by Elena Aitken
“Cal, can I get you a drink?” Jade, being newly pregnant, sipped on a soda water.
“Just a beer, thanks.”
The bartender nodded and quickly complied.
He took a sip and turned his attention to Jade. “I’m here. Just like you requested. Although I’m not really sure why the star of the show should arrive before all the other guests.” He was joking, because they both knew Cal didn’t have any kind of star complex. But Jade didn’t smile.
Something was wrong.
“Thanks for coming so early.” Jade’s voice shook a little.
Jade’s voice never shook. She was one of the most confident women Cal had ever met. It was one of the things that his brother Mitch loved about her so much. Strong woman—nothing fazed her.
Clearly something had.
“All right, what’s going on?” Cal was done beating around the bush. Something was up, and he needed to know what it was.
Jade took a deep breath and on her exhale, her usual smile returned to her face. “I don’t want you to worry.” She shook her hair back from her face. “I’m sorry if I’m being dramatic. I’ve just had so much on my mind lately. With the show, the baby, everything.” Her hands went to her stomach.
Cal could empathize. Maybe. He could imagine how much stress it would be to try to pull off a show like Mr. Summer, especially considering Jade had never produced before. Up until a few months ago, she’d been Gwen’s agent, and all of the sudden she was in charge of the show. It had to be stressful. Never mind a surprise pregnancy on top of it.
“The reason I asked you here early…” A noise behind them caught their attention and they both turned to see a man and woman near the kitchen doors in a deep, and what looked to be an intimate, conversation. “Oh, there she is now.”
That was the actress who was going to play the lead across from him? It had to be. After all, that was the whole reason they were having the party.
But she didn’t look like an actress. The woman was pretty, but she was dressed in simple black pants, boots, and a blue sleeveless shirt. Definitely not party wear. Especially if you were the lead.
Jade turned back to Cal with a look of apology on her face. “I’m sorry.” She squeezed his arm and looked him in the eye. “You know you’re going to meet your co-star tonight.” It wasn’t a question, but Cal nodded nonetheless. “And you know the producers wanted to use the moment as a publicity opportunity?” He nodded again. “That’s Bria Sheridan. She’s the photographer we hired for the event tonight. The executive producers wanted video, but I really thought photo might be better.”
Cal shrugged, confused. So the woman wasn’t his co-star but his photographer. It seemed as if there was more to the story. If this whole thing was for publicity, what was the problem with the video?
“There’s something I need to tell you about what will happen tonight.”
The flicker of worry was back, only this time it was more of a flame.
“Jade?” the woman, Bria Sheridan, called out.
Jade turned her head and nodded in acknowledgment, and then quickly back to Cal. “I need to talk about this with you. Just give me one more moment, please. I should touch base with Bria and that’s Jax Carver—he’s the head chef here, and in charge of the food tonight. I really should check in with him, too.” She squeezed his arm one more time and looked in his eyes. “It’s times like this I could really use an assistant.” She tried to joke, but it didn’t even reach her eyes. There was definitely something going on. The stress coming off her was palpable. “I’ll just be one minute. Don’t move. There is something I need to tell you about what could happen tonight.”
Cal nodded. “Of course,” he said with a smile meant to reassure her. “Jade, whatever it is, don’t worry about it. You have a lot going on and I’m sure the party will be great. I’ll be here. Come find me when you have a minute.”
He watched for a few minutes while Jade went about her business, taking care of all the details. Whatever they were. When he finished his beer, Cal walked around the room for a few moments and finally, when he looked back to see where Jade was, she was gone.
Not that it mattered. Whatever was going to happen, was going to happen. People had started to arrive, and bored with standing around waiting, Cal went to socialize.
He was in the middle of a conversation with Byron and some of the supporting actors when a flash of red caught his eye. Instinctively, he knew it was Milena. Without even excusing himself from the conversation, he left the men where they stood and moved quickly across the room to the side door, and Milena and Mitch.
