Smile Number Seven

by Melissa Price

  “On a horse?” he asked.

  Vitty turned to Julia. “He’s nature-challenged.”

  “We’ll fix that, David,” Julia teased.

  “I can see why you miss it, Vittoria. That’s a beautiful sky.” He took a deep breath. “And the Y2 smells way better than the subway.”

  Julia chuckled. “Until you hit the barn at the wrong time on a brutally hot summer day. Do you need help with your gear?”

  David walked back to the car. “No, we’re traveling pretty light since it’s only for a couple of days.” He lifted the two small suitcases from the trunk, closed it, and followed the girls inside.

  “It smells great in here,” said David.

  “There’s a reason for that,” Vitty said. “What you’re smelling is Grandmother Lucia’s cacciatore a la Julia.”

  David smiled. “If it tastes as good as it smells, I’m prepared to eat whatever you place in front of me. Not for nothing, Julia, but I wish your sister had gotten the cooking gene.”

  Julia turned to him. “The beauty about my twin and me is that if there’s something one of us didn’t get, the other one probably did. Together, we make the perfect woman. So what did you decide, Vitty? Casita or house?”

  “We didn’t come all this way to not be under the same roof as you!” Vitty answered.

  “Are you guys hungry?”

  “Why? Is dinner ready?” asked David.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. Why don’t you get settled and I’ll have dinner on the table in—say—fifteen?”

  “First things first,” answered Vitty. “David, come meet Thunder and Lightning.”

  “I liked that sculpture of him that you gave to Vittoria,” David said to Julia. “I’m guessing the real Thunder is a bit bigger?”

  “Come on,” said Vitty. “We won’t be long—I know you’re starving.”

  Vitty led David into the dining room. “Candles and vino and flowers? You went all out, Juju. I feel so special.”

  “I wanted tonight to be special and for David’s introduction to ranch life to be a good one.”

  “It is!” he laughed. “I’ve already watched my almost-step-horse give my future wife a big welcome home, and I’m about to gorge myself on all this beautiful food. Look at this feast!”

  “Don’t be shy—I made enough to feed a small army.”

  “I see that.”

  Julia placed a hot baguette in the center of the table.

  Once they were seated, David filled the wineglasses from the open bottle on the table. “I’d like to make a toast. To the two prettiest girls I know—one of whom I’m going to marry and the other who’s going to have a frequent dinner guest. Thanks for doing all this, Julia.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re here—I always wanted a brother.”

  Everyone dug into the meal that channeled the best of Grandmother Lucia. From the antipasti with the fresh roasted peppers, to the cacciatore, to the lasagna and sautéed spinach.

  David ripped off a hunk of the freshly baked bread and dunked it in the cacciatore sauce. “Please learn how to cook this,” he said to his fiancée. “I’m begging you.”

  “Or you could learn how to make it.” Vitty laughed. “Um, that perfect woman Julia mentioned? Yeah, this is her domain, like finance is ours, babe. Julia, you’ll be very happy when you see your returns this year. You made some good investments.”

  “If you say so.” She looked at David. “See how that works? Which would you rather have—someone who can cook or someone who’s so smart she can afford to take you wherever you want to go for dinner and pay for it?”

  He smiled. “I don’t know. I’d pay a fortune for this meal—it’s that good.”

  “I keep urging Julia to come to New York and be a chef. I think she’d clean up in that town.” Vitty savored her next bite.

  “Without a doubt,” David said.

  “No,” Julia said. “Really?”

  The resounding “yes” captured the best of the guest duet.

  “It sounds good, until the city strangles me, and what about the horses? And space. And…”

  Vitty stopped eating and stared at her sister. “And?”

  “And I’d be on the wrong coast to be with Rina.”

  “Oh?” said Vitty. “Is this still the same woman in LA?”

  Julia felt her face flush. “Yes.”

  Vitty took another bite. “You know, now that you mention it, why haven’t you been talking about her? It’s not like you.”

