“I mean, did your father really never talk about her? No details at all?”
“Very few.” The rain was falling more steadily now and Rorie struggled to divide her attention between the road and the conversation, which had somehow shifted away from Tyler before she’d said what she needed to say. “Look, Cici, I—Damn it!” She slammed on the brakes. “That guy didn’t even look before he pulled out! I swear drivers lose their minds when it rains.”
“Sorry.” Cecily was sitting up now with her eyes open, staring at the road. “I didn’t realize it was raining like this. I should shut up and let you drive.”
They pulled into Rorie’s driveway and raced through the downpour, reaching the foyer soaked and out of breath. A strand of dripping wet hair clung to Cecily’s cheek and Rorie brushed it back with the tip of her finger. “Remember that night we had to run through the thunderstorm to your dorm room?”
Cecily wrapped her arms around Rorie’s neck, pressing her warm chest tightly against Rorie’s chilled flesh. “How could I forget? I kissed you in the woods, and then you didn’t even want to sleep with me!”
“Oh, I wanted to. I just didn’t think the timing was very good.”
Cecily pressed her mouth against Rorie’s, running her tongue along the soft crevice between her lips, “And how’s my timing now?”
The softly spoken words tickled Rorie’s lips and sent a shiver down her spine. “No time like the present,” she quipped.
Her fingers flew along the buttons of Cecily’s blouse, until it gaped open and slid down her arms into a heap on the floor. Piece by piece, the rest followed, left in a trail along the floor to the master bedroom where they both arrived wearing nothing at all. Cecily sat back against the edge of the bed and Rorie followed, leaning over her as they inched their way toward the headboard, their bodies plastered together and moving as one. They devoured each other’s lips and tongues, hands running up and down the lengths of each other’s bodies, desperate to touch and taste every inch. At last their bodies quivered and shook with release, the connection they shared finally restored after so many weeks apart.
With her body spooned against Cecily’s beneath the covers, Rorie ran her fingers along her hips and belly, noticing how thin they’d become. “Cici, You’ve lost a lot of weight. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, except trying to look better on camera. All the other actors are so fit and I didn’t want to stand out.”
“Are you sure that’s it?” Rorie kissed the top of her shoulder. “Tonight at dinner, you seemed so distracted. You barely touched your food.”
“Oh…that.” Cecily was silent for a moment as if uncertain whether to continue. “Sweetheart, I don’t want you to get upset, but are you really certain…”
“Certain about what?” Rorie prompted after another long pause. She felt herself growing tense inside without a clue where this was headed.
“Are you certain that the woman I met tonight really is your mother?”
“What?” Rorie sucked in her breath with a half laugh. “Why would you say that? Of course she’s my mother!”
Cecily turned in her arms so that they lay face to face. “Think about it. You’re a successful woman with a certain amount of fame. And something seemed off about her.”
Rorie stiffened, her body pulling away from Cecily’s as she sat up in bed. “Something seemed off? Well, that’s sort of ironic, coming from you.”
Cecily scrambled to sit up, too, pulling the sheet along with her to cover her naked torso. “Me? What about me? This is about the fact that a woman who grew up in Louisiana should at least know the name of the parish she lived in.” Cecily’s voice hardened. “I’m just making an observation. You would have noticed, too, if you’d been paying attention.”
Rorie’s stomach clenched at the mention of her mother’s mistake, but she pushed it aside. Cecily had some nerve lecturing her about paying attention! “Babe, you’re one to talk. If you’d been paying more attention when we came in the house, you might have noticed a big pile of your son’s clothes in the living room.” A little voice in the back of her head told her that it might not be fair, strictly speaking, to expect Cecily to have been paying close attention to what was around her when she’d been preoccupied with having all of her own clothing stripped from her body, but Rorie quickly dismissed that detail in the heat of the moment.
Cecily’s face took on a stern, motherly look. “That boy. Did he bring his laundry here from the dorm after all?”
“No, Cici. Not just his laundry. He brought everything here, because he got himself kicked out of the dorm three days ago.”
