“I am now,” she said, stifling a giggle as her mother opened the door and entered her room, followed very quickly by a rambunctious almost 5-year-old who jumped up onto her bed and bounced once before flopping down next to her.
“Morning Mummy.”
Olivia wrapped her arms around her and squeezed. “Morning, Cupcake. You being good for Nanna?”
Gracie nodded. “Yep, we been having lots of fun.”
Olivia smiled and hugged her again, looking up expectantly at her mother.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you had had such a late night,” Cynthia said, moving across the room and opening the curtains. Bright sunlight flooded the room instantly, and Olivia squinted at the harshness of it.
“I got in just after three a.m.” Her dark hair tumbled down her shoulders as she sat up in bed, pulling the bed sheet up around her chest. She hadn’t bothered with pyjamas the night before; it was way too hot, and she didn’t like sleeping with the AC on.
“Did you have fun?” Cynthia winked and came back around the room, perching herself elegantly on the edge of the bed beside Gracie. Beads hung loosely around her neck, and a bandana was wrapped around her head stylishly.
“Actually, I did, in the end.” She thought back to the image of Hilary half-naked on her podium, dancing just for her. It was erotic, and if she was completely honest with herself, she had been a little turned on.
“Oh, care to elaborate?” Her mother grinned, a smile gracing her plum-coloured lips.
“No, not really.” Olivia smirked, glancing at Gracie. There was silence between them for a few seconds as her mother just sat there staring at her, expectant. “Sweetie, why don’t you go and get Roger?” Olivia suggested. Both women waited as Gracie jumped off the bed to go and get her stuffed rabbit.
When the youngster was out of earshot, Cynthia asked the question Olivia had been dreading. “Are you ever going to tell me about Ava?” At last the elephant in the room had been acknowledged.
It wasn’t that Olivia didn’t want to tell her mother all about it; it was just that she was so tired of it. However, she had been home for almost two months now. July had rolled round into August without her even really noticing.
She rested her head back against the headboard and closed her eyes. Maybe it would do her good to let it all out, but she couldn’t. She just wasn’t ready to go into any details right now, even if it was her mother.
“I will, I promise. I just—” She opened her eyes and saw the absolute love that shone from her mother, and it almost broke her. “There were a lot of issues, Mom. Ava has a lot of issues, and I just—”
“Livvy, it’s okay. I just wanted to make sure you know you can talk to me about anything,” her mother said. Her hand reaching out, she placed it gently on Olivia’s knee and squeezed. “I worry about you. When you’re ready, okay?”
“I will, thanks Mom. And thanks for taking care of Gracie for me.”
“I love spending time with her. Now, please get up and do something semi-constructive today. It won’t do you any good to be lying around all day and partying all night!”
“I wasn’t partying!” she exclaimed, throwing a pillow at her mother, who just smiled and tossed it back. “I was at a bar yes, but I left soberish.” Her mother’s eyebrow raised.
“Of course, dear.” She winked and turned on her heels, walking to the door. “Have a wonderful day darling. I’ll see you for dinner?”
Olivia nodded and watched her mother leave, closing the door behind her.
Chapter Nine
The apartment was perfect. For a start, it had a bedroom. Most of the other places Hilary had looked at so far had been studios with barely room to fit her bed.
This place, though, was big enough for a queen-sized bed and still left plenty of room to move around, with built-in wardrobes that only added to the feeling of space. Plus, it had been recently renovated too.
White walls and grey carpets throughout gave it a bright and airy feel, and she could imagine herself already living here.
There was a small kitchen with a table and four chairs. A breakfast bar separated the space where a good-sized lounge led out to a small balcony that overlooked the shared pool area that she would also have use of.
“I’ll take it,” she said, grinning at the realtor.
“Great. I’ll get the paperwork drawn up the moment I get back to the office.”
“Perfect,” Hilary gushed, turning around and taking another look at the place that would soon become home. “When can I move in?”
“Well, you already handed in your references. If they come back fine, then I can probably push for this weekend.”
“Wow, really? That would be awesome.” She had no doubt that her references would come back okay.
He reached out a hand and she shook it. “I’ll give you a call later today. Just come down to the office tomorrow and we can sign the paperwork.”
She left the apartment and took a stroll around the neighbourhood, acquainting herself with the area. A small bistro caught her eye, and she crossed the street and took a seat outside to watch the world pass her by for a while. She ordered a sparkling water and pulled out a notepad from her bag, headlining the blank page with Things I need to pack.
Not that she had much to box up. A ton of clothes maybe, and a few boxes of books and DVDs she had stored with her dad before she left for her travels.
The list was short, which she was grateful of at least.
She was going to need to organise some transport though. Maybe Debbie would help? She jotted her sister’s name down and underlined it along with the reminder to call and ask.
Chapter Ten
It was a Saturday, and Olivia had gotten up early and taken Gracie out for breakfast while her mother enjoyed a lie in. They strolled the short walk down to Rodeo Drive and found a small brasserie where they could sit outside in the sunshine. Gracie wore the designer sunglasses that Cynthia had bought her the previous week. In truth they were too big for her, but that didn’t seem to bother Gracie. Olivia snapped a photo with her phone.
