Maddie knew she must look petrified. One of the most prolific directors in the history of film had just walked into the same room and here she was with a fresh-fucked face, chocolate-stained boobs and her floral cotton panties hanging from the lampshade.

Thank God for Micah. He moved to the director and greeted him with one hand while deftly retrieving her underwear behind his back with the other.

“Great to see you, Marty,” Micah said, slipping her panties in his pocket. “This is my girlfriend, Maddie Bauers.”

Girlfriend. After the heights of her orgasm, she was surprised he was able to thrill her further.

She put one hand on her chest to cover her stain and shook Martin Santini’s hand with the other. “I’m honored to meet you, Mr. Santini. You’ve been a huge influence on me.”

“Call me Marty, please. Glad to meet you.” He winked at Micah. “I’m guessing you’re no longer a douchebag.”

Micah chuckled. “Well, I’m not sure about that.”

She hit him playfully. “No, he’s still a douchebag. But it’s sort of endearing.”

“Good.” Marty clapped a hand on Micah’s shoulder. “I hope you don’t mind me talking business at a social event, but when I heard you were here, I wanted to check in. Did you get the script I sent to your manager?”

“I did, thank you. I loved it. I’m very interested in the part. My only hesitation is the time spent out of the country.”

“Micah…” Maddie was worried about being away from Micah too. But she wanted him to take the role.

But Micah shook his head, silencing her.

“Understandable,” Marty said. “Might the offer seem more attractive if I agree to move the training stateside?”

“That makes the offer a whole lot more attractive.” He winked at Maddie. “I would still have to discuss it with Maddie. I can’t do anything without her being on board.”

Before Maddie could give her wholehearted consent, Marty said, “Great way to run a relationship. My wife, as you may know, is a costume designer. And we’ve been married for over twenty-five years, and in this town, that’s a lifetime. We never would have lasted so long if we hadn’t worked our schedules out together. Anyway, you two talk it over, but can I at least set up a meeting?”

Micah looked at Maddie who nodded so enthusiastically she thought her head would fall off.

“Yes, let’s do that,” Micah said.

“Great. I’ll have my agent contact your agent. Now I’ll get out of your hair.” Marty winked again. “I think I may have been interrupting something.”

Maddie suppressed a giggle.

Marty turned to leave then stopped at the door. “Great meeting you, Maddie Bauers. I hope to see a lot of you both.”

The second the director left the room, Maddie and Micah burst into laughter. God, she loved the sound of his laugh. She loved him period. And he was about to land a Martin Santini role. “Micah, you have to take the part.”

“Only if you’re completely on board. We have to work our schedules around each other. We can’t be apart for too long. We need to put ourselves first.”

“Agreed. But I’ve already been thinking about it and I have a plan. I can finish up post-production of my movie with Three Spot while you’re doing your comedy. Maybe I’ll need another month or so, which, if you can get your training moved to the States is perfect. Then, I have a script I’ve been working on that would be awesome set in New Zealand. I could raise some money, rent another RED camera and shoot my movie while you’re shooting yours.”

“That is perfect.” He wrapped his arms around her. “Leave it to you to always be two steps ahead of me.”

She smiled into his neck, enjoying his words and his embrace and the crazy things he was doing to her lower parts. Again. “Hey, can I have my panties back?”

“No. I like knowing you’re bare. It’s easy access.” He brushed his nose against her ear. “Now let’s get out of here so I can take advantage of that.”

He took her hand in his and chuckled.

“What?” she asked.

“I was just thinking. I’m Micah Preston, guy who can supposedly get any girl in the world.”

She raised an eyebrow, wondering where he was going, not really caring because all the other girls in the world didn’t matter since he was hers and she was his.

He put his hand on her face, his thumb caressing her cheek. “Yet it took me seven years and two months to finally go home with Maddie from the party.” He paused. “You know what?”

“Hmm?” She covered his hand with her own, enjoying every little touch of the man who was everything—her everything—the man that she had grounded while he gave her flight. The man she loved. The man who loved her in front of the world.

He tilted her chin up. “I never want to go home with anyone else again.”