  “There’ll be time for all of that later. She had to go away for work, and frankly I’m missing her terribly. Right now, I just want to love the fact that you and David are here.”

  “What does she do that has her traveling?” asked David.

  “She’s away on location—working on a film.”

  “You never did tell me exactly what she does, Juju.”

  “You know me. If it isn’t about the horses, cooking, or the ranch, it goes in one ear and out the other.”

  “When will she be back?” David asked.

  Julia sighed. “I reckon as soon as she can come.”

  David chuckled. “You ‘reckon’?”

  “Yep. Why?”

  “It’s just cute the way you say that. Makes this New Jersey boy feel like a cowboy—on a ranch—chowing down with my woman.”

  Vitty laughed. “I think you’ve watched too many cowboy movies.”

  “Did you guys want to talk about the wedding tonight or wait until tomorrow?” asked Julia.

  Vitty thought about it. “How are you planning on catering it and being my maid of honor at the same time?”

  “The catering side is starting to take off and we’ve already started hiring staff to handle that.”

  “That’s great, sis. I’m proud of you.”

  “I’ll cook the lasagnas ahead of time, and Isabella and Cass will oversee everything beforehand. I don’t know what I’d do without them. They came up with this great idea of packaging for retail and advertising on billboards. I made them full partners in that side of the business.”

  Vitty nodded with an approving smile. “You really think that’ll work out here?”

  “It already is. We’ve gotten very busy at the diner, and new catering requests are coming in every week. Isabella and I are creating some new dishes and it’s bringing in a large dinner crowd.”

  Vitty looked at David and then back at Julia. “Remember when I called you at the diner and said I had something to ask Isabella?”

  “I do. What was it?”

  “I’d like her to be my matron of honor.”

  “Aww, Vitty, she’s going to love that.”

  “I hope so.” She took a sip of wine and then a deep breath. “On a very different note,” she hesitated, “I heard from Mom again.”

  Julia remained silent and waited for Vitty to continue.

  “I told her I’m getting married—here.”

  “And?”

  “Well, she is our mother—and it is my wedding.”

  Julia bristled. “I really don’t want to see her.”

  “She wants to come. She wants to see you, but she said she’d only attend if you were okay with it.”

  Julia downed her wine and poured another glass. “Maria is about a decade late, Vitty. I haven’t even heard from her since last Christmas.”

  “Better late than never?”

  “Look, I know you must see her from time to time in New York…”

  “How do you know that?”

  “We’re twins. I know,” Julia said sarcastically.

  Vitty reached across the table and placed her hand on Julia’s. “Maybe we could get the band back together? For my wedding?”

  “So if I say no then I’ll always be the bad guy for having deprived my sister on her wedding day. I’m in a no-win here. Oh, man!” She exhaled hard and stared at her doppelganger. “You actually want her here?”

  “I do, Jules.”

  “Okay. It’s your wedding, and if yo
u want her here, then you should have that.”

  “Can I add something?” asked David.

  The girls looked at him. “I’ve met her, Julia. She doesn’t seem anything like the woman who left you two. I know she misses you terribly, but from what Vitty has shared with me, I can only imagine how hard this must be for you. If it helps to know, Maria’s done a lot of therapy. Maybe she’ll surprise you in a good way.”

  “I doubt it,” said Julia. “The one thing Maria Dearling could never be accused of is a good surprise. I’m not going to pretend to be happy to see her because I’m not. I’m…not. But I won’t get in the way of her coming to the wedding as long as she leaves me alone. And she has to stay at the motel with the out-of-towners. Fair enough?”

  Vitty nodded. “If it’s the best you can do, then that’s all I can ask of you.”

  David fidgeted. “It wasn’t my place to butt in. Sorry, Julia.”

  “It’s okay—it’s a sore subject. Let’s talk about something pleasant. Like decaf cappuccinos and cannoli?”

  “You don’t have to ask me twice.” David stood and began clearing the table.

