“I'm sorry, man.”
Cory shrugged his shoulders yet again. “It is what it is. I mean, two years is nothing, right? It'll go by like that,” he said with a snap of his fingers. “And if she stalls again …” He didn't finish his thought, but Noah understood where he was going.
“Don't you think maybe you should talk to her about it now?” he asked quietly, trying to be delicate. “Before you waste two years of your life?”
“Waste?” Cory shook his head as he looked at him. “How could it be wasted time if it's spent with the woman I love?”
“But Cory, if you want two different things …”
“We don't know that,” he said urgently, cutting him off. Still shaking his head, his voice softened as he added, “I don't know that. I just need to give her the time she asked for. I can wait two years.”
“And what if she still doesn't want kids at the end of two years, man?” Noah asked.
Cory shot him an annoyed look. “I'll worry about it then!”
“No! You're going to worry about it from now until then!” His words sounded harsh, even to him. “I'm sorry, man. I'm not trying to be a jerk. I like Donna, you know that. And I'm happy for the two of you. I just want you to think about what you're doing, that's all. Kids are a deal breaker for you. Even I know that!”
“How do you know that when I don't?” he practically shouted.
“Cory! Come on, man,” Noah said, giving him an 'are-you-for-real' expression. “Okay. You want to lie to me that's fine. But don't lie to yourself! And don't lie to Donna. You just stood here and asked me why she didn't tell you what she was thinking when you talked about kids before you got married. But you're doing the exact same thing by not telling her how you feel about it! You're lying to yourselves and each other about this kids issue …”
“How do you figure we're lying to each other?”
“A lie of omission is still a lie,” Noah shouted. “Leaving out important information when you're talking about the future with your spouse … that's a lie! Agreeing to wait two years to see whether or not you're going to start a family without telling your wife how you feel about it … that's a lie! Trying to tell yourself that it's no big deal if you don't have kids, knowing that you really want them … that's a lie.”
Cory was silent for the longest time as he stood, holding his guitar case, and staring at the floor as Noah's words rang in his head. He knew that Noah was right. Maybe Donna had lied to him. Or misled him at the very least. Maybe he had lied to her in return. And if he said having kids wasn't important to him, he knew he was lying to himself. But he wasn't at all sure what to do about any of it.
“I'm sorry, man. It's none of my business,” Noah mumbled quietly.
“Yeah. Like your problems with your dad are none of my business,” Cory replied, still staring at the floor. He looked up and met Noah's gaze, holding it for a second. “That's never stopped us before, right?”
Noah smirked at him. “No, I guess it hasn't.” There was a silent pause between them as they both thought about the day's conversation. “I just want you to have the life you want, Cory. You deserve to be a father. You'd be a good one. But your marriage is yours. What you and Donna do, or don't do, about kids … that's none of my business.”
“Yeah, well, what you do or don't do with your dad is none of mine,” Cory sighed. “But like I said … that's never stopped us before.”
He turned to leave then, and Noah got up and escorted him through the house and to the front door. As he opened it up he turned to his friend and said, “Hey … are we okay?”
Cory smirked at him. “We are always okay, brother,” he said, putting his arm around him and pulling him into a brotherly embrace.
Chapter Four
Glancing out the front window, he watched the shiny, black limo pull slowly into the drive and up to the front door. The driver got out of the car and opened up the trunk.
“Babe, your car's here,” Cory called out, feeling a wave of dread wash over him. It had been two weeks since his conversation with Noah, and each day since, he had tried to broach the subject of kids with Donna once more. He knew that they needed to talk about … so many things. Like why she hadn't mentioned wanting to wait before. Like whether or not she really wanted kids at all. And most importantly, like whether or not their marriage could survive if he wanted a family and she didn't. Cory knew that they had to talk about all those things, and he had honestly tried. But the truth was that he was reluctant to ask the questions for fear of what her answers might be. He had allowed the time to slip away, and now it was too late to bring it up. She was leaving for Toronto to begin filming, and he would be back on the road in two weeks' time with the band. His window of opportunity was slamming shut fast.
He opened up the front door just as the driver was about to ring the doorbell, and watched as the man stepped inside and grabbed the waiting luggage. As he watched the man walk back to the car, Cory suddenly felt Donna's arms snake their way around his middle, and he turned to look at her.
“I want you to know that I know what you're up to Mr. Dutton,” she purred.
“What I'm up to?” he frowned as he tightened his arms around her.
“Mmm hmm,” she smiled as she looked into his eyes. “The way you made love to me last night. And again this morning. You want me to salivate as I count the minutes until we're together again.”
Cory smiled at her. “Hell yeah, I want you to count the minutes,” he said softly. “I want you to count the seconds. I want you to think about nothing else but the feel of my mouth, my hands and my dick while you're away,” he whispered, his lips lightly brushing against hers with every word. “You got something you want to say about that, Ms. Devlin?”
“I prefer to be called Mrs. Dutton,” she whispered back, and he smiled. “I'm going to miss you so much, baby.”
