“How could you not tell me this before today?”
“Megan sprung it on me at the very last minute, Olive. Don’t worry, it’ll be fun. You’ll like it.”
“Are you sure? Are you very sure that I will like it, Jason?” I narrowed my eyes at him and watched his lips twitch as he focused on something on his phone. I heard a chuckle come from beside me so I turned my gaze to Alvin and lifted a brow.
I had met Jason’s assistant just a few days before when we’d literally run into each other at the house. I didn’t know much about him, but he seemed to be an okay guy. He was definitely on top of everything. From what I had seen for the past few days, he was practically running Jason’s life. Kudos to him.
“Did you know?” I asked him.
“Of course he knew, Olive. He arranges my schedule.”
“What the boss says,” Alvin agreed with him.
“Great. Awesome. Neither one of you thought it would be helpful to mention ahead of time that I’d be in a magazine shoot. As in, maybe, I don’t know, a few days before?” I kept fidgeting with my hands.
“Stop fidgeting. Other than making you freak out like you are doing right now, how would it have been helpful?” asked Jason.
I gave him a disbelieving look. “If I could’ve started freaking out a few days before, right now I would be much calmer, Jason. Also, doesn’t Megan need to instruct me or rehabilitate me or some crap like that? How am I supposed to know what I can say and what I can’t?”
He finally lifted his eyes to meet my gaze. “You don’t need instructions for a photo shoot, Olive. Just be yourself, and I’ll handle the rest of it.”
Photo shoot. Every time I heard the word, I started shaking all over again.
Apparently, Megan’s idea of announcing our happy marriage to the world was to announce it through the most fucking popular women’s magazine on the planet. I learned that there had been a talk of doing a live interview, but thankfully that idea hadn’t taken hold. A photo shoot was the lesser evil in my book, but it didn’t mean I was over the moon with that outcome either, especially when I learned about it the morning of.
“We’re here,” Alvin announced as our car stopped in front of a relatively small industrial building.
I released a big breath and exited the car after them.
“Holy crap!” I whispered when we stepped inside the building. It was a fully furnished loft, and it looked spectacular—apart from all the people running around, that is. As I took in everything around me, I forgot all about my nervousness. Putting his hand on the small of my back, Jason guided me farther in.
Seconds later, before I could take in my fill, Alvin was walking toward us with quick steps and a woman by his side.
When had he even left our side?
I forgot all about the loft and focused on the woman next to him. By the time they were standing in front of us, she had practically eye-fucked Jason and had a salacious grin on her face.
“Hello, Mr. Thorn.” Jason reached for the woman’s outstretched hand and shook it.
“Please, call me Jason. It’s Julie, right?”
Her grin turned brighter when she realized Jason remembered her name.
She nodded. “Yes. We are so excited to work with you today.”
Finally, they let go of their hands and she continued. “Our makeup and hair stations are ready for the both of you. As soon as you’re ready we can begin the shoot and then the interview will take place on the first floor, after we have the shots.”
I cleared my throat and caught her attention.
At last.
Her cheeks flushed, but only slightly. “Nice to meet you, Olive. I’m Julie.”
I shook her hand and tried to give her a genuine smile. “Nice to meet you, too, Julie.”
She clapped her hands once. “Okay. Let me take you to hair and makeup, then I’ll introduce you to our photographer.” She was still talking directly to Jason. Apparently, I was just an afterthought.
Jason grabbed my hand and my heart gave a small jump. I was getting used to the annoying thing catching me off guard; I kept telling myself that he was just a guy, but the heart wants what it wants, right? Well, mine was dead set on throwing itself at Jason’s feet until he picked it up for himself.
Loser heart of mine.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and trailed after them.
Almost two freaking hours later, we were finally ready. Thankfully, they kept my makeup on the lighter side, murmuring that they were after a natural look since I was already a ‘nobody’. Okay, maybe they didn’t use exactly those words, but, trust me, the meaning was there.
Whatever. I rocked the natural look.
Then started the wardrobe decisions. There were racks of clothing. Racks. They spent more than an hour deciding on the right wardrobe for us. At one point, they asked me if I’d be okay with being covered up in a white sheet while Jason was half naked, but Jason vetoed that idea before I could. Considering they ended up choosing only three outfits, the whole process seemed a bit excessive to me. Then again, what did I know?
The first outfit we all agreed on was a dress similar to the one I’d worn at the London premiere. Nothing too risqué, not too much cleavage, not too much legs, but definitely a little playful. The second one was for a casual look they were going for with black jeans and a white t-shirt that would be tied at the back, showcasing a bit of my stomach.
The third outfit…that one was my favorite of them all. It was white, backless, had cutouts in the front, and was very formfitting.
It was perfection.
How it would look on me? I had no idea.
They wanted me in the third one first. A girl from the team came to my side and hurriedly showed me into a makeshift fitting room where I could change into the dress.
I got into the dress, all right, but I decided not to go back out there. While the dress looked amazing on the hanger, on me…it was too much. The back was almost showing my butt crack, and the front…well, the front was showing too much breast without showing too much skin. When I had asked for the bra, the girl had just shaken her head. I could almost make out my nipples.
