She managed to slip free of his hold, but he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back toward him. Facing her, he clutched at her elbows. “We can work this out. Give me a chance. Give us a chance.”
Heather continued to fight, putting all her resentment into the battle. Surrendering her hold on the sheet, she pounded at his naked chest. “Let me go! Let me go, you fucking asshole!” Tears poured down her cheeks, blurring her vision.
Seth held her firmly, taking her assault as though he barely felt it. “Heather, I love you. You love me.”
She continued hitting him as well as she could with him restraining her. It was no use, though. He was stronger than she was and he’d hold her as long as he wanted. Exhausted and overcome with gut-wrenching sobs, she collapsed against his chest.
Seth wrapped his arms around her whispering apologies and I love yous that she didn’t fully register. It was as if she’d put up a shield of armor and everything he said bounced off her and fell away like her tears.
She let him hold her while she cried out the worst of it. Eventually her peripheral mind realized they were both naked, Seth having lost his towel in the struggle. Wasn’t there some rule about fighting naked because you can’t stay angry then?
But though Seth was naked, she was still angry. Still very angry. Very angry and very hurt.
With a new rush of fury, she pushed him away. “Get your hands off of me!” she screamed.
Startled, Seth let go. When he reached for her again, she shouted, “Don’t touch me! Don’t you dare touch me ever again. Get out.” She darted past him and gathered his clothes from the floor where he’d left them the night before. “Get out of my house.” She threw his phone and clothes at him, aiming his shoes at him with force, hoping the impact would hurt. “I don’t want to see you. Ever!”
Seth caught his shoes, which only fueled her rage.
“Get out!”
“Okay!” He put his hands up as if in surrender. “Okay, I’m leaving. I’m leaving.”
He gathered his clothes and walked out of her room, still naked. She watched after him as long as she could before her vision clouded with a new set of tears and her voice became too choked to call him back.
This wasn’t over. Seth wasn’t giving up on her. He’d fucked up, big, and he’d known his deceit might lose her. But he wasn’t ready to let his stupidity wreck them for good. Not after all they’d shared. Not after he knew she loved him.
Seth dressed quickly in the hallway outside Heather’s room to the sound of her sobs. It took all his strength not to run back to her, take her in his arms and make her believe how sorry he was. He wanted nothing more than to soothe her through her pain, the pain that he’d caused.
But he’d come to know her well enough to know she needed time to think before she could listen to him. He’d give her that, if that was what she needed. Then he’d fight. It was the mistake he’d made with Erica—he’d let her leave. Not this time. Not with Heather.
He considered calling in sick to the set. He certainly felt sick—his head pounded and his gut twisted so tight he thought he might puke. But that wasn’t professional. And he wanted to be near Heather, in case she decided she was ready to talk to him.
So after stopping by his house for a change of clothes, he drove to the studio. He flashed his ID to the security guard and parked his truck, then headed toward the set to check-in with the Assistant Director, ignoring every instinct that wanted to turn him toward Heather’s trailer instead.
Time, he reminded himself. She needed time. He’d give her a day. Maybe two. If she still avoided his calls tomorrow, then he’d go to her.
So wrapped up in his regrets, Seth didn’t notice Joe Piedmont until he’d practically knocked into him.
“Joe. I didn’t know you’d be on set today.” Most of Joe’s work was already done in the planning and design. He rarely showed up on the lot. It was odd.
Odder still was that he was with the asshole producer, Brandon, who had wanted to maul Seth’s girlfriend when he was finished with her.
Girlfriend? Not anymore. The knot in his stomach tightened. Maybe not a good time to think about that.
Seth nodded stiffly at the producer. “Brandon.”
“Seth.”
Joe gave an awkward smile. “Seth, can I talk to you a minute?”
“Uh, sure.” Yeah, something strange was definitely going on. The vibe was completely off.
Joe called over to the director, who was going over notes with a stand-in. “Don, we’re going to use your trailer. Brandon, I got this.”
Nothing good ever came from being summoned to the director’s trailer with your boss, who was also your friend. Had something gone wrong with the set crew? Had Seth fucked up somehow? Again?
Once inside Don’s trailer, Joe gestured for Seth to take a seat at the table. Seth sat and Joe took the seat across from him.
After a deep breath, Joe said, “Seth, this is really hard for me to do, and believe me I wish I didn’t have to. Please know that this is in no way a reflection of your work.” He paused.
“Just say it.” Seth was eager to get the shit over with.
“We’ve had a request that you no longer work on this movie.”
Seth ran his hands through his hair as his heart plummeted to his stomach. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“There’s only a week left of shoot. She couldn’t deal with me for one damn week?”
“I’m sorry.” Joe looked about as bad as Seth felt. Which was pretty shitty.
He knew Heather wouldn’t want to see him, but he never thought she would go to those lengths to keep him away. Playing the movie star card…it was disgusting. The producers would bow to her demands. They had no choice. They couldn’t do the movie without her, but him—he was nothing.
He wanted to laugh. All the time he spent proving to her that he was worth something even though he was “just a carpenter” and now she’d proved exactly the opposite.
“So you know who the request is from?”
