My heartmate had to be him — it had to be. There was no one else that had ever made me feel this way in my life.
Though, after I bandaged my thumb and left the bathroom, I approached the table from behind. I could see Reese leaning in to whisper something in Leo’s ear, and he laughed.
My face fell.
There was no way I could ever compete with Reese Riley.
Dinner carried on without a fuss. I didn’t have to say much, and all of the extroverts around me carried the conversation. Then, it was time for dessert.
Before the waiter could bring out our plates, Reese said, “Tomorrow our cast is expanding. We’re bringing in Rachel again.”
Alina tensed beside me. On some level, I knew that Rachel had to be Princess Valentine — the woman she was having an affair with.
“Well that’s a surprise,” Mason said bitterly. “I didn’t think she’d be invited back after what happened last time…”
“Now Mason, let’s let bygones be bygones. It’s not like we can recast her…”
“What do you mean we can’t re-cast her? She had like two seconds of screen time in the first season.”
“Wait wait, what happened?” Oliver asked with a twinkle of delight in his eye.
I was grateful he asked instead of me; I was profoundly curious too.
“Nothing of importance. We don’t need to discuss it here,” Reese said, straightening his tie and eyeing Mason sharply.
“If she’s coming tomorrow, the whole cast needs to know,” he argued.
Alina tensed up even more beside me.
I squeezed her hand under the table.
Mason pressed on, “Last season she—”
“You don’t know what happened last season,” Reese snapped. “Don’t be a wanker and spread rumors.”
Mason scowled and narrowed his eyes at Reese.
I thought back to what Oliver revealed to me — that Mason and Reese used to be a thing. I had my doubts, but the tension that was firing between them only backed up what Oliver said.
There was an old hurt there.
Mason closed his eyes and opened his mouth. “As I was saying, Oliver, last season Rachel was here, the one time she was on camera it was with Leo over here. You know, the guy that plays her husband.”
Oliver and I leaned forward, hungry for the juicy gossip.
“And there was this one scene that took all day to shoot. It was one where Rachel and Leo kissed. Rachel’s actual husband was involved in last season too, but had a minor part so he was on the set when it happened.”
Alina relaxed her grip on my hand. She’d thought Mason knew about her secret affair with Rachel. But the way she shifted and relaxed in her seat communicated one sentiment:
This is old news.
I relaxed too, allowing myself to enjoy the gossip.
“And?” Oliver asked, practically on the edge of his seat.
“And, her husband got jealous of the kiss.”
“But… she’s an actress,” Oliver said, one of his perfectly manicured eyebrows going up. “Doesn’t she have to kiss people all the time?”
Leo spoke up. “The scene lasted all day. We couldn’t get it right…” he said, looking away.
Was that… was that shame on his face?
I thought of what Alina said, about not having any chemistry with Leo. Maybe Rachel felt the same thing.
According to Oliver, he was secretly gay, so that would explain why they couldn’t create a believable spark for the audience. I had my doubts, but that longing look he gave me in the bathroom just now… that couldn’t be nothing, could it?
“Having to watch your wife kiss someone else all day would be hard on anyone,” Alina offered.
“He could have left,” Mason said, eyeing Reese with something that resembled an accusation.
“He could have,” Reese agreed, his gray eyes locking onto Mason.
“But he didn’t,” Oliver guessed, a smile lurking in the corners of his lips. I could tell he was thirsty for drama; practically begging for it at this point.
“He was obsessed,” Leo said softly, looking down at his plate. “He wanted to see everything.”
The table went silent as we all watched him carefully.
I couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable it would be, to continually be forced to kiss someone else’s wife while they watched.
“Did he have a cuck fetish or something?” Oliver asked.
Alina chuckled, breaking the tension.
I saw Leo’s shoulders relax ever so slightly, then he said, “No, the opposite. He was jealous. He got worse and worse with each take.”
Reese shifted uncomfortably.
“Why didn’t you make him leave, then?” Oliver asked Reese.
Reese shifted in his seat as he crossed his legs. “I didn’t want to make him worse. I knew we were close to getting the scene we needed, and he refused every polite request to leave.”
“And by the end of it, he lost his shit,” Mason said with a twisted smile.
He was watching Reese like a panther watching a mouse. I could tell that he was enjoying making Reese uncomfortable like this, digging in the knife.
Reese crossed his arms over his chest and nodded slightly. “He lost control.”
I looked over at Oliver. His eyes were gleaming and he was leaning forward. “How?”
Leo spoke up again, his slow, deep voice reliving the memory. “He lunged at me. Pushed the cameras down, causing thousands of dollars in damage to the equipment,” he said, his mouth shifting into a frown.
I wanted to reach out under the table and grab his hand to comfort him, but I restrained myself.
“He flung himself at me and punched me in the jaw,” he continued, pointing to the side of his face. “That’s how I got this…”
The table was silent as he bore his teeth, and he stuck his tongue onto one of his canines.
“Is it fake?” Mason asked.
Leo nodded.
“So let me get this straight,” Oliver said, putting both of his hands on the table. “Some jealous husband assaulted the star of the Black Castle because he couldn’t handle his wife doing her job. And you’re asking them back onto the set? We’re expected to work around these people when
