“The bedroom scene? I figured you were saving the best for last.”
This time she laughed, a light, musical giggle that echoed through the studio. “You are so cocky.”
He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”
“Change of plans!”
Kelly yanked her hand from his and stood up, nervously clutching her script. Nicole swept into the studio and regarded them both with a curious expression. Her eyebrow rose as she gave Zach a disapproving look. “We’re going to have to put off taping until tomorrow afternoon. We’ve got to retape a remote interview for another show before the end of the day. Kelly, we’ll have your driver take you back to the hotel. We’ll change your plane ticket and get you another night at the hotel. I hope that’s all right with you?”
“Fine,” Kelly said. “I’ll be ready to go tomorrow, I promise.”
“Then you’ve rehearsed everything?” Nicole asked.
“Not everything,” Zach quickly said. “But we can get together tonight and run lines. Your hotel?”
His request took her by surprise, but Zach knew she couldn’t refuse extra rehearsal, especially in front of Nicole.
“I really think we should keep this on a professional level,” she whispered, just out of earshot of Nicole.
“I wasn’t suggesting a date,” he said, grinning.
“We can meet early tomorrow, before we’re scheduled to tape.”
Zach wasn’t about to give up so easily. He wanted to explore this attraction he had to Kelly and that would take some time outside the studio and away from the prying eyes of his coworkers.
“Zach, can I see you in the hall?” Nicole asked.
He sent Kelly a smile, then followed Nicole. When they reached the hallway, she turned to him.
“Are you sure you took acting classes?” she asked.
Zach nodded. “Three semesters.”
“Then you must have missed the lesson where they taught you not to hit on your costars.”
Zach chuckled. “I’m just trying to get the best performance I can out of Miss Castelle.”
KELLY STARED AT her reflection in the dressing-room mirror. Her face was flushed and her eyes bright and it wasn’t until a few minutes ago that she was able to breathe normally.
This was crazy! From the moment Zach Haas had stepped out from behind the camera, she’d been unable to think, unable to do anything more than just lose herself in every detail of his face and his body. The sound of his voice, the color of his eyes, the shape of his mouth. He was one of those incredibly gorgeous young men, the kind who didn’t realize the effect they had on women, the kind who made females of all ages weak in the knees.
In the course of a half hour together, she’d managed to convince herself that he was probably the best kisser on the planet, that he had a killer body beneath the baggy cargo pants and T-shirt he wore, and that he could seduce a woman by simply smiling at her.
Yes, he was young. But his playful, boyish nature combined with just a bit of bad-boy attitude and quick-witted intelligence was a lethal combination in a package like that.
She’d pegged his age at twenty-five, give or take two years. If he were only twenty-three, then she was dancing close to perversity. But if he were twenty-seven, then that was nearly thirty. And any man over thirty would be an appropriate choice for her.
Kelly groaned and buried her face in her hands. What was happening to her? Ever since leaving L.A., she felt as if her life were spinning too fast for her to think straight. Was it the heat? Or was she really standing on the precipice of a midlife crisis?
“Are you all right?”
She sat up and looked at Jane’s reflection in the mirror, then slowly turned around in the chair. “I’m fine. It’s just been a really long day. I got on a plane this morning at 5:00 a.m. and I haven’t had a chance to relax since then.”
“Your car is waiting out front. He’ll drive you back to the hotel and pick you up tomorrow afternoon. We’re scheduled to tape at three and Zach will probably be available before then to rehearse. If there’s a change, Nicole will call you at the hotel.”
“Thanks,” Kelly said. She slowly stood. “Again, I’m sorry about all the trouble I caused.”
“Don’t worry. We’re all looking forward to seeing Zach in front of the camera. He’s usually the one giving us grief about our jobs, now we can give him some grief about his performance.”
“He seems like a really nice guy,” Kelly commented, trying to sound objective and uninterested.
“He can be. He’s also an incorrigible flirt and too sexy for his own good. Be careful with that one,” Jane warned. “I suspect he’s talked his fair share of ladies right out of their clothes and into his bed.”
“I got that feeling, too,” Kelly said, forcing a smile.
“But then, he is legal, so what goes on between consenting adults is…”
“How old is he?” Kelly asked.
“Twenty-four, I think. Maybe twenty-five. He was in graduate film school until he started working for the show last winter.”
Twenty-four, Kelly mused. Somehow nine years seemed a whole lot more acceptable than eleven. There was a double-digit difference between them!
“Well,” Jane said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll be here,” Kelly replied. She stood up and began to gather her things to change back in to her street clothes. She slowly unbuttoned the silk shirt she wore and let it fall off her shoulders. A soft knock sounded on the door and a moment later it opened. She expected to see Jane again, but Zach stepped inside.
Kelly snatched up the shirt and held it over her chest. “Hi,” she said.
Zach’s gaze slowly drifted down her body. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
Kelly turned her back to him and slipped in to the shirt again, clutching it closed in the front. “What is it?”
“Nothing important,” he said.
She faced him, waiting for an explanation. A frown furrowed his brow and he studied her face for a long moment. Then in a few short strides, he closed the distance between them. Before she could even protest, he captured her face between his hands and kissed her, his mouth melting against hers, his tongue delving into the crease of her lips.
When he finally drew back, Kelly couldn’t think of anything to say. Should she be angry or insulted? In truth, her mind was whirling. Zach Haas knew exactly how to kiss a woman. He’d obviously had a lot of practice. After all, she’d been fantasizing about it since he’d stepped out from behind the camera and it had been so much
