I pouted and gave him the saddest eyes I could muster. “I can live with you. At least until I can find a decent gig. I probably won’t even be here much, and…” I stopped talking when I realized he was going to continue shaking his head at me. “Damn you.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry, babe. You know I love you. But if you stay here, you’re going to miss out on so much. And I’ve been on a cruise. I swear to you it’s not half as bad as you think it is. If you distract yourself with all the reasons why you’re there—AKA, your job—then you’ll probably forget where you even are.”
As I was in the middle of a hefty sigh, letting his words sink in, someone else spoke from Wayne’s bedroom door. “He’s right, you know.”
The man stepped closer, revealing his face. He, too, was shirtless, his body almost double the size of my best friend’s, with his taut muscles and bodybuilder stature. I dragged my eyes up to his face and burst into a full-fledged grin.
Shane sat down on the other side of me, so I was sandwiched between my best friend and the man he’d desperately wanted to notice him for the past two years. Is this it? Is this more than a casual hookup?
I snapped my head to face Wayne and grinned. His eyes were pinned on Shane’s, and everything from the way his pupils dilated to the way his breathing picked up screamed that he was head over heels in love.
“I’m sorry,” I said, breaking up their eye-fucking. “Did I interrupt?”
“No,” Shane said.
“Yes,” Wayne said.
We all laughed, then I placed my elbows on my knees, bent over, and groaned. “What am I going to do?”
Two man-hands rubbed my back as Wayne spoke gently. “You’re going to stay here tonight, of course. Do you need a place to stay until you’re on the ship?”
I shook my head. “The ship has lodging at a hotel nearby for the entertainment staff. Sebastian said he’d get me a room.”
“Good. I’ll pay your rent this month so your landlord doesn’t give you shit about getting back your stuff and so it’s not on your record. Then you’ll accept the job because you and I know it’s the best thing for you and your career right now.”
I sniffed even though my eyes were still dry. I felt like I should be crying over something like this, over choosing my future and my fears. Geez. I couldn’t believe I was even considering this.
“Okay, but I’m not sleeping with you two on your crusty, splooge-stained sheets tonight.”
“Good,” Shane said while standing up. “Because I’m getting back in between them.” He threw a wink to Wayne before walking back to the bedroom and shutting the door behind him.
Wayne was chuckling. “I’ll make up the couch for you.”
I turned back to Wayne and smacked his arm. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I hissed. Even though Shane wouldn’t care, I didn’t want him to hear me talking about him. But I was terribly excited for my friend. He deserved to be happy, and I’d been worried Shane would string him along forever.
The smile on Wayne’s face said everything. He looked content, like his world had finally righted. “I didn’t know it was going to happen. We got into a fight earlier today about some stupid dance job I wanted to audition for overseas, then he just showed up here a few hours ago. He told me he’d been in love with me since that Vegas show we were on together. But you know Shane. He didn’t think he’d ever want to settle down. I guess the possibility of me leaving really freaked him out.”
I grinned. “I’m so happy for you. For you both.” Then I sighed. “But you don’t care if I crash?”
He shook his head. “Of course not. So you’ll accept the job? And then tomorrow I’ll help you move into your temp place. Deal?”
I nodded then reached for my phone. The second I saw the time, I let out a laugh. It was 11:59. “Check that out.” I shoved my phone in his face. “With a minute to spare.”
Shaking my head with amusement, I scrolled through my e-mails to find the electronic version of the contract I’d already read through, added my signature, and pushed Send. There. Done.
Wayne padded off to bed after a goodnight hug and kiss on the temple, but I was too high on adrenaline to fade off to sleep. I started looking over my missed calls and messages, smiling to myself at how ridiculous I’d been about everything. I could handle Sebastian. I could learn to live on water again. I would be fine.
A new message buzzed, and I tapped on Sebastian’s name to see what he had to say.
Sebastian: Got the contract. See you soon.
I swallowed, knowing my fear of the deep blue sea was the least of what I needed to conquer. Somehow, I would need to figure out how to stay away from Sebastian Chase. Because if anything was going to add turbulence to my new job, it would undoubtedly be him.
Chapter 10
Sebastian
I was ready to blow off the cast meet and greet as soon as I walked through the door of our private party at Rooftop. Literally located on the top of an old building, it was decorated especially for us, with a jazzy, eclectic vibe to match the backdrop of the musical and, in the corner, a grand piano they were probably going to make me play. If they tried, they would be sorely disappointed.
I’d had my escape planned since the moment I’d woken up that morning. I would make an appearance. Take a few pictures. Shake a few hands. Survey some prospective ladies who could make my time aboard the ship more appealing. Then I’d excuse myself to take a piss, never to return.
The plan was perfect. It lacked originality, but it would have worked out great… until Kai walked in wearing a short white wrap dress, tall gold heels, and a pair of stems that seemed to go for days. Now, the only person I wanted to survey was her. I definitely couldn’t turn the fuck around and walk out after seeing her head to the bar with Jake Locklear, the male lead in Angst and Grace.
The reason they hired that guy was another nail in my side. I might have earned the title “Bad Boy of Broadway” for my foul mouth, lack of punctuality, and some foul play in a dressing room or two, but at least I wasn’t a slimeball using my fame to fuck anything with tits. I had standards.
When I was midway to the bar to break up the couple, someone caught me by an arm. “Nice of you to make it, Bash.”
My neck tightened at the nickname I hated almost more than the man speaking it. But I sucked in a slow breath, knowing tonight was the last place for me to make a scene. No, tonight, I’d be on my best behavior. I’d sip my beer like a gentleman. I’d smile at everyone I came into contact with. And I would not, no matter what, let Dirk get the better of me.
“Good to see you, Dirk. When do you head back to New York?”
That was the one great thing about sharing a producer role with someone who had multiple shows to look after. He couldn’t stick around for long.
“Next week.”
The sigh of relief in my chest whooshed through my entire body.
“But I’ll be on the ship for opening week. You know—to make sure everything kicks off smoothly.” He winked then reached around to grip my shoulder in a side hug. At first, I didn’t realize why, then I heard the click of a camera.