Muscle for Hire(33)

A soft noise drew Aslin’s attention to Rowan. She was frowning, her arms crossed over her breasts, her lips twisted into a thin line.

That’s not a happy woman.

The memory of her distaste for the key grip came back to him.

“Sorry, dude,” Chris’s rejection, spoken with a soft chuckle, made Aslin look back at Tilly’s boyfriend. “Not this time. I haven’t really had the chance to catch up with Rowie yet.”

Warren laughed. “Sure, sure. Understand.” He hugged Tilly tighter with his arm. “I’ll take this little lady out to the catering truck and buy her something nice. Catch you later.”

Chris nodded. “Hell, yeah.”

“Later.” After another fist bump with Chris, and a quick glance at Rowan, the key grip turned and walked away, almost dragging Tilly with him.

“Wow,” Rowan’s laugh sent a lick of tight heat into the pit of Aslin’s stomach. “I’m impressed.”

“Shut up, sis.” Chris swiped his hand at her chin. “I only said no ’cause I don’t want to hear you carrying on about my entourage. You know those guys weren’t all that bad. We had a lot of fun.”

Rowan pulled a face. “I remember. Most especially the times I had to come pull your stupid ass from one party or another when you were all too drunk to even know your names.”

Chris pulled a face in return. “Yeah, okay. I’ll give you that.” He grinned at Aslin. “I was a little shit when I was younger.”

Rowan barked out a dry laugh. “A little?”

“Shut up, shut up.” Chris reached out and gave her a quick hug, releasing her just as quickly. “Let’s go. Before I change my mind and call Warren back.”





Chapter Eight

Lunch turned out to be an interesting affair. Aslin spent most of it watching Rowan and Chris trade insults back and forth, their smiles wide and their eyes shining with joy. It was obvious the siblings had a deep love for each other, a love that extended to Rowan being very prickly and on edge when more than one diner at the restaurant approached their table and asked Chris for his autograph. Aslin sat back observing it all. It was unusual for him to be in a social environment with a celebrity without being employed to guard them, and he was perplexed by the situation. The second they entered the restaurant, he’d scoped out all exit points, noted who was sitting at the surrounding tables and how many staff were visible. He couldn’t stop himself positioning Chris with his back to the main entry, which meant anyone outside would be unable to see the actor’s face and gave Aslin a clear view of anyone who came in from the street.

The other thing he couldn’t help but notice was how often Rowan studied him. When she wasn’t giving her brother grief about his ordered meal, or teasing him about how woeful his kicks and punches were on set, she was watching Aslin with an expression he could only call speculative.

Surprisingly, he liked her inspection. Never one to enjoy or endure any protracted scrutiny, he found Rowan’s gaze on him more than pleasing. It meant she was thinking about all of him. He could see it in the way she chewed on her bottom lip. They’d been king-hit by their overwhelming sexual attraction to each other, but in this moment, sitting eating in a restaurant with one of the world’s most famous actors, they were just two people enjoying each other’s company. And getting to know each other in the process.

“Did you know that, Aslin?”

Aslin blinked, caught completely off-guard by Chris’s question.

“Sorry?” He turned to the actor, unable to miss the way the lad was grinning at him.

“Caught you.”

Aslin frowned. “Caught me what?”

Chris laughed. “Caught you staring at my sister.”

“Oh for God’s sake, squirt.” Rowan snorted. “Grow up.”

Chris chuckled before looking at Aslin again. “Did you know Rowan was in the very first episode of Twice Too Many?”

Aslin’s eyebrows shot up. He turned to Rowan, loving the way a faint pink tinge painted her cheeks. “Really?”

“Yep.” Chris nodded. “She was ‘Woman with dog’, the woman my character had an argument with about the dog shit I’d just slipped on.”

Aslin gave Rowan a curious look.

Rowan rolled her eyes. “I said four words. ‘It wasn’t my dog’. The director pulled me aside and told me I had no acting talent to speak of.”

Chris’s laughter reverberated around the restaurant. More than one diner lifted their attention from their meal. “He was right. Sorry, Rowie, but you can’t act to save yourself.”

“Gee, thanks, brother mine.”