He inhaled slowly, fighting the urge to throttle her. This is the last night. Hold it together. Grab something from the script. Too bad he hadn’t had a chance to read over much of the script tonight. It wasn’t as though he’d had a nice long break. “I have to work. You seem to forget that.” Granted, she didn’t need to know tonight had been his last night working at Bridgman’s. What difference did it make?
“But can’t you find a job that’s in the day so we can spend the evenings together?”
Ha. As if he would spend even one more evening with her. “Nope. I have a perfectly good job. I enjoy it. I’m not going to change it. You could get up earlier in the morning and spend time with me if you really wanted.” He didn’t mean that, but it sounded nice for the fans.
Surely most of them weren’t fooled into thinking this farce could last past the show tomorrow night. He didn’t think he’d done a good job of confusing anyone. He was usually furious when he spoke to Katia. But Maria hadn’t complained about their interaction, so apparently the fans were eating it up. He certainly hadn’t looked at Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to read what people were saying. He could easily go his entire life without ever glancing at what people said about him.
She pouted again. “You know I’m not a morning person.”
Did he ever. She was usually out cold when he got up and started the day. He didn’t mind a bit since most mornings he was able to sneak around the room, use the bathroom, and get dressed before she moved. He often made it to the table and was enjoying his coffee and reading through emails before she staggered in.
Of course she didn’t get dressed first. She showed up each morning in some teddy that barely covered her body—the same one she tried to tempt him with the night before. It never worked, but she never gave up. They’d been through this routine for ninety days now. He was over it.
Tuck skirted around her, leaving her standing in the middle of the floor. He needed space. She sucked the oxygen out of him.
Funny how he didn’t need space when he was with Jodi. And he’d have a never-ending hard-on if she pranced around him wearing lingerie. But Katia? Nothing.
“I have some things I need to take care of in the morning. You’ll have to fend for yourself. I’ll meet you at the studio later in the day.”
She flinched. “Tomorrow?” Her voice could not be any whinier. “But tomorrow is the last episode of the show, Tucker.”
Isn’t that what I just pointed out?
“Yes… I’m aware of that.”
“Don’t you think we should spend the day together, deciding how we want to proceed with our future?”
Was she kidding? He lifted both brows. “Our future?”
She tipped her head to one side and plastered on a ridiculous exaggerated, coy expression, drawing circles on the carpet with one of her big toes. “Yeah. I was thinking if we moved out of this apartment and got our own place, one without cameras, we could get past all this nonsense with the show easier and maybe start trying to have a family.”
He nearly choked. Was she making this shit up on the spot? Or was this in the script he’d never read for today? He stared at her, unable to decide what to say next.
She advanced on him again. When she reached him, she flattened her palms on his chest and tipped her head back. “You want kids, don’t you?”
He swallowed, sweat beading on his forehead. He’d sooner jump off a bridge than have kids with this woman. Was she high or did she hit her head earlier in the day and couldn’t remember the two of them had never had sex? Half of him thought it might be fun if he pointed that out right now. Instead, he kept his lips closed as usual. New Millennia Media hadn’t given him the green light to out their total farce of a relationship at any point. They said it was better for ratings if the fans weren’t sure what happened behind closed doors.
Tuck decided to bite his tongue, as usual, and not risk breaking his agreement in the home stretch. “Can we discuss this another time? I’m really tired.”
She stood straighter, her expression one of pure joy. She really was an amazing actress, he had to give her that. Maybe the entire damn setup was an act to her. Hell, wouldn’t it be interesting if he found out she actually despised him from the moment he stepped on the set? “So, you’ll think about it?”
“I didn’t say that. I said I’m tired.” He backed up until his hand was on the bedroom door. “I’ll be gone in the morning before you get up. I’ll meet you at the set, okay?”
“Sure.” She was still grinning when he left her there, making him wonder what sort of performance she put on for their audience after he was sequestered in the bedroom.
He cringed and then took a deep breath and shook off what would probably be his last pubic interaction with her. At least the livestreaming inside their apartment.
Tomorrow, he would go see his mom early enough that Katia wouldn’t be up. He would find a way to stall until he needed to be at the studio for the final shoot. There would be a team of people there to make suggestions and arrange run-throughs before the final live show began. Hopefully, he would have the strength to finish off without losing his sanity or his cool.
Chapter 19
“Tucker Lawler?” The man rushing toward Tuck in the parking lot of his mother’s nursing home was wearing jeans and a Rush T-shirt. His
