In a perfect world, maybe I would be ready to change my whole life because of this, but all I could think about was having a drink. Lyssa had emptied the house of all booze while I slept the day away after my party, so I hadn’t even been able to sneak a single drink in two days.
I hadn’t gone this long without a drink in years. It was a startling realization.
After another delicious meal, this time she had made crepes, we headed to the studio. People seemed less shocked to see me bright-eyed and bushy tailed at eight in the morning, but I still had the feeling of being watched. It ruffled my feathers.
I also noticed that much of the crew seemed to know Lyssa, at least well enough to give her a smile and nod. She was popular around here. Throughout the day, she was a shadow following me around, anticipating my needs and doing anything I asked.
I couldn’t forget that she was also there to watch me. I had been going along with this whole thing to show that it was completely unnecessary, but my patience was running out as I went longer without a drink. I was an adult, damn it.
After lunch, we had some downtime as they set up the next scene. Lyssa was talking to a runner, animatedly reminiscing with her about a movie they had both worked on. I needed a break from the babysitting. It wasn’t exactly Lyssa that I had a problem with, I was starting to like her. But she represented a lack freedom that I was growing to resent.
Slipping away while she was distracted, I found my co-stars gathered together, talking loudly. I joined the group.
“What’s up, guys?” I asked, cuffing Mitchell around the shoulders.
“I’m engaged,” Eric said with a wide grin.
“Wow, congratulations,” I said, grasping his hand and pulling him in for a bro hug.
“We were all just talking about taking a trip to Vegas this weekend to celebrate. Tiffany has never been, and it would be like our engagement party gone wild. You in?” Eric asked.
I smiled deviously. “I’m more than in, I’ll plan it. Let me make a few calls and we’ll have the best time of our lives.”
“Awesome, I knew I could count on you,” Eric said.
Walking away from the group, I pulled out my phone. I called my travel agent and told her to find me a top of the line penthouse suite with at least five bedrooms and book my private plane for a flight tonight.
Hanging up the phone, I felt anticipation swirl in my gut. I needed this so much. I was going to drink myself silly, party hard, and get laid.
I just had to ditch Lyssa first.
“You did very well today. And you remembered all those lines, I knew you were worrying for nothing,” Lyssa said as we sat down for dinner that night.
She had roasted a whole chicken with potatoes and carrots. I thought it might be the best home cooked meal I’d ever eaten. If she kept cooking like this, I was going to have to hit the gym every single day to keep in shape.
“Thanks for reading lines with me,” I said sincerely.
“No problem. You know, I did some acting in high school. It was just a few small parts in high school plays, but it was so much fun. We used to have cast parties after the shows. You think you’re a wild partier? You should have seen a group of awkward teens playing Uno and eating nachos while watching a recorded version of the play they just performed.”
“You animal,” I said teasingly.
“For real. It was fun though, the acting. There was always a certain thrill from pretending to be someone else for a while.”
“You sound like you’re looking for an escape,” I said.
“Not now, but maybe I was then. High school can be tough when you’re mature for your age and a little nerdy. The theater kids tended to be pretty accepting of all that.”
The doorbell rang at that moment and I went to answer it gladly. I was starting to feel bad about my plans to run away from Lyssa and that just wouldn’t do.
It was the moving company I had hired. Great timing.
I showed them to the guest bedroom, now Lyssa’s room, on the second floor. I had arranged for her furniture to be put into storage until she was ready to have it shipped to New York.
Returning to the kitchen and my food, I continued eating while the moving guys made several trips in and out of the house. I talked to her, getting to know her a bit better, but also keeping a distance between us. I couldn’t let myself get attached now, with freedom so close.
My feelings for her were complicated enough already.
After dinner, Lyssa went to work going through her boxes. Despite how small her apartment was, she was in the middle of a sea of cardboard when I came to find her two hours later.
“I think I’m going to turn in early tonight,” I told her, faking an exaggerated yawn, complete with a full body stretch.
“At nine o’clock?” she asked, glancing at the clock on the wall.
I nodded solemnly.
“My body’s been through a lot of change the last few days. I think I just need some rest while I play catch-up. It’ll be fine, though.”
Lyssa looked a bit perturbed but didn’t say anything as I walked to my bedroom. I stuffed clothing, toiletries, and my phone charger into a duffle bag. I had gotten a confirmation email from my travel agent and the plane was due to leave in about an hour. I had to slip out of the house without Lyssa knowing and get to the airport. An Uber would be best, so I called one.
I crept down the hall, pausing just before I passed Lyssa’s door, which was cracked. Her back was to the door, so I moved swiftly but quietly.
Once I was clear of her door, I sighed in relief. Hopefully, the hard part was over.
I still took care to not make a noise as I descended the stairs. A sliver of doubt invaded my mind when I reached the bottom.
Lyssa’s influence gave me pause, but I couldn’t help thinking that she might be right about a few things. I was hurting my career by partying every night.