“I'm going to miss you too,” he said softly. He kissed her deeply then as they held one another tightly. Then he took her hand and walked her outside and over to the waiting limo as the driver climbed back inside. “Please, promise me you will be careful on the movie set. I know you're excited to try doing your own stunts and stuff, but promise me you're going to take care of yourself.”
“I will. I promise,” she agreed, smiling at him. He had given her this same speech when she'd left to make the first movie.
“And remember what I said about that slime worm you're making the movie with,” he said pointedly, and Donna rolled her eyes at him.
“I don't want to argue about that again.”
“I don't want to argue about it again either,” Cory stated. “I just want you to take what I said seriously. I know I only met the man that one time, but there's something about him. I don't like him and I don't trust him. Just be careful around him.”
“Cory, I took the part and shooting begins in two days! I can't back out now.”
“I'm not asking you to back out, Donna. I'm just asking you to keep your guard up around him. You know his reputation as well as I do. And I know you're a big girl and you can handle yourself. But just be smart, okay?”
She smiled and kissed him again, and Cory got the feeling it was an evasive maneuver just to shut him up. But he closed his arms around her and pulled her close, kissing her passionately once more.
Donna felt breathless when he finally pulled away. “I love you,” she breathed.
“I love you, Mrs. Dutton,” he whispered.
She got into the car then, and he closed her door. And she watched him stand in their driveway and wave goodbye as the car slowly pulled away from the house and out onto the street.
*****
Tad Radcliffe was one of the biggest names in Hollywood. An A-list actor in his early fifties whose movies routinely saw some of the largest box-office numbers ever. And with his natural good looks, his athletic physique and his dark blonde hair and blue eyes, he was the perfect leading man: rugged enough to convincingly play the action hero, pretty enough to be the romantic
lead, quirky enough to pull off the eccentric intellectual. He did it all with seeming ease, and Donna was so excited at the prospect of sharing the screen with him. She had always admired him as an actor, but mainly she was just ecstatic for the opportunity to work with him. She knew that if this movie did well – and Tad Radcliffe never made a movie that didn't – it could really elevate her status as an actress. Having credibility and respect as a television actress was one thing, but movies were entirely different. Even with her two Emmy Awards, industry insiders simply tended to take a movie actress a whole lot more seriously than they did a TV actress. It was just a fact of the game. And Donna really wanted to cross over from the small screen to the big one. Not that she didn't appreciate those two Emmys sitting on her mantle. She did. And she was extremely grateful for her TV success, but she didn't want to be playing a murder-solving supermodel forever.
She had met with Tad Radcliffe a few times before shooting got underway in Toronto, Canada. The first time had been when she read with him during the audition process. And she wasn't ashamed to say that she had done a considerable amount of harmless flirting during that reading. First of all, he was Tad Radcliffe! But secondly, and more importantly, it was common knowledge that he routinely had a hand in the actual choosing of his leading ladies, and she had wanted to make sure he chose correctly. She felt honored that he had chosen her. Of course, Cory hadn't shared her enthusiasm when she was offered the part because it was also common knowledge that Tad had a reputation for getting romantically involved with those hand-picked, female co-stars. They were always young and beautiful, and usually unattached. But Donna didn't care about the rumors. That wasn't important to her. What was important was advancing her career, and she was banking on this movie to do exactly that.
Seated at the small vanity in her hotel room, Donna glanced at her watch, and then opened up her laptop in preparation for her nightly FaceTime session with Cory. And as she waited for his video call, she thought about that second or third day of filming and how Tad had tried to use his position to openly seduce her. Even with all the rumors of his exploits, she had been slightly shocked. Not to mention more than a little creeped out. She had been seated on a couch on the movie set, reading over her lines once more, when he walked over and sat down next to her.
He sat quite close as he looked into her eyes and said, “You know Donna … when I'm shooting a film, I like to stay in character twenty-four seven if I can. I find that it really helps me to get inside the character's head and his heart, you know? Learn what it is that motivates him, what moves him, what his hopes and dreams and desires are. Do you know what I mean?”
It was an intriguing idea, and Donna had heard other actors say something similar. She nodded her head. “Yes, I think so,” she responded.
“Good,” he smiled, taking her hand as it rested on her knee, and gently running his thumb over her knuckles. It was a very forward gesture, and Donna felt the unmistakable eerie itch crawl up her spine with his touch. “You know, I think our two characters want very similar things, don't you?”
“And what would that be?” Donna asked, slowly pulling her hand from his.
He narrowed his eyes at her and leaned in even closer as he replied softly, “Well naturally, they want to stop the bad guys from blowing up the city and hurting thousands of innocent people. But they also want to seal the deal on their relationship. They're very hot for each other, and the threat of danger just ups the heat level between them. That's why it's so important that we make the effort to stay in character as much as we can. So that our chemistry on screen will look effortless and real. So that the audience in the theater can feel the scorching heat from the screen. You want that as much as I do, don't you? For moviegoers to look at the screen and feel how hot we are for each other? Can you … pretend to be hot for me, Donna Devlin?” he asked, his voice low and husky as he watched her intently.
