I want You Deeper

Vanessa drove straight home, her eyes on the road, hands in the ten o’clock and two o’clock positions on the steering wheel the entire way. She was determined to get back and nothing-not even the activity on her cell phone-was going to stop her.

And there was plenty of cell phone activity. She’d tossed it into her purse, which was on the passenger seat, and she heard it buzzing at least once every few minutes. She figured it was her agent or maybe one of her roommates. If it was her agent, she didn’t want to talk. If it was a roommate, she’d see both of them soon enough.

But as she walked through the door of their apartment, she found it empty. That was when she finally pulled her phone out of her purse and glanced at the screen. The latest text message was still displayed, with a bunch of other notifications behind it. The message in the foreground was from Brooke.

When are you coming back?

Vanessa stopped, purse still on her shoulder, and called Brooke. She probably could text, but she didn’t want to stand here, tapping on her screen for the next ten minutes. This saved time, and right now, she wanted nothing more than a hot shower and a long nap in her own bed.

“I’m back at the condo,” Vanessa said when Brooke answered. “Where are you?”

There was no background noise, as Vanessa had expected when she called. She’d assumed her roommates had gone to their favorite hangout-a pizza place around the corner. At this time of night, there was no way the pizza place would be this quiet, though, unless Brooke had stepped outside.

“We’re at Technologia Cafe. Come over.”

Vanessa stared at the clock on the wall next to the sofa. “It’s after seven o’clock. Aren’t most coffee places closed?”

“Just get your butt over here.”

Vanessa prepared to decline, but the line had gone silent. Brooke had hung up on her. Sighing, she looked longingly at her closed bedroom door.

She really wanted that nap.

But who could take a nap when adventure awaited?

Technologia Cafe was Alyssa’s best friend’s coffee shop, located close to the apartment. So close, in fact, Vanessa could walk there. They’d made that journey many weekend mornings in search of caffeine. But going there at night was…strange. Even stranger? The light was on, and the place was open this late in the day. She would have sworn the place closed in the afternoon.

She was confirming her memory was correct by looking at the letters and numbers on the front door when she reached for the handle. For that reason, she didn’t see the small group of people gathered around a table inside. Only when she walked through the door did she lay eyes on her parents.

Her parents.

Vanessa skidded to a halt, staring at the two of them, sure she must be seeing things. Her parents had never, ever visited her here. She wasn’t even sure they knew where she lived. Heck, at this point, she wasn’t even sure they knew they had a daughter.

“Vanessa!” Her mother jumped up and rushed over to hug her.

Vanessa was still unable to move, so stunned by what was happening. This had to be a dream. She’d taken a shower and fallen asleep in her apartment and now was dreaming that her parents were here.

“Your friends were just telling us about your show. Why didn’t you mention it? Can we get it on DVD?”

Vanessa stepped back and looked at her mother. Her dad was now walking toward them. He stopped behind her mom.

“I did tell you,” Vanessa said. “I called and told you. You were on your way to the country club for some golf thing-”

“Edward’s awards ceremony.” Vanessa’s mom turned to look at Edward, Vanessa’s father. “He was sure he was going to finally be part of the Circle of Excellence, but it wasn’t to be.”

“Your mother didn’t tell me,” Vanessa’s father said. He stepped up and gave his daughter a hug. “Of course, we would have watched. I’m so sorry.”

“I hear you were interviewed by the Lydia Linley.” Vanessa’s mom clapped her hands. “It’s so exciting.”

“What? Who?” Vanessa looked around her mom at the three people standing behind her parents. Alyssa and Brooke and… Heath.

Heath was here. In the cafe down the street from her apartment. Yes, this had to be a dream.

“Heath saw your interview and called your parents,” Brooke said, standing. “He has something planned-”

“I’d like to talk to Vanessa alone first,” Heath interrupted, getting to his feet. He’d been seated at the end of the table, along with Vanessa’s roommates and parents. Heath, her former billionaire boss, was just hanging out in a coffee shop with everyone Vanessa cared about.

Yes, definitely a dream.

He was Heath again, not Mac. It hit her again how handsome he was. But she’d been just as attracted to him as Mac. It was all about the person he was beneath that gorgeous exterior.

“There’s a car waiting outside to take you to my house,” Heath said to everyone who had gathered around Vanessa. “We’ll be there shortly. Hopefully.”

After giving Vanessa one last pat on the arm, her mom followed her dad and her roommates out the front door of the restaurant, where a stretch limousine sat, waiting. Eyes wide, Vanessa watched through the cafe’s glass door as the four of them climbed into the back of that limousine.

“What is happening right now?” Vanessa turned to face Heath. “I don’t understand.”