“Mum, are we staying here forever now?” Gracie asked, reaching two-handed for the large glass of chocolate milk the waitress had just delivered to their table.
Olivia sipped her orange juice as she contemplated the question. “Yes, I think so. What do you think about that?”
Gracie shrugged. “I like it. Nanna is funny.”
“Yeah, she is.” Olivia smiled. “What about school, do you think you might want to go to school here?”
The waitress reappeared and placed two plates down onto the table: toasted English muffin with smoked salmon for Olivia, while Gracie went with pancakes.
“I don’t know. I like my school, and I miss Kelly.” Gracie put the half-empty glass back down onto the table and sat forward in her seat. “Doesn’t Ava love us anymore?”
“Oh, sweetheart, Ava loves you, of course she does. But Mummy doesn’t…” She took a deep breath. How on earth did she explain this to a five-year-old? “Sometimes, grown-ups can’t always be together.” She leaned across the table and cut up Gracie’s pancakes. “Do you miss her?”
Gracie nodded. “Yes, but…it’s more fun with Nanna.”
“So, shall we stay here then? Just you and me?”
“And Nanna,” Gracie added with a big grin.
“Yeah, and Nanna.”
Gracie nodded, stabbing her fork awkwardly into the pile of pancakes. “And go to the beach again?”
Olivia smiled, “Sure, we can go to the beach anytime.”
The conversation had gone a lot easier than she had expected. Now, she needed to find a school Gracie could attend.
~MB~
As they strolled home, Olivia’s phone beeped. Holding onto Gracie’s hand, she used her free hand to quickly read the incoming text.
Mom: You can’t drive a rental forever. Mom.
“Okay, Nanna’s up to something,” she said to Gracie, shoving the phone back into her pock
et.
“She’s always up to something.” Gracie laughed, swinging their linked hands.
At the gate, Olivia punched in the new code and pushed the small gate open for Gracie to walk through. The youngster ran off ahead while Olivia made sure that the gate was closed. When she turned to face the drive, she did a double take. Her rental car was no longer there. In its place was a brand new red Porsche SUV.
“Holy shit,” she whispered to herself while moving towards the new vehicle. She let her fingertip drag gently across the smooth paintwork before finally looking up to find Gracie standing on the doorstep waiting for her.
Inside the house, she found a set of keys where she had left her rental keys.
“Gracie, let’s go to the beach.”
The youngster was off and running up the stairs to get her things before Olivia had even finished speaking. She chuckled to herself. Maybe things were looking up.
Gracie came tearing back down the stairs with her inflatable flamingo around her waist and a bag of buckets and spades.
“I’m ready, Mum. Let’s go!” she called out as she dumped it all by the door.
“Okay.” Olivia laughed at her child’s antics. “Can I grab my swimsuit?”
“Mum,” Gracie exclaimed with both palms up. Then a thought hit her. “I need mine too.”
They raced each other back up the stairs. Gracie giggling when her mother grabbed her and carried her the rest of the way.
With swimsuits under clothing, Olivia followed Gracie out to the car and helped her get in, buckled up in her booster seat, and then she put all of their stuff into the trunk. Walking around to the driver’s door, she stroked the paintwork once more before jumping into the driver’s seat. “Ready?”
“Yes!!” Gracie shouted, arms in the air.
Heading down Santa Monica Boulevard towards the ocean, Olivia fiddled with the radio until she found a station playing something she and Gracie recognised and turned up the volume. When she got to Malibu she pulled over and called her mother.
“Do you like it?” her mother asked. No hello, just a hint of a smile in her voice.
“I love it, thank you,” she gushed as she continued to check out all the features and fiddle with buttons.
“I knew you would, red seemed to be your colour.” She giggled, and Olivia heard the chink of glasses as her mother took a sip of her champagne. She knew it was champagne because that was pretty much all her mother drank other than water. “Joan sends her love,” Cynthia added.
Joan Diablo was an actress and her mother’s best friend, and pretty much Olivia’s other mother. Ever since starring together in a long-since lost-from-TV memory serial from the ‘70s, they had been inseparable. Even when they both had husbands or lovers, they would be each other’s dates for events and after-show parties. They were often photographed leaving a restaurant or party, arm in arm, slightly worse for wear, and laughing like teenagers.
“Tell Auntie Joan I said hi. Are you two behaving?”
“Well of course we are, although I do believe Joan has got herself a date with a rather dishy waiter.” Olivia heard them both erupt into laughter and Joan’s voice calling out, “He is a god!”
“Okay, I am going to let you two get back to your...Actually, I don’t even want to think about what you two are getting up to. Gracie and I will be at the beach.” Olivia laughed herself now and said her goodbyes before hanging up.
Chapter Eleven
Life in West Hollywood was loud and exciting for Hilary Palmer.
There was never a time when it was quiet, never a moment when nothing was going on or something couldn’t be found to entertain oneself. Hilary had moved in just under a month ago and was finally settled.
