in place of a traditional hello.
“Kiss ass.”
Noah laughed at his best friend and Hollywood heartthrob, Max Ford. “When a whole week goes by and I know you’re not filming, I have to assume you’re either dead or getting some serious action. Glad to know you’re still with us.”
“Oh, I’m alive,” Max assured him. “Where are you? It sounds like you’re at a kid’s birthday party.”
Noah glanced around the open room where kids ran from game to game, parents chasing to keep up with the chaos. His gaze circled back to Callie and he watched her steering intensely at the racing game.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“You’re moonlighting as a clown for kids’ parties, aren’t you?” Max joked. “I’m not sure the ladies will go for the Bozo wig, pal.”
Noah laughed. “Did you call to annoy me or do you have a point?”
“I wanted to know if you were free tomorrow. Haven’t seen you for a while. Thought we could get together.”
Callie jumped from her racing chair and grinned like a kid as the machine spit out another row of bright yellow tickets. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and he found himself standing in the middle of the room with a silly grin on his face. When was the last time he truly grinned because he wanted to and not because he felt forced to please his current company?
“Actually, tomorrow is the photo shoot for the ads for my new office,” Noah told him. “But I should be free in the evening if all goes as planned.”
“I thought you were still looking for a model.”
When Callie turned and caught his eye, he motioned that he was stepping outside. She nodded and moved on to another game.
“Callie is doing it for me,” Noah said, walking toward the door to move farther away from the noise.
“Callie Matthews? Damn, she’s hot. How did you manage that? Has she done modeling before?”
Once outside, Noah took a seat on the bench next to the door. “No, but I’m trying to watch out for her. She’s got stars in her eyes, man. And she just got a pretty good-size role in a new Anthony Price film.”
“Noah, you can’t save everybody,” Max told him with a sigh. “You’ve got to let go of the past.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Had any more offers on the house?” Max asked.
“Just the two.”
“Which you turned down?”
Noah rubbed a hand over his head and glanced through the door to see Callie smiling while tackling another game. “Yes. I turned them down.”
“And you’re still going to see Thelma every day?”
Noah’s chest tightened. “I’m all she has.”
“She’s not even your family, Noah. You have to let go. I understand she’s Malinda’s grandmother, but you’ve been paying her assisted-living bills for a year now. She has Alzheimer’s. She won’t know if you don’t show up. You’ve got to bury the past.”
He sighed. “I’ll bury it when it’s time.”
“Good,” his friend said. “You can start by asking Callie out on a date. She’d be perfect.”
“I’m not asking her out,” Noah replied. At least, he wouldn’t ask her on a real date.
“Great. Then you won’t mind if—”
“Yes, I would mind.” Noah cut him off. “You’ve got enough on your plate without adding Callie to the mix.”
Max’s laughter nearly vibrated Noah’s phone. “You can’t keep dibs on her and not do anything about it. You’re both adults. If you want to go beyond business and get personal, what’s stopping you?”
“She’s the best receptionist I’ve ever had. I’d like to keep her for a while.”
“She’ll probably be leaving when she starts acting, anyway, so why not just go for it now instead of torturing yourself?” Max asked. “You know you’ve thought about it.”
Thought about it, fantasized about it. Had taken the proverbial cold showers to prove it.
Noah came to his feet, glancing inside at Callie, who was looking toward the doors, probably looking for him.
“Listen, I need to go,” Noah said. “I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know what time I’ll be free.”
After sliding the phone into his pocket, he went back inside. Callie’s smile across the crowded room did something funny to his chest…something he’d rather not explore.
“I’m ready to cash in my winnings,” she told him, holding up her tickets. “I’ve got a hundred here and I think I gave you a hundred. Let’s go see what I can get.”
Noah followed her as he pulled her tickets from his pocket. He still couldn’t believe this was her idea of celebrating. She certainly wasn’t like all the other women he knew. Their idea of celebrating would be to head to the most expensive restaurant and try to get into his bed afterward…not that he ever complained about those nights.
But Callie was different—a fact he’d known from the first day of working with her. She was like a breath of fresh air. He never knew what to expect from her, but he knew it would be something great.
After she chose her prizes—a hideous monkey with tiedyed fur and a flower-shaped eraser—he escorted her to the car and drove back to his office. Even though she was fairly silent during the ride, she was beaming from ear to ear.
“You had a good time.”
It wasn’t a question, more like an observation.
“A blast,” she told him. “I’d always wanted to go to a place like that as a kid.”
He threw her a glance as he pulled up beside her car. “Why didn’t you?”
Callie’s smile faltered, and she toyed with the ear on the monkey. “I didn’t have a very pleasant childhood. And that’s the best way I can put it.”
Noah put the car in Park and turned to face her. “I’m sorry, Callie. I didn’t mean to pry. You’ve worked for me for a while now and I don’t know much about your life before you came here.”
She attempted a smile, but her sad gaze met his. “I’d rather focus on my life here than back home.”
Wherever she came from, whatever she experienced must be painful because the L.A. Callie was a bright, bubbly woman who didn’t care to let everyone see how positive she was about life.
“I can’t thank you enough for everything, Noah.” She reached out, placed a hand on
