“Helen, I’m going down to hangar three, call me if I’m not back in a half hour to help me exit.”

She smiles. “Miles is next door in hangar two, shooting some promos. He asked if you could drop by. I’d told him you were packed for the day. But if you’re down there …”

The day just keeps getting better. I’ve avoided anything Throb related the last ten days. It still hasn’t gotten Kate out of my head, but at least I can focus on work a little better.

“Can we just talk about it here?” I try not to sound as impatient as I feel. “I have a packed day today, Tatiana.”

“You have to eat,” she purrs, placing the palms of both her hands against my chest. Yes, but I’d prefer to eat alone.

“It’s important and we”—she looks around the room at all of the waiting staff—“need to talk in private.”

The room full of waiting gaffs and production staff is probably costing me two thousand an hour. I look at my watch. “A quick bite, I need these guys back to work.”

She smiles victoriously. I open the door, allowing Tatiana to pass through first. I take four strides and walk directly into Kate.

And Dickhead.

We both freeze, staring at each other.

“Coop. I thought we were in a rush.” Tatiana quickly moves to my side. She gives Kate the once-over, then wraps her hands possessively around my bicep.

“Kate.” I nod, ignoring Tatiana.

“Cooper,” she says softly. “Ummm … this is Flynn.”

“How’s it going, man?” The longhaired dickhead is oblivious to my scowl.

“Cooper Montgomery.” I nod and squeeze his hand a little too tight when we shake.

Kate looks to Tatiana, who I completely forgot is standing next to me. “This is Tatiana Laroix,” I finally say.

The seconds that follow are awkward. Even more so when Dickhead slings his arm casually around Kate’s shoulder and says, “We were just going to grab a bite to eat.”

My eyes are glued to the arm touching her shoulder. It’s difficult to contain the urge to physically remove it for him. “Us too.” My jaw clenches. “Why don’t you join us?” Kate’s eyes go wide; Tatiana’s grip tightens a little more.

“Sure.” Dickhead shrugs, looking like he doesn’t have a goddamned care in the world.

Lunch turns out to be less uncomfortable than I would have thought. Dickhead tells Tatiana he’s a big fan and the two of them spend the next half hour talking about her favorite subject: Her.

“You should have thrown it the other way,” I say to Kate.

Her eyebrows draw together.

“Salt,” I clarify. “You tried to do it discreetly, but I saw you throw it over your left shoulder a minute ago.”

“Oh.” She pauses. “But why would I throw it the other way?”

“It’s to ward off the devil by throwing it in his eyes, right?”

She wrinkles her nose, still confused at what I’m insinuating.

I point my eyes to Mr. Rock and Roll.

She shakes her head, but stifles a laugh.

“I’ve missed you,” I say quietly.

Her eyes dart to the other side of the table, to Tatiana and Dickhead. But neither one of them are paying attention. Tatiana is busy chewing his ear off about the similarities between filming movies and singing on stage.

“Me too,” she whispers, forlorn in her tone. She forks her lunch around aimlessly on her plate.

“So, can you give us a hint who your favorites are?” Tatiana asks Flynn as the conversation turns to the reality show.

“Nope. Not allowed.” He smiles and winks at Kate.

Knocking out a tooth from his Donny Osmond smile isn’t really an option in a room full of people, so I take the path I much prefer. I slip my hand under the table and rest it on top of Kate’s thigh. Her eyes bulge, but she quickly conceals her surprise. Thank god for skirts.

“Are you and Tatiana working on a project together?” Kate asks, her words falling quickly, nervously.

“We’re almost wrapped. It’s due out in October. Perfect Sense. Maybe you’ve heard of it?” Tatiana asks. You’d have to live under a rock to not have heard; the bestselling book is a widely anticipated blockbuster movie.

My hand inches up Kate’s thigh.

“Sure. It looks great.”

Another inch up. I’m midway between her knee and hip.

“How much longer do you have on your show?” I ask Kate.

“A little more than …” My hand slides up another inch and drops from the top of her thigh to the inside.

“Ummm …” She stares at me, then straightens in her seat and blinks a few times. “I’m sorry. What did you ask?”

I grin. And slide my hand up farther. I feel the heat resonate from between her legs now.

“I asked how much longer you have on your show.” I grip the inside of her thigh and pull her legs wider apart. Her breath does a sharp intake that only I seem to notice.

“The show lasts another six weeks.”

“That’s almost as long as it takes to film a movie,” Tatiana interjects.

My hand slides the rest of the way up, lightly skimming the lace edge of her panties. Kate’s eyes close and she takes a deep breath.

My phone rings, forcing me to remove my hand. “Yeah, Helen?”

Helen reminds me I have a meeting this afternoon and that I’ve also requested she call to help me escape if I wasn’t back in a half hour. “Thank you. I’ll be up shortly.”