“He what?” Cecily shrieked. “Why are you only just telling me this now?”
“I tried to tell you. I called Thursday morning but you had to go to makeup. I called three times that night, but you were too busy making kissing faces with Brad Perris to be bothered to answer!” Rorie heard her words echo around her and shrunk back in embarrassment at having gotten so carried away.
“Wait, what?” Cecily’s eyes were wide. “How do you know about that?”
“Rhonda was kind enough to bring me a copy of the tabloid that had a life-sized picture of the two of you on the front page the next morning.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet that just broke her heart to do it, too,” Cecily muttered. “I've been working so much, I didn't even see that stupid tabloid. You know that isn’t what was going on, right?”
Rorie sighed. “I know you aren’t having an affair with your twenty-eight year old male costar, yes. But I also know you’ve been impossible to get a hold of, and even when we do talk, you’re never a hundred percent there. It's a good thing your time in Portland is almost over. If it hadn’t been for my mother these past couple days, I don’t know what I would have done.”
Cecily suddenly looked skittish. “About that, sweetheart—”
“Cecily, no. Let's not start in on the subject of my mother again.”
“No, not your mother. My contract.” Cecily swallowed nervously. “I might be getting an extension.”
Rorie's heart sank. “Oh, God. For how long?”
“I don't know yet.”
Rorie groaned, rubbing her temples in agitation. “I don't know how long I can keep this up, babe. I miss you so much, and then there's Tyler—”
“Rorie, I’m so sorry about Tyler. We can discuss the rest of this later, but I’m going to fix this Tyler situation right now.” Cecily’s eyes narrowed, her blood starting to simmer as she thought of her son's lies. “He had no right to take advantage of you, not to mention lying to me. Where’s that boy of mine, anyway? I’m going to have a word with him this very minute.”
“He’s staying in the guest house.”
Cecily hopped out of bed and rummaged in the dresser drawer, angrily tossing items aside until she located the t-shirt and pair of leggings that she’d left at Rorie’s the last time she was there. She yanked them on over her bare skin, not bothering to dig for panties or a bra. If that boy thinks he can pull the wool over my eyes and get away with it… “Right. I’m just going to go find Tyler and have a little chat.”
Rorie rolled out of bed as well and quickly donned some workout clothing that was draped over a nearby chair. By the time she reached the kitchen, Cecily had already gone out the sliding door and was marching across the backyard. Rorie saw her pound on the door to the guest house, then open the door and disappear inside. She felt a pang of sympathy for Tyler. She’d never experienced a mother’s anger like that, but she could only imagine how uncomfortable things were about to get for him. He could have handled himself much better, but she didn't mind having him here. In fact, if Cecily was really going to be in Portland for the foreseeable future, she might welcome the company.
She glanced down into the sink and felt most of her good will evaporate at the sight of two more dirty bowls and glasses in her sink. Did he just spend the whole day eating? I swear that kid goes through more dishes in one day, and never thinks to clean
up! If he planned to stick around, he would definitely need to take on some chores. She rinsed the dishes and was just setting them in the dishwasher rack when she heard the sliding door open with a bang. She looked up to see Cecily, dripping wet and white as a sheet.
“Can you please explain,” Cecily began, voice trembling, “what the hell Polly Schroeder’s daughter is doing in your guest house with my son?”
Chapter 18
“Come on, Mom! I can’t commute from here to campus. I’ll be driving four hours a day!”
Cecily silently stared at her son from across the kitchen table. Rorie had dropped them off at Cecily’s house in Orange County once Cecily had recovered enough from her shock to go anywhere. It had been an awkward ride, and Rorie had been quick to head back to LA, leaving mother and son alone to work things out.
