Playing in SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 9) (19 page)

“Like 80s ‘going
out’ as in dating?”

“Yes, please. I want
to get to know you. All of you, Aud. I already know I love you, but I
want to learn how much I
like
you, too.”

“Well, of course I’ll
go out with you.”

“Great. I thought we
could take turns planning the dates.”

“That’s a perfect
idea.”

“I can be smart
sometimes.”

“I’m pretty sure
it’s more than just sometimes.”

“Thanks for saying
that.”

“It’s true. You’re
more than just a pretty face.”

“You’ve always seen
that, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

I kiss her, because how
can I not? Just a little kiss to take the edge off. “I’ve got six
weeks left on the play, and then I have to start promoting my movie
that’s coming out a couple of weeks after that.”

“Okay. How many dates
a week do you want to do?”

“Seven.”

“Jeanne needs time
with you.”

“I know. I was hoping
that we could have a few family dates.”

“I’d like that, but
I’ll never try and take Misha’s place.”

“I understand what
you mean, but there’s really no place to take. You may not be
Jeanne’s biological mother, but I plan to make you her step-mom one
day. She’ll also have a little brother or sister in a few months,
and you’ll be that child’s mom. We
are
a family, Dree.”

“You need to meet
mine. My family, I mean.”

“Whenever you want,
I’ll go with you,” I tell her, but have to amend my answer.
“Well, as long as the studio doesn’t have me committed to
something. I can get pretty busy around premiere time.”

“I’m busy, too. I
don’t expect you to just be hanging around the house all the time.”

“You’re not moving
back to San Diego, are you?”

“No. This is my home.
I may have to work in my lab more than going out on missions from now
on, but I won’t leave the Society.”

“I wouldn’t ask you
to. I can move my home base.”

“I wouldn’t ask you
to do that either.”

“What’s the
solution?”

“Maybe you keep your
place, and I keep mine. We can spend time at both. I normally get one
week off per month.”

“I like that idea,
but maybe with a different house in San Diego or La Jolla. The one I
have now is too big. I don’t want to give up living there at least
part-time, though.”

“You don’t have to
give up anything for me. Except other women. I don’t share.”

“Me either.”

“Then we’re good.
Glad we got that out of the way. Now on to the fun stuff. Who’s
picking the first date?”

“Ladies are always
first.”

“This is why the
women swoon.”

“Did you swoon just
now?”

“Maybe a little. Can
we have a free day today? Maybe just hang out with Jeanne, and then
I’ll plan something for tomorrow?”

“Sure. If she wants
to come home, that is. She was swooning for that bastard, Scott
Griffin, and then I let her go home with him while I stayed here.
What was I thinking?”

“Scott is not a
bastard.”

“He is when my baby’s
swooning over him.”

“He’s a hot
computer nerd, and she’s a twelve-year-old computer nerd who’s
just starting to believe that she’s pretty. What do you expect her
to do? He’s pretty much her dream man.”

“He’s too old for
her,” I growl.

“He’s not going to
make a move on her,” she tells me, laughing. “He loves Yasmin
more than life. And even if he didn’t, he’s one of the most
honorable men I know. He’d never date a teenager.”

“Yeah, I saw that. He
was ruffling her hair and shit. Being nice, but not flirty,” I
admit.

“Let her have her
crush, and just be glad it’s on him, and not some asshole.”

“I guess.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll
hold your hand when she goes on her first date.”

“She’s not dating.”

“See, this is where
the step-mom earns points. I’ll be doling out the sexual favors in
exchange for you giving her some dating freedom.”

“Playing dirty?”

“Yep, and you’re
going to love it when I get
really
dirty with you.”

“Don’t I know it.”

One of the nurses
brings breakfast in, and I’m pleasantly surprised that someone
remembered what I ordered yesterday, and got it again for me today.
Once we’re done eating, they disconnect all her monitors, and give
her the clothes Stella left for her. I make her get dressed alone,
because I don’t trust her not to try something I’d like too much,
and then I take her home.

