Free Not Looking for Love: A Cowboy Romance by Mae Martini Page A

least prominent, well known men would only risk so much. He did ask her if she wouldn’t mind showing him her bi-monthly medical exam results, and she agreed.
    For the next two weeks, Simone had distanced herself from the studio. Poppy had to call her and remind her she needed to shoot three more movies before her contract was up. He never pushed her and she was grateful. He knew she wasn’t cut out to be a porn actress, but had realized she had a keen business sense so he used her in that capacity more. He liked what she suggested, gave him a financial spread sheet to track his expenses, and deflected calls when asked. His bottom line grew and his ex-girlfriends didn’t bother calling anymore, so he cut her some slack on making films. He mostly kept her away from the shoots, but there were times she was needed, and to make his temperamental director, Lou Grossman, happy, she had to comply.
    She spoke with Richie every other day, even if it was just a brief hello. She didn’t know what was going on between them, but she liked what they had and even though she tried not to read too much into it, she would get excited when they talked.
    That second Saturday Simone had nowhere to be so she stayed home, thankful that Lolita would be out all night, and caught up on some work she did on the side, creating book covers for writers. The girl had an eye for design and her little business kept growing. Satisfied with her creations, she emailed her customers the mockup designs and went to bed.
    The next morning she woke up, brewed a pot of coffee, and grabbed the newspaper by her front door. The morning was lovely and peaceful so she took her coffee and paper to the back patio and sat at the table under the umbrella. It wasn’t much of a yard and there wasn’t much privacy, but it was quiet at that moment.
    Sipping the coffee as she turned to the sixth page, she spit it out and it splashed across the page covering the picture of Richie dancing with a pretty statuesque woman who looked like the woman who interrupted them at Bella Donna’s. The caption read:
     
    Hotel heir celebrates his twenty-seventh birthday in style.
     
    Under the picture in tiny print it read: Aria’s Lounge.
     
    Well, just like that her two week high vanished. She never felt so terrible. Her insides knotted. Aria’s was one of the newest, swankiest clubs around. Anyone who was anyone hung out there, and it was a local club.
    She tried to reason with herself. He didn’t know her long, why would he invite her to his birthday party that must have been planned months before or even a year before? She sighed, yeah right, that’s it. It’s not that he is embarrassed she is a porn star. Porn star? Not really, she wasn’t well known. She’d only done two movies.
    There was no reason for him to lie and say he wouldn’t be in town for the next two weeks. That’s it, she was done with him. She rose, taking her coffee cup and paper and went inside. Chiding herself for believing in him, she tossed the rest of her coffee down the sink and the newspaper in the trash. After taking a shower, she called Poppy to set up a shoot for Monday.
    Poppy couldn’t arrange a scene for her until that Wednesday, so she stayed busy with her book cover work and shopping.
    Richie had called her a couple of times on Sunday, but she didn’t pick up the phone. He left a message the first time saying he just called to say hi. On Monday, while she was in a shoe store trying on boots, her cell phone rang. She fished it out of her bag and saw Richie’s name on the screen. She stared at it a moment then swiped the screen.
    “Hello?”
    “Hey, baby. What’s going on?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Is this a bad time?”
    “No.”
    “Are you home?”
    “No.”
    “Where are you, work?”
    “No, shopping.”
    “I tried calling you yesterday. Did you get my message?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Why didn’t you call me back?”
    “I guess I was too busy.”
    “You okay?”
    “Yeah, I’m good.