by Elena Aitken
The older woman turned around, a mischievous smile on her face. “I’m going to spend the day at the Springs resort,” she said. “I think I’m long overdue for a little pampering.”
“The Springs?” Milena laughed. “That’s funny,” she said. “My dad decided to take the day off and spend it up there today, too.”
“Well, that is certainly a coincidence, isn’t it?” Estelle gave her a little wave and before Milena could say anything else, she was out the door.
If she didn’t have a massive amount of work to do, Milena might have spent a little more time thinking about what an unusual coincidence it actually was, but she had more than enough to keep her busy. And the very first thing she was going to do was look into a fair market value for Estelle’s house. If she was even toying with the idea of downsizing, maybe Milena could find just the right offer that would make everyone happy.
Chapter Ten
What Cal really wanted to do was go find Milena and take her back to their tent. Their night had been amazing, but way too short. All his time with Milena was way too short.
But they both had careers they were trying to build and that was important, too. He couldn’t lose himself completely in the woman. No matter how badly he wanted to.
Which was why during their little unplanned break, Cal had decided that instead of tracking her down at her office to distract her with kisses, he’d head to the gazebo down by the beach and make sure he knew his lines cold before going back into the rehearsal. He wasn’t about to give Jade, or anyone else, any reason to call him out.
No. It was way better to have the negative attention, if there had to be any at all, focused on Bridget instead of him.
“Are you sure you don’t want to grab a coffee?” Byron asked him for the second time. “Most of the cast is headed to Dream Puffs to wait out this little storm. And talk about it of course.”
“No.” Cal shook his head. It was tempting, but he wanted to keep himself as distant from Bridget, including her drama, as he could. He may have the unfortunate distinction of having dated her once, but that was the only connection he wanted to have with her. If her ship was sinking, it could sink on its own. She would not take him down with her. “Thanks. But I had a late night last night, and I think I could benefit from a little fresh air.”
“I’m sure you did.” Byron winked at him and then shook his head. Cal knew his new friend didn’t support the idea that he’d settled down with a girlfriend. Byron wanted a wing man. He’d have to look elsewhere because as much as it might not make sense, he was definitely happy to be a one-woman man with Milena.
Cal waved him away and headed down to the beach. The day was already starting to get warm. But it was nothing like an Australian summer day. A summer day in the mountains was infinitely better.
Fortunately, the families starting to make their way down to the beach were looking for sun and the gazebo was still empty. Cal sat down right in the middle of the floor and looked out at the lake and the gentle lapping of the waves as they washed up on to the beach. Milena was right. He could see why she liked to do yoga there—it was so peaceful. Even with the children running and playing around him—maybe because of that—the whole scene inspired peace in him. Cal almost laughed at himself and the idea that he could understand why Milena liked doing yoga at all. It wasn’t all that long ago he’d stuck his nose up at the idea of yoga altogether. But Milena had changed that. Milena had changed a lot of things. He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, letting his breath come slowly and naturally. He pressed his hands together in front of his chest and contemplated doing a few moves.
If Milena could see him now, she would most definitely laugh at him. But then she’d join him. Besides, it wasn’t as if anyone could see. And even if they did, who cared?
Cal stood and let his arms raise over his head as he ran through one of the sun salutations he’d learned when he was doing his research for their date. To his surprise, it felt good to feel his muscles loosen up. He repeated the moves, coming down into downward dog and then cobra as he stretched his head up to the sky. Cal was just about to run through them one more time, when a voice stopped him with the chill.
“Well, this is different.”
Cal snapped his eyes open and sat up to see Bridget in front of him.
“I have to say,” she said. “I never thought I would see you lying on the floor doing yoga.”
Cal pushed himself up to his knees and then a standing position. He brushed off his pants and crossed his arms. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Bridget. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out trying to save your career?”
Her eyes flashed with anger and her cheeks burned red for a moment before her face transformed completely into a mask of rage. Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t think you should be so worried about me, Cal McCormick. I’m a star. This little show should be grateful to have me on board. I bring star quality to this operation. Everyone else here is just an unknown.”
“Bridget, it’s that attitude that’s getting you into trouble here.” He didn’t know why he was even trying to help her a little bit. His life would be so much easier if she was gone, but it wasn’t like him to completely ignore a situation. He was probably shooting himself in the foot by saying anything at all, but he couldn’t help himself. “Maybe if you stop acting like such a diva, and actually put some effort in, there wouldn’t be such a problem. The rest of us have been working hard to make this a success. You should feel lucky to be involved in such a show. That is, if…” He didn’t finish the thought. He didn’t have to. They’d both been there when Jade made her threat. It was clear what was on the line for Bridget.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere. And you’re going to make sure of it.”
“What exactly are you talking about?”
Bridget walked into the gazebo as if it were her own space and stopped directly in front of him. She looked him square in the eye. “I think you know exactly what I mean.”
Cal tried not to laugh because it clearly wasn’t a laughing matter. Bridget was pissed, and when Bridget was pissed, the whole world knew about it, or at least she wanted them to. “I actually have no idea, Bridget.”