“You are stunning.” He took both her hands in his and held her out so he could take her all in. The dress she wore hugged her curves and danced enticingly around her knees. With strappy black heels on, her legs were long and begged him to run his hands up them to discover where they disappeared to. She was amazing. He twirled her quickly so he could watch the skirt of her dress float around her legs, before he pulled her in for a kiss.
Somewhere he heard the sound of a camera, but it wasn’t important enough for him to release the beautiful creature in his arms.
“Do you guys need to get a room?” Mitch tapped him on the shoulder. “Seriously, people are starting to stare.”
Somewhat reluctantly, Cal pulled himself away from Milena. “Can you blame me? She’s gorgeous.”
“You do look fantastic, Milena,” Mitch said.
“Thank you.” She smiled. “And thank you so much for bringing me tonight, Mitch.”
“Thanks, brother.” Cal slapped him on the back. “However, I would have much preferred to walk in with you on my arm. I’m still not even sure why Jade wanted me to come early. Any ideas?” he asked Mitch.
His brother shook his head. “None. I’m as much in the dark as you are.” He looked around the room that was starting to fill up. “Do you have any idea where my beautiful wife is?”
“Last I saw her, she was talking to a photographer and the chef.” Cal scanned the room. “But the photographer is right over…” There was a commotion of activity at the main entrance. “Maybe this is the big moment?” He looked to Milena and Mitch, but neither of them knew anything more. As if in answer to his question, Jade appeared in their little group.
“Hey babe. There you are.” Mitch greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. She gave him a squeeze, but it was clear her mind was on other things. “Are you okay?” Concern lined Mitch’s face.
Definitely not for the first time, Cal had that same sense of unease. Something was up.
She nodded quickly. “I’m good.” Her attention turned to Milena briefly. “You look beautiful. That dress is amazing,” she said. “Live, Love, Lake?”
“Evie is a miracle worker,” Milena said.
“She’s only enhancing your beauty.” Cal looked directly into her eyes. Forget the party. What he really wanted was to get her alone and strip her out of that amazing dress.
“Evie is fantastic,” Jade agreed. A moment later, she turned to Cal, all business. “I need to borrow you.”
“Now?”
Jade nodded sharply. “Now. It’s time to meet your co-star.”
“She’s here?”
Jade nodded, but she didn’t look happy.
“Okay.” He reached for Milena’s hand. “Let’s go.”
“No.” Jade gave a quick shake of her head. “Alone. I really think it’s better to do this alone.”
“Jade?” Mitch put his hand on his wife’s arm. “What’s going on? I think you should have a glass of water.”
She relaxed long enough to spare him a quick look of gratitude. “Thank you, Mitch. I’m fine. Really. But I need to get this done.” Jade focused again on Cal. “Come with me. There’s something I want to tell you—”
“Cal!”
An all-too-familiar voice split the air and the noise in the crowd dimmed as the only thing Cal could focus on was the source of the voice who’d called out his name in a very distinct accent. He l
ooked over his shoulder and then very quickly back to Jade for confirmation of what he hoped wasn’t true.
Jade’s mouth was set in a thin line.
“Jade?” Cal gripped Milena’s hand tighter. “Tell me that—”
“Cal McCormick.” The familiar Australian voice was right behind him and the time for questions was long over. He needed answers. Now.
Jade nodded and closed her eyes briefly before she snapped them open again. “Cal, meet your co-star, Bridget Murphy.”
It was the last thing he wanted to do, but still holding Milena’s hand, Cal turned around.
“Oh, we know each other very well,” Bridget said. “Don’t we, lover?”
Before he could object, Bridget put one hand on each side of his face and pulled him forward, yanking his hand away from Milena’s. Bridget’s red lips turned up into a wicked smile moments before she crushed them onto his.
“What the…”
When Cal’s hand was ripped from hers, Milena stumbled and took a few steps backward, teetering in her heels before she caught herself. By the time she steadied herself, the crowd had closed in the hole she’d left and Milena was on the outside of a growing circle of people around her boyfriend and a woman who clearly was more than a simple co-star.
