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Steven raised an eyebrow. “You are? Didn’t I just see Curtis?” He looked around as if expecting the man to pop out of nowhere.

  Valerie hid her internal cringe at the name. She knew he’d cause problems if he could find a way. “I called it quits with Curtis. Jesse and I are flying to Vegas to get married.” The grin that split the older man’s face surprised Valerie. Did everyone hate Curtis? “I guess you approve?” she asked.

  “Anyone who has ever seen you two together approves.”

  Jesse smiled at the words, lifting Valerie’s hand to his lips and kissing it softly. “We’ll see you Monday morning. I’m sure we’ll get back Sunday night, but I’m not wasting a single minute hanging out with you freaks when I could be alone with her.”

  Steven laughed. “No one’s arguing with you there.” He waved his hand in a shooing motion. “Go. Have fun. Be ready to work on Monday.”

  “We will,” Valerie promised. She looked at Jesse. “We’ll have to spend at least some time working on learning our lines this weekend.”

  “We’ll take the scripts on the plane.”

  They separated for a few minutes while they packed their bags, getting ready for the trip. Then they drove the hour and a half drive to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport from the small ranch outside Wiggieville, Texas, where the show was filmed. It was easy to catch a first class flight to Vegas, because there were planes leaving every hour for the popular tourist destination.

  As they waited for their flight to be called, Valerie glanced at Jesse, who was reading his script, but clutching her hand. “Have we lost our minds?”

  “Lost them? On the contrary, I think I’ve found mine.” He squeezed her hand and continued reading his script.

  Once they were on the plane and buckled, she snuggled under the blanket provided. “I may sleep on the way there. Are we getting married as soon as we land?”

  He nodded. “That’s my plan. I’m not spending another night without you in my arms.”

  “Maybe we should take it slow. Get used to being married.” She knew he didn’t want to wait for sex, but she wasn’t certain she could just jump into bed that fast—even with Jesse.

  “Sure. No problem. We’ll take everything nice and slow.” Jesse pressed his lips against her ear. “Except the sex. That’s going to be hot and crazy.”

  She felt warm just thinking about it. She knew she was blushing. “You need to behave yourself.” She rested her head against his shoulder, knowing she really didn’t want him to behave. She felt so comfortable with him, in a way she never had anyone else.

  “Oh my God! It’s Dylan and Jo! From Lazy Love!” A teenaged girl was standing in the crowded aisle looking at Jesse and Valerie.

  Valerie smiled. “Hi.” She reached automatically into the oversized bag she always carried for a publicity photo of her with Jesse and took out a pen. “Who do you want me to make it out to?”

  “My name is Megan.” The girl spelled it slowly. “I watch your show every week!” Her eyes darted back and forth between the two actors. “Are you two a couple in real life?”

  Jesse smiled. “Can you keep a secret?” he asked, knowing the girl wouldn’t keep what they were doing a secret, and that was the reason he wanted to tell her. He wanted their elopement in the press before Curtis could get his story there.

  Megan nodded, her eyes bright with excitement. “Yes, I can. Anything for you!”

  “We’re on our way to get married. No one knows except our director.”

  Megan’s hand went to her heart. “Seriously? You’re getting married in real life?”

  Jesse nodded before taking the photo from Valerie and signing his own name to it. He handed it to her, while Valerie spoke. “He’s telling the truth. In a few hours, we’ll be married.”

  Valerie put her hand on Jesse’s thigh, breathing a sigh of relief when he squeezed it with his own. She was so nervous. Not since the audition for the part of Jo had she been quite this nervous. Maybe it was only the really important things in life that made a woman so nervous.

  “Wow. That’s so cool! When will you get married on the show?”

  Valerie smiled at the question she was so used to hearing. “As soon as the writers write it in. I’m glad we don’t have to wait for them in real life, though.” Her eyes were on Jesse’s face as she spoke.

  “Not as glad as I am,” Jesse muttered under his breath as the girl was moved down the aisle toward the back of the plane.

  “I can’t believe we’re doing something quite this spontaneous. It took us six months to even kiss on the show.”

  “There’s a big difference though. I’ve been kissing you for four years as we film. I don’t want to wait for a long engagement. Whatever they do with Jo and Dylan, Valerie and Jesse are going to live the lives they want to live. And I want to be with you every minute of every day.”

  Her breath caught at his words. “Really?”

  He chuckled softly. “I haven’t made that obvious with everything I do? How many nights have I been at your place until three in the morning practicing the lines I’d had memorized for days?”

  She grinned. “You were helping me. You’re a good friend.”

  “I’ll be a better husband,” he said with a grin, his dimples showing.

  “You will?”

  He nodded, his eyes meeting hers. “Oh yeah.”

  She reached out and caught the front of his shirt, pulling him to her for a kiss. “I’ll be a good wife to you.”

  He returned her kiss, a smile on his lips. It was something her character had done many times, and he liked the way life was imitating art. Jo was much more outgoing than Valerie was. He was surprised an actress could be as tenderhearted and nervous as his co-star.

