Page 64 of Anyone But the Superstar

It’s the first dish my mother had me make as well.

‘Tomato rice is great. Thanks.’ I glance around at the mess. ‘But you didn’t have to go to so much trouble.’

‘Yes.’ Anne locks eyes with me. ‘I did. I—’ she goes back to fiddling with her fork ‘—well, I just wanted to say sorry and that, um, you don’t need to be my cook or anything to stay here. We’re friends now and friends help each other out.’

‘Friends?’ My gaze drops to her lips, remembering our kiss.

When I lift my eyes to hers again, Anne looks away, a flush on her cheeks. ‘But you know, I’d still like to go to the astronaut dinner.’

Laughing, I return my attention to the rice. ‘No problem.’ I stab/shovel rice and cooked yolk onto my fork, lifting it to my mouth. ‘I’ve already told Vance I’m bringing a plus one.’

Eyes on my fork, Anne watches me take a bite.

Action heroes get a lot of flak for being meatheads who can’t act. We’re better known for our ab muscles than our acting muscles. And while I have enough self-confidence to know I’m a good actor, and also because Ron wouldn’t have hired me for his romantic comedy lead if I wasn’t, any doubts I may have hadabout said acting skills are put to rest when I manage to chew, swallow and smile, not even flinching when my teeth crunch over eggshell. ‘It’s great.’

‘Really?’ Her eyebrows shoot up, as if my answer surprises her. ‘I mean, I wasn’t expecting much, with, you know, my previous attempts in the kitchen—’ she laughs nervously ‘—but I was hoping it was at least palatable.’

She’s cute, trying to appear nonchalant but I can tell by the way she won’t meet my eyes and the flush deepening across her skin that she isn’t as unaffected by her cooking gesture as she’d like me to think.

It makes me want to hug her. Kiss her. Eat more eggshell.

Instead, I wait until she lifts her eyes to mine. ‘Really.’

Her answering smile, natural and bright, is nearly enough for me to not notice the overcooked, gelatinous-like texture of the rice.

Nearly.

As she flits between the sink and stove fixing her own plate, I catch sight of my reflection in the microwave door across the way, and the goofy smile I’m wearing.

Somewhere between Anne’s numb face and my unexpected water rescue, Anne has me feeling something I never thought I could feel again, especially not while dealing with the aftermath of the last woman I got involved with.

Content. Happy, even.

Even with my mother still in treatment. Even with Camilla’s threats still unchecked. Even with living with the most cantankerous and diabolical feline known to man.

I’m happy thanks to a woman whom I don’t know near enough about but still can’t help wanting all the same.

And I can’t help but look at the mess around me as evidenceof how hard she tried to say thank you and I think that maybe, just maybe, Anne feels the same.

Having retaken her seat and apparently a bite of her dinner, Anne struggles to chew, her eyes watering.

Worried, I stand, about to thump her on the back. Not realizing until she manages to swallow that she isn’t choking but laughing.

‘Felix Jones.’ Grabbing a napkin, she dabs her eyes. ‘You aresucha fucking liar.’

Then again, maybe she doesn’t feel the same.

‘I cannot believe you would eat that.’ She double facepalms herself. ‘That’s just what I need – Ron coming after me for giving his lead actor food poisoning.’

‘It isn’tthatbad.’

Dropping her hands, she stares at me, her brow furrowed, but her lips twitching. Like she can’t decide if she wants to laugh or yell at me. ‘Really?’ Reaching over, she plucks a large chunk of eggshell from my plate, then drops it back down.

I bite my lip to keep from laughing.

Snorting, she wipes her hands on her napkin. ‘Why in the world would you eat that?’

The answer to that is the same as the answer to why, weeks ago, despite Jack’s logical warnings, I followed Anne from a bar to a hotel. The same answer to why I wanted to stay in this condo, with her, rather than a five-star hotel. And it’s the same answer to why I couldn’t stand by and watch Anne get yelled at today, despite the repercussions it may have had on my career.