Read Playing the Perfect Boyfriend (Gone Hollywood) for Free Online

plenty of opportunity to examine the situation. While he didn’t know Isak Alfredsson personally, he had seen more than one of his films. Had Jade not just implied she hadn’t expected the Swedish superstar, Dean would have assumed Isak was the appointment later this morning.
    But she was…off, even if she was covering it fairly well. Her posture had stiffened, her voice gone tighter—as if every part of her had suddenly cried out be on your best behavior . Something about the guy definitely got to her, which meant at some point he’d likely been in a position similar to where Dean had found himself this morning.
    Isak Alfredsson was the competition.
    Great. So much for his certainty that Jade wasn’t through with him.
    “I landed in L.A. Tuesday. If I hadn’t had meetings all day yesterday, I’d have come to see you sooner.” Alfredsson hadn’t moved closer, almost as if he thought there was some reason he needed to keep his distance.
    “I wish you would have called. It feels like forever since I last saw you.” Jade’s voice had a hint of the flirty quality she’d used with Dean last night, but without what seemed her trademark sauciness. She sounded formal, too formal. It was like in a one-minute span they’d switched channels from 2 Broke Girls to Downton Abbey . This wasn’t right. She wasn’t right.
    The way she talked to Alfredsson reminded Dean of putting on his public persona, like this side of her was all an act. Jade-lite, or something. Was this the all-business option she’d mentioned? If so, he was glad he’d missed it until now. And he was starting to regret not calling for the cab earlier—he felt like a damned interloper.
    Seemingly oblivious to the diminished woman standing there, Isak smiled, and it was the sort of expression women everywhere swooned over. Dean really didn’t want to watch Jade become just another member of the hordes of women who fell at the guy’s feet, so he moved to leave—his ride would be there soon enough anyway.
    “I wanted to surprise you, and when you weren’t home, I came here. I guess I should have known you were entertaining .”
    Or maybe Dean would stay after all. The emphasis on Isak’s last word got his ire up and made all his muscles tense. He had no intention of leaving Jade to explain on her own. Something about this felt like she was going to need backup. “Look, buddy—”
    “Oh. I apologize if we gave you the wrong impression.” Jade wrapped her arm around Dean’s waist like it was the most natural thing in the world. “We were doing a shoot yesterday, and Dean made a wisecrack about feeling like he wasn’t good enough for me since I’d never let him stay over at the studio. So…we stayed.”
    What. The. Fuck? Dean was good at improv, but this wasn’t anything he’d been prepared for when they walked out of the building. Or when they’d woken up this morning. Or…ever.
    But something about her words clearly struck Alfredsson, considering the way his expression shifted to one of surprise and a hint of wariness. “The two of you are…together?”
    “Of course,” Dean said, hoping like hell he was reading the situation marginally right. “What did you think?”
    The way he stared almost longingly at Jade without even meeting Dean’s eyes made two things very clear. One, Alfredsson came expecting her to be available. And two, when he found a guy here, he assumed it meant exactly what Jade had said their interlude would be—a one-night stand. He’d seemed disgusted by the second possibility but disappointed at the idea the first was wrong. Who the hell was this guy to her?
    Jade nestled close, and Dean instinctively put his arm around her shoulders. He wasn’t protecting her exactly, but part of him felt like he should. She smiled up at him and said, “I have to assume Isak expected me to be exactly who I used to be, but people change.”
    “Clearly,” Alfredsson said. “It is good to see you so…grounded.”
    “Thank