“You should have thought of that, Tyler.” Her voice had that calm, steely tone that only a mother’s can have, the one that inspires fear in naughty children well into their adulthood. She looked with some satisfaction at her son’s chastened expression, but needed to make sure that his understanding of what he’d done was crystal clear. “I can almost see how getting kicked out of the dorm wasn’t your fault. Almost. But you hid it from me, and you took advantage of Rorie’s hospitality, and… and, I don’t even know what to say about Reese.” Cecily shuddered at the memory of seeing Polly Schroeder’s daughter with her lips all over Tyler. Thankfully, all of their clothing had still been intact. Otherwise Cecily was fairly certain that they’d be having this conversation in front of the check-in desk at the closest monastery. “What is she even doing here? Shouldn’t she be at school in New York?”
“Her school has a fall break, so she came to visit. Mom, you’re not being fair to Reese. You’d like her if you got to know her. She’s nothing like her mother, and we’ve had to hide the fact that we’re going out just because you have issues with it.” He glared defiantly at her, his arms crossed.
Cecily took a deep breath to keep her anger from boiling over. “We’re not discussing my issues right now.” Especially since he makes a good point, damn it. The parallels between the situation she’d created for Tyler and Reese because of her prejudices and the one she and Rorie faced at her workplace in Portland were uncomfortably obvious. “We’re discussing you, and what you need to do for me to ever consider trusting you again.” She watched with satisfaction as his head drooped and she knew that he was taking this seriously.
“Mom, I’m sorry that I lied to you today about still living in the dorm. But making me live all the way out here isn’t the solution. Look, I’ll get a part-time job and pay rent. If I do that, do you think I could keep living at Rorie’s?”
“I don’t know, kiddo. You’re not her responsibility, and I’m not really sure it’s a good idea to ask right now. She’s got enough people trying to take advantage of her.” The memory of Rorie’s mother, if that’s really who she was, floated into her brain and made Cecily’s brow furrow.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“It's…just a hunch.” Cecily thought for a moment and an idea came to her. “Tyler? Remember back in Connecticut when you first met Rorie? You already knew a lot about her. How did you find all that out?”
Tyler shrugged. “It was easy. She has an IMDb profile that covers most of the professional stuff, and there’s a Wikipedia article about her with some of the personal details. I don’t know. I just kinda searched around.”
“You think you could do that for me now?”
They pulled up a web browser on Cecily’s computer and Tyler ran a few searches. Cecily stared in shock at the results, which spanned dozens of pages. There were news articles, interview clips, and photographs; more than enough to piece together a fairly comprehensive biography.
“So, pretty much anyone could find this information?” The thought gave her pause. “What about her address, or anything about her parents?”
Tyler gave her a funny look. “Mom, why are we spying on your girlfriend?”
“We’re not spying on her, Tyler. But someone else might be.” She quickly explained about meeting Rorie’s mother at dinner earlier that evening. “What could a person find out about either Grace or Francis Mulloy?”
Tyler amended his search and browsed the new results. “Well, she mentioned that her mother abandoned the family in an interview a couple years ago. Both her parents’ names are on her Wikipedia page, but not a lot of other details. Just when and where they were born.”
Cecily pursed her lips, studying the page. “Click on that link to where her mother was born.”
A map of Louisiana loaded onto the screen and Cecily’s face broke into a grin. “That’s it! See there where it says St. Martin’s parish? It’s labeled wrong. They’ve reversed it with St. Mary’s. If the woman I met was only pretending to be Grace Mulloy, and used this map in her research, it could explain why she got them mixed up.”
Tyler looked stunned. “Do you really think so?”
“I don’t know. At first glance, there’s a resemblance between them. They could easily pass for mother and daughter. But the more I looked, the less I saw it. The thing that really got me is I always assumed Rorie’s mother was African American. So did she, ever since college. But the Grace Mulloy I met tonight is white as can be. She told Rorie that she’s Armenian, but it doesn’t feel right.”
Tyler typed in a new search. “I’m not seeing anything obvious about Rorie’s race or ethnicity in these results.”
Cecily nodded. “Rorie's got the type of appearance that you can’t just look at her and tell what her family background is. And in half the pictures you pulled up, Rorie’s completely overexposed. She looks white as a ghost. So, an impostor would never know.”
