Read Online His One Desire by Kate Grey - Free Book Online

is, I’m considering
several different projects right now. I have to admit, though, that nothing
comes close to
Ghosts
when it comes to creative storylines, rich
characters, and original vision.”
    “But of course there are other factors to consider,” Kali
said drily. “Like money, for instance.”
    That earned her a few startled glances from some of the
people in the room, but Luke just smiled. “Money’s important, sure. I’d be
lying if I said it wasn’t. But it just so happens that I have plenty of money
at the moment, while I don’t have a lot of opportunities to work with a writing
and directing team like this one. Of course,” he went on, “I don’t expect to be
an automatic pick just because I’m a big name. In fact, I have it on good
authority that you didn’t want to work with well-known actors.”
    He grinned at her, looking suddenly boyish as a lock of dark
blond hair fell across his forehead. Kali’s nails dug into her palms as she
felt an unexpected desire to brush it back.
    “So I know I’ll have to audition just like everybody else. In
fact, I was wondering if I could have a mini-audition right now.”
    “What do you mean?” Maria asked.
    Luke reached for the inside pocket of his leather jacket and
pulled out a sheaf of papers. “Kali handed out copies of her scripts this
morning, and I had a chance to go through them at lunch. I was hoping I could
read for the character I’m interested in.”
    “You mean Derek?” Kali asked. She’d been assuming all along
that that was the character Luke wanted to play—or was pretending to want to
play.
    Derek Knight was a twenty-seven-year-old combat veteran
who’d come back from Afghanistan with PTSD. He was a firefighter now, trying
hard to conceal his condition, and he lived with his older brother in a house
they would discover to be haunted. He was the character she and Tom had
identified as the heartthrob on the show, the alpha male with a vulnerable side
who would have women and girls swooning over him every week.
    Luke shook his head. “Not Derek. James.”
    Kali stared at him. James Harding wasn’t even a main character
in the first season, although she had some ideas for his arc next year,
assuming the network stuck with them that long. He was also a ghost.
    She frowned. “James isn’t a very showy character. He’s the
ghost of a young English teacher who falls in love with Alicia. He spends most
of the first season pining for her.”
    “I know. But I like him. And you’ve given him a couple of
amazing speeches, especially in later episodes. I bet you’ve got some cool
stuff planned for him in the second season. Don’t you?”
    “Well…yes,” she conceded. “But I just don’t see you as
James. He’s in the background a lot of the time, overlooked by everyone—”
    “Especially Alicia.”
    She sensed a trap, but since she didn’t know what it was,
she didn’t know how to avoid it.
    “Yes, especially Alicia. What’s your point?”
    “Being overlooked by the woman you love is a universal
experience, something every guy can relate to. We’ve all experienced rejection
at some point in our lives. Even me,” he added with a grin. That got a laugh
from most of the people in the room, but Kali flushed.
    “Very funny. I’m just saying that casting you as James would
be—”
    “Going against type?”
    “Well, yes.”
    “What was it you said this morning? That we can still be
defined by whatever ‘type’ we were in high school, even years later? Sometimes
going against type is the most powerful act of rebellion we have.” He settled
back in his chair. “Let’s take you, for instance. What would you all say,” he
asked, glancing around the room, “if I told you that Kali came by my room last night
to get naked and naughty?”
    Good-natured laughter erupted, and her cheeks flamed as she
leveled a glare at Luke that should have vaporized him.
    He grinned at her unrepentantly. “That would be going
against type for