The Accidental Movie Star by Emily Evans Read Free Book Online Page B

else, Mr. Thaymore. Anything.”
    Caz nodded.
    Ashley snatched up a bottle. After swallowing, she set both bottles on the floor. This time she rubbed in the oil with a smooth, pressing motion. She felt the muscles loosen after a few strokes. It was kind of neat. Caz had nice skin, warm, smooth. She flexed her fingers then pushed at his arm. “Over.”
    Caz flipped and kept his eyes shut.
    She paused with the bottle of oil above his chest. He had really defined muscles. The only chest she’d ever touched before had been her last boyfriend, and he wasn’t six-pack material, and there hadn’t been this much touching. Ashley put some of the oil on her palms and rubbed them together to warm the liquid. She laid her fingers against his abdomen.
    His eyes flew open. Her fingers stilled. They tingled where they met his skin, and Ashley met his gaze, feeling her face heat. Her mouth opened then shut again. All of a sudden, this felt intimate. She no longer heard the music or the technicians. It was only her cocooned in this small area with Caz, caught in his gaze.
    The agent came around the privacy screen. “How’s the prep going?”
    Withdrawing her hands quickly, Ashley swung them behind her back.
    Caz shrugged at the agent and didn’t say anything. He sat up and spread the rest of the oil over his torso and arms.
    “They’re ready for you.” The agent rolled her eyes at his silence and went back to the set.
    Ashley put a hand against his jean-clad knee and handed him a water. “My friend Marissa works at the Fry Hut, and sometimes she has to wear the French fry costume. She does this minimum wage job to afford things like movies and magazines. So the least you can do is go out there in your baby oil costume and give her a sexy look.” She tugged at the seam that ran along the side of his jeans. “It’s not like you have to remove your jeans. I’d have your back if they tried to make you strip.”
    Caz didn’t smile, but his mouth twitched a little, and he hopped down from the table. A hairstylist and makeup artist took a few minutes to touch him up, then he was ready to go.
    Ashley stayed in the background and watched her first live photo shoot. At first, Caz just stood and stared toward the camera, a shiny image of gorgeous.
    Clicking away, the photographer shouted out, “Great, now pout for us. Excellent. Now show us hot.” His voice escalated. “Hotter, hotter, make my lens steam. Yes, that’s the expression. Now on the bed, drop against the pillows.”
    Ashley figured the photographer was lucky that Caz’s angry looks made him appear sexy; otherwise, it would have been a waste of good film. She kind of got it now, how actors could get reputations for being difficult. Caz got blindsided and then was told to smile. Life didn’t work that way and Caz handled the situation better than she would have.
    “Okay, now turn around and shoot us a smoldering look over your shoulder. You’re a cave beast. A great man creature. Show us.”
    Ashley drew in a breath and bit her lip, having to turn away. She couldn’t watch with a straight face and doubted the photographer would appreciate her urge to slash her hands through the air with her fingers curled into claws. She felt her hand lift and couldn’t resist. She turned to Caz and made a small slash.
    A smile eased across his lips.
    “Great,” the photographer said. “I think we got it.”
    Caz shook the photographer’s hand, grabbed his shirt, and headed straight for the front exit.
    Ashley had to jog to catch up. “Slow up, man beast.”
    Caz reached back and grabbed her arm so she’d move faster. Ashley growled. She could see through the glass that the evening had gotten dark outside, and she wondered how he’d take a nocturnal animal joke.
    When they went through the door, she was surprised at how quickly the temperature had dropped since they’d arrived. California had such crazy, nice weather. At home, thermostats still read triple digits at ten p.m.