“What I mean is that I know you have something to do with trying to get me off the show. And I’m not going to stand for it.”
Cal opened his mouth to object, but Bridget was on a roll.
“I know that you think you’ve moved on with this new girl. And I know she’s the reason you want me out.” Cal shook his head, but Bridget kept talking. “But I know a thing or two about her type. She’s not cut out for this life, Cal. I saw her at the party the other night, and how she ran outside to hide. And I bet you’re trying to protect her, too. Aren’t you? Well, you can’t hide her forever. In fact, that’s what I want to talk to you about.”
He raised his eyebrows, but didn’t say anything.
“If you don’t make damn sure that my position is safe on the show,” she continued, “and right away, you won’t be able to hide her at all.”
What the hell was she talking about? First of all, she had to know that Cal had zero say in her position on the show. And it really didn’t have anything to do with Milena. She was delusional. But delusional was dangerous, especially when it came to Bridget.
Damn.
Not for the first time, he could not believe how blind he’d been to her and who she really was. He could just kick himself for dating her at all, let alone thinking that she might be the one. He’d been such a fool.
“What I’m saying,” Bridget continued, “is that if all of this drama doesn’t settle down, and soon, your little girlfriend is going to be thrust into the spotlight. Something tells me she’s not going to be very happy with how it’s done.” Bridget held a thumb drive inches from his nose. “Go ahead, take a look. These are only copies. But if you don’t get things sorted out with Jade, on my behalf, and I mean right now, these pictures are going to be released to the media, al
ong with a little story about who exactly your little girlfriend is, where she comes from, and everything else in between. I can’t promise the facts have been completely checked. But it won’t matter.”
Cal looked between Bridget and the thumb drive and finally plucked it from her fingers. He couldn’t imagine what she possibly had on Milena, but he also knew it didn’t have to be the truth; it didn’t have to be anywhere near the truth. As long as it made a good story, that’s all that mattered to a magazine like Stars Secrets. And it was all that mattered to Bridget. And it would be all that would matter to Milena, who had told him specifically that she wanted to stay out of the spotlight.
“Bridget,” he started. “You realize I don’t have any say in this type of thing with the show. Don’t you?”
She laughed, a high-pitched, cackling sound. “What I do know is that you are the little brother of one of the executive producers, and you happen to be playing him on the show. That’s fucked up for so many reasons. Nepotism being the least. So don’t tell me you don’t have any say in what happens here. Because you and I both know that’s bullshit.”
It wasn’t bullshit. He got the role fairly. Hadn’t he? Sure, there was probably an edge because he was Ian’s brother, but he was a good actor. And he was going to nail this role. Regardless, it had nothing to do with Milena. She had no right to be dragged into this. Bridget was just a spiteful bitch for thinking she could get what she wanted this way.
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m not doing it. You can’t blackmail me, Bridget. That’s not how this works.”
She grinned. “Isn’t it? You haven’t even looked at the pictures yet. I’ll give you till morning. You do whatever it is you have to do, but I expect an answer first thing.”
And just like that, she was gone. Cal didn’t bother watching her walk down the beach or check to see what direction she’d gone in. He had no intention of following her. He looked at the thumb drive in his hand. There was no way he was going to give in to her threats. He knew that.
But then again…he needed to know what Bridget thought she had on him, and more specifically, on Milena. He wouldn’t let her get hurt. He cared about her way too much.
Besides, he’d made a promise.
Whatever peace there might have been in the gazebo was gone. And Cal was pretty sure no amount of yoga would bring it back. Not until he’d shut things down with Bridget. He needed to get to his computer to see what he was dealing with.
“Thank you for meeting me here.”
“It’s my house.” Mitch smirked. “It’s not like we had a choice.”
Cal ignored his older brother and looked around the table at his brothers. He’d purposely left the women out of the meeting, despite the fact that Jade was the producer in charge and it was Gwen’s show. He’d wrestled with what to do all day, and he still didn’t have any answers, but what he did know was if anyone would have any insight, it would be his brothers.
“Well, I appreciate you guys canceling whatever plans you had to be here,” Cal said. “It’s important. Thank you.”
“Chelsea was pissed.” Declan shook his head. “She said something about being tired of being left out of family things and it wasn’t fair and you may need to get your head out of your ass.”
“She did not say that.” Cal shot him a look.
But Dec nodded. “She did. She said that whatever it was you were talking about, she should be involved if it was a family thing.”
Cal shook his head. He could not deal with his sister right now. He sighed. “I didn’t invite Mom either.”
“About that.” Ian spoke up. “She hasn’t said anything, but I can tell she’s getting a little upset that you haven’t spent much time with her. She made a comment the other night about how you were too famous to spend any real time with your mother.”
Cal dropped his head into his hands. He wasn’t trying to slight his mother. Not at all. In fact, he’d been the only one to visit her that summer prior to returning to Cedar Springs. It was only because Mitch was planning a quickie surprise wedding that Declan had gone to get her to bring her out to the lake. So really, he was the only brother who she shouldn’t be mad at.
