Falling From Grace (Leverage 3.5)

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Miles, breathing hard and a little dizzy from the threat of dehydration after Dani had milked every last drop of fluid from his body, rose unsteadily to grab some bottled waters while Dani lounged, naked and dewy, like a Grecian goddess on the bed. “Do you think she’s going to like me?” she asked when Miles returned and handed her a water. “I mean, what if she believes the stories about me?”

“The stories where you are incredibly talented? I sure as hell hope she believes them.”

She frowned even though Miles was sweet to deflect. “You know that’s not what I mean. The past few months haven’t been kind to my reputation. I don’t want her to think of me that way. I want her to believe in me.”

“She does. Otherwise she wouldn’t be pushing for you on this project.”

“Technically, it’s the director who wants me, right? Not Lindy specifically.”

Ah, that’s true. He couldn’t lie about that. “But Lindy knows you’re talented otherwise she wouldn’t risk her pet project. She just wouldn’t. Lindy would rather sit on the project than agree to hire someone who was going to ruin it.”

Dani nodded, chewing her lip in thought. “I haven’t felt this nervous in a long time. I want her to like me so bad.”

“She will. She already does,” he assured her, smoothing the hair from her eyes. “Stop worrying.”

“What do you know about the character Hattie? You said you’ve read the book? Is there a bookstore here? I want to pick up a copy.”

“Slow down,” he laughed as he took a seat beside her. “I have read the book. She’s young but strong. I think if played right, it could have Oscar potential.”

“Really?” Her eyes widened. “And you think I could pull it off? Why?”

“Hey…what happened to the woman who was going to conquer the world?” he asked softly. “That woman wouldn’t have been scared to grab an opportunity by the balls.”

She swallowed. “I don’t know. She got eaten by missed opportunities, bad press, and parasitic posses.”

He disagreed, brushing a kiss across her lips. “No. She’s still in there. Just waiting for you to bring her back out into the light.”

“What makes you so sure?”

A mischievous grin followed as he said in a husky tone that made her shiver, “Because she leaves behind scratches on my back when I fuck her.”

“Oh, Miles!” she gasped and blushed even as a shy smile curved her lips. “You know how to sweet talk a woman.”

“Not really,” he said, grinning. “Only you.” He pulled her from the bed and sent her toward the bathroom, saying, “Get the water started. We can’t go to dinner with Lindy smelling like sweaty sex and salt water…although…I kinda like that scent on you.”

“You’re impossible,” Dani said over her shoulder with a coy smile knowing he was staring at her ass and loving the view. “But if you’re up for a quickie in the shower…”

Again? His poor cock would never recover. But then, there were worse problems, right? He hustled after her, gathering her in his arms to walk them both into the spray.

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They entered the private section of the resort and found Lindy and her twin sister chatting while the Lilah’s twins ran around like tan little monkeys. Their laughter was infectious and Dani couldn’t help the smile as she watched them play. Was it completely ludicrous that she wondered how well she and Miles’ DNA would turn out? Yeah, possibly dangerous, too. Why was she torturing herself that way? She couldn’t have babies any time soon, not when a less-than-svelte figure on a woman meant she was persona non grata in Hollywood’s casting circles. But even so…they were pretty cute. “They are so high energy,” she murmured to Miles and he chuckled.

“That’s one way to get your cardio…chase after a rambunctious set of twins all day.”

She laughed and Lindy noticed they’d come in, breaking into a wide, inviting smile and gesturing for them to join them. “Come on in. You’re just in time. We were about to break open the wine.”

“No wine for us,” Miles said, startling Dani when he made the choice for her. Lindy’s gaze flew from Miles to Dani, instantly chagrined for making the offer and Dani wanted to fall through the floor. Miles had just made her feel like a leper in front of Lindy Bell. Off to a fabulous start.

“Well, maybe Miles doesn’t want any wine,” she said, shooting Miles a quelling look “but I’ll certainly have some.”

“Are you sure? I know you’re still recovering,” Lindy said, worried. “You know what? Forget it, we don’t need alcohol. Let’s have pineapple juice. It’s better for us anyway.”

