Hometown Hope: A Small Town Romance Anthology

by Zoe York

  “Are you okay?” She stepped closer, dipping her head to catch my gaze.

  I pasted on a smile. “Fine. What’s up?”

  “Uh, well … It feels wrong misleading you,” she began.

  I felt my forehead wrinkle. Misleading me? I knew there was something she was hiding. Was she going to tell me about the blackmail rumor? About whatever had her staring off into space distractedly? “What?”

  “Ryan and I agreed that we should tell you the truth.”

  Oh God. I braced myself. What did she mean? Were they pregnant? Had they eloped or something? I had no idea what she could be about to say. “Okay,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.

  “We aren’t really together.” The words hung in the air between us while I tried to sort through them and force them to make sense. I’d just watched a video in which they were very much together.

  In which his hand and her breast were definitely together.

  Where their lips were so together it was stomach-turning.

  I stared at her, open-mouthed. They’d been rolling around on the lawn just moments before, the photographer telling them how in love they looked, how sexy the shots were. “What?”

  “We’re faking it. As a distraction for the press.”

  What? I shook my head slowly, letting the words process. Confusion and relief chased each other through my mind and words flitted away, lost to the murk in my mind. Luckily, Juliet kept talking so I didn’t have to.

  “Zac is blackmailing me with a video he has of us. A sex tape. He’s saying if I don’t agree to his divorce terms, then he’ll release it. My lawyers are working on it, but I’ve pretty much told them to go ahead and give him whatever he wants. The press has been all over it, talking about my shitty deal and looking for reasons why I’d agree to it. I needed a distraction. I needed something for them to focus on besides the complete train wreck that was my marriage.”

  “Oh.” I tried to find other words to say, but my mind was spinning around all the information she’d just given me. My first reaction was to be hurt that she’d treated me just like the press—lied to me as if I wasn’t part of the inner circle, couldn’t be trusted. Then again, she was telling me now. And the strange complicated life my sister led was what made her feel she needed to lie to me.

  “I could never live in your world,” I told her. It was true. That any of this made rational sense to her was beyond me. I could never handle having to make choices like these, having to pick which aspect of my life I wanted splashed all over the tabloids.

  She winced slightly, but she brushed off my comment with a little shrug. “I needed someone to help me, and Ryan is a good guy. We worked on that movie together and I knew he might need …” she trailed off and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “I knew he could use the lift. It was my agent’s idea, really.”

  “The lift?”

  “His career’s been flagging. His last couple movies didn’t do well. He was slipping.”

  “And being linked romantically to you will help him?”

  She had the grace to blush, but she nodded confirmation. “My agent thinks she can get him onto the next film I’m doing—it’s a romantic suspense and they want an action lead for the romantic hero. We kind of made a deal.”

  “He acts like he loves you and you get him the job that will make him a star?” I understood the idea fundamentally, but I hadn’t decided yet if it was just business, or if there was some kind of moral deficit in someone who might make a deal like that.

  She sighed. “Basically. It’s just business.”

  So Juliet didn’t see any moralistic side to the deal. She wasn’t worried about it beyond whatever specifics they’d agreed upon. Maybe it really wasn’t my business either.

  “Man,” I breathed. Could the rules that governed behavior in Hollywood really be so different than those in the rest of the world? Still, I didn’t really blame my sister. She understood her world—that was how she’d gotten to the top. But I hated the idea of career success being based on manipulating other people’s feelings. Mine included. I was disappointed in her, and I was trying to figure out if I had any right to feel that way. I wasn’t in her shoes—in her life. “Okay,” I said. “Well, thanks for telling me, I guess.”

  “Ryan didn’t want to lie to you.” She squeezed my arm and smiled. “And neither did I.” Juliet turned and headed back outside, leaving me standing there, reeling.

  Ryan didn’t want to lie to you.

  The power those last words had over me was frightening, and they left me shaking slightly as I repeated them in my head. Why did Ryan care what I thought? Ryan was a movie star. He was a guy who went around flirting with and touching anyone he liked because he knew the power he had over people. He was a guy who’d link himself to a starlet in a false sexual relationship just to get ahead. Didn’t that make him kind of a dirty asshole? Or was it like Juliet said—was he a nice guy? In a world where the rules were so very different, was that the kind of thing nice guys did?

  Ryan didn’t want to lie to you.

  Most importantly, why did Ryan feel like I needed to know the truth?

  I was confused and a little bit angry. But down deep inside me, in a place I was trying hard not to think about, a flame had been lit. A little flame glowed and stirred as I considered this idea. Ryan wasn’t with my sister. Ryan had almost kissed me. Ryan had asked her to tell me the truth.

  The little flame burned brighter, and I realized with horror that it was a flame of hope.

  Chapter 11

  Ryan

  When lunch was over, I stepped off the sweeping back porch, gazing out at the river lapping at the beach down below and the huge old trees leaning over the wide yard, cooling the still air. This place felt magical to me—part of it must have been the knowledge that it had been here for hundreds of years, it had seen turning points in American history that I’d read about in books. And, if Gran was to be believed, plenty of history I hadn’t read about. Who knew the founding fathers were such stone cold players?