I stood halfway between the door and the stairs and saw the Uber pull up outside. I shook my head. I was tired of people telling me what to do. This was my life and I was going to Vegas, damn it.
As far as my TV show went, this little trip wouldn’t affect my work at all. I could just cut back on the partying overall, there was no need to deny myself a good time on my days off. This was going to be one hell of a weekend.
I eased the door shut without making a sound. Climbing into the back of the Uber, I pulled my baseball hat down over my eyes. It would be best if I wasn’t recognized at the airport.
Freedom filled me the farther we got from the house. No more stupid rules to keep me reined in. I planned to break every single one.
Eleven
Lyssa
It took me hourst to go through my boxes, sorting out what I would need during the next month or so and what could stay packed away until I moved to New York. The guest room Callen had given me was big, with plenty of room to store a few boxes in the corner without them even being in my way.
I finally took a break, after hanging the last of my clothing in the closet, with less than an hour until midnight. I kept thinking about Callen. He had been acting odd and a little distant all evening and the fact that he’d then gone to bed even earlier than the nights before just didn’t seem like him.
Knocking on the door, I called out, “Callen?”
There was a feeling in my gut that something wasn’t right. Never one to ignore my instincts, I twisted the doorknob and found it unlocked. Pushing the door open, it was immediately clear that Callen wasn’t there.
Scowling, I checked the closet and bathroom, just to be sure. There was no sign of him.
“Callen?” I called out again, louder this time. I knew it was pointless, he clearly wasn’t here.
I searched the rest of the house, hoping for a response to my repeated summons.
My blood was boiling by the time I finished. He had obviously lied to me and left.
I pulled out my phone and checked his social media accounts for some clue of his location. There was n
othing on his Twitter and he hadn’t posted anything on Facebook himself, but he had been tagged in a photo. Clicking on it and zooming in, I saw that it had been taken an hour ago. It was Callen along with the four actors that played his brothers and father on the show and a woman I didn’t recognize on a private plane. It was captioned: VEGAS BABY!
What an asshole.
Anger rushed through me at the sight of a bottle of beer in his hand. He had completely fooled me. I thought we were getting along just fine, that he was seeing the benefits of staying sober.
I was starting to really like him.
Resenting my own stupid feelings for the guy, I hurried back up the stairs and slipped on some shoes before stuffing some clothes in a bag. If Callen Lord thought that he was going to party away the weekend while I stayed here seething in anger, he had another think coming.
I was going to get him.
It was almost two in the morning by the time I tracked him down. In any other situation, I would probably be proud of sleuthing skills, but I was too annoyed for that. A combination of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts made by Callen and his co-stars allowed me to track his movements through Vegas. I found the hotel they were staying in and booked a room. They had hit up a twenty-four-hour buffet down the road and then gone to a casino.
That’s where I found him. He sat at a craps table, in the Shooter position, of course. The guy could really work a crowd.
“Come on, seven,” Max yelled from the side of the table. All The Brothers California cast members were gathered around the table, most with gorgeous women by their sides.
“You guys heard the man! Who wants a seven?” Callen shouted, shaking his fist with two dice clanking around in his hand. Half the people at the table whooped and shouted, while the other half booed. I didn’t know much about the game, but it seemed that the entire crowd stood to win or lose based on Callen’s roll.
I reached his side and noted the martini sitting on the edge of the table in front of him. It was half gone, and Callen looked wasted. He was unsteady on his feet and had a dazed smile on his face. This was shaping up to be another PR disaster.
“What are you doing here?” he asked when he saw me, looking confused as he glanced at our surroundings, as if making sure that I had really shown up here in Vegas.
“No, the question is: what are you doing here?” I snapped. “How could you sneak out like that?”
My voice wasn’t supposed to sound so vulnerable and my argument should’ve been about the repercussions of his actions, not the fact that he’d betrayed my trust. I knew that didn’t really matter.
“Here,” he held his hand out to me, “blow on the dice for luck.”
I glared at him.
“Come on,” he said, trying to form a charming smile, but it wasn’t very effective when his eyes were so bloodshot and unfocused. I crossed my arms over my chest and blew on the dice, just to get it over with. We had bigger things to argue about.
With a self-satisfied expression, he turned back to the table and tossed the dice. They tumbled down to the other side of the table, bouncing off the far rim and landing in front of the Stickman.
“Seven,” the man called out and a cheer went up around the table.
“You’ve got a good luck charm there, Callen,” Luke called out. I wondered if he recognized me from the set. Probably not, not if he was as drunk as Callen.
“We need to talk,” I said to Callen, pulling on his arm to lead him away from the table. He made sure to gab his drink as he followed along behind me.
There wasn’t much opportunity for privacy, so I pulled him into the hallway leading to the bathrooms. We were still in sight of the whole casino floor, but at least it was quieter here.
“What now?” he asked, his jaw clenched.
“What is this? Why are you here?”
“It’s a party. I know you might not recognize that with the stick up your butt, but we’re celebrating Eric’s engagement.”