Bridget Murphy, Jade had said. The Bridget Murphy. Cal had told her about his ex-girlfriend in Australia.
But he hadn’t told her how gorgeous she was.
Of course she’s gorgeous, Milena chastised herself. She’s a celebrity, for God’s sake.
All celebrities were gorgeous. Especially those who starred in television shows called Beach Bodies. But still. She was so pretty. So thin and…
She’d kissed him.
She’d kissed him.
And not just any kiss. She’d kissed him as if she had every right to slip her tongue down his throat.
As if they were together.
Oh God.
Milena’s stomach churned. She took another step back. She needed to get away from the crowd. Get some air and clear her head. She took one more look at the cluster of people who were yelling questions. A camera flash kept going off, capturing the big reveal. Or in this case, reunion.
She’d seen enough.
With everyone’s attention taken, she moved quickly across the room and out the door to the big deck. It might be the middle of July, but the air was cool in the shadow of the mountain. Milena took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh air, letting it fill her lungs. What she really wanted to do was get down on the floor and do some simple yoga moves but in her heels and short dress, that would be completely inappropriate. She’d have to settle for some deep breaths.
“It’s quite the scene in there, isn’t it?”
Startled, Milena’s eyes flew open and landed on a young woman sitting alone on the large rock ledge, dangling her feet over. She was pretty. Probably an actress on the show, too. But she didn’t seem pretentious or full of herself like Milena had expected the stars to be.
Like her first impression of Bridget Murphy.
“It really is.” Milena forced herself not to focus on the scene inside that she’d just witnessed and instead on the mystery girl. “So why are you out here?”
The woman laughed. “Are you kidding? That whole spectacle in there is the exact reason I’m out here.” She extended her hand, and for the first time, Milena could see the bottle of champagne in her other hand. “I’m Alison. I work on the show.”
Milena shook her hand and when Alison gestured her to sit down, she slipped off her shoes and navigated the little wall so she sat next to her. It looked as though the wall dangled over a cliff, but really the grassy lawn was only a few feet below. Milena breathed a little sigh of relief and swung her feet.
“So what do you do on the show?” she asked.
Alison laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “I was standing in for the role of Gwen, but now I’ll just be an extra if I’m lucky. More likely I’ll be Miss Bridget Murphy’s assistant.” She snorted and took a swig from the bottle. “What about you? I haven’t seen you around.”
Milena looked down at her bare feet, with the perfect red pedicure she’d gotten just for that evening to match the dress she’d carefully shopped for, and sighed. “I’m dating Cal McCormick.” The words sounded ridiculous coming out of her mouth, particularly considering the scene going on inside, but it was the truth.
“No way.”
Milena nodded. “Way.”
“Ha. I think you need this more than I do.” Alison handed Milena the bottle.
She stared at it for a minute. She’d never been the drink-from-the-bottle type of girl. Of course, she’d never been the date-a-television-star-only-to-be-totally-humiliated-at-her-first-Hollywood-type party type either. She shrugged and put the champagne to her lips.
“Jade! What the fuck was that?” Cal’s voice cut through the air, and before she took a drink, Milena lowered the bottle. Both women turned around to see Cal leading Jade Johnson out to the patio, with his hand on her arm. Mitch was hot on their heels.
“This just got interesting.” Alison grabbed the bottle back.
Milena ignored her. She only had eyes and ears for the new dramatic scene playing out in front of her. The others hadn’t noticed them there. Milena thought she might speak up and say something, but Cal was intensely focused on Jade. His eyes flashed, his handsome jaw was set and he looked….intense was the only word she could think of.
She’d never seen him look so focused. Or angry.
“Cal, I tried to—”
“You tried to tell me what?” Cal cut her off. “That not only was my ex-girlfriend going to be my co-star but that the whole thing was going to be dropped on me as a huge fucking publicity stunt? Is that what you were going to tell me?”
