A Reclusive Heart (Hollywood Hearts 2)

Another nod.

“Okay then,” he said, getting to his feet and gesturing towards the door.

“Let’s get some work done.”

******

“I don’t remember this being on your list,” Nick said accusingly as he glared down at her.

It took everything Jamie had not to cower beneath that glare, but somehow she managed it. Actually, she was quite proud of herself for that little move, but that didn’t exactly help with the man scowling down at her.

She cleared her throat nervously. “Yes, it was,” she lied.

His eyes practically narrowed to slits. “I don’t remember seeing going with you to a chocolate convention on the list.”

“Well, it was a really long list. You probably just missed it,” she lamely explained as the man standing in front of her stepped back and bumped into her, almost knocking her down. “Sorry,” she mumbled pathetically before she could stop herself. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as Nick’s glare intensified for some reason.

“It was a very short list,” Nick said as he put his hands on her shoulders and gently moved her out of the way as the man in front went to bang into her again. He moved her closer to his side and she was pretty sure she’d rather be rammed into by the rather rotund man in front of her than be this close to Nick. The man was too damn intimidating and being this close to him was making it kind of difficult to lie to him, but she was willing to give it a shot.

“It was long, very, very long,” she said, nibbling her bottom lip as she averted her eyes.

“It was one page, double spaced,” he bit out.

“Um, no it wasn’t.” But it was. At least it had been until last night when he finally dismissed her for the night. After he shoved the laptop in her hands with the expectation that she was going to work for a few more hours even though it had been well past eleven at night by that point she revised the list……a little.

She’d meant to work for at least an hour just to appease the big bully, but when she logged onto the computer and started to work all she could think about was her list and all the new possibilities that went along with their new agreement.

Even though she fully planned on doing the things on her list, things that she’d been sure she could handle on her own she was now going to venture out and do everything that she’d always wanted to do but was always too chicken to even try.

For three and a half hours she’d added things that she’d only dreamed of doing until she passed out at her hotel room desk. She was pretty sure she’d covered everything, but if she hadn’t she knew she could always add it later, well she hoped at least. Judging by the disgruntled look Nick was sending her she realized that she may have to find a way to sneak a few things onto the list, because right now she had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t going to be happy when he found out that the list went from one page to ten or twenty or so.

Then again this chocolate convention hadn’t been on the list at all, but she’d overheard one of her fans talking about it earlier and mentally added it to the list.

Nick had assumed that she’d want to try to go to the nightclub again tonight and had been shocked when she told him what she really wanted to do. She’d hit a nightclub again soon, especially if she had him by her side, but tonight she was all about the chocolate.

Seriously, what kind of woman would be able to pass up a convention center filled with chocolate from all over the world? Okay, granted she’d almost passed it up, but only because she always felt like an oddball whenever she went to any event by herself, but then she remembered that she didn’t have to. While she was on this tour she had her own personal tag along buddy, a buddy that would help her do all those things that she’d always dreamed about doing, but didn’t have the guts to try.

“Exactly how many items are on the list now, Miss. Harris?” he demanded as they moved forward in the line to enter the convention.

She nearly rolled her eyes at the “Miss, Harris”. She knew they weren’t friends and knew this agreement had nothing to do with friendship and everything to do with getting what they both wanted, but if he continued to call her Miss.

Harris other people would question why a handsome man was spending time with her. They’d probably assume she paid him and she really didn’t think she could deal with anymore unwanted attention.

“The name is Jamie and I have no idea how many items are on the list,” she whispered, ignoring her burning cheeks.

He sighed heavily as he grabbed her arm and practically dragged her along the moving line. “I suppose it would make things easier if we were on a first name basis,” he grudgingly agreed as they paid for their tickets. She considered paying for his ticket since he was doing her a favor, but then remembered that he wouldn’t allow her to order a hot fudge sundae last night after dinner because he considered it an interruption. So she didn’t feel bad when he had to dish out twenty bucks to get in.

Once the man in front of her headed to the right and she could see what waited for her she gasped. It was just so darn beautiful. There were booths filled with chocolate and everywhere she looked she saw signs for free samples. She’d probably have a stomach ache later but she didn’t care. It would be worth it.

“Okay, so go grab a few pieces of chocolate and let’s get out of here,” Nick said, gesturing for her to move her buns.

“Are you insane?” she asked, surprising herself, but really he had to be. They were in a convention center that featured two levels of chocolate and if he really thought that any woman in her right mind would be able to choose just a few pieces of chocolate out of thousands and be satisfied then he was crazy. It was either that or he was on drugs.

He rubbed his hands over his face before dropping them to his sides, looking annoyed. “You’re going to hit every vender, aren’t you?”

She nodded solemnly as she headed to the first one in front of her. “At least twice,” she admitted as she accepted a chocolate dripped strawberry and nearly moaned in ecstasy as the tasty combination hit her tongue.

“This is hell,” she thought she heard him mumble, but decided to ignore him as she moved on to a vender that hade creamy white chocolate.

******

“Well, I hope you learned your lesson,” he said as he slapped a hot face cloth on the whimpering woman’s forehead and sat down at the small hotel room’s desk.

“It was……worth it,” she said, turning over on the bed to move into the fetal position and hold her stomach.