  When you’ve lived your entire life on the West Coast, this kind of real history makes an impression. Even the air here gave the sense of calm steadiness, of patience, as if the whole place was saying, I’ve been here this long, I’ll be here forever. It made me feel small, somehow, less solid. But it also made me aware of the impermanence of my own life—not that my own history hadn’t done a pretty good job of that. But it just hammered home the knowledge that our time here was short.

  And while the history of the place was definitely interesting, it was the present that held my interest most.

  I didn’t know what it was about Tess, or what might exist between us if we gave it a chance, but it was something I’d never felt before.

  I turned back to the house, and could see Tess through the kitchen window at the sink. Juliet had gone inside with her after lunch, winking at me as she’d gone, so I was pretty sure by now Tess knew the truth. I was less sure what that meant for me. Would she be angry that we’d lied to her? Would she think I was just another dirty Hollywood type, doing anything to get ahead?

  Wasn’t I?

  I thought about Dad, back in Los Angeles, about the money it took to take care of him. I thought about the abandoned plans I’d had once for a completely different kind of life. And I thought about the deal I’d made with Juliet when the roles seemed to be drying up and the money with them. I’d had a reason for what I’d done—maybe Tess would understand.

  I crossed the wide porch, ignoring the squawk of Chessy, who was chasing Jack across the lawn as he hovered just far enough away from me that I knew he was assigned to me for today, and I went inside to find Tess.

  “Hey,” I said, stepping into the kitchen. She was wiping the countertop, cleaning things up after lunch.

  She stopped moving and looked up to meet my eye, something quizzical and uncertain there. “Hey,” she said, and then opened the dishwasher and put a few things into the rack.

  I leaned again
st the counter, watching her. I wanted to talk to her, but if I was being honest, I just liked watching her move. She was lithe and graceful, but she wasn’t lean like her sister. Tess was clearly a woman, with curves under her clothes that begged for exploration, and a hint of movement when she walked that was mesmerizing. I’d never had a type, I didn’t think, but my hands itched to fill themselves with those generous curves, and I was beginning to think I’d been living in a world surrounded by women who were definitely not my type.

  “You’re making me nervous,” Tess said, finally stopping her movements around the kitchen and turning to face me. “Staring like that.”

  “Sorry,” I said, brushing my hands against my thighs as if I could clear the nervous energy out of my body. “Is there anything I can help with today?” I tried. “For the party?”

  Tess washed her hands slowly and seemed to think about her answer. “I took today off work so I could get things ready for Gran’s party, but I think things are pretty much set. Turns out I’m more organized than even I realized.” Her light laugh dissipated some of the nerves that were gathering in my stomach.

  She ran a hand over her hair, smoothing up a tendril that had escaped over her shoulder and was hanging in her face. She looked at me a long minute, and little spikes of excitement skewered my gut, my muscles tightening as I tried to figure out what the look in her eyes meant.

  “I’m sorry we lied,” I said. I wanted to banish the awkwardness between us, address the biggest issue so maybe we could move forward.

  She nodded slowly, lowering her eyes and spreading her hands on the countertop, her slim fingers splaying wide on the dark granite. “Yeah,” she said, her voice almost a breath. “I get it. I mean, I guess I do.” She turned to face me, her beautiful face bunched with worry. “You and Juliet … you live these lives I can’t even begin to understand. Your world is just so different.” She smiled and shook her head as if to brush away her concerns.

  “Not that different,” I said.

  She squinted up at me, like she was trying to see inside me somehow, see why I would agree to lie. “It’s okay,” she said finally.

  The topic seemed to be closed, even though there was a lot more I wanted to tell her. Maybe now, standing in her kitchen with an insane chicken shrieking just outside the door, wasn’t the right time. I hoped there would be more time for us. That she might give me a chance.

  “Tess,” I said, lowering my voice and taking a step nearer. “I’d love to see more of the area. I wondered if you’d have time to show me around a little bit while I’m here.”

  Her eyes widened and her breath hitched, making her gorgeous chest swell before she let out a quick huff of breath. “I mean … the party is tomorrow night, and …”

  “So let me help you get ready. What can I do?”

  “I mean … I guess it’s mostly done, really. The cake is done. The caterers will do the rest.”

  “So do you have some time?” I should have stayed back, let her tell me she didn’t want anything to do with me, let her tell me that because I’d lied, whatever magnetic pull was between us meant nothing. But I couldn’t. I needed to see if she felt it too, now that I was free to try. I stepped closer still, until we were just six inches apart. I could feel the heat of her body against my own, and longed to close the distance, to pull her into my arms. “Please show me around,” I said, my voice low.

  Her eyes didn’t leave mine, and I saw it the second she gave in, her body relaxing slightly. Relief washed through me. “Sure,” she said on a whispered sigh. “Okay.”

  “Great,” I said, trying to push down the excitement building in my veins at the idea of a day spent at Tess’s side. “I’ll get ready.”

  “Sure,” she said again, looking a little baffled as she shook her head lightly. “Okay. Fifteen minutes?”

