style="font-size:15px;"> Four hours later, Jessica sat behind the desk in Zane’s office, satisfied she had things under control. It had been a little scary at first. What did she really know about Zane’s celebrity life? But Mariah had been acutely efficient, keeping good records and documenting things, which made it easier for Jess to slide into the role of personal assistant. She seemed to live by a detailed calendar, and Zane’s appointments, events and meetings were clearly labeled. Thank you, Mariah, for not being a slouch. In the day planner she came to regard as The Book, Mariah had jotted down phone numbers next to names and brief reminders of what needed to be said or done.
No to the People magazine interview.
Yes to donating twenty thousand dollars to the Children’s Hospital charity. Zane would make an appearance in the future.
No to an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
And so on.
With a little help from Zane earlier this morning, she was able to field a few phone calls and make the necessary arrangements for him. It was clear Zane was in a state of celebrity hibernation. Other than opening a new restaurant, Zane was pretty much in a deep freeze. Maybe he needed the break away from the limelight, or maybe he wasn’t through running away from his demons.
In a sense, she was doing the same thing by being here, afraid to go home, afraid to face the pitfalls in her own life. She, too, was hiding out, so she had no right to judge him or try to fix the situation. It wasn’t any of her business. That was for sure.
“How’re you doing?” he asked.
She glanced up from The Book to find him standing at the office threshold, leaning on his crutches. She flashed back to shaving him this morning and the baffling emotions that followed her into breakfast. Her heart tumbled a little.
“Good, I think.”
He smiled. “Anything I can help you with?”
“No, not at the moment.”
He didn’t leave. He didn’t enter the room.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” she asked.
“Sort of.” His lips twisted back and forth. “You see, Dylan’s bugging me about this script. Fact is, I don’t know if acting is right for me. I never had an acting lesson in my life. So I want to say no to him. But...”
She braced her elbows on the desk and leaned forward. “But, just maybe it’s something you want to do?”
He stared at her. “Hell, I don’t know, Jess. I guess I need a reason to say no.”
“And how can I help you with that?”
“Dylan’s got this idea that if I had someone run lines with me, I’d feel better about accepting the role. Or not. I didn’t ask Mariah, well...because she works for me and I’m not sure she would be—”
“Honest?”
“Objective. She tends to encourage me to try new things, so she might not be the person to ask.”
“So you’re saying I’d have no problem telling you ‘you suck’?”
He chuckled. “Would you?”
“No, no problem at all.”
His brows gathered. “I’m not sure how to take that.”
“I’d have only your best interests at heart. But honestly, Zane, what do I know about acting? What if my instincts aren’t dead-on? What if I get it wrong?”
“Bad acting is bad acting. You can tell if someone sings off-key, can’t you?”
“Sometimes, but my ear for music isn’t as good as yours.”
“But you’re real, Jess. You would know when something is authentic. That’s all I’m asking you to do.”
His faith in her was a heady thing. She couldn’t deny she was flattered. And as his personal assistant, she couldn’t really tell him she didn’t want to do it.
“Okay. What did you have in mind?”
“We read through some scenes. See if I can grasp the character.”
“Where?”
He pointed to the long beige leather sofa—the most comfortable place to sleep in Zane’s world. “Right here.” He hobbled into the room on his crutches and sank down, resting the crutches on the floor. “The script is behind you on the bookcase. If you could get it and bring it over...”
“Sure.” She turned and found it quickly. “Wildflower?”
“That’s the one. You know most of the story.”
She did. She was there when Dylan explained the premise of the romantic mystery to both of them the other day. It was about a man who comes home to his family’s ranch after a long estrangement and finds his brother romantically involved with the woman he’d left behind. There’s a mystery surrounding their father’s death and a whole cast of characters who are implicated, including both brothers. “I think it’s a good story, Zane.”
“Well, let’s see if I can do it justice.”
“Sure.”
She walked over to the couch and took a seat one cushion away from him.
“I don’t think that’s going to work,” Zane said. “You have to sit next to me.” He waved the script in the air. “There’s only one of these.”
“Right.” As she scooted closer to him, Zane’s eyes flicked over her legs and lingered for half a second. Oh, boy. The back of her neck prickled with heat. In a subtle move, she adjusted her position and lowered the shorts riding up her legs to midthigh. Zane didn’t seem to notice. He’d focused back on the script and was busy flipping through story pages.
“Okay, here’s a scene we can do together. It’s where Josh and Bridget meet for the first time since his return.”
She peered at the pages and read the lines silently. It was easy enough to follow. There were one or two sentences of description to set up the scene and action taking place. The rest was dialogue, and each character’s part was designated by a name printed in bold letters.
“You start first,” he said, pointing to the top of the page. “Where Josh speaks to Bridget in front of her house.”
“Okay, here goes.” She glanced at him and smiled.
He didn’t smile back. He was taking this very seriously. She cleared her throat and concentrated on the lines before her. “Josh? You’re home? When did you get back? I...I didn’t know you’d come.”
“My father is dead. You thought I wouldn’t return for his burial?”
“No. I mean...it’s just that you’ve been gone so long.”
“So
