I was pretty sure I knew how zoo animals felt, perched there across from Elena with most of the restaurant stealing glances or blatantly watching us. We were supposed to look “lovey-dovey,” but things between us were tense and awkward, so that felt forced in a less fun way than it had a few days ago.

She looked stunning in a simple dark blue dress with a flowing skirt. If she’d spun in circles, it would’ve fanned out around her like an umbrella, but she’d never do something that childish, so I wasn’t even sure why I was picturing it. Against her dark hair, the dress made her blue eyes look even more vibrant than usual.

Those sharp eyes were assessing me shrewdly as she leaned forward and whispered, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were pissed at me, Mr. Chase… Did you disagree with my input at the table read?”

“Not at all. I thought you handled it brilliantly and the film will be better for having you on the team.”

“But?”

“Not sure how smart a move it is to flirt with Melody in front of everyone. That adds a layer to the narrative we don’t need. You could’ve done the demo with me.”

Her eyes went wide as she smiled disbelievingly at me. “Flirting with Melody?” She lowered her voice, moving to the chair next to me. “I wasn’t flirting with Melody. I mean, let’s be real, she’s adorable and years of assessing women in a competitive dressing room tells me she doesn’t have a catty bone in her body…so I like her.”

She placed her hand on my bare forearm where the sleeve of my sweater was pushed up. The unexpected contact sent a shockwave through me.

“I couldn’t do it with you because this happens. There’s no hiding the chemistry between us and I didn’t need it to be on display for the entire production team. You saw how hard it was to get anyone to listen to me and that was without them saying I’m only in the room because I’m your girlfriend.”

“I’m sorry,” I said immediately. I wanted to reach for her hand when she pulled it away. “I’m an egotistical ass. Can you forgive me, my lady?”

“Nothing to forgive. I would expect nothing less than diva behavior from Alex Chase. I knew what I was signing up for.” The tilt to her lips told me she was teasing.

“How was your vacation from the old ball and chain?” I asked once the waiter had brought us our drinks and salads. I felt better about the table read now, but was still butthurt I hadn’t heard from her in days.

“So relaxing,” she said blithely.

I shouldn’t have brought it up. All I could think to say was, “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“How’s your mom?” she asked gently.

“She’s fine.” I’d planned to stop at that, not feeling like she was entitled to more since she hadn’t asked before now, but the words came tumbling out. “She’s home and being looked after. She was upset about the picture, but we’ve done everything we can about it. We’ve been trying to get her to move out here, and her fall might finally help to convince her.”