Dani smiled as if she didn’t mind but inside she was cringing. Lindy thought she was an alcoholic or something because of her recent past. “I’m really fine. You shouldn’t believe everything you read in the tabloids,” she added with a bit of censure. Damn you, Miles. If Raina were here she wouldn’t have humiliated her like that. No, in fact, Raina would’ve joined in for a glass or two because she understood how to network. However, she had to make do. “But pineapple juice is fine, too.”

Lindy shrugged and said, “Well, I was going to wait and broach the subject after we’d gotten to know each other a little better but we might as well just offer the elephant in the room some peanuts and get it over with.”

“I suppose we could do that,” Dani said, sagging with disappointment. This wasn’t how she’d envisioned her first meeting with someone of Lindy’s caliber but what could she do but grit her teeth and suffer through it? “What would you like to know?”

“Well, I’m not going to pretend that I haven’t heard the rumors and don’t get me wrong, I know half the time what those tabloids spread is pure fiction but as you know, perception is everything and right now…you’re a risk.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“I know that’s hard to hear but if you’re going to salvage your career, you’re going to have to own your part in what happened.”

“Wow…an intervention and a parenting sesh. How’d I get so lucky?” Dani muttered, really wishing she had some liquor to soften the sting of getting schooled by her idol. This sucked.

“Dani, Lindy is trying to help,” Miles reminded her and she shot him a look that said, shut up, I didn’t ask for your input and he scowled. “Careful…don’t burn the house down just because you don’t like the drapes.”

She wanted to do exactly that and she might’ve three days ago but somehow she reined in her unruly tongue and forced herself to apologize. “It’s hard to be gracious when you’re constantly being reminded that you screwed up,” she said, swallowing the bitterness of her own humiliation. “But I appreciate the opportunity to work with you. Even if it means listening to everyone count down my failures.”

“Nobody is trying to throw in your face where you went wrong,” Lindy assured her with a small, understanding smile. “If anyone can understand and empathize with what you’re going through, it’s me. In the beginning of my career, I didn’t always make the best choices. I started getting stereotyped as the eye candy and not a serious actress. Directors of quality stopped taking my calls and the only people interested in giving me work were people who thought they could sleep with me. It hurt my ego — a lot — but I was lucky enough to find someone who helped me to see that I was better than that. And then I was smart enough to marry him and move to San Francisco.”

“You moved away from L.A.? Why?” Dani asked, confounded. “How do you get jobs? You have to be seen in that town or else people forget you.”

“No, that’s a lie that someone told you to get you to do what they wanted. If you’re talented, they’ll come calling. You don’t have to go clubbing every night — in fact, I really advise against it. You’ll attract the wrong kind of attention. I’m sure we’re all aware of a certain starlet who fell apart and lost everything because she let her demons take control of her career. Don’t be that cliché. Be the person you were meant to be.”

“What if you don’t kno

w who that is anymore?” Dani asked.

“Then it’s time to regroup. Like what you’re doing here with Miles. The best part about Hollywood is that they love a comeback. When you come back to L.A., do it with your head held high and then clean house. The people you’ve been hanging out with — ditch them because they’re not doing you any favors.”

She nodded, ashamed that she’d briefly thought of calling Raina and ditching Miles to go back to L.A. What was she thinking? All because Miles, who was thinking of her welfare, put the kibosh on the alcohol? Jesus, she was all manner of messed up in the head. “Thanks. I’ll do that.” She looked to Miles and the sweetness they’d shared earlier was hidden behind a wall she’d put there. They had so much baggage between them…baggage she’d put there. “So what do I need to do to prove that I’m a good investment? I really would love the chance to play the part of Hattie even though I really don’t know much about the character. The fact that it has your endorsement is good enough sign for me that it’s a good project.”

“I’m flattered, but for what it’s worth, you really ought to read the book, which is why….” Lindy radiated happiness as she pulled a large hard cover book from a bag beside her. “I brought you something,” she said, handing Dani the book.