Audrey

Tonight is my first
real date with Blake. I’m not counting last night, even though we
stole as many kisses as we could while hanging out with Jeanne. I
feel the pressure to bring it, and I hope he enjoys what I have
planned.

“Stop worrying, Aud,”
Stella tells me, zipping up my dress.

I called her over to
help me pick out something fun, but sexy. I can normally pick my own
clothes, but I’m as nervous as a teenager tonight. The strapless
black dress with white lines all over, and the skirt that has pieces
laying over each other in varying lengths, is perfect for what I have
planned. If only I was sure that my choice for a date would be
perfect.

“What if he doesn’t
like it?”

“Then he’ll just
sit back and watch. Relax, and have fun. You’ve waited 20 years for
this.”

“Not helping the
stress.”

“No stress, pregnant
lady,” she says, wagging her finger at me. “Just have fun.”

I walk her downstairs
as the doorbell rings. She opens the door, and turns to give me a
wink. I laugh, and then my breath catches in my throat as Blake walks
in. He’s in grey pants, and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled
up to his elbows. His hair’s slicked back, and he’s also clean
shaven. That’s not what the wink was for, though. It was for the
suspenders, which I know Stella had a hand in. I hug her tight, and
then push her out the door as she laughs.

Blake pulls on my
ponytail, and I turn back to him. “I like this.”

“I like these,” I
tell him, pulling on a suspender.

“Stella brought them
over.”

“I figured. Jeanne’s
all settled?”

“Yeah. She hit it off
with Ethan right away. Caleb was barbequing so she thinks she’s in
heaven.”

“Oh, she will be. Cal
knows how to work a grill.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll
take you to Heaven later, too. Maybe not with steak, but I have my
ways.”

“I’ll be holding
you to that.”

“Please do. Now where
are we going tonight, because that dress is really doing it for me.”

“It’s a surprise.”

He grumbles, but takes
my hand as we head down to my car. I drive, since I know where we’re
going. When we pull up outside the non-descriptive building, I get a
raised eyebrow. I kiss him, and tell him to trust me.

Inside, I’m greeted
by several of the people I’ve met here over the past couple of
years. “You remember you’re pregnant, right?” Blake asks,
motioning to the bar.

“Yes. I’m not
drinking. We’re dancing.”

“Dancing? Aren’t
there clubs for that?”

“I’m not talking
about grinding on a dance floor. We’re going to Swing.”

“Swing? I thought you
didn’t share,” he says with a smirk. I smack him, and he laughs.
“Kidding. I don’t know how to Swing dance, in case you were
wondering.”

“That’s why we’re
here early for the class.”

“I’m probably going
to suck.”

“Do you want to
leave?”

He looks at me, and
then takes my face in his hands. “Not a chance. I wanted to get to
know you, and if you want to dance, we’ll dance. I just needed to
warn you that I’m a horrible dancer. I’ll try my best for you,
but it’s probably going to be a mess that will go viral on social
media.”

“Oh. I never thought
of that. I keep forgetting you’re a movie star. We can go.”

“Nope. I love that
you forget, and it will probably be good for my image to show me
making a fool of myself. Let’s do this. Oh, unless it will be bad
for you. I know you’re supposed to be secret and all.”

“I’m somewhat in
the spotlight because of my public work with Corrigan & Co., and
Reina and I talked about the rest this morning. With me being
pregnant with your baby, I can’t hide forever, and she has a plan
for something else I can do once I’m exposed.”

“Okay then, time to
make a fool of myself,” he says, pulling me to my feet.

Blake wasn’t kidding.
Even after getting extra attention during the lesson, he still kept
tripping over his feet. He told me to just have fun when the dancing
began, and he’s been nursing a drink while I let loose. It’s so
fun, and freeing, to just move around the floor. I’ve mostly been
dancing with the guy I tend to partner up with, but when he starts
getting a little too familiar, I leave him on the dance floor.

Blake doesn’t look
happy, and I know he saw the guy try to kiss me. I walk over to him
and sit right on his lap, straddling him as he puts his hands on my
hips. I kiss him like my life depends on it, and then touch my
forehead to his. “Are you ready to go?”

