You Had Me at Hola(14)

“I’m not worried.” He smirked and gestured at her minimalist desk space.

Carmen raised her chin and lobbed the ball back into his court. “You want to tell me why you canceled a world tour?”

His expression shuttered, dark eyebrows creasing as his gaze slanted away from hers. “No.”

“Of course not.” Carmen turned to her father. “So what’s the plan? What’s our goal here?”

Victor answered instead. “There’s another tour coming up, with a few other Latinx singers. I want in on it.”

Carmen eyed him up and down. “We have our work cut out for us if you want someone to give you a spot on a tour so soon after you canceled another one.”

Her father spoke up. “Especially since they’re also looking at giving the spot to Dimas del Valle.”

“Dimas?” Carmen’s gaze shot back to Victor. “You hate that guy.”

Victor’s expression turned thunderous and he muttered a string of Spanish insults under his breath.

“Oye.” Carmen snapped her fingers and strode over to Victor, getting all up in his personal space, closer than she would with a typical client. Close enough to catch the heady scent of his cologne. She jabbed her finger in his chest to get his attention. His hard, firm chest. “They’re going to make a decision soon, and if you don’t clean up your image and make yourself visible, they’re going to pick Dimas for the tour. Is that what you want?”

Victor scowled, his eyes darkening. “You know it isn’t.”

Carmen gave a cocky little head shake. “Then you need to stay out of trouble. That means no parties, no drinking, and no messing around with your stupid friends. Where are you staying?”

When the corner of his mouth ticked up, Carmen narrowed her eyes. “Whenever you make that face, I know I’m not going to like whatever you say next.”

Victor’s grin turned mocking. “Well, if I have to stay out of trouble, there’s only one place that’s perfect for that.”

Carmen scoffed. “Where, a monastery?”

His smile was slow and devious. “No, even better.” He waited a beat for effect, then said, “Your parents’ house.”

Carmen sucked in a breath. “Ay, pu?eta.”

“Cut!”





Chapter 6


Jasmine turned to the director, who wore a big grin.

“That was perfect,” he said from his chair, looking up from the playback screen. “We’ll get the shot of Victor walking in again, but then we’ll go to the next scene.”

Jasmine moved off to the side and gratefully accepted the bottle of water handed to her by a PA.

“Great work, Jas.” Peter Calabasas joined her, trailed by two makeup artists who immediately set about touching up the actors’ faces. “You’re a natural.”

“You make it easy, Dad,” Jasmine said with a grin. “Are you joining us for drinks Friday night?”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” he said. “Thanks for organizing that.”

“A cast is a family.” She hadn’t asked Ashton yet, but she hoped he would join them.

“Eyes closed, Jasmine,” the makeup artist said, and Jasmine complied. When she opened them, her gaze landed on the set. As expected, Ashton had already disappeared.

A pang shot through her. Was it her fault?

It had been a week, and she had yet to have a real conversation with Ashton. Well, aside from their disastrous first encounter. Her white blouse from that day had been ruined, but her grandmother had worked some laundry magic with the pink slacks, and they were good as new.

This whole thing would be easier if she could run lines with him, like she did with Lily, Miriam, and Peter. But Ashton had made himself clear. He didn’t want anything to do with her—or the rest of the cast, if her observations were correct. Her cousins had been right—he was unapproachable and kept to himself. She should just leave him to it.

Still, it didn’t feel right not to invite Ashton out for drinks. She’d let him know, and if he said yes, then great, and if he said no . . .

She hoped he didn’t say no.

The reunion scene had gone well because Carmen was supposed to feel thrown off balance by Victor’s appearance. Not hard to manage, since Jasmine was still a bundle of nerves around Ashton. But as Carmen and Victor began to grow more comfortable around each other? Jasmine dreaded those scenes.

Especially the kiss in episode three.

Marquita had told Jasmine that the production would be bringing in an intimacy coordinator, someone who helped direct physically intimate scenes between actors to ensure everyone was comfortable, to choreograph Carmen and Victor’s first on-screen kiss.

Jasmine had filmed more than her fair share of kisses and sex scenes during her career, and it hadn’t really been an issue before. But then, she’d also never worried that her costar actively hated her. Usually she was able to develop a good rapport with someone before getting intimate on camera. Ashton, however, was making that impossible.

If she were being honest, she was curious what it would be like to kiss Ashton. His lips were just so . . . sensual. Smooth and full, with a defined dip in the top lip. He used them to great effect while he was acting, along with his dark, facile eyebrows and expressive eyes.