Harlequin Desire January 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 by Maisey Yates (inspirational books .TXT) 📗

This request coming from anyone else would have been bizarre. For whatever reason, she and Julian had skipped the awkward getting-to-know-you phase and were at the point of holding secret meetings in public restrooms.

“Did you leave Francisco alone at the table?” Nina asked.

“He’s gone,” he said. “He called it a night.”

Nina stepped aside and let him in. The generous restroom contracted in size. She eased down onto a tufted bench under a gold-framed mirror. He stood before her, looking down at her upturned face with concern. Why did she feel so exposed in his gaze?

“Julian, I’m okay. Really.” She sat up straighter. “I wasn’t expecting your offer, that’s all.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have assumed you’d want to work with me.”

“What do you mean by that?”

His face was clouded. “Like you said, it’s not your area of expertise.”

For whatever reason, Nina didn’t believe his explanation. Julian was holding back from her, and the feeling disturbed her more than was reasonable. “Why wouldn’t I want to work with you? You’re a big Hollywood star.”

“I’m a big liability.”

“Julian!” Nina rose to confront him. “What are you talking about? I’d love to work with you.”

“Because you split your time between libraries and film festivals, you may not know that my reputation isn’t the best.”

“I don’t split my time—” Nina paused, took a breath. “And you’re being dramatic. So your movie tanked. So what?”

“It’s not just that.”

“I know,” Nina said, waving her hands to brush the whole ugly business away. “There was a boycott and everything. And I’m sure you’re not blameless, but you are not who those people say you are. You’re not.”

Emotion colored his face, prompting Nina to wonder about Julian’s carefree facade.

“Then why were you so quick to say no?”

“Because I suck at fiction!” Julian pushed out a dry laugh. She grabbed his shoulders to force him to listen. “I’ve been writing all my life, and the memoir is my only successful project. My editor turned down a collection of short stories just this week. I’d feel more comfortable if you hired a professional to do this job.”

He removed her hands from his shoulders and held them between his. “Would a professional care as much as you do?”

“Who cares? Nothing is better than competence.”

Julian’s voice was level. “I care a great deal.”

They stood like that for a long time, her hands in his, their eyes locked. Julian’s quiet confidence transferred onto her. Turning him down was the sensible thing to do, but would she regret it? Yes. Yes, she would. Certainty surged inside her. She was going to do it. She was going to jump into the deep. Only this time she was fully aware of the risk.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

Julian asked her to repeat her words, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

“I’ll do it,” Nina said. “I’ll take a chance. So long as you keep in mind that I’ve never done this type of work before.”

“You’re in good company,” he said. “Neither have I. But if you want to come aboard this sinking ship, I’ll be more than happy to have you.”

Nina planted her hands on her hips. “Permission to come aboard, sailor.”

“Permission granted.”

He flashed a grin so infectious that she couldn’t help but grin back. And then she snapped out of it. This was a negotiation, damn it! “I don’t work for free.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Julian said.

“My agent will be in touch.”

“We’ll work something out,” he said. “You won’t be disappointed.”

“One last thing,” she said. “If at any point you’re not happy with my work, please let me know.”

“I’ll be straightforward with you,” he said. “But unhappy? I don’t see it.”

“Okay…” Nina said. What was left to cover?

“Now would be a good time to tell you that Frank signed on to be our director.”

“Julian!” Nina bolted forward to draw him into an ungainly hug. “That’s great! I’m so excited for you.”

“For us.” He held her close. “He’s your director, too.”

His breath fanned her cheek. Nina pulled back to look up at him. Those deep brown eyes… That flared nose… Those full lips… All within reach. I’ll do it. I’ll take a chance. As tall as she stood in her heels, she was not tall enough. She placed her hands on his shoulders one more time and, eyes half-closed, she tilted her head back, asking, imploring, for a kiss.

The kiss never came.

There was a knock on the door. Nina sprang away from him. If they were caught together in a public bathroom, social media would go nuts. Julian brought a finger to his lips and gestured for her to be quiet.

“Busy here!” he called out in a smooth voice.

A woman’s steely tone drilled through the door. “Sir, this is the ladies’ room!”

“You might want to rethink your gender norms, ma’am!”

An indignant cry, the staccato click-clack of heels, then blissful silence. Nina collapsed with laughter. Good thing Julian was there to catch her.

“I bet she’s headed straight to the complaint desk,” he said.

“With good reason. You shamed her and called her ma’am!”

“I’ll step out first,” he said. “Come find me in the courtyard.”

* * *

The courtyard was dark except for the light from a few lanterns and a silver disk of a moon. Nina found Julian walking in circles, pausing only to smooth back his hair. When he saw her, he straightened his shoulders and pasted a smile on his face. Nina wasn’t duped. Why did he look so conflicted?

Once she’d decided that she wanted him, she hadn’t stopped to consider whether the feeling was mutual. Did he…not want this? Nina could address the matter in a straightforward way. Yet she opted to play coy instead. Because that always worked. “Hey,” she said, taking a step forward. “We have a few things to celebrate tonight. Let’s order champagne.”

“Did you want me to kiss you in there?”

Oh, God! Why couldn’t he let her play coy? “Yeah…about that… Did you not want to?”

“I had to be sure,” he said. “You remember saying you didn’t