Fauxmance (Showmance #2)(87)

“I met Alicia,” I said, breaking the intense moment. “She’s very pretty.”

“She is,” Julian agreed. Even though I was the one to bring it up, his agreement made my chest burn. Just a little. “How were your travels?” he asked.

He knew I’d been away? “How did you—”

“I might have dropped into the bookshop hoping to see you,” Julian confessed. “Bernice told me you’d taken some time off.”

My chest thrummed. He’d come looking for me? That must’ve been a while ago if I’d been travelling at the time. Had he been hoping to rekindle? So many questions filled my head. I cleared my throat. “I’m actually not working there anymore. What with the travelling and all this film stuff, plus I’ve been doing more signings. I just don’t have the time.”

“Well, it’s good to be busy,” he said.

I nodded in agreement. “Yes, it is.”

After a few moments of heavy silence, more people started to arrive on set. They were preparing to film the first scene between Alicia and David, so I went to take a seat close to Damon. Julian stood nearby, taking it all in. He put Sheila on the ground and she ran right up to me and hopped on my lap.

Julian chuckled. “She likes you. Queens always recognise other queens.”

I flushed at the compliment and pet Sheila’s head. Why was he being so nice? And so flipping sexy intense? I was going to have a heart attack if he didn’t quit smouldering at me. It was like everything I’d hoped for had come true. Julian was looking at me like he remembered the intimacy we’d shared and wanted to relive every single moment.

Alicia appeared on set, flanked by several members of her team. She wore a pencil skirt and a tight blouse, her hair in a loose ponytail and her makeup done to perfection. She noticed Julian right away, her lips curving in a sultry grin.

“I heard you’d come on board. It’s good to see you,” she said as someone fixed the collar of her blouse.

My stomach twisted, witnessing their interaction. Everything inside of tensed and rebelled at the idea of them spending time together, possibly reuniting.

“You, too,” Julian replied, but he didn’t say more.

He stood a little closer to my chair and bent down to pet Sheila. “There’s a good girl,” he murmured lovingly, and I stiffened at his closeness. He was talking to the dog, not me, but still, the affection in his voice thrilled right through me.

There was a lot of technical stuff going on, with Damon giving directions to cast and crew. I sat back, absorbing it all. This really was a dream come through. For years I’d resisted movie offers, mostly because I knew there was no way I could be involved. Too many people. Too much pressure. And if I wasn’t involved, then how could I ensure they didn’t mess it up?

A part of me was still freaking out on the inside, but another part was handling her shit. I could do this now. I wouldn’t allow myself another choice.

I glanced up at Julian. His attention was fixed on Damon as he exchanged a few words with Alicia. I stared at his profile, a pain in my chest, a pang of longing. He must’ve sensed me looking because his eyes flicked to mine. I blinked and looked away, too hot. I took off my cardigan, folded it and placed it on the side of my chair.

“Action,” Damon called and suddenly they were filming.

I got excited for a whole other reason as Sasha (Alicia) walked into Toby’s (David’s) office and took a seat in front of his desk. I could’ve recited the lines from memory, since Levi, Stacy and I had spent many late nights editing and revising, trying to make the script absolutely perfect.

It didn’t take long for me to fall into the scene, like I really was watching a movie. Well, it was more like a stage play, but it was enthralling nonetheless. It turned out Alicia and David had great chemistry.

“I told you, I can do more than write fluff pieces about the latest celebrity trend,” said Sasha. “I want to explore something real, something that will hook readers in, make their hearts race.”

“Fluff pieces are your job. That’s what you signed up for,” Toby replied stiffly.

“But I can be so much more than that. I can make this column shine.”

“You can make it shine by writing me an article about the pros and cons of dating apps.”

Sasha folded her arms. “God, you really are a sauceless bastard sometimes.”

Toby pushed his glasses up his nose, a deep indent forming between his eyebrows. “What did you just call me?”

Sasha stood, her expression defiant. “I called you a coward,” she said, then turned and left the office.

I smiled to myself. They really brought the interaction I’d written between Sasha and her boss to life. The relationship between the two, the will they or won’t they, was a huge driving force behind the series’ popularity. I smiled thinking of how thrilled my readers would be when they finally got together in the last book.

Damon called for a break and I went to grab a coffee from the cafeteria. After being so close to Julian for the last hour, I needed some space. I was emptying a sugar sachet into my latte when somebody pinched me on the shoulder. I turned around and Alicia stood next to me.

“That was fun! I adore your writing. Sasha has some great lines. Sauceless bastard! I laughed so much when I first read that.”