Chapter Eleven
Janelle opened the door as Sutton pulled up her panties. She shrieked. “Oh my god.”
Sutton’s face burned with embarrassment. She couldn’t even look at Reeve and see if he’d gotten his pants up in time. She didn’t even know where the condom was.
Janelle glowered at the two of them. She had one hand on the door and one on her hip. Her frosty expression made it clear they’d crossed a line.
“You two were f*cking in my wine closet?” she asked, punctuating each word with what felt like a verbal lashing.
Sutton gulped and nodded. They’d been caught red-handed. There was no way she could deny what they’d just done. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Reeve jamming something into his pocket. It must be the used condom. She cringed, and had no clue how Reeve would sweet talk his way out of this with Janelle.
The icy woman shook her head in a tsk-tsk gesture. “What am I supposed to do with the two of you?”
“Um…” Sutton began, but she didn’t know what to say or how to answer.
“No. I mean it. You can’t keep your hands off each other.”
Sutton looked down at her boots, embarrassed.
“It’s constant between the two of you. In the balcony of the theater, and then in the library. You two can’t stop touching each other.”
“I’m sorry,” Sutton said in a small, meek voice. She was an idiot. What had she done? She’d focused so much on playing the part of believable mates that she hadn’t stopped to think how they’d crossed the lines of propriety.
But wait. Had Janelled watched it all? The library too? Was Reeve right in his earlier assessment?
“Don’t be,” Janelle said in a harsh voice.
“What?”
“Don’t be sorry,” Janelle said, then a sly smile appeared on her face. “You did exactly what I wanted you to do. I have had such a wonderful week watching the two of you. I have never enjoyed spying on a hot, young couple in the throes of passion more than I have enjoyed the two of you.”
Sutton’s jaw dropped. Her eyes widened, and she was, quite simply, gobsmacked. Because Janelle was indeed a peeping tom. Janelle had followed them around and watched them. She was a naughty, bawdy, dirty, pervert.
“I’ll make sure you get the job, Ms. Brenner. And as for you, you handsome young thing,” Janelle said to Reeve. “I don’t know which role yet, but consider yourself cast in Escorted Lives.”
Sutton had never seen Reeve so elated. So emotional. He ordered another round of drinks at Dahlia’s, the bar where they’d gone to celebrate. She’d always had a hunch she’d win the job, but she knew it was a bigger gamble for him to win a role, though Janelle hadn’t specified which part. Still, he was simply glowing. His eyes were bright, and he was filled with the joy of a little boy on Christmas morning. She knew that look—she’d seen it in the eyes of every actor she’d ever cast. That was what an actor wanted more than anything—a role. Reeve had been down on his luck, and now he was on top of the world. He had to be feeling the purest of emotions right now. Full and utter elation.
“We pulled it off, Sutton! We pulled it off, babe.” He pumped a fist in the air, then winked at her. “And I told you she was a peeping tom. Was I right or was I right? She might have cut her husband off, but she’s been feeding her own fantasies by watching other people. Isn’t that crazy?”
“Totally,” Sutton said and smiled. Janelle was an odd one, but then everyone had her own kink.
Reeve grabbed Sutton and kissed her hard on the mouth, and she gave in for a moment to the feel of him. When he ended the kiss he pounded his fist on the bar and shouted “Best night of my life.”
It was a very good night for her too. That was true. But yet, he hadn’t said anything more about the two of them. She’d admitted in the wine closet that she wasn’t pretending, that she had real feelings for him. Wouldn’t now be the perfect moment for them to figure out what was next? Would they spend more time together? But as the night wore on, Reeve never mentioned where they would go from here.
He was still in his celebratory mood, happy and toasting everyone and everything. Except for them.
To Sutton, this seemed to be the first unimpeachable show of emotion from Reeve. The first unquestionable one. This was the moment when she was sure he wasn’t acting. And because she was sure now, that made her all the more unsure of every moment this past week that had come before.
Suddenly, she had a horrible headache and had to go home.