Page 50 of Cast to be Mine

“It’s the job,” I said.

“I’ll never forget how kind you’ve been to me.” Her voice was barely above a whisper now. “Whatever happens with this movie, I’ll always remember that you believed in me when I couldn’t believe in myself.”

The SUV turned onto the Pacific Coast Highway, and I realized with a start that we were heading toward my place first. The driver must have gotten the directions wrong. I should correct him.

I didn’t say a word.

Instead, I found myself staring at her lips. Those perfect, soft lips that had haunted my dreams for weeks. The lips I’d tasted once during that rehearsal and had been desperately trying to forget ever since.

“I wish I could spend even more time with you,” I heard myself say. “There’s a thing or two I’d like to show you that has nothing to do with making movies.”

Grace’s cheeks flushed pink, visible even in the darkness. A soft giggle escaped her lips. The sound did something dangerous to my self-control.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “That wasn’t very professional.”

“Neither is this,” she whispered.

And then she was leaning across the seat. I didn’t have a chance to react before her lips were on mine. I didn’t push her away.

17

GRACE

The moment our lips touched, everything else fell away. I wasn’t tired anymore. The professional boundaries I’d been carefully maintaining evaporated like smoke. The voice in my head screaming that this was a terrible idea dissolved into nothing.

He tasted like coffee. I felt his hand come up to cup the back of my neck, fingers threading through my hair. A soft moan escaped my throat before I could stop it. It was so much better than the fantasy I’d been building up.

The kiss deepened. His tongue slid against mine. Heat pooled low in my belly. This was nothing like our rehearsal kiss. That had been controlled, choreographed, cut short before it could become anything real. Not this time. His mouth opened wider and it became clear he was going to devour me and I was here for it.

When we finally broke apart, both of us breathing hard, his forehead rested against mine.

“Grace,” he said, my name a rough whisper. “We should probably stop.”

“Don’t.” I pressed a finger to his lips. “Don’t say we should stop. Don’t say this is a mistake.”

His eyes searched mine in the darkness of the car. I could see the war raging behind them. I got it. But I had made my peace. He was deciding between duty versus desire, professionalism versus the undeniable pull between us.

“This is a mistake,” he said quietly. But even as the words left his mouth, his hand was sliding down my back, pulling me closer.

“Then let’s make it together.”

The SUV pulled through the gates of his beach house. The driver stopped in the circular driveway, and Micah finally pulled away from me, though his hand remained on my thigh like he couldn’t bear to break contact completely.

“Want to come in?” he asked in a gruff voice.

I smiled. Fuck the rules. “Yes.”

“That’ll be all for tonight,” he told the driver, his voice impressively steady considering what we’d just been doing in the back seat. “I’ll make sure Ms. Stone gets home safely.”

The driver nodded without comment. If he’d noticed anything in his rearview mirror, he was professional enough not to let on. I grabbed my bag and followed Micah out of the car, my legs shaky beneath me.

The ocean roared somewhere in the darkness beyond the house. Salt air filled my lungs as we walked up the front steps. Micah fumbled with his keys, the first sign I’d seen that he was as affected as I was.

Inside, the house was quiet and dark. He flipped on a few lights, illuminating the open-concept living space I remembered from the table read. The wall of windows reflected our images back at us like ghosts.

“Drink?” he asked.

“Please.”