Ashley stirred in his embrace, her body warm. If she didn’t sign, maybe they had a chance to have a real relationship.
And he’d know what being “real” was. Like she’d read his thoughts, Ashley murmured, “What would you do with your life if you weren’t acting?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I’m figuring out my own wants so I figured I’d ask you what your backup plan was.”
Ashley was sweet in a way he hadn’t seen. “I was trained to be a banker.”
“You are nothing like your brothers.” She turned inhis arms to look into his eyes.
“And you Ashley, what are you thinking about doing?”
“I’m going to put my degree to use.”
“You should.”
Ashley let out a sigh. “Matt, your phone is ringing.”
He shook his head, focusing on the vibrations coming from the night stand as he’d turned the ringer off. He held Ashley closer and said, “I don’t care.”
She reachedout and handed it to him, where he saw his agent’s name on the screen. What could Andy want? Maybe something about the role he was up for. She scooted out of bed and slid on his t-shirt. “I’m hungry and want to get lunch started. Meet me downstairs?”
The way her hips swayed caught his attention and he seriously wanted her again already. He nodded instead. “Be right there to help.”
At the door she turned back toward him and winked. “I don’t think you know how to cook but you can show me what you’ve got.”
“I’m a fast learner when I want to be,” he called out but she didn’t say anything back. She continued her sexy strut down the hall.
Once she was out of sight, he answered right before his phone went to voicemail. “Andy, what’s going on?”
Andy’s voicehad a gleeful tone like he’d just won an academy award or something as he asked, “Who’s the blonde you were with? Is it true she was a maid?”
Wow. Someone must’ve taken a photo yesterday at the hotel and the press had already identified Ashley. Yes, this was the age of the internet, but he still blanked on when exactly it had happened. He ran his hand through his hair, longer than normal.“Yeah, she used to work for my sister as her maid in Miami.”
“Talk about working class,” Andy said.
Was that a dig or a compliment? Either way, Matt paused. He’d never meet a woman who was on paper his equal and even if he did, he doubted that he would like himself with her. He picked his cotton pants up off the floor. “Look, Ashley’s the real-istperson I know.”
Andy snortedand continued, “Don’t get upset with me. Your popularity points with the public just went up. The studio wants you to audition.”
His brain fired. Andy knew he wanted to be an action hero, but this could be anything. His eyes narrowed as he walked over and glanced out his tinted windows like he needed the sun to filter on his skin. “For what?”
Andy’s voice turned serious. “For thefranchise. The seven movie deal.”
Matt’s muscles tightened and he fist-pumped the air as he asked, “Audition?”
Andy laughed like he knew what Matt would do as he said, “You know that you have to. It’s how the game is played.”
He could do it. Nail it. He looked at the clear sky outside the window and his lush green lawn behind the tall fences. He backed away and crossed hisarms.
The speed of this happening made him hesitate to accept the good news. “How did you know Ashley was the maid?”
Andy said, “Your PR went into overdrive. You were in love for a year but keeping it under wraps because she volunteered to be your brother’s surrogate.”
They’d talked about that story last night, but hadn’t given an interview. They hadn’t said anything or discussedit at the table where someone might overhear. His pulse skipped like he’d missed something. “We didn’t tell anyone that.”
Andy sounded like he opened his computer and typed as he said, “It’s in every article. You should have told me you were already getting married.”
