July (Calendar Girl #7)

His eyes and nose scrunched up. “Is that what this is about? Her not wanting to be my assistant?”


I wanted to say, “uh, duh,” but refrained as he was obviously clueless. “It seems to me that Heather is pretty smart.” He nodded. “Beautiful.” Again he agreed. “But she’s so much more than just your assistant. That night, you yourself said she managed everything right. Or at the very least had a hand in everything.”

“Yeah, so? What’re you getting at? Lay it out for me, Lucita.”

Taking a bite of gelato and letting it melt on my tongue, I swallowed and put down my spoon. “I think she wants to be your business manager slash agent. I don’t know enough about the industry to say exactly, but if she’s setting up your shows, running your team, taking care of you”—I picked up the spoon and pointed it at him—“then it sounds to me like she’s already doing the job without the pay, respect, or title under her belt, and floundering to try and get it all done alone. Maybe she needs a PA!” I snorted.

Both of his hands came up to his face, and he slid them over his forehead and down past his nose and lips betraying his frustration. “You’re right, Mia. Cristo en una cruz, tienes razón.” I could pretty much figure it out without asking for a translation.

“The girl has no life beyond you. You know, she told me that she didn’t have any friends except you. That you were her only family. Her best friend.”

“She said that?” His eyes darkened, and he cupped his chin in the palm of his hand. I nodded. “Hell, H has always been my best friend.”

“You ever tell her that?”

“I assumed she just knew.” His tone revealed how destroyed he was by the knowledge of Heather’s unhappiness.

I laughed. “You know what they say about people who assume right?”

His eyes hardened and one side of his lip curled as he shook his head.

“Assuming makes an ass out of you and me. Get it! Ass-ume!”

Anton shook his head and plowed into his green ice cream once more. “You’re a nut. Anyone ever tell you that?”

“All the time, but usually, my best friend Ginelle comes up with more colorful language.”

When I said the words ‘best friend’, Anton’s form slumped again. He picked up his unfinished treat and tossed it into the trash. A hard line formed between his brows and a slight scowl marred his handsome face.

“Let’s go. You have rehearsal, and I need to talk to my girl.”

Internally, I did a mighty fist pump followed by a touchdown dance.

Then I looked at the Super Duke I was riding and did it all over again.





Chapter 6


“Again!” Maria roared. “No. Stop the music.” She waved her hand up high in the air, and the music cut out.

I stood in the corner waiting for my turn to be battered. I’d been working on the same scene all day. Mostly, I did an ultra-sexy walk, followed by a hip swivel one way, then the other, bend down, back up, shimmy the tits and arch back. Eventually, Anton would be following behind me, doing his moves with the backup dancers. Some of the moves I learned would be consistent with whatever he was learning and going to do with his body. In all honesty, it was nothing compared to the paces that Maria was putting these other dancers through, and I was already beat. It had been a long fricking day. I needed a shower, food, and bed. Besides, tomorrow was my birthday, and Anton had given me the full day off. That also meant that Wes would arrive.

Equal parts excitement and trepidation warred with one another as I thought about my laid-back, movie-making surfer. I wanted to see Wes so bad I could feel the ache in my teeth. However, I also didn’t want my heart to be broken when I told him I was ready to be exclusive. A one-woman gal. His gal. Hopefully.

In order to do that though, he’d have to cut Gina DeLuca loose. No more casual sex with the nation’s hottest movie actress. Even the mere thought of her made the green-eyed monster rear her disgustingly ugly head. If we were going to do this, we had to commit. Fuck. Commit. That was one word I hadn’t said in a long time or place anywhere near the opposite sex. Mostly because every time I did, I got screwed over one way or another.

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