“I saw your interview, the one your mom mentioned. You didn’t mess things up with me. Not by a long shot.”

He stepped closer, but Vanessa shook her head. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him closer to her. She had to fully understand what was happening, though.

“What interview? I don’t understand.”

Heath frowned. “You gave an interview on some entertainment news show. You said you thought you messed things up with me. Before that, you talked about your parents and how you always wanted their attention-” Vanessa gasped. No. It couldn’t be.

“That woman was a news reporter?” she asked.

Heath let out a dry laugh. “If you call that ‘news.’ I’m not sure when entertainment news became all about reality shows, but-”

“Was that the Lydia Linley person Mom was talking about?”

Her mom may have been all self-involved throughout Vanessa’s life, but if there was one thing she did have time for, it was following entertainment news. She had stacks of print magazines dedicated to what various celebrities were wearing and doing and saying. Her mom would know entertainment reporters by name, without a doubt.

“Yes.” Heath looked like he wasn’t sure what to do with his arms. He folded them over his chest, then dropped them to his sides, then put him in his pockets. “It was a great interview.”

“Sure, if I’d have known it was an interview. I thought it was an audition.”Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

His eyebrows lifted. “Really? How did that happen?”

“She tricked me. Even convinced my agent to send me there somehow, although I thought my agent did a better job at checking into things like that. Or maybe…”

“Your agent knew,” Heath finished.

Vanessa looked at Heath. “By doing the interview, I got more exposure, right? It made her job easier.”

“I’m sure you’ll get a show offer soon enough. Maybe even one of those shows where they line up guys and you pick one to marry.”

Just the thought of that made Vanessa shudder. Not only did she have no interest in dating anyone else at this point, but she also didn’t even want to think about having cameras pointed at her. In fact, all she wanted to do was spend time with her friends and maybe even her parents.

And Heath.

“I’m done with reality shows,” she said, admitting it for the first time out loud. It had been bubbling beneath the surface since she’d returned from the conference, but now it was an unavoidable truth. “I’m done with cameras altogether.”

“But your career…”

She shook her head. “I realized it’s not what I want. I’m not sure what I want, but I’ve never been happier than I was with you at that conference.

Everything about that…that’s what I want.”

He frowned. “You want to be a promotional model?”

Shaking her head again, she stepped closer to him. “I want to be with you. Whatever that means. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you that.”

“You’ve known it for a while.”

She nodded. “I’ve known it since our first kiss.”

Maybe before that. She hadn’t dared think that a man like Heath would be interested in her.

“I went into this thinking it was about my career,” she said after stopping to think for a minute. “But almost as soon as it started, all I wanted to do was help you. I wanted you to succeed. Somewhere along the way, I started caring about you. And then I was scared to let you know. Of course, it’s possible you don’t feel the same way.”

She didn’t dare breathe in the seconds that followed that statement. She just waited, holding her breath, until he spoke again.

“I feel exactly the same way. I said as much on the show.”

“I didn’t see the end of the show. Some stranger told me what you said.”

Actually, after what she’d learned, she was guessing that “stranger” had been hired by this Lydia Linley person to pretend to work at some casting office. In fact, it looked like they’d even put fake lettering on the door to look like a casting agency. The whole thing was just so bizarre…and it would go down as her first and only brush with sneaky reporters.

“Well, I don’t want you to hear it from a stranger.” He stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her waist and gently nudging her toward him.

“I’ve waited all my life to meet someone like you.”

He leaned down and kissed her then-a kiss filled with all the passion of their first kiss. Only this time, there was no camera pointing at them. It was the two of them, completely alone, just as it should be.

When he finally pulled back, she struggled to catch her breath. She was glad his arms were around her or she might have tipped over. That was how weak his kiss had left her.

“I said I couldn’t tell if your feelings for me were real,” he said, his arms still wrapped around her. “I shouldn’t have doubted you. I guess I’m just always looking for what someone’s angle is.”

“It’s tough to know who you can trust, especially in your position.”

He shook his head. “I never, for a second, thought you cared anything about my money. I just worried that as soon as production wrapped, what I thought you felt for me would have been all for show.”

“Never. I can’t fake something like that for cameras.”

“Wait…isn’t that the very definition of acting?”

He gave her a teasing smile, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, maybe I wasn’t cut out for acting. Turns out what I really wanted was just to get my parents’ attention.”

“I think you have that. Speaking of which…”

He stepped away from her and gestured toward the door. She turned to walk out of the restaurant, but once again skidded to a halt when she saw what was in front of her.

“Is that the limo that just left?”

“Yep. I told him to double back after he dropped the first group off at my house. Tonight, we travel in style. After you.”

She led the way to the limo, still feeling like this was all a dream. If it was, though, she never wanted to wake up.