Seth leaned his elbows on the table and covered his eyes with his hands. “Yes.”
What did he expect? She was mad. She was hurt. This was the way she knew to retaliate. God, though, if she was this upset, did he even have a chance?
He slammed his palm on the table. “Fuck!”
Joe didn’t flinch at Seth’s outburst. “What happened?”
“Honestly? I fell in love.”
“With an actress? That’s always dangerous territory.”
“Tell me about it. But I’m the one who fucked it up. Big time.” He let out a gruff laugh. “I can’t believe she won’t even give me a chance.” It was an immature move on her part, especially since it affected more than just him.
Suddenly, guilt hit him as hard as his earlier frustration. “Look, Joe, I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry. I know this puts you in a bind. I can get you a replacement by this afternoon if you need one.”
“That would be really great if you could.”
“It won’t be a problem. Again, I’m sorry. She shouldn’t have let the movie suffer because I was an idiot.”
Joe shrugged. “She doesn’t have a diva reputation for nothing. You know we have to keep the stars happy.”
Seth bit back his desire to defend Heather. “I get it. It’s fine. I’ll get on that replacement. Are we done here then?”
“Except I have to give you this.” Joe dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Your final paycheck.”
“Of course.” Seth stood as he took it. “Thanks, Joe. I appreciate that you let me on the show in the first place.”
“Anytime you want to be my carpenter, the job is yours.”
“Ha, thanks. But I think I’m going to be happiest getting back to my old job.” Seth folded up the envelope, stuffed it in his back pocket and left the trailer.
He was surprised to see Brandon waiting for him. Or disappointed. Rather than deal with him, Seth walked
past him without so much as a nod.
Brandon followed him. “So you and Heather are done then?”
“Shut the fuck up, Brandon.” Jesus, he had to deal with this shithead too?
“What? I’m just stating the obvious.”
Seth stopped walking and spun to face the other man. “Why? So you can rub it in my face or because you’re planning on making her your conquest? If it’s that last thing, trust me, you don’t have a chance.”
Brandon’s grin could be described as nothing but smarmy. “Are you sure about that? She got with you and she thought she was slumming.”
“I don’t have to listen to this.” He turned away again.
“I know her type, Seth,” Brandon called after him. “They’ll spread their legs for anyone who treats them like royalty. Not only do I know I can get her in bed, but I’ll bet it will be cake.”
Seth spun around and grabbed Brandon by the lapels. Pinning him against the outside of some random star’s trailer, Seth got in his face. “Don’t you fuckin’ even think about laying a hand on her, Brandon, or I swear to God, I’ll make you live to regret it.”
Brandon shook under Seth’s grasp, and there was no mistaking the look of fear on his face. “Get your hands off me, Seth.”
Seth held him a few seconds longer. Then he released him—not because he didn’t think he couldn’t punch the living daylights out of the asshole, but because he didn’t have the energy to deal with such an insignificant prick.
Once Brandon was out of Seth’s grasp, he seemed to get his balls back. “Don’t think I don’t have power in this town, Seth. I can fuck you over in a heartbeat. How easy will it be to get a job after I have you dragged off this set by security?”
“Don’t bother. I’m leaving.” He didn’t need Brandon to fuck him over too. He’d already fucked himself pretty damn good on his own.
Once in his truck, Seth didn’t leave right away. Instead, he waited until he saw the familiar BMW hybrid pull up. Lexie saw him almost at once and tossed him a glance that seemed to say, hold on a minute.
He watched as Lexie escorted Heather out of the car. Heather wore oversized sunglasses, but he knew they hid red, puffy eyes. Another wave of regret rolled through him like nausea and he was almost glad when the object of his affection had walked out of sight.
As he’d hoped, Lexie came back alone shortly after. He pushed the button for the power window to move down as she approached.
“Seth, she doesn’t want to see you. I’ll make sure you get anything you left in the trailer, but I can’t let you in there yourself.”
“I know. I was actually looking for you.”
Her brow arched. “For me?”
“I figure you’re the only one who can tell me what I can do to fix this.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked absently into the distance. “I’m not sure if you can. You screwed up pretty bad.”
“I know.” His knuckles turned white as his hands clutched the steering wheel, even though the car wasn’t on. “Does it matter at all that I…?” He swallowed. “That I honestly love her?”
Lexie cocked her head, seeming only mildly surprised by Seth’s confession of love. “You know her pretty well now. What do you think?”
“I think she doesn’t trust people very easily. And she trusted me.”
“Yep. Your lie erased every bit of that.” She nodded as though she were deciding something. “I’ll tell you what—I’ll do my best to persuade her to talk to you. I don’t know if it will do any good, but I’ll try. You can call me.”
He let out a small sigh of relief. It was something. The best chance he had, anyway. “Thank you, Lexie.”
She smiled then appeared to think better of herself. “Jesus Christ, you’re going to get me fired, you know that? Why am I such a sucker for you?”
“Because you know I’m good for her.”
“You do make her a better person.”
It was Seth’s turn to look into the distance. “She makes me a better person too.”
“Well, right now it’s hard to see that. It seems more like you’re a total shit.” She leaned onto the window frame. “So here’s my advice—show her. Show her you’re a better person.”
