Chapter 16

Jack

Sitting on the hotel bed, I kept refreshing my emails. It was silly of me. She wasn't always going to reply immediately, and we'd been talking about business.

I looked over the last email I'd sent, checking my wording for the hundredth time. The email was almost anything but business. What had possessed me to call her kitten? It was one of the nicknames her characters had used for each other. A way for the dominant alpha male in her books to feel protective of the kitten he now had to take care of.

And I'd just referred to her as a kitten, too. What had I been thinking? I also wasn't sure she'd get the book reference, but she'd possibly led it there.

Taking a deep breath, I put the tablet down and went to get a drink. No sooner had I walked away than the device let out a beep to let me know I had an email.

Rolling my eyes, I made my way back to it.

Hi, Falcon,

That sounds great. You've made me very intrigued about your process now.

And thank you for the compliment, I think! I'd like to think most people would find me adorable, though.

You seem to dart around a lot. How did the rest of the album recording go?

Kitten.

I sat back, taking a moment to realize I was grinning like a Cheshire cat. We were flirting. I knew it, and she knew it. We were using the nicknames from her book. And it felt good—right, somehow.

I also hadn't missed her subtle way of mentioning my behavior. If I was going to apologize for walking out on her, now was the time. But did I want to open this up again? No part of me wanted a relationship right now. But flirting was harmless, right? For a little while, I could pretend to be her character. The man I was writing a song about.

Kitten,

Life on the road is often chaos, and the band has to come first. I hope you weren't stranded the other night when I had to leave.

How's the writing going?

And yes, I think you're very adorable, but apparently not in the same way as a cupcake.

Falcon.

I hit send and then immediately could have hit myself. What was I doing? I hadn't even apologized properly. She was going to think I was a total jerk. Or a playboy. Sighing, I tried to decide what to do. I had a few hours to kill before I was needed for a rehearsal for a new film. And then I had to fly back to London.

For a moment, I contemplated telling Juno I would be in her part of the country, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I didn't want to make it sound like I was only interested in talking to her again because I was going to be nearby, and it was simply convenient.

I'd let the band know she was up for helping with the lyrics, though. Kai could worry about that part. That was more his section of things, anyway.

While I was lying there, I found myself looking up her social media. What was she likely to say to people if I flirted more? Was she likely to air it in public?

It took me a moment to find her, nothing for her name on quite a few of the current social media platforms, but eventually, I found one with her photo as the profile picture. She wore a fancy dress and had made herself look like an elf. Instantly, I felt my groin stir. Fuck, was she hot in the almost hippy-like dress, her long hair cascading down one side.

Trying to focus on why I was there and not the way I was heating up, I looked through her posts, the pictures almost entirely work-focused. There were writing memes and tons of posts about dragons, walks in nature, and the imagination. The rest were book covers, release information, and word count goals and achievements. She was even more prolific than I'd realized but still seemed pretty down-to-earth about it all.

It was clear she wrote because she liked the act of writing and telling a story. This was who she was, through and through.

I found all sorts of other details as I continued, but I was soon interrupted by the ping of another email from her.

Hi, Falcon.

Definitely not in a cupcake sort of way. I'm not sure exactly what kind of cute I really am. It's kind of a mix between fluffy animal with big eyes, petite elf, and hapless writer in need of reminding to eat, drink, and generally remember the basics of self-care.

Writing is going okay, but I admit I'm a little distracted. Someone keeps emailing me about very interesting things, and I find myself ignoring my book world for a while.

I got home okay after you left the other night, don't worry. Alma was really lovely to me. I can see why Kai adores her so much and why they've been together so long. She mentioned there was a hiccup with something, and you had to go take care of it. Did you manage to fix whatever had broken?

Kitten.

Grinning, I immediately replied.

Kitten,

Sounds like you need someone in your life to remind you and make sure you behave yourself. I can stop emailing if you'd prefer. Don't want to make you feel divided between your characters and me, especially when I've been one of them.

Alma said she liked you, too. Glad you weren't alone after I left. We've mostly fixed the problem. Had to fly some gear in from London for a gig in New York. Not ideal, but it means the show goes on.

Falcon

As soon as I had sent the message, I growled at myself. It was just information. Nothing witty, or really flirtatious, or clever. And nothing she truly needed to reply to. That would be the end of the conversation until Kai got back to me, and they decided on a date.

It had been so long since I'd flirted with someone, it was as if I'd forgotten how. Somehow, I had to put it from my mind, however. I had a rehearsal to do, and it was time for me to become someone else for a while. If nothing else, it made me feel like I could escape the life I led. One day maybe I wouldn't want to, but for now, who knew?

I was about to leave the room and head to the studio when I heard another bing. Without thinking, I darted back and pulled my emails open.

Falcon,

You offering to keep me in line? I can imagine you as a firm hand but also very protective. I guess you probably knew that already, though. I've made that plain in writing.

Anyway, you said you had questions. What can I help you with? I'm all yours.

Kitten.

Although I had to go work for a while, I grinned and thought about the response I could give her as soon as I had the chance. I was still smiling to myself and imagining all sorts of responses, from clear acceptance of a dominant role to a more gentle but, as she'd suggested, protective part as I walked into the rehearsal room.

"Something has put you on top of the world," Ken said when he spotted me. He was the director of the film and was sitting on the edge of a table with the script in hand.

I pulled mine out but didn't respond. I definitely wasn't telling him that I was planning on flirting with an author who'd written smut about me.

"Come on, you're like the cat with the cream. Haven't seen you like this since before we last worked together. Who is she?"

"Who said there's a she?" I replied, trying to focus on the script.

"He, then?"

"No, it would be a she, but…" I trailed off, not sure I could lie exactly. Had she really made me feel so much better just by emailing?

I had no idea, but nothing could happen between us. She'd just come out of a difficult relationship, and I wasn't looking to be a rebound—or worse, someone else's road to fame and money. Unfortunately, she just wasn't famous enough in her own right.