Page 8 of Second Chance Baby
“Keeps me busy and in favorite uncle status with all the little heathens in our crew,” he supplied while Travis rocked back and forth on his…cowboy boots? That was new.
But him being unable to stay still for even a moment was vintage Travis.
“Oh, nice.” I fluttered my eyelashes. Pure instinct there. “Maybe I can get you to sign one of my copies?”
“You actually bought them?” Delight replaced shock. He held up his black notebook. “Working on the next one as we speak.”
“Of course, gotta support our local talents. I already have it on preorder.”
“Don’t get a swelled head.” Travis elbowed his brother.
“Too late.” Rita Savage, the romance author ofDate with Disaster, strolled up to us. I recognized her from the research file for this job. I’d purchased the book, as well, but I hadn’t gotten the chance to read it yet. Her lemon-blond hair was straight, the wispy ends brushing the shoulders of her sorbet-colored sweater. She lowered her sunglasses to the end of her nose. “You’re lucky it hasn’t knocked over the lighting setup in here.”
Travis’s brother blew out a breath before he sneered. “Didn’t have a problem with my head the other day, Duchess.”
I whistled under my breath as Travis took that opportunity to gesture to Rita, clearing his throat around the awkwardness. “Bridget Sheppard, I’d like to introduce you to Rita Savage. She’s the incredible author ofDate with Disaster. You must’ve seen all the press it got last year?”
I forced myself to stop staring at Travis, though it wasn’t easy. “Um, sure. Sure. Ms. Savage, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I actually had the book on my wishlist forever, this just gave me the excuse to finally pull the trigger.”
“Call me Rita, please.” She flushed. “Oh, you don’t need to read it.”
“Trust me, I want to. Scrolling social media is a given with the long waits during my photoshoots, and so many people love the book.” My gaze slipped to Travis again, and my heart raced. I swallowed and refocused on Rita. “Glad I could help with therecasting of the cover. Especially since this charity is near and dear to me.”
“I was shocked when my agent told me you agreed to do it. The other cover model ruined her career, and I didn’t know what we’d do for a reshoot.” She pressed her lips together. “Since the cover scene was specific and requires a level of chemistry not common for strangers.”
“Honestly, it’s my pleasure.” Relaxing a little, I glanced from Penn to Rita and noticed their odd body language, swinging between almost too familiar to standoffish.
From my days living with my inconsistent mother, I was used to evaluating feelings in a fingersnap. And these two were acting strangely.
While it seemed like a million years since I’d been around any of the Mastersons for more than a few minutes here and there, I remembered Penn as a charming flirt, not the intense asshole he was being.
Did they know one another? Based on that offhand rude response, it sure felt like they did.
Rita ignored Penn, which seemed to be getting under his skin even more. She smiled up at my guy—no, he wasn’t mine. But my fingers tightened into a fist at my side at his easy smile and open body language. Another reason he was so good at his job. Nothing fazed him.
“And you’re Travis? I’ve heard you’re the charming one, unlike your brother.” Rita went on.
Travis also seemed to pick up on the peculiar tension as his smile faded. “Normally, he has far better manners.”
“She’s not into manners from me.”
Before any of us could speak, Penn took off, heading around the lush bedroom set-up to the sitting room. He dropped sullenly into a chair in the corner with his notebook and opened it, pulling a pencil out of his forest of curls.
Probably a Blackwing one, if memory served.
Such a long-ago memory. I remembered stealing his pencils to do my endless college coursework.
Travis’s voice dragged me back into the now. “Ms. Savage, I don’t know what’s gotten into my brother. I’ll speak to him.”
“No need. I’ll let you guys get to it.” She gave us a strained smile. “Can’t wait to watch your shoot.”
She hurried away before any of us could say anything more.
Once the dust cleared, Travis seemed to shake himself before he marched over to me. I leaped up from my chair, realizing at once how well we lined up. It had been so long, but the heat between us was so familiar I had to fight to keep from trembling.
Thank God.
He grasped my arm so firmly that my clit pounded. It took me a moment to even recognize the sensation, that was how long it had been since I’d even felt a flicker of interest toward anyone.