“I promise,” she repeats. “And if you want to know the whys, that brings me to my first reason. Remember when I told you I’m on some bigwigs’ radar for a life changing role? Well, it’s the part of Cynthia inReckless Desire, the movie I told you about when it was announced last month.”
My chest swells with excitement until I remember what she said about said bigwigs. “So they’re the ones that want a relationship girl?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?” My brows furrow and she grimaces.
“I lied a little bit.” She lifts her hand and holds her thumb and finger an inch apart, clenching her teeth.
“Howlittleare we talking?” My words are slow and full of questions, not just the one I’m asking.
Hayley laughs through another confusing grimace. “They didn’t specifically say they needed a relationship type.”
“Oh-kay. What did they say?”
“They said they needed me to fix my image. To become a little lessme. To—”
“What the fuck, Hayley?” I stiffen as alarm bells sound inside my head. They can’t be serious. Why would anyone want to extinguish Hayley’s light? It all makes sense now.
“This right here”—she waves her hand in front of my face—“is the reason I didn’t tell you the other day.”
“What reason?”
“I had a feeling you’d get all protective of me, and I didn’t need that while I was still processing everything that happened.”
Fuck. I get that, to a degree, but I’m still not happy. “Would you prefer I thought that request was perfectly fine?”
“No.” Hayley sighs. “I just wanted you to know why I previously kept it from you.”
“Gotcha. Okay. I’m guessing there’s more.”
“Yep.” Her nose scrunches as her eyes flicker closed for a beat. “I was specifically told…fewer nights out, less drinking, and no bad boys.”
“Ouch.” I wince. “Are you suggesting I’mnota bad boy? Look at these tats.” I roll up my sleeve and tense my bicep, bouncing my eyebrows. Not that she notices. No, Hayley has her eyes locked on my muscles as though they’re a beacon she’s drawn too. I test the theory, lifting my shirt to reveal my tattooed chest, and her gaze shifts, despite the fact that she’s seen it all before. I drag my finger from the rose tattoo positioned near my heart, down to the eagle that spans my waist, disappearing under the waistband of my jeans, chuckling when her eyes follow.
But when she licks her lips, I groan. “Christ, Hayley. Snap out of it.”
“I can’t help it.” She waves her hands around and unabashedly continues her perving. “It’s a work of art, Reed. It’s no different to me than staring at a painting in the Louvre.”
I scoff at her comparison and let go of my shirt, making her pout as it covers my chest. “I appreciate the compliment. I’ll pass on your admiration to the artist.”
“Oh, Reed, this is way bigger than admiration. I’m obsessed. While we’re dating, I’m making it my mission to find out the meaning of every single tattoo. Be prepared. Have your stories ready, ’cause I’m coming for you.”
Yeah, that’s not happening.“What if they’re personal?” Keeping a straight face, I wait for her to panic before I laugh.
“Shit, I’m—Reed.” She playfully huffs at my laughter. “I guess the first thing you need to know is that I’m always open with the people I trust, and I sometimes forget others aren’t.”
“I’m kidding, and I know that about you. I don’t mind sharing my stories.”Most of them, anyway.“We’ve got to trust each other completely for this to work.”
“Agreed. So where were we?”
“You were in denial about me being a bad boy.” I wink.
“You are so far in the opposite direction, you’re practically an angel.”
“An angel? I’ve seen the trailer for your film; not all angels are good.”
“In your case, it’s true.”