“Olive?” Jason’s voice came from right outside. “You ready?”
“Jason,” I whispered, crossing my arms against my chest as if he could see through the thick curtain. If he got a look at them, I knew my nipples would give him a show. “I can’t go out there like this.”
“What do you mean like this?”
“I mean–”
The beige curtain parted and Jason walked straight into me.
“Whoaa,” he said, grabbing on to my shoulders as I wobbled. Once we were okay to stand on our own, he let go of my shoulders and took a step back. “What’s wrong?”
“Jason,” I started miserably, my face falling. “It’s too much. They won’t give me a bra and my breasts are…” I opened my arms to give him a look and his eyes bulged.
“Whoaa,” he said again, his eyes getting bigger.
“Yes, exactly. And then my back…” I turned and looked at him over my shoulder. “It looks so bad on me.”
By then his brows were up to his hairline and his eyes were glued to my ass.
“My ass looks huge, doesn’t it? Jason, please. I don’t wanna do this. I’m not cut out for this.”
When his eyes stayed on my ass and he started rubbing his forehead, I faced him again and pulled on the long sleeves of my dress.
“Christ,” he said.
“Christ, what? What?!” I raised my voice. “They’ll make fun of me. I’m not fat. It’s just this dress…”
His eyes finally met mine and he tilted his head. “What are you talking about Olive?”
I rubbed my eyes. “You look like that,” I explained, gesturing to his body, then to mine. “And I look like this…” I could feel the tears gathering in my eyes.
Did he need more explaining?
His voice gentled. “Sweetheart, I’ll ask again. What are you talking about? You look…you look fucking stunning. If I could, I would…” His eyes dropped down to my breasts, but then quickly back up. He took a step toward me and held my face in his hands. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not happy about the dress either, but I’m afraid it’s not for the same reasons. I don’t want anyone to see you in this.” Another glance at my chest. “It’s a good thing there are mostly women out there. I’ll go crazy if they spend another hour choosing another outfit. What do you say we go out there, give them a few good shots, and call it a day, huh? Then we can meet your friends and head to the party. You were looking forward to that, remember? The faster we wrap this up here, the faster we’ll get to your friends.”
With my freak out, the small party had completely slipped my mind. The production company had closed down a bar for that night so the cast and crew could get together and mingle before the filming started a few days later. I was assuming most of them already knew each other, but when Jason asked if I wanted to go and maybe take the girls with me, I’d jumped at the idea.
“You promise I don’t look that bad?”
Something flashed in his eyes and his voice was gruff when he answered. “Promise.”
He held out his hand for me and I took it without hesitation.
“We’ll start the shoot on the second floor,” the photographer, Amelie, said once we were by her side. “Then depending on the shots, we’ll take a few down here or maybe on the stairs. We’ll see how it goes.”
Jason nodded his agreement and guided me toward the stairs with his hand on the bare skin of my back. The way my entire body ached when he was touching me…it was something else.
Amelie and her small team went ahead of us, and I stopped once we reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Jason,” I whispered and tugged at his hand to get his attention before he could start climbing up. There was something different in his eyes when he was looking at me, something that was making my heart do funny things, but I brushed it away. “If you don’t want me to flash Alvin and everyone who is still downstairs, there is no way I can go up these stairs with this dress. Unless I bunch it up and—”
Without a warning, Jason leaned down and lifted me up in his arms. I was too late to hold back my scream as he started up the stairs. My hands flew to my back to make sure everything was covered, but Jason’s forearm was already taking care of that little problem.
Everyone was looking at us—even Alvin, who was trailing behind us, had a small smirk playing on his lips as I clung to Jason’s shoulders. Taking advantage of the situation, I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against his warm neck. It was all I could do to not trace his bulging biceps with my fingers. Before I could savor the moment, we were at the top of the stairs and he gently put me back on my feet. I swore I could hear every woman in the loft release a sigh and fall a little bit more in love with my husband.
Jason cleared his throat and distractedly reached for my hand again.
“Okay. I want you guys in front of this wall,” Amelie said, placing us in front of the concrete wall.
More blinding lights, great.
Taking our place, I looked at Amelie for more instructions, but what did she do? She lifted her camera and started taking pictures. Baffled, I looked up at Jason and he smiled at me.
“What am I supposed to do?” I hissed at Jason. I tried to force my lips into a smile as I looked at the camera, but I could only guess how awful it looked.
Then Jason’s lips were at my ear and he whispered, “You’re supposed to love me, my beautiful wife.”
Tingles…
My mouth dropped open, but Jason’s expression didn’t even waver. His eyes on me, he leaned against the concrete wall and pulled me flush against his chest, my front to his front. Now everyone had a clear look at my barely covered ass and naked back, but at Jason’s words I’d already forgotten all about that.
“What?” I whispered, keeping my eyes on his face.
“Perfect,” the photographer announced from somewhere behind me. “I want to capture your natural chemistry. Please, Olive, try to relax a bit more and forget about us.”
Be quiet lady.
Jason buried his face in my neck and spoke softly—only for my ears. “They have no idea that we’re married, but they know we’re engaged.” He lifted his face from my neck and looked into my eyes. “You should look at me like you love me, Olive, the way I’m looking at you.”
