“I heard you were allergic to industry parties and photographers.”
He let out a laugh. “Yeah. You can say that again.”
Joy tilted her head to the side to study him. “If that’s true, then why did you agree to go to Prissy’s party with me?”
His expression softened, and he squeezed her fingers. “Because you needed the help. And I figured it couldn’t be too bad, considering we’re in Premonition Pointe instead of Hollywood.” He chuckled. “I guess that was a bad bet.”
“I’m sorry.” She downed the rest of her martini and set the glass on a side table. “I really do appreciate it, even if I’m starting to accept that no matter what I do, there’s no way Prissy is ever going to stop her games.”
“She does seem too diabolical to be redeemable.” Troy winked at her. “Does that mean you didn’t enjoy it? Not even when you met Zack Hayes?”
“Goddess no! I hate cocktail parties. Especially when I’m surrounded by a bunch of self-important people. While you were being schmoozed by Prissy, I spent most of my time out on the balcony hiding out.”
“You did?” He laughed again. “That sounds exactly like where I would’ve liked to have been. Instead, I got to listen to Prissy talk about her time in the Caribbean and how she couldn’t wait to show me all her favorite spots. I was starting to feel like she might be planning to abduct me by the end of the night and hide me out on someone else’s private yacht.”
“Someone else’s?”
“Yep.” Troy brushed his dark hair out of his eyes. “Prissy blows through all of her own money on fancy beach houses and red-carpet parties. Trips and things like yachts are always courtesy of someone else. In that world, it’s all about perception. As long as you look rich, you’re in the club. The minute you say you can’t afford something you’re taken out with the trash.”
The sudden bitterness in his tone took her by surprise, and she couldn’t help prodding, “You sound like you speak from experience.”
He put his beer down and leaned in closer to her, bringing his hand up to cup her cheek. “I had a life in LA before I moved here. I’m sure you know that.”
“I assumed you did,” she said, staring into his intense gaze. “But I don’t know anything about it.”
He blinked, and then a wide grin took over his face. “You didn’t google me?”
She chuckled. “I might have googled a little. But that was to stalk you while you were in Europe. You know, so I could picture which city you were in and get a read on when you might be back here.”
Wonder filled his blue eyes, and Joy was desperate to kiss him, but she didn’t want to derail their conversation. Now that he’d brought up his past, she was dying to know the details.
“You could’ve just called me,” he said, brushing his thumb over her bottom lip.
Joy closed her eyes for a moment, soaking in his tender touch. When she opened them, she said, “Yes, but then I’d forfeit my chance of playing hard to get.”
“I have news for you, Joy Lansing. There hasn’t been a moment since we met that I’ve considered you hard to get.”
“Oh, really?” She shook her head in amusement. “Are you saying I’m easy?”
“No. I’m saying that the chemistry between us has been off the charts, and neither one of us has been able to resist the other.”
“Damn, that was a good save,” she said and then gently kissed the thumb still caressing her lip.
“I thought so.” He pulled back and dropped his hand, much to her disappointment. But when he started talking, it was worth it. “Back when I first started making a name for myself in LA, I dated a model. It was important to her to be seen everywhere and on the arm of all the most eligible bachelors in town. She said it helped her book jobs.”
“Did it?” Joy asked. She was so new to the industry that she didn’t know if exposure like that really helped or if it was all just a giant ego stroke.
“Maybe? Who really knows? She was getting a bunch of covers and was being asked to walk in fashion shows. Her career wasn’t hurting. But because she was ‘dating’ every actor in sight, the stories about our relationship just kept coming. They made up everything from threesomes to domestic abuse.”
“Holy hell, Troy. That’s awful,” Joy said, horrified for him.
He nodded. “I had galleries lined up all over the country. Everything was going really well, and if you didn’t count the avalanche of stories coming out about us, even our relationship was pretty good. Or at least I thought it was.”
“It wasn’t?” she guessed.
“Nope. Not even close. She actually was cheating on me, and when that came out, all the stories had a hint of the truth and the reporters smelled blood in the water. It became too much. I ended up canceling a bunch of shows and moving up here to get away from it all.”
Joy wanted to bitch-slap the model who’d cheated on him and taken advantage of his good nature. How could someone do that to him? This time Joy leaned into him and pressed her hand against his cheek, enjoying the scruff of his five o’clock shadow against her palm. “She didn’t deserve you.”
“That was the conclusion I came to as well… eventually.” He leaned into her touch, his eyes still blazing into hers.
“And after all of that, you still went to Prissy’s party and endured all the bullshit you’d left behind,” she said, wondering how she’d gotten so lucky to meet him that day at Gigi’s party.
“It was you,” he said simply. “And I can say without a doubt that you’re worth it.”
“Damn you, Troy Bixby. That was exactly the right thing to say.”
His eyes held hers, blazing with heat, and never before had Joy been so drawn to a man. Her lips parted, and before she even realized what she was doing, she cupped both of his cheeks and kissed him with everything she had.
A low moan slipped from his lips as he kissed her back, their tongues tasting, exploring, and devouring each other until eventually, Troy stood, picked her up, and carried her to his bedroom.
Chapter Eighteen
Monday morning was brutal. After several emotion-filled days, consistently late nights, and the ongoing turmoil of the visions of Harlow she’d been experiencing, all Joy had wanted to do when she woke up in Troy’s bed was roll over and go back to sleep.
Or she did until Troy wrapped her in his arms and made love to her again.
Joy grinned to herself as she thought of the sweet way Troy had made her breakfast and sent her off with a thermos of coffee. She couldn’t remember a better morning in all of her forty-eight years.
Unfortunately, once she’d gotten on set, her day had gone downhill rather quickly. She’d walked into her trailer to find that the place looked like a pack of raccoons had invaded and left her with a pile of garbage that smelled so bad she’d run back out, gagging. It was a miracle she hadn’t hurled right then and there.
Now she was forced to share a trailer with Prissy, who was having a fit about sharing her sacred space.
“It’s just until the crew can clean it up, air it out, and figure out how the rodents got in,” the PA said, trying to calm her down.