Capture (Seaside Pictures 1)

"Will you marry me?"

"What?" I let out a frantic yell.

Zane shrugged. "You said you were capable of making big decisions. It was a test."

I rolled my eyes.

"You failed."

"Zane, look, I appreciate the help, but I don't really know you that well, and so far all you've done is tell me that Linc's stupid, and I'm immature for not understanding his reasoning."

Zane wandered over to the couch and patted the spot beside him.

Slowly, I walked over to the plush leather and took a seat next to him, while he propped his feet on the matching ottoman as if he lived there.

"You can try to figure it out until your brain hurts. How about you just come to the same conclusion I did the minute you walked in the door?"

"What?" I leaned further into the leather, wishing I could just disappear from his pensive gaze.

"You like him. He likes you. You're both a bit emotional right now. Give it time. If it's supposed to work, it will work. Now." He grabbed the remote and flipped on the Discovery Channel. "We're going to watch people build houses in Alaska, and you're going to stop thinking all about Linc. Believe me, what you need is a distraction."

"I can't." I started to get up. "I need to look at the filming schedule tomorrow and plan my assistant duties around when Linc's going to be—"

"Five a.m. he reports to set. Filming until around noon. He gets a ten-minute break for lunch. Then he'll have to go back, most likely to re-film the kissing scene. Rumor has it he knocked Pris's teeth last time."

I held in my amusement, just barely.

"And…" Zane's eyes narrowed. "… oh right, and tonight he has some sort of weird meeting."

Panicking, I ran into my room, grabbed my schedule, and read through it. "It doesn't say anything about the publicist on my schedule for him."

Zane didn't take his gaze off the TV. "Right, that little morsel of information was given to me by Jaymeson. Apparently Linc's publicist has been trying to get ahold of him most of the morning, ever since your picture leaked."

"Crap." I felt a headache coming on. "Do you think he's in trouble?"

Zane turned the volume down and gave me a duh look. "Honey, he was seen not only kissing you, but going into, and I quote, 'a love hut' with you. Both of which would be totally fine if you weren't A… underage, B… the director's little sister, and C… up until now? Mute."

I felt my knees weaken. "This is all my fault. He was scared of whales and—"

"Interesting." Zane turned slowly to face me, an easy smile lighting up his dark features. "I like hanging out with you. It's like getting insider information."

"We aren't hanging out."

"My shirt's off, my feet are up, I'm contemplating making popcorn, and you have the day off. We're hanging out."

"Because you make popcorn?" It was hard to keep up with him. The guy talking to me and the one I'd seen on TV were two very different people. His hypnotic eyes met mine in a teasing gesture.

"Dani, I may not know you very well, but I know women. I grew up with two sisters. If you don't hang out with me, you'll end up in your room sulking. And honestly, that makes me sad. You just started talking again. If anything, you should be celebrating the very fact that life doesn't suck as much as it used to. Now, are you going to make the popcorn, or do you want me to?"

"Do we even have popcorn?" I muttered, walking into the kitchen in search of something to throw into the microwave.

A hard, muscled body came up behind me just as I was reaching the second shelf of the pantry. Zane's hand brushed mine then jerked the popcorn down. I expected him to back up. But he didn't move.

"One more thing," he said in a hoarse voice.

Chills erupted around me. I might have liked Lincoln, but I wasn't immune to Zane's charm. Was any female with working hormones? "What?"

"Turn around," he instructed.

I did, keeping my eyes averted down.

He even had pretty feet. They were tan just like the rest of him, white flip flops only added to the golden skin that was already making me jealous that I hadn't lain out much all summer.

"I'm not going to hit on you," he said softly. "I know what my reputation says, but I'm more of the best-friend type."

I jerked my head up as my cheeks heated. "I swear my brain wasn't even going there. I mean, you're Zane Andrews."

"Right." His eyes narrowed. "I'm a freaking saint. Isn't that what they say?"

"I wouldn't know what they say." I swallowed the dryness in my throat. "And thanks for, uh… explaining." I tried to sidestep him.

"Hold on there, high school." Zane grabbed my arm and tugged me back to my original position, inches from his face. "It's not because you aren't really pretty or because you're unobtainable." His face changed from seductive to innocent. "Can you keep a secret?"

Curious, I nodded and waited in anticipation as he leaned forward, and whispered the absolute last thing I would have ever guessed in my ear.

"No." I shook my head. "No."

He grinned.

"Impossible." I crossed my arms. "You're lying to make me feel better."

"So you see…" He stepped back. "… timing really is everything. I'm telling you from experience. Sometimes a guy says no even when his body screams yes. Sometimes a guy says no for the simple principle that the girl he wants to say yes to is worth a hell of a lot more than a few cheap minutes that he isn't sure she wants in the first place."