“Mom, are you gonna tell her?”
Cecily squeezed her eyes shut, debating. After everything Bailey and Phinn had told her about their relatives, she was terrified that Grace was trying to take advantage of Rorie. On the other hand, she vividly recalled Rorie’s agitation when she’d raised some of these questions tonight. She needed to tread carefully. “This isn’t enough to make her listen. I need some real proof.”
“Why don’t you just ask her dad?”
“She hasn’t talked to him in years, Tyler. I doubt she even knows where he is.”
“San Diego.”
Cecily’s eyebrows shot up. “How do you know that?”
Tyler shrugged and pointed to the computer. “His address is right here. Some people really need to learn how to use privacy settings on social media.”
Cecily bit her lower lip, deep in thought. “Can you email that to me?” She stood up from her chair and ruffled Tyler’s hair as he slapped at her hand. “Thanks, kiddo. I appreciate your help.” If people kept recognizing her the way the waitress at the restaurant had tonight, she might need Tyler to run a check on her own privacy settings soon.
“Does that mean I can take your car back up to LA tonight and stay with Reese? Her hotel’s right near campus.”
Cecily sighed heavily. “Not tonight. I reserve the right as your mother to make you endure one night in Orange County as punishment for lying to me. But you’re right about me being unfair about Reese. If you drop me off at Grant Studios tomorrow morning, I’ll rent a car for the rest of the week and you can go stay with her in LA until she goes home. After that, I’m not sure what we’ll do.”
She sat up in bed late that night, fretting over Rorie’s mother, and Tyler, and what to do about her job in Portland. Even as she drifted off before dawn, the questions outweighed the answers two to one. She regretted intensely that Rorie wasn’t sleeping beside her, but she would call her in the morning, grovel if she had to, but even if she had to make the drive from LA to Grant Studios every day, she vowed that nothing would keep them apart for the rest of her time at home. As for the future, they'd just have to figure it out as they went.
“You’re sure you don’t mind Tyler living with you?” Cecily searched Rorie’s eyes as she spoke
, looking for any clue that this was asking too much. The love that radiated back filled her with warmth and put her mind at ease.
The week had passed quickly, and once again they were standing beside the roped entrance to airport security, preparing to say goodbye. Rorie kissed Cecily lightly on the lips. “I really don’t mind,” she assured her. “You know, ever since helping him move into that dorm, sometimes I look at him and wonder what if? Maybe there’s some alternate universe out there where we raised him together because every now and then I get these maternal instincts that I never knew I had.”
“I appreciate so much what you’re doing for him now.” Cecily’s heart sank as she checked the time. “I have to get to my gate. But I’m going to figure something out when I get to Portland because I can’t go this long again without seeing you.”
“What if this turns into a permanent gig?”
“I love the job, but I love you more. The only way I'll even consider it is if I can be open about who we are, and see you every chance I get. Either way, I’ll be home for Thanksgiving in just four more weeks. We can survive that long, right?” She clenched Rorie to her in a warm embrace. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Call me when you get to Portland!”
As Cecily boarded the plan and squeezed into the window seat, she thought she heard a voice from another row asking: Isn’t that Laura from Portland Blue? People had been staring at her in the waiting area, too, and she suddenly realized why. The third episode of the show had just aired, and her character was emerging as a fan favorite in early reviews. Privately, Cecily wondered how much of that had to do with her, and how much was because of the media attention given to speculation over her and Brad Perris’s supposed love affair. Would the public lose interest once those rumors died down? Cecily was determined to find out, because the one thing she couldn’t do was continue with this charade.
While she was home, she’d told Rorie about her suspicions that Jonas had arranged her contract to include the fake relationship as part of a public relations ploy. Together, they’d reread the contract, and then sent it and a copy of the contract extension Cecily had just received to Rorie’s lawyer, Helen Wellington, to review as well. Their suspicions were confirmed, and Helen had sent back suggested changes for Cecily to insist upon before signing the extension.
Love's Encore Series (Books One and Two) Page 37