“You know you’re not supposed to be partying. It’s for your own good.”
“It’s the weekend. I don’t have to work tomorrow or the next day. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“You shouldn’t drink at all. You clearly don’t have good impulse control,” I said.
“You really think that one night of fun is going derail me that much?” Callen’s voice grew louder and louder as his anger peaked.
“Yes, I do. You’re not a casual drinker.”
“What do you know about it? Your idea of fun is staying at home and following the rules. Do you even drink yourself? I doubt it. You know, if you did you might actually enjoy yours—”
I cut him off by pressing my lips to his. I told myself that it was just a way to shut him up, as he was yelling and making a scene, but that didn’t explain the way that my entire body felt electrified at the contact. At least he probably wouldn’t even remember this in his drunken state
Callen froze, his body rigid as I molded my mouth to his. But that only lasted a moment, then his arms snaked around my waist and he moaned while working his mouth against my own. Heat spread through my body and the kiss quickly turned passionate.
When Callen’s tongue traced the seam of my lips, I broke away from him. His brown eyes were dark with desire. That same desire filled me.
“I have to go,” I said, turning away.
Callen’s voice followed me as I scurried away, my name falling from his lips sounded too good. I had to put some space between us. Now.
So I fled.
I left Callen at the casino. There would be no reasoning with him while he was drunk. I’d just have to try again tomorrow.
Closing the door to my hotel room, I leaned against it. My mind whirred, replaying the kiss over and over. I had just crossed a line. Right after criticizing Callen’s impulse control, no less.
But that wasn’t what I was upset about.
I was troubled by the words we exchanged, and the truth that echoed in his anger toward me. Maybe I did need to learn to have more fun. Callen and I were on either side of the spectrum, as different as humanly possible. But, maybe, just maybe, there was a middle ground?
It was hard to know what the right answer was. My perspective was skewed by my feelings for Callen. I had witnessed an amazing, talented guy peeking out from under his party-hard persona and it was shaking my resolve to keep things professional.
Thinking of the kiss made my lips tingle. Okay, maybe professional was overrated.
Either way, my current approach to dealing with Callen wasn’t working. Maybe I needed to try to meet him halfway.
I pulled on a pair of pajama pants and a tank top. I had just stuffed my dirty clothes into my overnight bag and zipped it shut when a commotion in the hall caught my attention. Cracking my door open, I saw Callen’s rowdy group making their way to the suite.
There were women with them and my heart clenched. I couldn’t stand the thought of Callen taking a woman to bed after our kiss, while I was right here in the same hotel.
But the women paired off with his co-stars, leaving Callen stumbling down the corridor. I let out a breath that I hadn’t realize I’d been holding. Maybe I could actually get some sleep tonight, knowing that Callen’s bed was as empty as my own.
Twelve
Callen
Waking up alone was something of a surprise. I had expected to hook up last night. Clearly, the opportunity to do exactly that would have been there with women throwing themselves at my feet daily. So why hadn’t I brought one back to the room?
Stretching languidly, I searched my memory of the night before. Lyssa’s angry face flashed across my mind. That’s right, she followed me here.
I had to admire the woman’s determination.
My lips tingled as I recalled a kiss. Was that Lyssa? It didn’t make any sense. There was attraction there, but she must be pissed that I came here.
I must have kissed someone else. Too bad the memory was hazy.
The clock on t
he nightstand read nearly two in the afternoon. Good time to get up. My hangover wasn’t bad, and by the time I stepped out of the shower, I was ready to go out and live it up again. It was Vegas, after all, a city built for a good time.
When I entered the living room, the sight of Lyssa idly thumbing through a magazine jolted me. WTF!
“I was beginning to think you’d sleep all day,” she said, putting the magazine on the coffee table and standing. I scanned her body. Small white shorts showed of her toned legs. The t-shirt she wore was form fitting, and this was the first time I had seen her hair pulled back in a ponytail. It displayed the long line of her neck and the smooth angles of her face. Small wisps of hair had escaped the ponytail and fallen around her face, teasing the smooth skin of her cheeks.
I bit my lip and averted my gaze.
“You’re still here, then?” I asked, eyeing the door. I was famished and ready to go.
“Clearly.”
“If this is gearing up to be another lecture, can it at least wait until I’ve had some coffee?”
“Actually, that’s not what I had in mind. I’m ready to try a different approach.”
“What’s that?” I asked, trying to imagine what she could have planned to stop me. This only thing I could think of was tying me up, so I was physically unable to party. The idea sent a thrill through me.
“I’m going to join you today, without stopping the drinking,” she said. My surprise must have registered on my face because she smiled. “Yeah, I know, it’s different.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Laying down the rules isn’t working. If anything, it’s breeding resentment between us. But I want you to at least try not to go too crazy. Meanwhile, I’ll try to keep you off the media’s radar.”
Careless: A Movie Star Accidental Marriage Romance (Santa Barbara Secrets Book 2) Page 7