Say what?
Had he lost his mind in the small amount of time it had taken him to get dressed in a white shirt and black slacks?
He lifted his eyes from mine and looked over my head. “Amelie, is it okay if you give us a few seconds?”
The clicking stopped.
Jason kissed my nose. “You’ll have to be a little more convincing if we want them to think we are in love. I’ll have to…touch you.”
“Touch me?” I squeaked.
His eyes dropped to my lips and he nodded. “And you’ll have to touch me like you actually like me.” Reaching down, he took my hand and put it on his chest.
“Of course. You’re right,” I said, barely recognizing my own voice.
“It’ll be over soon. You won’t suffer for too long, don’t worry.”
“Sure. No suffering. Over soon. Got it.”
“You ready?”
I relaxed my shoulders and nodded. Act and look like I loved him? Child’s play.
When he gave the okay, the shoot started up again.
Jason straightened from the wall and took me with him. His hand still on my back, he kept me close to his body, my breasts properly squished between us.
“Olive, can you look at the camera while Jason is focusing on you?”
I took my eyes off Jason and looked at the damn camera.
“Great. Now place your hands on his chest and slightly lean into him.”
I was already plastered to the guy, how was I supposed to lean into him?
I chanced a glance at Jason and my heart stuttered. Was this how he would look at me if he was in love? His eyes heated, his lips slightly parted, his breathing uneven.
I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath. I could do this. I could just let myself enjoy his closeness without messing this whole thing up.
I wanted to play, too.
Not even hearing what Amelie was saying, I slowly slid my hand up from his chest and ghosted my fingers over his dark stubble, right where his dimple was hiding. His eyes darkened, and I was pulled even more firmly against his chest.
Whoa! My nipples liked that very much.
To his questioning look, I said, “I want to play, too.”
I rose on my tiptoes and stopped when I was a breath away from Jason’s lips. “Do I look like I’m in love with you?” I asked quietly, my eyes firmly focused on his parted lips.
Take it. My lips are right there. Kiss me. Just once.
He didn’t.
Keeping his heated gaze on mine, he kissed the corner of my lips. “We look like we’re crazy for each other,” he whispered, his hand tightening at my back. His head tilted forward and his lips ghosted on my throat. “We look like we can’t bear to take our hands off of each other.”
With a quick maneuver, he turned me against the wall and rested his forehead against mine. I hissed and bit my lip when the cold concrete met my bare skin. Arching my back, I rounded my arms around his neck and made sure to push my breasts against his chest.
Amelie was to our right, making sure to capture every intimate moment.
What did she see through the lens? Could she see that we were only playing?
His hand curled around my waist and he gave me a smirk right before he pulled my lower half against his own. Now, it was only my head pressed against the wall.
When I felt his…hard on…cock…penis…dangly bits (as Lucy would say)…I groaned and closed my eyes.
So he wasn’t exactly oblivious to me. That could count as a good start, right? I could work with that.
“We look like we are about to fuck each other,” he whispered into my ear.
My eyes closed on their own and I kissed his cheek, right where his dimple was; I knew I could find it even when my eyes were closed. “You’re fucking me right now, Jason.”
Because he was. He might as well have pulled my dress up and entered me right there, right in front of everybody. My body was sure as hell ready to take him.
He nipped my chin with his teeth—not too soft, not too hard—and I sucked in a breath. He drew his head back and ordered me to open my eyes in a husky voice. I did as I was told.
Because I was a good girl like that.
What I saw in his eyes… Everything around us melted away. All the lights, Amelie, Alvin, every single person in the building melted away and it was just us. It was just my Jason and me. Not the movie star, not Jason Thorn whom every woman was salivating for. Right at that moment, he was just mine.
My dream boy.
My childhood crush.
My first love.
My only love.
And now my pretend husband.
An eternity passed.
I bit my bottom lip.
His eyes flared. “Is it that good, Olive?” His eyes held me captive just as much as his body did.
“The best,” I whispered achingly.
Slowly he lowered his head again and captured my bottom lip between his lips. Then I felt his tongue gently licking that said bottom lip.
Please, insert another one of those ‘My body is ready gifs’. Holy moly!
“Place your hands on his chest,” whispered Amelie next to us.
Holy shit! Where had she come from? Had she heard us?
I didn’t even care, just did as I was told. I slid my hands down from his neck, making sure that my fingertips grazed his skin beneath his collar and stopped when I felt his erratic heartbeats.
I heard a few more clicks.
“That was amazing guys. Wardrobe change,” Amelie announced beside us, breaking our connection. I was still in his arms, he still hadn’t let me go, but he eased himself off of me. I swallowed and Jason’s eyes slowly cooled down.
Damn, but he was a good actor.
The same girl came and swept me away for a wardrobe change, which was probably for the best.
The rest of the photo shoot was tamer, and instead of going at it on our own, both Jason and I followed Amelie’s instructions. It felt safer to do so. I got a forehead kiss, and another one on my cheek.
When we sat down for the interview and told them that we were actually married, the looks on their faces were priceless.
