Page 69 of One Golden Summer

“Can’t lie. It feels really easy at the moment.” Saffron kissed her again. And again. “I’ll never get my fill of you. Never.”

“Now there’s a cheesy line.”

“Mock me all you want, but I am being completely honest with you.” Saffron crossed her heart.

“Really?” Kirsty squinted one eye, measuring up Saffron.

Saffron nodded. “I can’t lie until I have at least one cup of coffee.”

“Would it be wrong for me to take advantage of that?” Kirsty cupped Saffron’s bum.

“By all means, have your way with me.”

“Is it true that you have a script in the house you haven’t read?”

Saffron’s eyes narrowed. “You tricked me with arse play.”

“Now there’s something I’ve never been accused of before. Still waiting for an answer.” Kirsty tugged on her own earlobe.

Crestfallen, Saffron grunted and asked, “That’s what you want to talk about right now?”

“It’s been bouncing around in my head since Ginger told me.”

“Ginger has a big mouth.” Saffron crinkled her brow.

“Not the point.” Kirsty placed a finger on Saffron’s lips. “Hear me out, will you?”

Saffron nodded, still not liking the turn of events.

“One of the reasons I was adamant about this not happening was I couldn’t shake the idea that it’d only be for a fleeting second and then you’d have to leave.” Kirsty inhaled deeply. “Why haven’t you read the script?”

“It’s the last thing I want to do.”I’d rather eat my own toenail clippings.

“Read it or do it?”

“Both.” Saffron rolled off Kirsty, and collapsed onto the bed with a thud.

“Can you extrapolate on that?”

Saffron laughed, sinking her head into the pillow. “Do you always talk so fancy when in bed with a woman?”

“Not going to work. You’re not going to distract me with that killer smile of yours and incredible body.” Kirsty lifted up the sheet, swallowed, then let it fall back into place. “Use your words, big or small. Talk to me.”

“It’s nothing, really. I’m just feeling burnt out. I’ve been acting since I was fifteen. All of my adult life. I need a break.” Saffron let her eyes close and took a deep breath.

“Why’d you get into acting in the first place?”

“I thought it’d make my parents happy. They always talked a big game about how important it was to be a star in one’s own life.” Saffron waved a hand in the air, indicating her name in lights. “They meant for them, though. When I actually became a bigger deal than my parents—let’s just say they changed their tune and fast.”

“That must have hurt.” Kirsty’s comforting tone gave Saffron the impetus to continue, not shutdown.

“It did, but I’m not sure I understood why I felt such a gaping hole inside. By the time I figured it out, they’d already died in the car crash. I was doing my thing. Ginger was doing her thing. And…”

“What?”

“I’m thirty-two and I’m learning that acting wasn’t ever my dream. Aside from making me loads of money, enough to live off of for the rest of my life, I actually hate it. All the people in my life outside of Sandy Cove just want something from me. They don’t know me and have no desire to change that, as long as I smile pretty for the cameras. So, yeah, I don’t want to read the script that’s been sitting on my kitchen counter since the day I arrived here.”

“Can’t you quit?” Kirsty lay a soothing hand on Saffron’s chest.