He shifted in bed, knowing he had to stay focused and not let a pretty face get him off track. All that sounded easy enough, but he had a feeling it would be the hardest thing he’d ever had to do.
Chapter Four
“Quiet on the set!
“Take four!
“Action!”
Rachel sat quietly in a chair and watched the scene that was being shot. When she heard two women, Paige and another actress on the set named Tae’Shawna Miller, whispering about how handsome and fine Ethan was, she had to press her lips together to keep from turning around and reminding them about the no-talking-during-a-take policy. But that would make her guilty of breaking the rule, too.
So she sat there and tried tuning them out and hoped sooner or later they would close their mouths. It didn’t help matters to know that Paige was one of the women. Rachel figured she of all people should know better.
Rachel turned her attention back to the scene being filmed and couldn’t help but admire the way Ethan was delivering his lines. He was doing a brilliant job portraying Dr. Tyrell Perry, the sexy doctor with a gruff demeanor that could only be softened by his patients. And from the looks of things, a new twist was about to unravel on the show with Dr. Perry being given a love interest—another new doctor on the hospital staff, the widowed Dr. Sonja Duncan.
Rachel had been on the set talking to one of the cameramen when Ethan arrived that morning, swaggering in and exuding rugged masculinity all over the place. The number of flirtatious smiles that were cast his way the moment he said good morning had only made her shake her head. Some of the women were probably still wiping the drool from their mouths.
Why did women get so silly at the sight of a good-looking man? She would admit she had been attracted to him yesterday like everyone else, after all she was a woman, but there was no reason to get downright foolish about it.
“Freeze! No talking on the set!”
Frasier was looking straight at Paige and Tae’Shawna and frowning. He knew exactly who the noisemakers were, and to be called out by the director wasn’t good. They had caused time to be wasted, and everyone knew Frasier didn’t like that.
“Unfreeze!”
This time around, everyone was quiet while the shooting of the scene continued. In this scene, Dr. Tyrell Perry and Dr. Sonja Duncan were discussing the seriousness of a patient’s condition. It was obvious in this scene that the two were attracted to each other. The television viewers would already know through the use of flashbacks that Sonja’s late husband, also a doctor, had gotten killed when an L.A. gang, intent on killing a man being treated in the hospital, burst into the E.R. and opened fire, killing everyone, including the doctor, a nurse and a few others waiting to be treated.
Rachel figured since Livia was only a temporary member of the cast, there would not be too much of a budding romance between the two doctors, although it wasn’t known just how Livia’s exit would be handled. Frasier was known to leave the viewers hanging from scene to scene, so it would be anyone’s guess what he had in mind. She couldn’t help but wonder if the chemistry the two generated on the set would extend beyond filming.
She hadn’t gotten a chance to get to know Livia. During the makeup and wardrobe sessions there hadn’t been much conversation between them. Her initial impression was that Livia was just as shallow and self-absorbed as the other Hollywood types Rachel had met. She’d seen no reason for that impression to change. Livia had a reputation of being a party girl and as much the tabloid princess as Ethan was the tabloid king. So it would stand to reason the two would be attracted to each other both on and off the set.
“Cut! Good scene! Let’s enjoy lunch. Everyone take an additional hour and be back to start again on time.”
Rachel smiled, grateful for the extra time. It seemed a number of people were in a hurry to take advantage of Frasier’s generosity…in more ways than one, she thought, when out of the corner of her eye she noticed several women bustling over in Ethan’s direction. She rolled her eyes. My goodness, did they have no shame? Interestingly, Livia walked away in another direction, as if the attention given to Ethan didn’t concern her one bit.
Shaking her head, Rachel walked back to her trailer to grab her purse. She had a few errands to do before lunch was over.
Ethan watched Rachel leave before forcing his attention back to the two women standing in front of him. Tae’Shawna had all but invited him over tonight to go skinny-dipping in her pool. Of course he had turned her down. Paige had offered to come over to his place to help him go over his lines. He turned her down as well. For some reason, he wasn’t feeling these two. If truth be told, he wasn’t feeling any woman right now. Except for the one who’d just headed off toward her trailer.
“So what are you doing for lunch, Ethan? We would love for you to join us,” Paige invited, interrupting his thoughts.
“Thanks, but I have a few errands I need to take care of,” he said, knowing it was a lie as he said it. But in this case, he felt it was justified.
“No problem. Maybe we can help with your errands and—”
“Thanks again, but that’s not necessary,” he said, pulling his keys out of his back pocket. He had planned to wait until the weekend to shop for Kendra’s gift, but now was just as good a time since these two were beginning to make a nuisance of themselves.
“I’ll see you ladies later. I need to leave so I can be back on time.”
For a second Paige looked like she was going to invite herself along. Instead she said, “Then I guess we’ll see you when you return.”
He only smiled, refusing to make any promises as he headed toward the exit. He was grateful for the additional hour and planned on making good use of it. Moving quickly, he reached for the door at the same time someone else did. The moment their hands touched he knew the identity of that person. Her scent gave her away.
“Excuse me.”
“Excuse me as well,” he said, taking a step back, opening the door and holding it for her to pass through. “You’re taking advantage of the extra hour, I see.”
Rachel smiled up at him. “I think everyone is.” She glanced back over his shoulder. “Where’s your fan club?”
His gaze scanned over her face and he saw a cute little mole near the corner of her lip. How could he have missed it yesterday? “My fan club?”
“Yes.”
They were walking together as they headed toward the parking lot. “Trust me, there are some fans you can do without.”
“And you want me to believe you’re not flattered?” she teased, speaking in a low tone when a crew member passed them on the sidewalk.
He slowed his pace as they got closer to where the cars were parked in the studio lot. “Yes, that’s exactly what I want you to believe.”
She stopped walking and so did he. “Why? Why does it matter what I think?”
Ethan thought she had asked a good question. Why did it matter what she thought? He knew the answer before he could pull in his next breath.