  “Perfect.” I was about to start for the stairs to get ready when Juliet walked in, spotted us inches from one another, and stopped in her tracks. “Everything okay in here?” Her nose wrinkled and she cocked her head to the side, trying to decipher the odd atmosphere, mistaking intimacy for trouble.

  Tess turned back to the sink and rinsed her hands again. “Just planning for an afternoon of sightseeing. You in?”

  I didn’t want Juliet to say yes, but schooled my expression into something friendly.

  Juliet laughed lightly, but glanced over her shoulder back at the porch before responding. “I think I’ll pass. I’ve seen it all. Plus … if I go, we might get mobbed. Do you mind showing Ryan around on your own?”

  I ignored the unspoken assertion that I was not so famous we’d get mobbed, mostly because my heart was busy swelling in my chest and my stomach had just filled with little trapeze artists at the thought of having Tess all to myself for the afternoon.

  “Yeah, that’s fine,” Tess said.

  “I’ll look after Granny.” Juliet said. “You don’t mind, do you Ryan?”

  Mind? I was trying to hide how very much I did not mind. “Not at all,” I said. “It’ll give me a chance to get to know your sister a bit better and see a little more of Maryland.”

  That strange look passed over Juliet’s face again, as if someone wanting to get to know Tess was actually a little confusing. But she covered it quickly with a smile. “Great.”

  Fifteen minutes later, I stood on the front porch waiting for Tess. The front door opened, and Granny stepped out lightly, and gave me a direct look, one eyebrow raised. She wasn’t holding a shotgun or anything, but her look made it clear she had something to say to me. When the door swung shut behind her, she faced me, her thin arms crossed over her narrow chest, the pale dress she’d worn for the photos looking incongruous in place of her usual track suit.

  “Tess says you two are going out for some sightseeing.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Don’t fuck with my granddaughter,” she said plainly.

  Shock trickled through my chest like ice water. “Uh, no ma’am.”

  “Don’t ‘no ma’am’ me. I know your type,” she said, pointing a bony finger at me. “Too big for your britches, full of yourself, maybe. Good-looking guy like you … well, you need to know that Tess is strong and smart and happy, just the way she is. And if you screw any of that up, you’ll have me to answer to.”

  I wasn’t quite sure where this was coming from, but I tried to accept the warning and reassure this fierce old woman that I had no intention of hurting either of her granddaughters—not if I could help it. She still believed I was dating Juliet, as far as I knew. “Both of your granddaughters are incredible,” I told her. “I’m lucky to know them both.”

  She eyed me then, crossing her arms again. “Well, you’ll have to pick one,” she said, and then turned on her heel and went back into the house.

  Gran was just being protective, and I thought both Tess and Juliet were lucky to have her looking out for them. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, and I hoped I could get to know Tess and try to make my heart happy while keeping my agreement with Juliet—hopefully making both of our careers better.

  I tried to shake the tension from my shoulders, swinging my arms as I waited for Tess, who appeared a minute later. Her hair was pulled back again, as it had been this morning, but now it was swinging behind her in a ponytail, with just a few tendrils around her face. She’d removed some of the makeup from earlier, and her cheeks glowed pink beneath those luminous eyes. My nerves stirred up again at the sight of her, my stomach flipping when she smiled at me. “Ready?” she asked.

  “Definitely,” I said. I wanted to add something about how amazing she looked, how happy I was to get to spend some time alone with her, but I wasn’t sure I was completely off the hook for lying to her in the first place about Juliet. I decided to just be a good sightseer, go along for the ride and find out if the potential I felt could be something real.

  “Did Granny say something awful to you?” She looked back toward the door.

  “Not at all. She was just warning me that if I fuc
k with you she’ll kill me.” I followed Tess down the stairs to the driveway. She spun to look at me again, widening her eyes.

  “Seriously?”

  I lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. “It’s good to have someone looking out for you,” I told her.

  “Hey,” she said. “Do we need to take one of those guys with us?” She angled her head toward where Jack was standing, holding the chicken to his chest.

  I shook my head. “They’re Juliet’s. I don’t need them and they don’t work for me anyway.” I lifted a hand to Jack. “Be back in a bit!”

  He waved at me and Chessy let out a squawk. I heard him shushing her as I followed Tess.

  As we walked toward the garage, which was a three-bay building set apart from the house, I dropped a hand lightly on Tess’s lower back, keeping pace by her side. She stiffened at the contact at first, and I remembered too late that she’d asked me not to touch her. I took my hand away, whispering, “Sorry.”

  Tess shot a glance up at me, as if trying to read my intention in my eyes. “It’s okay,” she said, and I hoped she could see some part of the way I might feel about her on my face. The gesture had been natural, almost protective.

  We climbed into her mini Cooper and she maneuvered us out of the garage and down the long driveway between the fields. I fought the urge to touch her again, but admired the way her leg flexed and moved as she drove, her muscles stretching the dark denim. Soon we were trundling down curving country roads, huge green trees leaning toward us from either side. The sides of the road were shadowy and dark, a dense verdant wood stretching out on either side of us, twisting with vines and low brush. “It’s so different from California,” I said, thinking aloud.