“As a matter of fact, I do.” She and Xander didn’t share an agent because they weren’t in the same line of work. But they shared a talent agency, and it hadn’t been difficult to pull some strings and find out where Xander lived and in which of his residences he was currently staying.
Now she just needed to gather her courage and show up on his doorstep.
Chapter Two
Sasha’s plane landed at 6:10 p.m. at JFK International Airport, and from there, she and Cassidy waited for their luggage. In a pair of jeans and a man-style shirt with a baseball cap on her head and sunglasses over her eyes, Sasha did her best not to meet anyone’s gaze and hoped she could remain anonymous.
She’d flown under her legal name, Alexandra Keaton. Sasha had been her Russian mother’s nickname for her, and she’d taken it as her stage name. Using an Uber with Cassidy’s account and staying under an alias at the hotel protected her even more.
She hated the idea of having a bodyguard around twenty-four seven nor did she think it necessary. Plenty of A-list celebrities flew without an entourage, and that was the way Sasha wanted to live. It was enough she boarded via a special terminal that had a separate door from which to enter the plane. Some perks were worth it and necessary.
Beside her, Cassidy dressed similarly, and with her blond hair, she and Sasha looked like sisters. They grabbed their bags and took an Uber to the hotel in the Meatpacking District in New York City, remaining under the radar almost the entire time.
As they walked outside to their Uber, hot, humid, New York air surrounded her. Although it was late June, the weather had that mid-summer, sticky feel.
They stepped toward the sidewalk and Sasha felt the weight of someone’s stare. She turned to see a brown haired man in a baseball cap a few feet from her. She thought he’d ducked his head and focused on his phone as she glanced over but couldn’t be certain he’d ever seen her. Paranoia at its finest, she mused, still not used to the stares even after a couple of years.
Once settled in the suite, Sasha relaxed, tossing her hat onto the couch in the main lounge area.
“Long flights are a bitch,” Cassidy muttered, doing the same.
“Amen.” Sasha flopped onto the sofa beside their caps, kicked off her Chucks, and groaned. “Let’s order in dinner.”
After they decided on their meals and Cassidy placed an order, they talked until the food arrived. It wasn’t until Sasha was alone in her room, washing up, that she allowed herself to face her plans for tomorrow.
Seeing Xander wouldn’t be easy but it was necessary. Both for her professional sense of comfort when portraying his character and for her to make things right.
* * *
Xander woke up to blessed silence. The band had obviously stayed at Dash’s house this morning. After his normal a.m. routine, he and Bella made their daily run into town, circled around, and headed back home.
Nearing the end, Xander slowed to a walk and whistled to Bella, who’d gotten ahead of him, to do the same. The humidity was high and sweat poured down his body. Lifting his shirt, he wiped his face and looked forward to stepping inside and feeling the air conditioner cooling him off.
As he approached his house, he saw a car in the driveway and someone sitting on his front porch. His eyes weren’t what they used to be, not since the severe concussion he’d received from being too close to an IED blast in Afghanistan. His glasses, which he only wore when his eyes hurt from exhaustion, usually after too much writing, were inside.
He didn’t recognize the car but kept to a walk, not wanting to push Bella too hard in this heat. As he drew closer, whoever sat on the wicker chair rose, and he realized a woman stood waiting for him. A slender woman with blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, sunglasses covering her eyes, and a sleeveless dress that hugged familiar curves walked down the three steps to the path leading to the driveway.
Sasha.
Fuck.
She looked beautiful. The black dress was cute and fitted, with sunflowers on the skirt and a small one on the tight top, ending just above the knee. With her hair back, she appeared young and as vulnerable as she had the night they’d met. His heart, already beating hard from his run, picked up speed, and he damned the effect she had on him.
He had no intention of rushing and giving her the wrong impression, but his dog hadn’t gotten the memo and she took off at a run. Traitor.
Bella had failed at becoming an emotional service dog because she hadn’t been able to ignore distractions, as proven by her run and now jump on Sasha. Since Xander’s issues weren’t serious in comparison to many who’d enlisted and come home, Xander had chosen Bella and her quirks, leaving the trained dogs to those who might need them more.
“Bella, down!”
At the sound of his voice and command, his girl placed all four paws on the ground and sat, but she quivered with the need to jump on their guest again.
“Sorry,” Xander said to Sasha. “She’s a little exuberant, even with strangers.”
She treated him to a soft smile. “It’s okay. She’s sweet.” She reached out and petted his dog’s head. “What’s her name?”
“Bella.”
“Meaning beautiful in any language,” Sasha murmured, obviously aware that the name was Latin and related in some way to that word in all the Romance languages.
She was beautiful. Not just his dog but Sasha herself. The woman who didn’t care if a dog with dusty paws, dirty from a run, jumped on her designer dress. Because she could now afford to upgrade her clothes, and this outfit looked high quality, unlike the Target outfits she’d attempted to dress up once upon a time.
And he didn’t want to notice anything about her. Not the good similarities to the past or the changes in the present. “What are you doing here?” he asked in a gruffer voice than he’d used before.
She folded her arms across her chest, running her palms over her bare skin on her forearms. “I thought we should talk.” She lifted one delicate shoulder as if that explained everything. “You know, because we’ll be working together.”
Not if he could help it. He intended to stay far away. “A little warning before showing up would have been nice.”
To her credit, she didn’t flinch. But then she was an actress. It was easy to pretend.
“Why? So you could make sure you weren’t home? Or make certain you didn’t come back?” Her gaze traveled over him, her eyes darkening at the sight of him in his running shorts, tank, and sneakers.
She clearly liked what she saw. So did he, but sexual attraction meant nothing in the wake of hurt and fundamental differences.
At the reminder, he let out a groan. The sooner they talked, the sooner she’d get in her rental car and leave. Buying time, he glanced over to the lush green lawn where Bella was sniffing the grass. He had no doubt he was going to wind up with another brown spot, because another thing about Bella, she squatted where it suited her.
Women, he thought to himself, frustrated. They always got their way.
“What did you want to discuss?” he asked coldly. Because he couldn’t imagine he and Sasha had much to say to each other.
She met his gaze and lifted her glasses, revealing those stunning blue eyes he’d always been able to get lost in.