Just To Be With You (The Sullivans #12)(34)

She reached for her phone with a slightly shaky hand and was already dialing his cousin as they headed out. “Smith, Serena and her mother just left my place.”

He was impressed how quickly, and successfully, Tatiana turned her attention to the job Smith had asked her to do. Especially when he knew firsthand just how difficult—impossible, actually—it was to pull off that kind of focus when they were together.

“Serena’s a winner,” she told Smith. “There’s a depth to the emotion inside of her that, when combined with her beauty, is frankly mind-blowing. Ian was watching, too, if you’d like to hear his opinion. Valentina told you I’m shadowing him to research my new role, didn’t she? I’ll put you on speaker—hold on a sec.”

“Tatiana was right on the money,” Ian told his cousin once they were all on the call together in the back of his town car. “Serena did a great job—despite her horrible mother doing everything she could to get in the way.”

“You owe Ian, Smith,” Tatiana said, “since he barely escaped with his life around that woman. However, I still think you should hire Serena. Just figure out a way to keep Genevieve off the set as much as possible.”

“Will do,” Smith said. “Thanks, both of you, for your help. And Ian, drinks are on me next time I see you.”

But Ian knew that if Smith had even the faintest inkling about his feelings for Tatiana, the very last thing in the world he’d be doing was thanking him or buying him drinks.

CHAPTER TWELVE

All Wednesday afternoon after they’d gone back to Ian’s office, and then Thursday while they went on an extensive tour of the massive physical warehouse facilities in which he was considering an investment, Tatiana’s brain had been spinning as she tried to figure things out, both regarding Ian and her new role.

She’d meant it when she said she was no good at holding things in. She had always been passionate about what she was working on, and once she’d tapped the well of inspiration and passion for acting, she’d never even considered turning it off. Her sister had made more than one worried comment over the years about her putting in long hours and so much emotional commitment to her roles. Tatiana wanted to please Valentina, who had always been more of a mother to her than a sister, but even for Val she couldn’t change who she was.

All or nothing.

Go big or go home.

And no matter how high, or how risky, the stakes were, give her all and her best.

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise to anyone, then, that she had gone and fallen in love with a man who absolutely, positively refused to let himself do the same.

Since the previous Friday when she’d stumbled into his arms, how many times had he deliberately kept his distance, making certain not to touch her with even the barest brush of their fingers or legs against each other? Only yesterday when she’d been talking to him about losing her father had he forgotten to keep that space between them.

The only thing she knew for sure was that she wanted Ian and he wanted her. Yesterday in her kitchen, he hadn’t denied their attraction the way other men might have, because he wasn’t a man who lied. Ever.

Immediately, she’d discounted playing the seductress. Not only because she wasn’t sure she knew how, but also because she respected Ian too much to trick him like that. If and when they finally came together, she wanted it to happen on honest ground, and to know that they were both all the way in.

As for her new role, while she’d learned a heck of a lot already about how to successfully run a company from watching Ian—he was shockingly hands-on, tough but fair, and made sure to surround himself with brilliant, friendly people who always kept their eye on the ball—she was still lost. Seeing the way Serena had dived straight down into her character when they’d done the short read-through of Smith’s script the previous day had only highlighted how screwed Tatiana was.

Good thing the director and producer weren’t asking her to do a read-through right now, because it would be a total mess.

She didn’t realize her private emotions were spilling out of her until Brian, the owner of the warehousing company, turned to her and said, “Is everything okay? You didn’t step on something sharp, did you?” He looked around the concrete floor, clearly worried.

Belatedly realizing the little frustrated scream hadn’t remained in her head, she forced her lips up into what she hoped looked like a real smile. “No, I’m fine.”

When Ian looked concerned as well, she said, “I didn’t mean to interrupt. Please, just forget I’m here.”

“Actually,” Brian said, “I hope you don’t mind my asking, but I’m pretty sure my employees would love a chance to get a few autographs, if it would be okay with you.”

“Of course I don’t mind. I just don’t want to get in your way.”

Ian’s eyes went dark as he looked at her. “You’ve never been in anyone’s way, Tatiana.” He nodded over to the group of workers who were sitting in the nearby break room. “We have plenty of time for you to go and make everyone’s day.”

Brian took her over and she signed autographs and took pictures and just plain had a great time chatting with everyone. It was so nice to get out of her head for a little while that she was shocked when she looked up at the clock on the wall and realized just how long she’d been at it.