“No.” Marin managed to smile, looking away so she wouldn’t see the skepticism in his eyes. A lot of people felt the very same way he did. “It’s my job—a job I love, but it’s not my life.” And lately, she’d been feeling . . . bored. She thought maybe she needed to try something new, or take some time off, but she just didn’t know what the answer was.
His fingers brushed over hers once more. It was pathetic the kind of heat such a light touch could generate—and that it could be caused by Sebastien. He’d been like a baby brother to her growing up, thanks to her working with his older brother Zach. That had been a lifetime ago, but she’d gotten her start in acting on the sitcom Kate + Nate, and it was probably how Sebastien had gotten bit by the acting bug as well.
When they’d agreed to work together on You Wish You Knew, she’d hoped this odd attraction she’d developed for him would fade. That she’d kiss him and feel like she had the few times she’d had a screen kiss back when she was still working with Zach—a whole lot of nada.
She’d felt a whole lot of bam instead.
But it was no good.
The idea of dating Sebastien was . . . impossible.
Sleeping with him, maybe, if it was just a one-night thing. If they didn’t have the complicated history between them, she would definitely have gone for it. It wasn’t like she hadn’t had passing attractions in her life. A few times, she’d acted on them. A few times—very few—she’d thought maybe there was something . . . more.
But this wasn’t a passing attraction.
She’d figured that out over the past few weeks as they finished up shooting. She found herself thinking about him far too often, wondering what he was doing, or what he might think about this shirt, or if he’d enjoy that book. Then she’d remember he wasn’t as into reading as his other brothers and she’d think about the comments she’d heard him make over the years when other women had asked him about their clothes.
It looks good on you, sugar. It’d look even better off.
Sebastien, as beautiful as he was, as kind as he was under that playboy exterior, still had too much fun running around. The youngest of five brothers, he’d spent his entire life doing just that, playing, having fun. He’d worked damn hard to get to the top in Hollywood, but now that he was there, he was enjoying it.
The truth was, Sebastien Barnes was spoiled and shallow.
She adored him, but it was the truth. Even his brothers ragged him about it, and Sebastien had been known to agree.
It hurt to acknowledge it, because Marin thought she could feel a whole hell of a lot of something more for him, but she wasn’t going to risk the misery that would come from getting involved with him. And it would come. Sebastien Barnes was a charmer, a true lover of the ladies, but he didn’t know what commitment was.
Marin was ready to be the focus of somebody’s life.
Sebastien was all about being the focus of somebody’s life, too. But only for as long as it took him to get bored.
Sighing, she looked him straight in the eye and told him the truth.
***
Her eyes, a blue that was almost violet, and real, had always dazzled him, and right now, Marin’s eyes held him spellbound. For a second there, he’d forgotten what they were talking about as he thought about leaning over the table and kissing her.
Really kissing her. Not for rehearsal and not because the cameras were rolling—no cameras here, in this relatively private area of the production set in front of her trailer. It wouldn’t be some peck like the one he’d given her for a fan, either.
He wanted to really kiss her, the way he’d been dreaming of . . . oh, probably since he’d been twelve years old.
They were done shooting for the day, but Marin had the habit of unwinding at her trailer with a glass of wine and going over the scenes planned for the next day. He’d waited until most people had left. Then he’d joined her.
It was fairly quiet at the studio now, with almost everybody gone, save for a few people who were getting a jump on setting up for tomorrow. Nobody was paying attention to them.
Sebastien had gone over this in his head a hundred times, had it all worked out. She’d say yes.
They’d have a nice, romantic dinner—maybe at that little seafood place up the coast. He knew she liked it—they’d eaten there the last time Zach and Abby were in town. Then they’d go to his place and he’d finally have a chance to put his hands on her for real—
“What do you mean you don’t think it’s a good idea?” he asked, jerked out back into reality as her response finally clicked.
Marin shrugged. She’d pulled on a skinny strapped tank top over a lacy white bra and an even skinnier pair of jeans, and he’d been fantasizing about tugging her blonde waves free from the ponytail, then smoothing those straps out of the way, tugging her bra off, and filling his hands with her breasts. Small and firm, Marin’s were the most beautiful breasts he’d ever seen. She had resisted the trend a lot of women in Hollywood followed—no implants anywhere on her and she was that much more beautiful for it, he’d always thought. She was herself and she was confident with it, and she was real.