He realized his theory was flawed. But he had other problems. Bigger problems.
He’d looked at the thumb drive.
He sat up straight, put his hands on the table and started his little meeting. “I have a problem.”
“Oh shit.” Mitch shook his head and ran a hand through the scruff on his chin that he insisted on growing. “She’s pregnant, isn’t she? Well, don’t worry. It’s not a deal breaker. It doesn’t have to be anyway. I know it’s not what you planned but that doesn’t mean that you can’t—”
“Milena is not pregnant.” Cal ran his hands through his hair and resisted the urge to pull it out. His brothers were a huge source of support, but they were also incredibly frustrating at times. “It’s nothing like that. It’s worse.”
“Hey.” Mitch held up his hand in protest. “I don’t think a baby is all that bad.”
“Seriously?” Cal glared at Mitch, who was smiling and clearly enjoying putting his little brother through hell. “If you’re not interested in helping me out, you can leave.”
It was Declan who was the voice of reason. He was always the voice of reason for his brothers. He put a hand on Cal’s shoulder and pushed him back into his chair. “We’re listening, Cal. Talk. What’s going on?”
“I’m being blackmailed.” He slid the thumb drive onto the table and crossed his arms. “And I really don’t know what the right thing to do is.”
“Never negotiate with terrorists,” Ian said with a grin, as if it were that simple. “Seriously, though. Who’s blackmailing you?”
“And more importantly,” Mitch chimed in. “What do they have on you?”
Cal closed his eyes briefly and visions of the pictures he’d seen earlier that day flashed in his memory. They were intimate pictures and they had no business being in anyone else’s hands, let alone Bridget’s. The thought that someone had been watching him and Milena while they were being intimate made him sick. “It’s not that they have anything on me,” Cal said. “I haven’t done anything I need to hide.”
“Then what’s the problem? Who cares then?” Ian crossed his arms and sat back as if the matter was closed.
“It’s Milena.”
“What’s she done?” It was Declan who asked.
She hadn’t done anything. That was the entire problem. But what Cal really wanted to say was, she loved me. But instead, he opened his mouth and told his brothers the whole story, starting with the way he’d promised Milena he’d keep her out of the limelight as much as he could, all the way to Jade threatening Bridget with being kicked off the show, to Bridget confronting him with the pictures.
“Wow.” Mitch shook his head. “Jade made that call? On her own?” He was clearly impressed with his wife’s tenacity. “I knew she was stressed out about Bridget’s performance, but she was feeling a little trapped by the executive producer and—”
“That’s not really the issue here,” Cal interrupted him. Maybe asking Mitch for advice was a bad idea. “The issue is that I know she’ll do it. I know she’ll take these pictures to the tabloids and—”
“Milena will be devastated,” Dec finished for him.
He nodded. “Exactly. I can’t break my promise to her. I know how important it is to her to stay private. And these photos are definitely private.”
In any other circumstance, Cal would have found the pictures downright sexy. The photographer had captured Milena in the dim light, straddling him, with her hair wild around her shoulders and her breasts perfectly showcased in silhouette. Despite the fact they were in the tent, the thin material and the lighting hadn’t provided nearly as much privacy as Cal assumed it would. The looks on each of their faces had been nothing short of ecstasy.
But the fact that they’d been taken by someone who’d intruded on their privacy in such a way made
the photos repulsive. More so because he knew how hurt Milena would be if they were made public. She’d just finished telling him how she still had insecurities, and it didn’t matter how many times he told her she was beautiful and sexy and absolutely amazing; Cal was pretty sure that having pictures of her almost completely naked show up in a national magazine was definitely not going to be a good thing.
He’d promised her.
“I have to talk to Jade,” Cal said. “She needs to reconsider her threat to Bridget.”
“You’re not serious.” Ian pushed back his chair in a deafening scrape. “I’m involved in this show too and there is no way that I’m going to let something like this happen. If Bridget isn’t the right actress, we need to replace her. I trust Jade’s judgment on this.”
“More than mine?” Cal jumped up and stood in front of his brother.
“Yes,” Ian said simply. “In this matter, I definitely trust her judgment more than yours. You’re clouded on this, Cal. You have to think of the show. You can’t possibly want to be involved in a sinking ship either. This is your career we’re talking about,” Ian said. “Hell, it’s all of our careers. We’re all tied to this.”
“Except for me.” Declan stood between them. “I’m impartial and I think there’s more to consider here than just the show.”
“Exactly,” Cal said, his finger pointed at Ian.
Declan ignored Cal and focused on Ian. “Think about if it was Gwen whose privacy was being threatened.”
“Gwen is very public.”
“Okay,” Declan agreed. “Bad example.” He turned to Cal. “What kind of pictures are we talking about? Really?”
Cal shook his head. “There are some of us paddleboarding and—”
“Paddleboarding? That doesn’t sound like a big deal.” Mitch moved for the table and the thumb drive, but Cal lunged for it and grabbed it before any of his brothers could.
“There are more,” Cal said. “More private pictures.”
“Private?”
Cal nodded. “Really private. Like, bedroom private.”
