I finished the song, my voice ringing out clear and strong to the back of the house. “Hi, Sweet Nuts!” I yelled as the other actors began to leave the stage. He smiled sheepishly and raised a hand in greeting. The others gawked. Calling a grown man Sweet Nuts tended to make people look twice.
Leslie grinned fiendishly at me, and I raised an eyebrow at her. She’d grilled me relentlessly all morning, making me tell her every detail about how Jack and I met and how long we’d been dating. I told her everything, except of course the details I preferred to keep to myself. I did tell her we were keeping our relationship out of the public eye—not only for his sake, but for mine. I explained that our friends knew, and that was fine, and we were not hiding in a cave somewhere, but if asked in an official way, Jack was single.
She agreed, and as the rest of the cast found out, they also agreed to keep our little secret. Most of them had never even heard of Jack, and only a few were aware of the buzz his film was generating. I knew that would change in the next few weeks, and I was glad they could get to know him now—before he was on every talk show in America.
I jumped off the stage and started for him. “Hey.” I smiled, closing the distance between us quickly.
“Hey yourself,” he answered, smiling back at me with that sexy grin.
I kissed him swiftly, and Leslie swooned behind me. “Wow, wow, wow, wow…” I heard her chant.
“Shut it, Leslie.” I laughed, kissing on my Brit again.
Jack laughed through my kiss, and we finally broke apart.
“Ahem,” I heard Michael cough and turned to look. He looked at me, then at Jack. “Jack, good to see you again. You having fun in New York?” he asked.
“So far, so good. Of course, we’ve barely left the hotel, but we’re definitely having fun,” Jack said, his hands drifting down to linger on my ass. I rolled my eyes, knowing I was in for another round of verbal dick measurement.
Leslie continued her wow chant behind me.
“Good, good. Grace, remember I need you Monday,” Michael said pointedly, staring at Jack’s hand, then at me.
“You need her Monday, do you?” Jack asked. I poked him in the side.
“We’re working on one last round of rewrites, and I need her input,” Michael said.
“Michael, we discussed this. With Jack here, I really don’t think I’ll have the time. Does it have to be Monday? Can’t it wait until after he leaves?” I pouted, loathing the idea of not spending as much time with Jack as I could while he was here.
“When are you leaving, Jack?” Michael asked. “I mean, so I know when Grace is available.”
“I’m leaving Tuesday night. As for whether Grace is available, you’ll have to ask her,” he said, his voice taking a distinctive tone.
These two…
“Okay. Michael, I’m available again Wednesday morning. If it’s still cool with you, I’d really like the time until then to spend with Jack. Now, I’m going to get my bag. You two are both pretty, so you play nice. Leslie, quit saying wow,” I said, spinning on my heel and walking backstage to get my stuff. Jack gave me a playful swat on the ass as I moved away, earning him a shocked look from me.
Honestly.
Leslie followed, and as soon as we were out of earshot, she started laughing. “Holy shit, girl. Those two are totally fighting over you!”
“What? Oh, please. Michael’s just concentrating on the show right now, and he wants to make sure everything’s right when we open.”
“Grace, come on. Are you fucking kidding me? Are you blind?” she shrieked loudly.
“Hey, pipe down. Quit stirring the pot. There’s nothing going on with me and Michael. You know how long we’ve known each other. He tends to be a bit territorial with me. He was like this when we were in college…” I stopped short, thinking about what I’d just said.
He was like this whenever I was dating anyone in college—every time I brought a new guy into our group of friends.
Oh, man…
Seriously, Grace. Duh…
Leslie immediately reanimated. “Holy shit, did something happen between you two back then?”
“Um, well, see, the thing is…” I started, wondering how to explain exactly what we were back then.
“I knew it. I freaking knew it! He’s totally still igging’ on you, Grace. And damn—Michael’s such a cutie! Fuck, man, you have Jack Hamilton on one coast and Michael O’Connell on the other. Seriously, when I grow up I want to be just like you,” she finished, making me roll my eyes.
“Leslie, calm down, really. First of all, Jack is my boyfriend, and I love him very much. Michael’s a great friend, and someone I’m really glad to have back in my life. As for what happened between us, that was years and years ago, and it isn’t a part of what’s going on here now. So enough with the love triangle stuff, okay?” I gave her a firm look.
She just smiled in a way I knew meant she would not be letting this go anytime soon. I sighed and grabbed my bag.
When I returned to the theater, I saw the two men engaged in what looked like a very interesting conversation. I sidled up to them, Leslie in tow. “Okay, dickheads, enough boy talk. Jack, we ready to roll?”
“Ready when you are, love,” he answered, grasping my outstretched hand.
I said goodbye to Leslie, who was staring at Jack as though she wanted to pounce on him. He smiled at her, and I could tell he enjoyed watching her turn red. He was learning to revel in his new status as a heartbreaker.
I said goodbye to Michael, and as Jack shook his hand and told him he’d see him next visit, I looked at them nervously. I wanted them to be friends, but I wasn’t sure that would ever happen.
Jack and I walked out of the theater, hand in hand. Once we were outside, Jack pulled me to him and hugged me tightly.
“Hey, George, what’s with the rib cracking?” I laughed, struggling a little in his very tight grasp.
“Gracie, I love you so much,” he said.
“Mmm, I love you too,” I murmured sweetly in his ear. My hands found their way into his hair, my nails scratching and soothing him. He relaxed his hold on me, but only slightly. I stroked his hair, scratched his scalp, and kissed his neck below his ear the way I knew he liked.
He sighed, then pulled away from me slightly. “Grace, you’ve been holding out on me,” he said in a warning tone.
“I have? About what?” I asked.
“Why the hell have you never sung like that for me before? That was amazing!” he cried, brushing my hair back from my face. I blushed, thinking of the song I’d been singing when he came in.
“I don’t know, I sing for you all the time,” I protested, trying to make light of it.
“No, not like that. I’m truly in awe. Not only are you sexy beyond belief, your talent is just, well, I am actually speechless!” he exclaimed, prattling on like a silly schoolboy.
“I’m glad you got to see some of what I’ve been working on. I really hope you can come back for the previews,” I said. “They should be in between your premieres.”
“Grace, I wouldn’t be anywhere but the front row. Do you think you’ll have time to come to L.A. for my premiere?” he asked, seeming a little nervous.
He knew how I felt about all the cameras and paparazzi. He wouldn’t be able to walk the red carpet with me, but I was very happy he wanted me there at all.
“You want me to come to your premiere?” I asked, smiling hugely.
“Silly girl, how could you even ask that question? You’ll get to meet my family—at least my dad for sure,” he said, laughing when he saw my face change from incredulous, to thrilled, to panic-stricken.
“Meet your family? Your dad?” I asked, frozen.
“Yes, love, you’ll be at the same place, same time. I think it’s only appropriate that you meet them. I know they’re dying to meet you.” He tugged on my arm, as I was now rooted to the spot.
“You want me to meet your family at the premiere of Time in Hollywood? And to recap, you’re Jack Fucking Hamilton, and you claim you’re in love with me?” I said, cocking my head to one side.