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“You are smart. You are beautiful. You are enough,” she said to her reflection. Al had read a self-help book a few years back and decided their self-esteem sucked and they needed to recite affirmations. Jeannie wasn’t sure if they worked, but she usually felt better after doing them. She wondered what Al’s affirmations were now. “You are sexy. You are a crime fighter. You are a dork.” She chuckled asshe imagined Al staring into the mirror on the other end of the duplex. “You are about to spend the third night in a row with a different woman. You are going to propose soon.” She sighed as she grabbed her keys. No use crying over spilled milk.

***

“Honey, you look lovely!”

Shane greeted her as she entered the hotel bar with a kiss on the cheek. His white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the top, letting a patch of chest hair peek through. The shirt was tucked into a slim pair of black slacks, and he looked every bit the rich, stylish personality he portrayed on TV. She should be ecstatic, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what Al was doing several floors up. She’d purposely avoided the overnight date tapings, begging off when they got to the restaurant portion each day.

She hadn’t asked anyone what had happened; she didn’t need to. She knew Al, which meant she knew he must have spent the last two nights fucking beautiful women and was now on his third. Almost three months had passed since they’d hooked up. Maybe getting railed by a hot guy was what she needed.

Although … Al had texted her last night. She didn’t respond, afraid to know what he might say. But surely he wouldn’t have texted her while he was in a room with another woman? Maybe something had gone wrong.

Tomorrow he’d send another woman home, and then it would be time to go to New York for the final dates and arraignment. They hadn’t talked about whether he was going to propose, but there was a chance. These shows always ended with a proposal. Maybe not with Mercedes; she didn’t seem ready for that kind of commitment. But Iona or Jazz? Both of them screamed long term.

But she was done thinking about Al. She was on a date with Shane, and the way he was staring her up and down told her he was ready for some conjugal time.

***

“And that was how I scored my first movie credit when I was only ten.” Shane flashed his brilliant smile, motioning to the waiter for a refill of his martini.

Jeannie stood up, needing a break fromThe Life and Times of Shane Ashton. Two hours and they were only at age ten. Hopefully it would get more interesting when he moved into his teen years.

“I’m going to run to the ladies’ room to freshen up.”

“Need another?” Shane asked, pointing to her gin and tonic.

“Yeah, that would be great, thank you.”

Jeannie exited the restaurant and headed to the bathroom on the other side of the hotel lobby. She briefly considered making a run for it, but no, that wouldn’t do. She had to stick this through. Had to try to move on, at least. And right now, Shane was the only dog sniffing around.

She had just entered the hallway that led to the bathroom when a hand covered her mouth and a strong arm wrapped around her from behind. She tried to fight, but it was no use. Her attacker was too strong, and she soon found herself dragged into a dark storage closet. He was a strong fucker and smelled amazing. Wait, she shouldn’t be noticing that, but she couldn’t help it. He smelled like …

“You’ve been avoiding me, Jeannie-girl,” Al rasped in her ear. He lowered his hand from her mouth, but still held her tight against him, her back to his front.

“Have I?” She turned her head slightly. “Maybe you’ve been too busy with your harem.”

“Now that’s not fair.” He rubbed his face along her neck, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine. “I’m only doing what you asked me to. You wanted me to do the show, so I’m doing the show. But what are you doing, Jeanine? I never asked you to date that sparkle tooth tiger.”

Jeannie sucked in a breath, her heart pounding with the nearness of him. “What do you want, Al? I need to get back.” She wriggled against him, struggling to break free of his hold. But her body’s reaction as she rubbed against his hardness made her want to do anything but.

“What do I want? Isn’t it obvious?” He pushed his erection into her back.

“Al,” she moaned. “Enough. What about Mercedes?”

Al huffed out a laugh. “She passed out during dinner. I carried her to the suite and put her to bed.”

“But you’re still here? Sharing a room with her?”

“Well, yeah. It’s Fight Night and the suite has a ninety-eight-inch television.”

Any other guy and she’d think he was full of shit. But Al? This tracked. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter. We shouldn’t do this.”

“Don’t say that. This is the only thing I’ve done in weeks that I am sure about. I swear, I feel like I’m losing my mind with the show, having to pretend to be someone I’m not.”

She craned her neck to look into his eyes. On the one hand, he was saying exactly what she wanted to hear. But on the other, “Ben needs us to be strong. It’s not enough for him to be transferred. We need to pay the lawyer to keep working on his case. His safety is more important than our … our …”

“Our what?” Al asked.

Relationship? Happily ever after? “Urges,” she whispered.