“Yes, I…I didn’t want to—”
“You didn’t want to what? Shanghai me like that?” Cal crossed his arms and glared at the woman. “That was bullshit, Jade, and you know it.”
“Hey.” Mitch stepped between them. “That’s not fair. Give her a chance to speak, Cal.”
Cal whirled on his brother. “This has nothing to do with you. It’s business.”
“It’s okay, Mitch.” Jade put her hand on Mitch’s arm. “It’s fine. Cal should be upset.”
“Damn right I should be upset.”
“He has no right to speak to you like that.”
Milena shifted. It didn’t feel right to sit there listening to a family dispute. Or was it a professional one? It was hard to tell, the lines were so blurred. Either way, she didn’t want any part of it. She was beginning to think she didn’t want any part of any of this anymore. She liked Cal. A lot. But she wasn’t going to hide out as his girlfriend if his producers wanted an on-screen/off-screen romance to happen between Cal and Bridget.
No way.
“I’m going to go,” she whispered to Alison. “This doesn’t feel right.”
To her surprise, Alison nodded. “I agree.”
A little less gracefully than she would have liked, Milena slipped off the wall. She picked her shoes up, hoping to sneak inside without being spotted, but it was too late.
“Milena!”
She turned to Alison for help, but she only winked at Milena and said, “Good luck.” And then she disappeared inside.
She didn’t have any choice. Milena took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders and pasted a smile on her face before she turned around.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Cal crossed the patio and was at her side in a moment. “Where did you go?”
It was an obvious question so Milena didn’t bother answering it. Besides that, he couldn’t possibly have been looking everywhere for her. She hadn’t been gone long and he was obviously preoccupied with his ex-girlfriend. But Milena didn’t bother pointing any of that out. “I’ve been right here.”
“Why did you leave?” Concern lined his face where only a moment ago, she’d seen anger. “I’m so sorry about that.
I had no idea Bridget was going to be here, and even less of a clue that they were going to ambush me like that. Are you okay?”
If she’d been feeling any animosity for him at all, it vanished in a moment to see him so worried about her. “I’m fine.” She used her hands to brush her skirt off. “I just needed a breather. That was kind of…”
“Insane?”
Milena nodded.
“It was.” Cal stroked her cheeks with his hands for a moment before he pulled her close and kissed her sweetly. “You look amazing tonight, have I told you that yet?”
She smiled and looked down, unwilling to accept the compliment. “You have.”
“Well, it’s true.” He clasped her hand tightly in his. “And I’m not letting you out of my sight for the rest of the night. Unless, of course, you want to leave?”
The idea did sound appealing. Very appealing.
She opened her mouth to tell him exactly that when another voice interrupted.
“You can’t leave.”
With diminishing patience, Cal turned around to see Jade wringing her hands and looking even more upset than she had been when he was yelling at her. “Cal, I’m so sorry for how it all went down. I didn’t want to do it. It wasn’t right, but I was—”
“You were what?” He tried to rein in his anger, but he was struggling. What she’d done was inexcusable and she better have a pretty good explanation, and quick. “You were forced to be a bitch? Come on, Jade.”
“That’s enough.” Mitch once again was between them. “Look, I know you’re pissed. Hell, I’d be pissed too.” Jade blanched and that caught Cal’s attention. Clearly she was struggling with her own role in what had transpired as well. Despite his own anger, Cal felt it slipping a bit. “But you need to hear Jade out,” Mitch continued. “Because something tells me she was just the messenger here.”
Next to him, Milena squeezed his hand. She was an incredible woman and he was just so glad she hadn’t turned heel and run after the little performance inside. He couldn’t even imagine how it had made her feel. “Is that true?” he asked Jade. “Was this all your idea or were you just—”
“Oh God no.” Jade stepped forward. “I would never do something like this unless…hell, I didn’t want to do it at all, Cal. Please believe me. This is not the kind of publicity I want for Mr. Summer. But Peter Short, the executive producer, had other ideas and when he found out Bridget Murphy was interested in the role, he thought it would be the perfect opportunity to bring some attention to the project.”
