to him。 She could smell toothpaste and nicotine on
Thaddeus？s warm breath； Kiehl？s oatmeal lotion on his hands； and Tide on his clothes。 She was
barely touching him； just resting her hands against his firm chest； but she could feel his body
against hers； from his strong； broad back to his perfect abs； from his lean and muscled forearms to
his flip…flopped feet。 And she could feel something else： a flicker of electricity in the air； in the
tiny pocket of space between their two bodies。 Was this acting or was it real？
？Okay；？ Thaddeus stammered。 He took a step back and Serena； who had been leaning all of her
weight on him； stumbled a bit。
He laughed nervously。 ？Ken； a smoke？？
Ken held out a pack of Marlboro Reds and Thaddeus selected one and coolly lit it。
？What？d you think； Ken？？ he asked； looping his thumb in his waistband。
？Good。 Better。 I felt more spark that last time。 But Holly needs to pick up the slack。 Holly； we
can do some rewrites if you？re having trouble with your lines。？
？What do you mean？？ Serena sank into the worn couch。 She hadn？t madetoo many mistakes； had
she？
？If there are too many words； you know；？ he explained； pronouncing the words loudly and slowly；
like he was speaking to someone whose English wasn？t so good。 ？If you？re having trouble
remembering all of them。？
Was he calling herstupid？
？No； it？s fine；？ she sighed wearily。
？She？ll get the hang of it。？ Thaddeus sat down beside her。 He rested his soft hand on her bare
knee； giving her leg a supportive squeeze。
You know I will；Serena agreed silently。 God； was she already in love？ Sometimes she was almost
too easy。
No ment。
？Of co