Come A Little Bit Closer (The Sullivans #7)(3)

Tatiana Landon, Valentina’s younger sister, was an incredibly talented actress with ten years of experience behind her. She’d been hired for dozens of TV episodes, had shot a couple of sitcom pilots over the years, and most recently, had important supporting roles in two feature films. But Gravity was her first lead in a major motion picture.

Valentina had always been proud of her sister, but what they’d all just witnessed from Tatiana had been so stunningly good that Valentina was still having trouble catching her breath. And she knew why.

Smith Sullivan had brought out every last ounce of magic her sister possessed.

Just then, Tatiana moved back down the sidewalk toward Smith. Valentina could read her sister like an open book and though she was smiling at the applause from the rest of the cast and crew, it was clear that the person she was really waiting for a verdict from was Smith.

So much like the character he was playing, for a moment it was hard to read his face until he reached out to put his hands on either side of Tatiana’s shoulders and said loudly enough for everyone to hear, “You. Are. Perfect.” He was grinning widely as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

Tatiana blinked up at Smith, pleasure and pride mixing with the stars in her sister’s eyes a moment before her own blinding smile came.

In the span of one terrible heartbeat, the ground fell away from Valentina’s feet as she watched the interaction between her sister and the movie star...and every one of her fears for her sister’s welfare pushed to the forefront.

She couldn’t forget the way he’d flirted and charmed the female fans who had been waiting for a glimpse of him just outside the set earlier that morning, the cliché of the movie star come to life. The women had fawned all over him and she had no doubt that he’d loved every second of the attention, not to mention the dozen phone numbers he’d held in his hand. Valentina had no trouble imagining just how giddy with anticipation the women were over whom he would pick to warm his bed tonight.

Like hell if it was going to be her own sister.

So when Smith went to watch playback, Valentina didn’t think, didn’t stop to assess whether her actions were wise as she pushed through the crew to get to him.

“We need to talk. In private. Now.”

She kept her voice pitched low and even, though she knew everyone would likely be gossiping about her nerve within seconds of their leaving the set, wondering what possible beef she could have with the great Smith Sullivan.

Valentina headed toward Smith’s trailer, which had been moved to the Union Square site for the first day of filming, and even though she hadn’t waited for his reply, she could feel his larger-than-life presence behind her every step of the way.

Chapter Two

Gravity was the story Smith had been waiting his entire career to tell. It wasn’t a big-budget, smash ’em up blockbuster. Nor was it a period film with impeccably researched costumes and accents. Instead, it was a pure, honest story about love and family and what really mattered.

And he was staking his entire reputation on the deceptively simple story.

If ever there was a time for focus, for pure and total concentration, it was now and through the next eight weeks of filming. He couldn’t afford to let anything—or anyone—distract him from making the best movie he had in him.

Only, as he followed Valentina to his trailer, her waist, hips, and legs gorgeous in her form-fitting pencil skirt, he already knew holding that intense focus wasn’t going to be easy.

Valentina Landon had attracted him from the start with her exotic looks which she downplayed into cool, businesslike reserve. He couldn’t miss the slightly seductive tone to her voice, or the fact that her scent was pure, rich sensuality. If she thought she was putting anyone off with her suits, soft golden hair pulled back into a simple ponytail, and the thick-framed glasses she slid on when she was poring over contracts, she was way off base.

Didn’t she know that all those carefully constructed conservative elements made a guy like him want to find out just how deep her passions ran? Especially when she was so intent on hiding them. Not, of course, that she’d even come close to letting him find out the answer to that question.

During rehearsals, she was always either with her sister or making her way out of a room the second he walked into it. He’d been impressed with her business acumen during the past weeks with regard to Tatiana’s career, as well as how well she took care of her sister on a personal level. Valentina didn’t hover, but at the same time, she was there whenever Tatiana needed her.

As the second-oldest brother in a family of eight siblings, Smith knew just how hard it was to watch over his brothers and sisters while also letting them spread their wings and live their lives without his constant interference. Family meant the world to him, but he craved his independence, and his work, too. It was a constant balancing act, but one he wouldn’t have given up for all the peace and quiet and spare time in the world.

From the beginning of his career just after college, he’d started with whatever scraps he could get and built on from there. He knew people thought he’d been handed his acting career, that his looks had paved the road with gold bricks and Hollywood stars. In truth, those looks had made being taken seriously so difficult that after the first couple of years of countless auditions, he’d almost taken one of the dozens of underwear commercials he’d been offered. Until, finally, an older actor had given him his chance to prove that he was more than just a pretty face. Smith had grabbed that chance with both hands, and when the movie was a box office hit, other doors finally started to open.