Free The Curvy Voice Coach and the Billionaire Actor (He Wanted Me Pregnant!) by Victoria Wessex

night. Why wouldn’t he have been with her? It’s what I’d told myself from the very beginning: Tanner would be with some drop-dead gorgeous, slender little nymph. Why was I surprised?
    Because for a moment there, I thought I was wrong about him.
    “Drink your tea,” I said. “We should get to work.”
     
    ***
     
    He asked if I wanted to work outside again, but I opted for the living room. The sun had felt great the day before, but now I didn’t want to be exposed. I could feel my defenses rising back into place, cutting me off from the world. From him.
    Tanner’s accent was coming on well. I suspected he’d been practicing when I wasn’t around, maybe even doing the voice when he was out at night— and wouldn’t Laura Pagonetti have soaked her panties for that, I thought bitterly.
    We ran lines, but my heart wasn’t in it...and he could tell. When I let his third slip go by without comment, he called me on it. “What’s up?” he asked. “You’re acting weird. You’d normally be riding my ass about this stuff.”
    “I’m fine,” I said, banging the script down on a table and pretending to stretch.
    “You’re not. You’re pissed about something. What?”
    “Nothing! Carry on!” I picked up my script again.
    He gave me a doubtful look, but carried on. I could feel the anger and disappointment bubbling away inside me, rising higher and higher. But that was crazy! He didn’t owe me anything. We weren’t going out . He could see—and bed—anyone he pleased.
    “What?” he asked, seeing the look on my face.
    “Nothing,” I said again. Then, before I could stop myself, “It’s none of my business.”
    Now he tossed his script onto the table and folded his arms. “ What’s none of your business? What did I do?”
    I felt myself color at that. Now I was going to have to explain, and I’d sound like a complete loon. I took a deep breath. “I was... surprised to see you with Laura Pagonetti. That’s all. I didn’t know you two were an item.”
    He looked at me blankly and then smiled. “We’re not. Maury arranges that stuff for me. He talks to her people and they set it up. It’s a photo opportunity for the press. She has a new movie coming out.”
    I frowned. “But she was sitting on your lap!”
    He shrugged. “That’s the way this stuff works. We drive the rumor mill. The rumor mill gives us publicity. It’s like a deal...a deal with the devil, maybe.”
    I looked doubtful.
    He sighed. “Remember I had that thing a few months back with Isla Caconazi?”
    I nodded. “Secret liaisons in her hotel room.”
    He smirked. “You want to know what we did in her hotel room?”
    I felt ill. “Not particul—”
    “We played Mario Kart and ate pizza. It’s just a stunt, Charlotte. We know it’s not real. The gossip sites know it’s not real. The only ones who buy it are the public.”
    I bit my lip. It should have made me feel better, but in some ways I felt worse. Now I knew why he’d remained a bachelor. It made for a better story. “Don’t you ever get sick of doing what Maury tells you?” I asked.
    He looked a little uncomfortable. “Maury works for me ,” he said. But he didn’t sound entirely convinced. I thought about how Maury had talked about the screen test—almost as if he hadn’t wanted Tanner to do it, and certainly as if he didn’t expect him to get the part. Did Tanner know that was how he felt? It seemed totally disloyal…but the last thing I wanted was to get between the two of them. He’d known Maury a lot longer than he’d known me.
    “But you’re spending your time faking all this stuff,” I said gently. “You remember what I thought, when I first arrived—that you were secretly in the closet? This isn’t all that different.”
    He opened his mouth and closed it a few times. “It’s completely different!” he said at last.
    “It isn’t! You’re mortgaging your happiness. You should have a life outside of work, but you’re spending yours