“It’s over, though. I don’t have a career for him to destroy, and now whatever I have is mine.” She looked up at him.

John knew he should tell her, but he didn’t want to crush the hope he saw on her face. It was better to wait until it was all over. He would wait until the option expired, get his movie back, then tell her.

“Maybe he did me a favor.” Anna looked down at her hands. “I look great in those photos.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Don’t lie.”

“I’m not lying. I haven’t seen them.”

“No time?” she joked, looking down at the ground.

John had made fun of her inability to communicate, her closed-off nature. Maybe she’d been protecting herself for so long, she didn’t see the walls forming around her.

He put a finger under her chin, lifting her face to look her in the eye. “I prefer the real thing.”

She finally looked at him from under her cap, like that day in the bar. “You’re ridiculous.”

John smiled as he finished his beer.

“I don’t have an apartment, I can’t cook, and I’m bad at communicating.”

He chuckled. “I thought your technique was pretty good.”

“I’m serious.” She nudged him with her shoulder. “I still want that date when we get back, if you do.”

“I still want,” he said, smiling at her.

“You’re going to be busy with your rewrites. I won’t get in your way.” She wrung her hands. “What did you want to tell me?”

He opened his eyes and scrubbed a hand down his face. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s old news.”

She grabbed his hand, pulling him from where he sat.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Guess,” she said, licking her lips.

He crowded her in the small space of the narrow stairway, one hand on the wall behind her. He kissed her gently, teasing her lips and keeping her on edge. When he pulled back with a look of satisfaction, her breath caught.

“I won’t be back in LA for a few days,” Anna said. “I have to finish up a few things here.”

He wrapped a hand around her waist and gently led her upstairs ahead of him. He didn’t feel like talking.

“We better make up for lost time,” he whispered. He leaned down to kiss the sensitive spot behind her ear. He nipped at the tender lobe of her ear with his teeth before soothing the pain away with his tongue.

At the top of the stairs, he turned her around and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around him and nuzzled into his neck.

John moved them quickly to his door. Shutting it behind them, he nudged her to the narrow bed and laid her down. Hands on hips, he stood before her.