Free The Director (Hollywood Nights) by Cara North Page A

looked at his wife. She was happy
for Frankie that Jonas was that much in love. She was sad for Jed, because he
was his big brother, and wondered, shouldn’t that count for something?
    “Do you want to take a walk with
me?” Frankie asked with a mix of emotion on her pretty face. She wore just a
hint more make-up these days. She also put more thought into her outfits. Jonas
had been good for Frankie. Shay wouldn’t deny that.
    “Maybe later, Frankie.” He
answered for her. Jed was not cowed like his brother. He nudged Shay forward
with a press of his hand to her back, “We’re hungry.”
    Shay wasn’t sure she liked the
surprise on Frankie’s face. Maybe it was because of the sight of them together.
Maybe it was because she moved at his touch and allowed him to speak for her.
She had never been submissive in her life prior to Jed. She watched Frankie’s
expression. Shay knew things could go either way from that point. She also knew
whether the couple was happy or mad about it, Jed didn’t care. She let Jed
guide her to the tents where the food was being served.       
    They were stopped about a hundred
times on the way so she wasn’t able to address the situation. She was surprised
and overwhelmed by the fact that he introduced her to every single person they
met. By the time they were at the row of tents where the food was, she was in
fact starving and more focused on the rumble of her stomach than worried about
Frankie.
    “Tell me what you want, babe.” He
held two plates in his hands and looked at her.
      “Babe?”
    “Are you here with me?” he asked
with a bit of mischief in his eye.
    “Yes.” She was with him. God help
her, she was there with him for the entire world to see.
    He smiled at her, the plates
moved to one of his hands and the free hand moved to her waist as he leaned
down and kissed her full on the lips. Shay knew for sure no one besides
Frankie, Jonas, Jed, and maybe a few other people from the set of Jonas’s movie
had any idea who she was when they had walked in.   Everyone would know who she was by the time
they walked out. Jed wasn’t a ‘nobody’ in the movie industry. He just wasn’t an
actor anymore.
    Jed was cordial, but once he sat
down to eat, it was as though an invisible gate had been put up. People didn’t
bother them. They were able to relax for a few moments.
    “This is really good,” she said.
    “This one’s better,” he said as
he offered her a bite.
    Jed was neither ashamed to be
there with her nor trying to be subtle about his intentions towards her. She
was both flattered and frightened. He wasn’t going to stay in Los Angeles. She
knew that. She had to re-think her entire life plan just because he had entered
into it. She wasn’t sure if was aware of how much his actions resembled that of
a committed man. She tried to remind herself that in all the research she had completed
on Jed Gunner, there was never mention of another woman past his teen years.
    She did know that his girlfriend
has committed suicide. It was due to the horrible things people said about her
in the press. She wasn’t good enough, pretty enough, skinny enough and more.
They bullied the girl in school because everyone wanted to be her…to be with
him. She wasn’t ready to ask him about it. She was afraid of what she would
discover. Especially now, when she suspected the scar on his wrist was there
for a reason she didn’t want to think possible.
    “Why is it that when you are up
and moving, you can’t walk three steps without someone talking to you, but when
you sit to eat everyone has given you a five step boundary that no one seems to
cross?” She had to ask.
    He shrugged with a smirk and
said, “Because when I am up and moving at an event it is natural for people to
stop and talk to you. When I sit down with someone, it means I am talking to
who I want to speak with. If they are not related to me I am not interested in
being interrupted. It is easier for people to just