Seth’s forehead creased. “How?”
With a shrug, she stood upright. “You’re a smart guy. You’ll figure something out.”
Show her. Lexie’s words echoed in his ears as he watched her walk away, his mind already racing with ideas.
Chapter Twenty
Heather gazed out the window of the Trump Towers Suite overlooking Central Park, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to warm herself. It wasn’t that it was cold, exactly. The weather was actually quite warm for November in New York City. Still, she felt chilled. She’d blame it on the change of climate from L.A. if she hadn’t been cold there as well.
How long had it been since she’d felt warm now?
Almost three weeks. Since the day she watched Seth leave her bedroom.
She turned to the suite’s thermostat and hiked the temp up to seventy-four. From across the room, she felt Lexie’s eyes on her, watching her every move like a nervous hen. It seemed she’d been watching her like that for as long as Heather had felt the chill. Did she really seem that much of a mess? She knew she was inside, but thought she’d managed a pretty decent façade. Guess not.
She sighed and looked at the clock on her phone. Six hours left until check-in at the New York City 24-Hour Plays. That left hours of pretending she was fine. It was easier when she was busy. This downtime was the worst, when all she wanted to do was cry or sleep. Or cry and sleep.
God, how long could this heartache last? She’d only known Seth for three months. She’d been with Collin off and on for two years and didn’t feel a fraction of the anguish she did now. Maybe it was because she’d been betrayed so deeply, but she suspected it was more than that. Like, maybe because Collin wasn’t ever the guy. And Seth was.
“Do you want me to order room service?”
Heather glanced at Lexie, who was still watching her every move. “No, I’m not hungry.”
“Heather, you haven’t eaten all day.” Someday Lexie had to explain how she’d so effectively mastered that motherly tone at her young age. “You need to eat something before the Intros meeting tonight.”
“I already looked at the menu. Nothing looks good.” Heather didn’t need to look at the menu to know nothing looked good. That was another side effect of lost love—no appetite.
“I could order some Chinese. Or pizza. Or anything! This is New York, everything delivers.”
Heather weighed her options for a moment, deciding whether it would take more energy to continue the battle or just give in and eat something. A compromise, maybe. “The only thing I want is a Diet Coke and a bag of Cheetos.” Junk food. Her trainer would go ballistic.
Whatever. Who cared? She certainly didn’t.
“Then I’ll run out and get some. There’s a store on the corner.” Lexie grabbed her purse and coat from the closet, obviously elated that Heather had shown an interest in eating.
A weak surge of satisfaction filled Heather’s chest. At least she’d made Lexie happy.
She flung herself on the sofa and wrapped herself in the blanket she’d snagged earlier from the suite’s bedroom and watched her assistant as she buttoned her pea coat.
The concern returned to Lexie’s eyes. “Are you sure you want to be doing this?”
“You’re the one forcing me to eat something.”
“I meant the plays.”
Heather ran her hand through her hair. “Why wouldn’t I? I always do the plays when I have time in my schedule.” She had considered canceling, but what would be her excuse? Life went on. She had to figure out how to go on with it. Without Seth.
The thought of moving on without Seth brought a fresh wave of remorse. Which made her irritated. Which made her irritated with Lexie. “Jesus, you’re so weird. I mean, months ago you were eage
r to sign me up without telling me and now you’re being all freaky because I want to do them.” It couldn’t just be because she’d been moping around. Lexie was always the biggest proponent of the keep-yourself-occupied mentality. There had to be something else.
Heather sat up and glared at her friend. “What is it you aren’t telling me?”
“Seth’s doing the plays too.”
She’d said it so quickly it took Heather a moment to register her words. When she did, she’d wished she hadn’t asked. The air whooshed out of her lungs and she slumped back into the couch cushion. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
It hadn’t even occurred to her that Seth would be invited. Of course he would be. His addition to the plays in L.A. had brought in a lot of additional funding. If she’d had any capacity to think at all the last few weeks, she would have already realized it.
Lexie should have already realized it.
Heather shifted to give her assistant the best glare she could manage. “Why didn’t you tell me before we got here?”
Lexie crossed the room and sat on the couch next to her before answering. “Because I was afraid of what you’d do. But I feel guilty. So I told you. Besides, I think you should be prepared.”
A lump formed in Heather’s throat that she quickly swallowed down. “I don’t know why you’re so concerned. I’m a professional. We can figure something out.” She was an actress—those lines should have been more convincing.
“You’ve refused to talk to him or see him for weeks and now you’re okay with it?”
Heather flung her arms halfheartedly in the air. “No, I’m not okay with it, but I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
“Don’t you? You didn’t want to work with him anymore on Girl Fight and poof! He was off the film. It seems to me you have all the choices, Heather.” Her tone was laced with malice.
Heather hadn’t realized Lexie felt that way. They hadn’t talked about it before now. Yeah, throwing Seth off the movie hadn’t been one of her finer moments, but she just couldn’t see him then. Not when the wounds had been fresh.
She didn’t know if she could see him now either. She was still working that out in her head. One thing she knew for certain—she wouldn’t get him fired from the plays. He was too important to the cause.