  Julia stood and smiled. “I’ve got this. Vitty, how about you and David build a little fire and I’ll be back with dessert and those coffees?”

  Vitty raced around the table and hugged Julia. “Thank you for everything! The one thing Mom did do right was to give us each other. It’s so good to be home.”

  “Yeah, it sure is good to have you here.”

  David laughed. “Okay, side by side, now it’s starting to freak me out how alike the two of you are. Forget that you look like carbon copies—but even your mannerisms…”

  “Better remember which door is your bedroom, Davy,” Julia teased.

  “Davy? I look like a Davy to you?”

  Julia winked at him. “Nah, I just wanted to see if I could get a rise out of ya.”

  “Yep,” he said, “carbon copies.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Alone in her hotel room, Gigi answered her cell phone on the first ring. She listened intently when the man who called spoke.

  “So, you’re saying you’ve already sent me everything you have?” She paused. “Good, that will do for now. I’ll be in touch.”

  She ended the call, picked up her purse, and rolled her carry-on suitcase down the hall to Rina’s suite. She knocked once and used her card key to enter.

  “Come on in, Gigi,” said Rina. “Are you getting ready to go?”

  “I’m leaving now. My flight’s at eight-fifteen, so by the time I land and get to Malibu, it’ll be too late to call you.”

  “That’s okay. Make sure the contractor handles the tile issues first.”

  “No problem. He said everything on the list will only take a day, so assuming he finishes tomorrow, I’ll fly back the day after.”

  “Good.”

  “Reese called. He wants you to stop by his suite on your way to dinner.”

  “He’s going to make me late.” Rina put her phone in her purse.

  “I don’t think so. He said he had a few notes for you that he wanted you to think about before tomorrow.” Gigi checked her watch. “I have to get going. Text me if you need anything else.”

  “Thanks, Gigi. I’ll walk out with you. I don’t know what I’d do without you to take care of this stuff at home.”

  You’ll never know the half of it. Gigi thought of the call she had just taken from the private investigator she had hired. She nodded at Rina. “Thanks.” She grabbed the handle of her carry-on and they got onto the elevator together.

  “What’s Reese’s suite number again?”

  “Two-oh-nine,” Gigi answered.

  Rina got off on the second floor. “See you in a couple of days.”

  “Have fun at dinner with Britney,” Gigi said, tongue-in-cheek.

  * * *

  Forty-five minutes later, Rina entered Les Nouveaux, the latest in French fusion restaurants on the Vancouver waterfront. Luxury dining at its finest. She was glad to be away from the movie set, even if it meant having dinner with Britney.

  Filming with her has been fine—why shouldn’t dinner go smoothly?

  Britney was staring out at the water when the maître d’ led Rina around the room’s equator to the corner table. For an instant, her profile reminded Rina of a long time ago. Except back then, the restaurant was in Laguna Beach—and they were still together.

  “Oh! Hi, Rina, I didn’t see you coming.”

  “Hi, Brit.” Rina sat on the cushy upholstered dining chair in the bright and trendy restaurant with the high ceilings and top-to-bottom glass. “I’m sorry I’m late. Reese wanted to see me before I left the hotel.” She looked up at the waiter. “Sparkling water with lime, please.”

  “I’ll have one also,” said Britney. “Isn’t this view great?”

  Rina panned the waterscape. In the distance, the dome-shaped mountains of granite dipped into a trough—their arcs converging at the base into a low hammock written in stone. “Lovely. I’ve heard very good things about the food, too.”

  “I know. The fresh fish and seafood look spectacular.”

  “That’s why Gigi had suggested it.”

  Britney relaxed into her chair. “I’m glad we’re taking this break away from the set. From all those people.”

  Rina nodded. “Well, I did agree to have dinner with you once we were on location. We still have a long way to go, but you’re right. It’s a nice break.”

  The waiter poured two glasses of sparkling water and left the bottle. Britney raised her glass. “To a successful film.” She smiled slyly. “Who knows? We may both get nominated for Best Actress for this one. Maybe next time around you’ll even beat me.”

