfriend, Lana.” He held his arm out to me as I neared them and slid his hand around my waist. “And Lana, you know Sinclair.”
I nodded at Sinclair, images of me naked in a sheet still flashed through my head. “Hi,” I said, reaching out to shake Kristin’s hand.
She ignored my hand and pulled me into a hug. “It’s so good to meet you. You’re so pretty,” she said. “Matt’s a very lucky guy.”
I smiled. “Thank you. You’re even more beautiful in real life.”
She chuckled and patted my arm. “I have a team of people that work on me. I do not wake up like this.”
I laughed. She was nice. Maybe she and Matt should sign contracts today, and then I’d have more time to get used to the idea of a public relationship.
“Shall we sit and go through the paperwork?” Sinclair said, clearly keen to close this deal.
“Sure, do you have an itinerary?” Kristin asked as we all took our seats around the dining room table. Kristin sat next to Sinclair and Matt and I opposite them.
“Yeah, there’s a lot going on over the next six months because of Thanksgiving, Christmas and then Sundance followed by the awards season,” Sinclair said.
“My publicist should have sent you over a copy of all my fixed dates,” Kristin said. “I swear, if this job was just acting, it would be a hell of a lot easier.”
Matt chuckled.