Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 109318 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109318 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“Sounds like he filled in the blanks.”
Danielle snorted. “Anyway, he’s got this whole ‘I’m in charge’ bullshit going on and . . .” She picked up the magazine she’d been reading and absently started to fan herself. “It’s the opposite of what I want. Outside of bed, anyway. In bed . . .”
Melody examined that statement. “Were you surprised to find out you enjoyed being with someone like that in bed?”
“Surprised doesn’t even begin to cover it.” The producer threw an irritable glance over her shoulder. “And the bastard constantly reminds me I enjoyed it.”
“That accounts for the tension, I guess,” Melody murmured, replaying the conversation in her head. Danielle and Joseph had clear preferences in bed. Melody had never been comfortable enough to explore her own . . . but maybe Beat had? What if he had certain interests and she hadn’t discovered them yet? He’d certainly dropped some hints last night. Maybe the problem hadn’t been her eagerness . . . and instead, he just needed a little more time to share what turned him on?
Don’t let me come.
Melody realized her heart was racing and unbuckled her seat belt with fidgety hands, needing desperately to move—and unfortunately, there was only one place to hide on a plane. On the way to the bathroom, she passed a dozing Joseph who was napping at the rear, his camera off and buckled into the seat beside him, like a small child. Melody used the restroom quickly, washed her hands, splashed some cold water on her face and then started to return to her seat when the plane hit a patch of turbulence—
She stumbled sideways in the aisle, reaching for purchase.
“Mel,” Beat said sharply, catching her wrist.
Before she knew what was happening, he’d changed her flailing trajectory and pulled her down into his lap. She winced at the crunch of paperwork beneath her butt. “Oh God. I’m sorry. I hope that wasn’t important.”
A muscle jumped in his cheek. Did he just glance at her mouth? “It’s only paper.” Melody nodded, started to get back up, but the plane jolted again, rocking her on his lap toward his chest and prompting him to take a sharp inhale. “Mmmm.”
Hunger swooped down inside of her. Deep. “I should go back to my seat.”
The plane disagreed by traveling over several bumpy air pockets. Beat’s hand tightened on the seat’s armrest with each one. “You’ll get hurt. Stay here until it stops.”
There was some truth to his words. She wasn’t coordinated on her best day. Trying to make it back to her seat while the plane was going over turbulence could easily end in a concussion. But pretending the position wasn’t coaxing something to life inside both of them was growing more and more impossible. If the sheaf of papers wasn’t trapped between them, she suspected Beat would be hard beneath her butt. The hand he’d been using to clutch the armrest slid onto her knee, his thumb digging into the sensitive inside. It inched higher after a particularly rough bump of turbulence. Squeezed.
The seam of her jeans became too tight. But she would get through this unscathed. They would. They just needed a distraction.
“Tell me about the paperwork I just butt crushed?”
“Yeah,” he rasped, closing his eyes. “It’s, uh . . . applications. From scholarship hopefuls. We’ll announce our January recipient on New Year’s Day.” He appeared to be trying to focus on the subject she’d broached. “It’s always a hard choice, but picking from this group is almost impossible. There isn’t a single one of them that doesn’t deserve it.”
“What kind of criteria do you look for?”
Something sparked in his eyes. Excitement. A passion for his job that made her chest carve itself open for him even wider. “Obviously, academics are paramount, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg for these kids. They’re all at the top of their class. So we have to go beyond that. Look at their club participation, recommendation letters. Once we have about a dozen standouts, that’s when we watch their recorded audition files.”
Melody felt her own excitement building. “How do you inform the winner?”
A corner of his mouth lifted. “We usually contact their parents or guardian, arrange a Zoom call. Octavia appears on the screen and tells them college is paid for. It’s . . .” He trailed off, nodding. “It’s something.”
“And you make it happen.”
“They make it happen. I just do the research.”
A bigger picture began clicking into place. “Did your mother create the scholarship program, Beat? Or was it you?”
“I don’t know.” He stared off over her shoulder a moment, eyes narrowing slightly. “It has been so long, I can’t remember.”
That was the truth. He honestly didn’t recall. “I’m betting on you.”
“Why?” They did nothing but communicate through a long, silent look. “You think I do this to balance out the wealth I’ve been born into,” he said slowly.