  “I’ll drink to that,” Rina replied. “How do you think it’s going?”

  “Mixed feelings about that last take we shot today.”

  “I’m glad you said that. Reese wasn’t happy with it either. He suggested you and I talk about our chemistry tonight so that we can reshoot it tomorrow.”

  “What was wrong with our chemistry? For better or worse we always have chemistry.”

  “I felt our timing was kind of lackluster,” said Rina.

  “It’s good that we all agree it wasn’t right. What do you think was missing?”

  “You.”

  Britney raised her eyebrows. “Me?”

  Rina returned to browsing through the menu. “Yes, you.”

  “What do you mean I was missing today?”

  Rina looked up at her. “I don’t know. It seemed like you were distracted. Are you okay?”

  “Now that you mention it, I was a little distracted.”

  “What was up?”

  “Nothing really.”

  Rina waited a beat. “You forget I know you better than you do.”

  “I used to resent that about you.”

  “And now?”

  “Now I just find it annoying.”

  “Progress. Good for you.” Rina focused on the menu. “Do you know what you’re having?”

  “Why? Are we on a time limit?”

  “Actually, I am. I need to get a lot of rest to shoot the horse scenes tomorrow.”

  Britney chuckled. “Not as young as we used to be, huh?”

  “In my riding lessons, I used to arrive early to breathe and slow down…and to talk to the horse.”

  “Talk to the horse?”

  “Yes, I find it prepares us both to ride. There’s this connection with a horse that can be special.” Rina thought of the last time she had brushed Thunder with Julia’s hand guiding hers. “Kind of Zen.”

  “Well, you sure have changed.” She laughed. “Pardon me, but the thought of you in a barn strikes me as funny.”

  Barns are very sexy. Rina smiled. “Clay is with you on that. He can barely bring it up without laughing. But the truth is, you’re right—I have changed.”

  They paused to order dinner and continued talking shop until it arrived. By the time they took
their first bites, they had decided on how they wanted to reshoot the scene from earlier.

  “We’ll call Reese when we finish?” Rina asked.

  “Sure. I think he’ll like what we came up with.”

  “Me too.”

  Peacefully, they chatted about Reese and his vision for the tone of the film and their horse scene together the next morning.

  “Hey, Rina, it’s nice to be able to sit and just talk with you. I miss that. Look, I know it’s long overdue, but I’ve really wanted to apologize for what an ass I was when we had lunch in Beverly Hills.”

  Rina stopped eating and stared at her. “Thank you, I appreciate that. Why were you being such a brat anyway?”

  “You know why.”

  “Honestly, I don’t. Was it because you had just broken up with Linnie?”

  “No, it was because I had realized how fucked up it was to have left you for her.”

  “Water under the bridge, Brit.”

  Britney paused and searched the far reaches of the room, out to its most distant corners before her gaze came to fall on Rina. “You look very pretty tonight. The way that candle reflects in your eyes…”

  “Stop right there,” Rina said softly. “I know where you’re going with this and it’s not going to happen.”

  Britney stopped speaking until the waiter cleared the table and left. “Why not? You used to believe in second chances.”

  “Yes—six chances ago. I no longer have those feelings for you.”

  “I get it. You want to make sure I get a good dose of my own medicine.”

  “What? No!”

  “Would you care to see our dessert cart?” asked the waiter.

  “No!” they answered automatically.

  “I’ll have a decaf cappuccino,” said Rina.

  “Make it two,” Britney added.

  “Right away,” said the waiter.

  “No. I’m not trying to give you a dose of your own medicine. You must have us confused—that’s your style, not mine.”

  Britney laughed.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I can’t help remembering how pissed off I was at you when we had that little dinner party, and I put cayenne pepper in what I thought was your food…”

  Rina issued a guffaw. “Poor Gigi. Oh my god, I thought her face would explode it was so red! It took a week for her taste buds to come back.”