“You’ve slept with
him, haven’t you?”

“Just once. One time,
and then I sent him home.”

“He’s been acting
like you belong to him.”

“You know I don’t.”

“Does he?”

“If he doesn’t,
that’s his problem.”

“He probably posted
the video of me from earlier.”

“Maybe. I’m sorry I
brought you here, and you had a bad time.”

“I didn’t. I’m
jealous, yes, but I loved seeing you out there dancing. And I had fun
during the lesson, even though I failed horribly.”

“With some practice,
you might be okay.”

“I’d kind of like
to keep trying. It was fun.”

“There’s a few
studios that have dance nights, too.”

“Will you go with
me?”

“If you’re sure you
want to do this. I don’t want you doing it just for me.”

“I’m sure.”

“Okay, I’d love to
take dance lessons with you.”

“It’s a date.”

“I’m glad we get a
second one.”

“We’re going to
have thousands of dates together. Don’t ever doubt that.”

“I won’t.”

“Let’s go home so I
can show you moves I’m more proud of.”

“On our first date?
What kind of girl do you think I am?”

“The kind who wants
multiple orgasms tonight.”

“You know me so
well.”

“I’m working on
it.”

* * *

Blake

I made a fool out of
myself last night, and went to bed with the woman of my dreams.
Today, I get to pick the date, and I’m hoping Audrey likes what I
have planned. I told her to pack an overnight bag with some warm
clothes. I have rehearsal this morning, but we’re leaving right
after, and we don’t have to be back until Sunday night.

Isa and Jake offered to
keep an eye on Jeanne tonight. I’d feel bad about leaving her with
strangers, but she loves it. She’s in her element here, surrounded
by these amazing women—and men. The attitude that had made an
appearance back home is gone, and she’s more relaxed than I’ve
ever seen her. She’s behaving so well that I might give her
permission to use her electronics again soon. Maybe.

I’m getting impatient
today as we wait for the pizza to arrive. I always feed the kids
after rehearsal. They work hard, and I know some of them don’t have
much at home. I’ve pretended not to notice when they take the
leftovers with them, and I’ve been talking to the school counselors
about how I can help.

“Shouldn’t the
pizza be here already?” I ask Dale, the college kid who’s working
as my Assistant Director.

“Um, yeah. Let me
check on it.”

He takes a few steps,
and then the theater doors open. Instead of pizza, Audrey and her
friends walk in with their arms full of food. Platters, casserole
dishes, crock pots, and several pans of what look like desserts. My
mouth falls open, as the kids all rush to help them. Jeanne and Dale
smile at each other and high five.

“Surprise,” Audrey
tells me, kissing my cheek as she walks past me to the tables we use
for food.

“What? How?”

“Audrey said the kids
might like something more than pizza, so Gavin and I rounded everyone
up and put them to work,” Faith tells me.

“Oh my God, Zack
Taylor cooked for us?” one of the kids asks.

“He did,” Faith
says with a laugh. “He’s getting pretty good at it.”

I pull Audrey away from
everyone as they descend on the food. “Thank you. When I told you
about the kids, I didn’t expect this.”

“You’re welcome.
There should be enough for them all to take some home. We’re going
to do this every week. Sometimes Faith may be on a mission, or Gavin
might have something going on with his cooking school, but the rest
of us will manage.”

“If you keep amazing
me every day, I might start feeling more unworthy than I already do.”

“I plan on amazing
you every day for the rest of your life, Hollywood, so you had better
get used to it.”

I laugh with her, but
think about what she didn’t say. She didn’t respond to the part
where I said I was unworthy. I know I still have a lot to make up
for, but if everything goes according to plan, I’ll be able to show
her how much she’s always meant to me. I’m still waiting for one
last phone call, telling me I have the go ahead for what I want, but
I have high hopes that with what I offered in return, I’ll get my
approval. Until then, I need to wow her on my dates.

“Where are we going
today?”

“Not a chance. You
didn’t tell me, and I’m not telling you.”

“I didn’t take you
somewhere overnight.”

“You kept me
overnight.”

“You were a very
willing prisoner in my bed.”