Chapter 17

Juno

Biting my lip, I tried to focus on the story I was planning. Again, I was stuck, and nothing I did seemed to be helping. I just wasn't feeling these new characters at all.

I'd even tried going to my favorite writing cafe, my life still flying under the radar of celebrity enough that I could get away with going there and still be left alone to write. It helped that I knew the staff really well.

Yet here I was, my usual favorite hot chocolate beside me and my paper and notes all around my laptop. And I still couldn't seem to get anywhere.

Of course, I knew why. The emails and meeting Jack Starling himself were still at the forefront of my mind, even if I knew an actual relationship with him wouldn't work. After all, I'd just separated from my husband, and I wasn't ready to trust another man with my heart yet.

But the thought of it and the flirting in the last few emails had woken my imagination to it once more. I was more than a little curious about where things might go.

And the story I was trying to write kept trying to morph. The male lead kept becoming a little bit more rock star and the same sort of dominant that Jack was, and the heroine…

It didn't help that Jack had emailed and flirted briefly one day, then hadn't replied again for ages except to tell me he was waiting on the band to organize another date, and he was knee-deep in rehearsals for another film.

Pushing those thoughts from my mind, I looked back at my notes and tried to picture the hero I'd initially been planning, a rich Russian mafia don who would be the perfect dominant for my female lead.

I sighed. This wasn't working.

I was just considering getting up and going home when someone sat in front of me. I looked up to see a man wearing a bandanna over his lower face and a hat pulled down over eyes covered with sunglasses.

He wore a plaid shirt unbuttoned, with a T-shirt underneath, and jeans, and it only took me a second to place him.

Jack Starling had just sat in front of me.

"Hi. Is this seat taken?" he asked, lowering the bandanna.

I lifted an eyebrow. Was he acting like he didn't know me?

"I'm looking for a seat out of the way. I find it's nicer sitting on the side of the room where people are less likely to notice me, but I can see them. I like to people-watch," he said, his husky accent making me want him to say my name or call me anything, really.

"Feel free, then," I said. "I like to do the same, although you'll find me knee-deep in work."

"Work? In a place like this? Surely, in such a delightful café, everyone should be doing something delightful. Drinking tea. Eating…scones, or whatever it is you British have with your tea."

I grinned at the sweet and funny way he talked about it.

"I do like a good carrot cake," I replied.

"Ah, then, my dear, let me order us both some, and you can forgive an old man for interrupting you from your work just to have the best seat in the house."

"It is a very cheeky thing for a stranger to do," I replied.

"Well, let me not be a stranger. My name is Hunter," he said, using his name from my story.

"I'm Ella," I replied, grinning, giving him the other name from my book. If he was going to introduce himself as the character I'd based on him, I would pretend to be his romantic interest and see what happened.

He gave me a quick smirk before looking around for the waitress, but she was already on her way over to clear away my empty cup and plate from my lunch earlier. She stared at him for a moment, clearly suspicious, but he gave our order quickly, asking for a pot of tea and two helpings of cake.

"I'll bring it all over in a moment. Do you want some kind of tab?" she asked.

"I'll come over to the bar in a second," I replied, not wanting to embarrass Jack when he'd assumed it was table service.

The waitress smiled and walked off, and Jack raised his eyebrow just a fraction. I saw the question in his look.

"It's normally an order at the bar," I explained, reaching for my bag and pulling my purse out.

"Oh, how unobservant of me. I'll go," he said, moving his chair back to get up again, but I was already on my feet. "Or I could pay you back."

"I can buy some cake without needing to worry," I replied before heading to the bar, where the waitress was already preparing the tray.

"Here you go, lovely," she said when it was all done and I was paying. "This might sound a little weird, but I recognize your friend. Is he someone…well, is he who I think he is?"

"Don't breathe a word of it to anyone. Not until he's gone." I met her gaze, studying her reaction to see if she'd freak out. Instead, she leaned across the bar.

"Are you serious? It's actually Jack Starling?"

"Yes, but I didn't just confirm it. I don't think he likes crowds, and I'd like to talk to him before he's bombarded by strangers asking for autographs. Please don't say anything ‘til we're going?"

Her eyes went wide, and she kept glancing over at him, but she nodded and gave me my receipt.

"All right, lovely, but I want to hear about how you know him the next time you're in. Deal?"

I nodded and took the tray, more than eager to return to Jack.

"So, Mr. Hunter," I said as I put the tray down and sat. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"Boredom," he replied without missing a beat. "But, please, no need for the mister."

"Boredom?" I asked. "Perhaps I can help with that."

"Oh, you already are, sweetheart. You already are." He gave me a cheeky grin, and for a moment, his eyes wandered, not even trying to hide how much he was checking me out.

It made my body heat up, and I involuntarily squeezed my legs together, imagining just how interesting things could get.

"Let me pour us some tea," he said a moment later, reaching for the teapot. "And you can tell me what you're working on."

"I can, can I? What if I don't want to?"

"I'd find that quite…disappointing. And I'm not the kind of man who is often disappointed."

"This might be one of those rare occasions when you are," I replied, giving Ella's response to his line from the book and feeling the heat pool between my legs, grateful that my arousal was hidden from everyone but me.

Damn, he could flirt, and I didn't know if I wanted him to stop. I should, but he was bringing one of my characters to life, and I'd dreamed of him saying that line a thousand times.

"I don't think so. You might need a little…persuading, but I'll have my way."

"So persuade me, Mr. Hunter."

I saw the corner of his mouth twitch up as he tried not to laugh. In the story I'd written, Hunter had strode over to Ella and pinned her up against a wall before claiming a kiss that melted her into a puddle of desire and submission. That wasn't going to work in a busy cafe.

"How did you find me?" I asked, relaxing a little and focusing on my cake, breaking the flirtatious moment. I couldn't let him under my skin. Couldn't let him seduce me.