One of the guys from work had helped her move her stuff because Debbie had been busy with one of the kids. The eldest had try outs for the football team or something and the family were going to go along and watch.
Hilary had to let him down gently when the offer of a nightcap and christening the new room had been offered, but he had taken it well and there was no awkwardness there. And she had already met her neighbour, Miguel by day and Manuela by night.
He was a real treat, and she made plans to go watch his show next time she was off, which wouldn’t be that far away.
She was earning enough now that she had been able to give up the coffee shop job. She missed the girls, but it meant that when she visited now, it was as a customer. She could sit down and sip her latte and watch as the world passed by, catch up with the gossip.
Dancing at two other clubs instead was far more lucrative. She worked from 10 p.m. till 11:30 p.m. at Lips before she moved onto Proton for the midnight to 01:30 slot, and then two nights a week she would close the night at Under_. All in all, she worked three nights maximum, Thursday through Saturday, and was earning more than she ever had in any other job.
It also meant that she had the rest of the week to work out and hang out, and she was enjoying every minute of it. There were spa days at least once a week. She could lie back and enjoy the facials and all-over body massages, manicures, and the body wraps. On top of that, she could afford to eat out most nights if she wanted to.
She couldn’t stop herself from admitting how disappointed she was that she had never seen Olivia again at the club. It had been weeks now, and she had been building herself up to asking her out again, if she got the chance.
But alas, it hadn’t happened.
Not that she hadn’t been short of offers though, and had even gone out on a few dates, but nobody had intrigued her like Olivia Copeland had. That woman had something about her that Hilary just couldn’t shake.
As she sat sipping her drink, she considered whether it would be appropriate to find out Olivia’s number, but she had no clue where to even start with that.
And searching out an address just felt a tad stalkery.
She sighed to herself, screwed the cap back on her drink, and lay back against the towel. “I guess what will be will be.”
As the sun beat down, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the image of slightly intoxicated dark eyes that smiled up at her as she swayed to the music.
Yes, there was definitely something that intrigued Hilary about Olivia Copeland, and if she ever got the chance again, she would take it.
Chapter Twelve
Cynthia Copeland had been concerned when Olivia had called that night and asked if it was alright to visit and maybe take an extended stay. There had been no mention of a breakup, no mention that anything was wrong at all, and yet – call it mother’s instinct – she knew there was more to the visit than Olivia was letting on. Ava’s name hadn’t been mentioned, which wasn’t all that unusual. Olivia and Gracie had visited before on their own, but this felt…different. And she was right to be concerned.
If she was honest, she had never liked Ava, not that she would ever tell her daughter that was how she felt. Olivia was in love and happy, and so she had pushed down her own feelings for the girl and made sure that on the few occasions they met she had been nothing but the doting mother and grandmother. She was an actress, after all. Now though, she couldn’t say she was unhappy with the turn of events that meant Ava would no longer be in her daughter’s, or her granddaughter’s, lives.
In her opinion, Ava was a selfish and arrogant woman who manipulated Olivia far too easily. Oh, she was beautiful, if you liked that Slavic chiselled cheekbone half-starved look, but that wasn’t enough to impress Cynthia the way that it had impressed Olivia.
So she had waited patiently and hoped that Olivia would talk to her, but she hadn’t. Even Gracie hadn’t mentioned Ava very much. Something more was going on here, and she wasn’t going to ignore it any longer, not after last night when she was woken by her daughter’s angry voice screaming, “Fuck you, Ava!”
No, now was the time for the truth.
So, she sat in the armchair and waited for Olivia to come downstairs. Norma would take Gracie into the kitchen for breakfast, and Cynthia would
get to the bottom of it.
~MB~
Upstairs, a showered and dressed Olivia Copeland lay on top of the sheets, on a bed that was way too comfortable. A bed that, given the chance, she would never leave. She just wanted to wrap herself up in the duvet and hide there forever, but that was just a fantasy. She had Gracie to consider. Her mother had been great, babysitting and allowing Olivia to start making new inroads into creating a life here. She even had a few job interviews lined up, and she had been reconnecting with old friends. Everything was starting to feel better.
She had been out with some of those friends the night before, catching up with everyone when her phone had beeped a text notification. She ignored it at first, not wanting to be one of those people who spoiled the night by being on her phone, unlike so many other people in the restaurant were doing. She couldn’t understand it; why would you go out on an obvious date and then spend the time not talking to each other as you both read the internet or social media sites?
So, it had only been once she had gotten home and was getting ready for bed that she had remembered the message. As soon as she looked at it, she wished she hadn’t.
Ava.
Unknown Number: Babe, it’s been too long. Call me? I really need you right now. A x.
When she hadn’t replied to the first text, Ava had sent another.
Unknown Number: Liv, I need you. Everything is so fucked up. X.
And when she hadn’t replied to that one either:
Unknown Number: I’m in trouble. Please, baby. X.
At one a.m. Olivia called the number she had deleted weeks ago. It was answered immediately as Ava’s voice came through loud and clear from 5000 miles away.
“Liv, thank God.” There was an urgency to her tone that Olivia hadn’t heard often, and when she had, it had usually meant trouble.
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