He was so incredibly handsome, and sexy as hell. But Donna knew instantly that he was also the slime worm Cory had accused him of being. She hated that he had been right! But she hated the creepy, pervert vibe Tad was giving off even more. She smiled sweetly at him and shifted slightly on the couch, reclaiming her personal space.
“It's Donna Dutton, actually,” she said proudly.
He looked puzzled and frowned at her. “Excuse me?”
“My name. I've changed it to Donna Dutton. Well, not professionally yet, although I'm seriously considering it. But legally, my name is Donna Dutton now.”
“I'm sorry, why would you change your name?” he asked, clearly not following her.
“Well, that's what women do when they get married,” she smiled. And she knew it was wrong, but she enjoyed the shocked expression on his face. Maybe there was something to all those rumors after all. Maybe he did only work with young, beautiful, unattached starlets.
“You were not married when this part was offered to you,” he said, and his tone was almost accusatory. “When did you get married?”
“Just over a month ago now,” she smiled. “Don't you watch any entertainment news programs?” He looked like she had just taken the wind right out of his sails.
“Some of us are too busy working to keep up with what passes for news these days,” he said bluntly. “Hmm. Congratulations, Ms. Dutton,” he said as he stood and stalked off. And Donna had watched him go, feeling a mixture of relief and dread. She was grateful to have put a stop to the heavy come on, but she worried that he might lash out and do something malicious like get her kicked off the movie or something. Not that she expected him to. She wasn't even sure he had that kind of influence, although he did have a say in who his leading lady was going to be. So maybe it did work the other way as well, and he could easily get her fired if he wanted to. But after a few days, when nothing happened and they continued filming, she began to relax again. Perhaps he had simply chosen to make the best of it.
She noticed however, that his updated knowledge of her marital status didn't seem to deter the major flirting he would attempt to do with her, and he would often ask her completely inappropriate questions, like was she happily married, and if she and her husband had a good sex life. And he would go out of his way to imply that the two of them were closer than they actually were. Especially when other people were near them or within earshot. At first, it was just odd, but now Donna found it annoying. He could be so charming when he wasn't acting so full of himself, and she wondered about all those rumors and whether they were true or not. Frankly, she couldn't picture all those starlets falling for his crap.
She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the little prompt appear on her laptop screen, announcing that Cory wanted FaceTime.
“Baby, you there?”
His voice pulled her out of her haze and into the now, and she looked up and smiled brightly at him.
“Hi! Oh, you look so good; I miss you so much!” Her words came out in a rush as she looked him over, his handsome face filling her screen and smiling back at her.
“Oh, God, you look good too, baby,” Cory smiled. “I wish I could kiss you right now.”
“Mmm, I love you so much! What are you doing?” she asked softly.
“I'm just getting home. Met with the guys this afternoon to hang out and talk about the next leg of the tour and Benji coming home. We talked about ways that we could improve our behavior on tour. You know, to kind of make things a little bit easier for him. And for Noah too.”
“Noah?”
“Yeah. He's trying to get his act together too. So we talked about things like no more rolling parties in the back of the limos, and no more alcohol at rehearsals. Things like that,” he shrugged.
“I think it's sweet the way you all try to take care of each other.”
Cory shrugged again. “We know it's not going to be easy for Benji. And we were a little shocked to hear Noah talk about how hard it is for him. We just want to help if we can.”
“Well, you didn't stay out very long. It's only just after 7:
00 o'clock for you.”
“I know. I told 'em I had to get home 'cause I had a hot date with a sexy blonde,” he smiled.
Donna smiled at him. He was so ridiculously swoon-worthy sometimes. “And I bet they laughed at your pussy-whipped ass, didn't they?”
“I don't give a shit,” he smiled. “They're just jealous 'cause they wish they had it so good.”
She giggled at his answer, wishing like mad that she could just reach through the screen and touch him. She would give anything right now to feel the light stubble on his chin against her lips.
“So how's the shooting coming?” he asked.
“It's going great. So far, everyone's happy because we're still on schedule. I guess they're expecting that to change for some reason once we get into the more action-related stuff.”
“Makes sense, I guess,” Cory responded. “And how's Tad the slime treating you?”
“Cory! You can't go around calling him that. What if I were somewhere near people, and someone heard you!”
“You wouldn't FaceTime me around other people,” he said with certainty.
“You don't know that,” Donna insisted.
“Sure I do.”
“How?”
“Because if there were people around, you would be too embarrassed to open up your top and show me those gorgeous tits when I asked you too,” he smiled.
Donna smiled salaciously at him. “Hello! Have we met? You are talking to the same girl who flashed you her tits in a public park back home, remember?”
“Oh, I remember,” he nodded. “I also remember that same girl was reluctant to then touch those tits herself because someone might see her do that.”
Donna's face flushed a bit. “We were in a public park! There were kids around.”
“Ohh, okay. So if it had been just adults, you would have been fine, huh?”
“Yes,” she said definitively, unable to meet his gaze. Then with a small shrug of her shoulders and a less confident tone, she added, “Probably.”
The Essential Jagged Ivory (Jagged Ivory Boxed Set) Page 25