  “Where are we staying?” she asked, as she pulled back from the kiss. As many times as they’d kissed in front of a crowd for a television camera, she still didn’t feel like kissing in public was something they should be doing.

  “I got us a suite at Caesars. Not that we’re going to need any more than a bed.”

  She blushed at that. “We’re going to have to eat as well.”

  “Speak for yourself.” He caught her hand and brought it to his lips. “I don’t want to set foot outside that room even once.

  “Room service?”

  He shrugged. “I guess we can do that!”

  She shook her head. “Are you trying to channel Dylan?”

  “Dylan thinks about Jo the way I think about you! No need to channel him. I’ve given the writers lots of ideas for what he’d say to Jo.”

  “Have you really?” She hadn’t heard that at all.

  He nodded emphatically. “I even thought about writing an episode once, but the producers said we couldn’t spend an entire show in bed, so I gave up on the idea.”

  She laughed softly. “Jesse, you are so bad!”

  He shrugged. “That’s why you’re marrying me.”

  Valerie frowned at that. She was marrying him because he made her feel safe. The passion was just a bonus. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. Ever. She thought back to an episode where some men had gone into the ranch house with rifles, because they were hiding out from the police. It had been her mild-mannered veterinarian who had rescued her, and she’d rushed into his arms. Never had she felt so at peace as she had filming that last scene of the episode.

  He caught her look and frowned. “Why do you think you’re marrying me?” He was almost afraid of what her answer would be. With as long as he’d had feelings for her, she’d never given any indication she returned them. Other than the passion she brought to their kissing scenes, of course. And that passion told him everything he needed to know about how she really felt. He just hoped she was aware of her feelings for him.

  She looked down at her hands, trying to find the best way to tell him how she felt without hurting his feelings. “I—well, you make me feel safe. I love our passion, don’t get me wrong. But it’s the security I crave from you.”

  He nodded slowly.
“I can understand that. In a week, you’ll forget you ever felt safe with me.”

  She looked at him with surprise. “I will?”

  “You’ll be too busy remembering how good the passion feels to worry about security.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. “You’re probably right. So I’ll enjoy feeling safe with you until we get to Vegas.”

  He put an arm around her shoulders. “Do you want me to wake you when the meals come?”

  Valerie shook her head. “No, I’m more tired than hungry.”

  His smile looked positively feral. “Then you sleep. I’ll wake you when we land.” He kissed the top of her head as she snuggled in even closer. She’d need all the sleep she could get.

  CHAPTER 2

  Five hours later, Jesse ushered Valerie into their suite at Caesars. “I’ll buy you a ring when we get back to Texas,” he promised. “I hope you don’t feel less married because you don’t have one.”

  She looked at her bare hand. “I don’t think I feel any less married without one. I don’t feel married at all. How does married feel?”

  He locked the door behind him and pulled her into his arms. “Marriage feels just like kissing does.”

  “Hmm. I’ve only ever really kissed two men. One made me feel dirty, and the other made me feel like I was flying.”

  “What? You’ve only kissed Curtis and me?” How could that be true?

  “I kissed a few others for shows, but I never meant it when I kissed them.” And there had never been any acting involved when it came to kissing Jesse.

  “And I’m the one who makes you feel like you’re flying? Well, I wouldn’t mind if my kisses made you feel a little dirty.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

  “No, your kisses don’t make me feel dirty. Curtis’s made me want to go use Listerine.”

  “Why?” He’d known there were problems in her relationship. He’d seen them in the early days of their friendship when she’d often invited him to spend time with them. The last three years, he hadn’t seen them together much.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. When you kiss me, I can’t think. My knees turn to mush, and my brain goes on vacation. That’s why I’m always messing up kissing scenes.”

  “Aww. I was hoping you messed them up so we could have fun refilming them.”

  She grinned at that. “No, you’re the one who does that.” Shaking her head, she tried to explain. “When Curtis kissed me, my mind didn’t shut off. I had to think about where to put my hands and what to do. And he always called me frigid.”

  “Is that where Valerie the Virgin came from?” he asked.

  Valerie made a face. “No. That was my mess up. In my first interview after I was cast as Jo, somehow my morals came into it, and I said I was going to stay a virgin until I married. So I became Valerie the Virgin. Do you have any idea how sick I am of being called Valerie the Virgin?”

  He grinned at her. “Don’t worry. After tonight, it won’t be accurate at all.”

  She backed up until her shoulders were against a wall, and he slowly walked toward her, kissing her as he pressed her against it even more. “Why does my brain turn to mush every time you touch me?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’m glad it does!” He kissed her once more before scooping her up and carrying her into the bedroom.

  “I need to shave first,” she told him, blushing slightly. It was winter, and they filmed cool weather scenes. There’d been no need for her to shave her legs. She couldn’t let him see or worse touch them the way they were!

  He sighed. “Do you really think I care?”

  “Whether you do or not, I do. I don’t want to make love to my husband for the first time with hairy legs.” She didn’t mention her armpits, because she thought it would be indelicate, but they needed a good shaving as well.

  “Okay. How about I order room service while you shave?” How long did it take a woman to shave anyway? “Will you be long?”

  “Probably about thirty minutes.” She hadn’t had anything sexy to wear for him, so she’d borrowed something from Amber, the girl who played her sister, MaryBeth.

  “I’ll let you know when room service has left,” he told her.

  She nodded, rushing into the bathroom to take care of her unsightly hair.

  Forty-five minutes later, she was standing in the bathroom in a long silky pink nightgown with spaghetti straps. She was freshly shaven, and her hair was brushed into silky waves around her shoulders.

  She jumped at his knock. “Yeah!”

  “Food’s here. You can quit hiding.”

  She sighed, pulling the bathrobe from the back of the bathroom door. He was right. She was hiding.

  She opened the door to find him leaning against the opposite wall with his arms folded against his chest, watching her every move. “What did you order?” she asked, tying the belt more tightly around her waist.

  “Are you cold?” he asked.

  She shook her head. Really the bathrobe made her a little too hot, but she didn’t want to tell him that.

  He walked to her and untied the knot of the robe, pushing it off her shoulders. “There’s no need to hide your body from me.”

  She blushed, embarrassed he’d seen through her ruse, but of course he had. He knew her like no one else did. Except maybe Amber. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I understand.” He took her hand and led her into the living area, doing his best not to stare at her body in the thin nightgown. All he wanted to do was look at her, but he knew she would be embarrassed. He’d have to tread lightly.

  “I got you a chicken club sandwich and french fries.”

  “Oh, that sounds good, but we’ll have to find the gym to work it off tomorrow.”

  He grinned at her, his gaze meeting hers. “I can think of other ways to work it off that will be a lot more fun for both of us.”

  “Jesse!” She shook her head, not sure if she should be amused or embarrassed by his words. She took a seat on the couch and put her plate in her lap. He sat beside her, picking up his own burger and fries.

  He talked about their script for the following week as they ate. “The scene with Justin is going to be awkward.”

  Justin was the man who played the part of Bob, her foreman. He’d been coming onto Jo for two seasons, and she had shut him down time and again. In the show they’d film next, he would bring her a bottle of champagne and try to have a romantic picnic with her. Dylan would interrupt, and there would be sparks between the main characters.

  “The fans really want our characters to just marry already,” Valerie said, shaking her head. “I know the producers and writers are worried that we’ll lose all of our viewers if we don’t have the sexual tension anymore, but I think they’re wrong. We could have a lot of fun with married characters.”

  He nodded. “Yeah. It could be interesting.”

  “You act like you don’t care. You’ve always had an opinion about what they write into the show.”

  “I wanted them to write a love scene for us, so I could act it out. Now that I get it in real life, I don’t need it quite so much.”

  She shook her head at him. “What’s wrong with you?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing that a lifetime making love with you won’t fix.”

  “You know you don’t have to act like you’ve been thinking about us getting married for a while. I appreciate you giving up your freedom for me.”

  He chuckled. “I wouldn’t just give up my freedom for anyone without thinking about it long and hard. Do you really think the first time I thought about marrying you was in your trailer this afternoon?”

  She looked at him with wide eyes. “Of course it was. You knew I was dating Curtis.”

  “I always knew Curtis was the wrong man for you.”

  “And you thought you were the right man?”

  He nodded slowly. “I knew I was. I just didn’t know how to get you to see it. I didn’t want to be the one to force you t
o break it off with him.”

  “I—really? You didn’t think we were right for each other?” She hadn’t realized others could see so plainly what she’d always known.

  He shook his head. “I’d seen you kiss him. I knew how your face looked after we’d kissed. No, I didn’t think you were right for each other. I honestly thought he was mean to you.”

  She sighed. “He was. I didn’t know how to break it off, though.”

  “When did you start dating him?” He realized then he didn’t know how she’d ended up with the man to begin with. He’d always known they were badly mismatched, but she must have seen something in him at one point.

  “High school. I’ve known him my whole life.”

  “That doesn’t mean you have to stay with him.”

  “I’ve been trying to break it off for a while, but every time I tried, he’d start throwing things or threatening me. I didn’t know what to do.” As soon as the words were out, she regretted them. She’d never meant to tell him so much about her failed relationship with Curtis.

  Jesse put his empty plate down and turned to her. “Why didn’t you tell me? You know I’d have helped you.”

  Valerie nodded. “I did know, but I knew he hated you more than anyone else on the planet, so I didn’t think it would be a good idea.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re free of him now.”

  She set her plate on top of his, turning to him fully. “Me too.”

  He reached out to her, pulling her against his side, her head on his shoulder. His left hand stroked up and down her arm as he just cuddled her close. “Would you have married me today if not for the worry about what the tabloids would print?”

  She thought about his question for a long moment and finally shook her head. “No, I don’t think I would have. It’s not that I don’t care about you. You know I do. I wouldn’t have tied you to me forever, though.”

  “I called a couple of the tabloid rags while you were bathing. Told them we’re married. I’m sure our news will hit well before his does.”

  “Really?” She didn’t know why it mattered so much, but it did. She was sick of being laughed at for her morals.

  He nodded. “I even sent them a picture of the marriage certificate. There will be no doubt in anyone’s mind who broke up with whom and why.”