"Sure, make jokes. You're not the one that has to deal with those assholes, Cade," she said, her voice full of exasperation.
I ran my hand through my hair and expelled my breath. "Look, it wasn't a deliberate plan to derail the bloody production company's promotional plan. We were hungry, so we went to the market, and the other time, it was late, we were dodging all of the cameras and we accidentally jumped in the wrong limo. There were five of them sitting there. Anyone could have made that mistake. Bloody hell!"
She paused for a minute, and I was tired of arguing about meaningless bullshit.
"What about the other thing?" she finally asked in a more quiet tone.
"What other thing?"
"You walking into her hotel and going up to her room in front of everyone?
I sighed and dropped my head, rubbing the back of my neck wearily. I was so tired of having my life dissected like I was a lab rat.
"That was unfortunate, but I was already photographed with her, and she is where I want to be. For Christ's sake! I'll be away from her for almost three months, soon enough. I don't even want to do that stupid movie," I said more softly into the phone.
"I know. I'm sorry you guys have to go through this, Cade, but it's all part of it."
"This isn't what I signed up for."
"I know. It would probably be easier if you weren't with Brook. You didn't think you'd be with her either, did you?" she said.
"I hoped I would be with her. And fuck it all... I wouldn't change it. Even to end this madness."
No, I wouldn't change a minute of my time with her.
I glanced at my phone to check the time. My rehearsals were done, and as soon as Martin came to this set from working with Brook and the others, we could begin. The assistant director was here getting things ready, but this was a pivotal scene and Martin had to be here. We were also waiting for Brook to arrive.
My phone rang as I waited; I cringed when I saw who it was.
"Yeah?" Why did I even answer the damn thing?
"Hi, baby. What are you doing?"
"Wendy, I told you to stop calling me. I'm about to go to work," the impatience I felt seeping into every syllable.
"I'm only calling to ask what you want for your birthday. We said we're going to be friends, so..."
The ache in my gut that occurred whenever something had the potential to screw up my relationship with Brook started to burn. "I don't want any gifts, and I don't want to be friends. Look, I thought your friendship with Brook was so important to you, but you are seriously screwing with it, and you're putting me in a position where I don’t want to be. I will tell her about this call." I hung up on her before she could respond.
I hoped she wasn't going to just show up on my birthday the way she had last week when Ethan and Dawson were in town. I wasn't sure if she was just persistent or just incredibly stupid.
I WAS EXHAUSTED. The scenes of Ryan crying at Julia’s bedside were killers. Cade was even more spent. I could see it in his expression and the way his movements were slower than usual.
“What kind of pizza do you guys want?" I asked as Jennifer laid down on one of the sofas and Noah flopped down in one of the upholstered chairs and commandeered the remote to the television. We were winding down and having Leah here without a buffer might make it too easy for Cade and I to act like, well, Cade and I. We didn’t know the new actress and we’re not sure we could trust her.
"Everything!" Noah said enthusiastically, hanging one muscled leg over the arm and leaned back in his chair.
"Brook, are you ordering a vegetable pizza? If so, I'll just grab a slice of that," Jennifer answered and then yawned. "It's been a hellaciously long day. I'm lucky I don't have any retakes tomorrow."
"At least you get to go to Italy," Noah said absently, as he settled on a reality TV show channel. "When is Cade gonna get here, Jules?"
I rolled my eyes. Noah called me by my character’s nickname often, and while I supposed it was sweet in a weird sort of way, it sometimes grated on my nerves.
"I think soon. That new actress, Leah St. Clare is also stopping by. Do you know her Jen?”
The other girl huffed. “No, but I’ve heard of her.”
“Wow, that doesn’t sound good.”
“She makes Wendy look like cotton candy.”
My heart dropped. “Awesome. I'm going to order the pizza and then hop in the shower so I can go to bed early. Are you guys going to be okay out here until I'm finished? I'll be quick."
I walked into the bedroom and dialed the pizza place, ordered two large pizzas, then peeled off my clothes and got in the shower. It was 6:30 and I hoped that Cade would be done by now and on his way back to the hotel. I’d left him on set to go over some things with Martin. Peter would have to drop him in the garage, and he would have to run up the stairs once again. It didn’t matter that other cast members were here for the paparazzi’s benefit; Cade would want to avoid the mobs of fans.
The water felt wonderful as I let my muscles relax and my eyes close. I was so tired all I really wanted to do was crawl into bed. As I towel dried my hair and threw on some cut off sweats and a small white T-Shirt, hoping I'd see Cade in the living room with Noah and Jennifer, but he wasn't there yet.
I went to the bar and got a Diet Coke. "Do you guys want something to drink?" I offered. When neither answered, I grabbed a Coke for each of them and plopped down on the other chair to wait for the pizza. Jennifer was asleep, and Noah was engrossed in the TV.
My eyes were drooping and I was feeling sleep starting to seep into my muscles and brain when a knock at the door startled me awake.
I ran my hands through my hair and I went to find my purse. Noah looked up from the TV.
"Is it Cade?" he asked anxiously.
"I think it's just the pizza," I said. "Cade has a key." I stopped and glanced at Noah underneath my lashes. His mouth tightened and he nodded. We had become good friends in the time we'd spent filming together, but I was aware of the crush he'd developed. He was aware of my relationship with Cade. It wasn't like it was a secret on set anymore, plus, we'd talked about it, so his reaction made me a little uncomfortable. Also, I knew he wanted the professional connections Cade represented.
I paid for the pizza and found some plates, silverware, and napkins in the cabinet behind the bar.
"Help yourselves." I started to pull a piece of the vegetable pizza onto a plate when I heard the door open and I knew it would be Cade. I turned toward him and a big smile split my face as he came toward me. He was dressed in a red button-down shirt and a gray jacket over his jeans.
"Hey Jennifer, Noah," he said as his eyes met mine and he strode straight toward me. "Will you both excuse us for just a moment?"
"Hey!” I began to greet him. “Ooof," I grunted as the air left my lungs. He bent and hoisted me over his shoulder and walked away from them. Jennifer laughed and Noah just watched without speaking.
"Cade, what are you doing? You're acting like a caveman." He chuckled and continued to haul me away.
"Thank you, I feel like one," he said in a low tone as he kicked the bedroom door shut behind us.
"You're giving Noah a very nice view of my ass," I teased him. "Was that your intention?"
"Not at all," he murmured, as he moved me off of his shoulder and slid me down his body. His arms went around my waist and his hands fisted in my shirt as he pulled me close. "This is my intention."
My hands moved up his chest and around his neck as his mouth swooped down to devour mine. Our tongues laved each other and it felt so incredible my knees went weak. Kissing, licking, and tasting; we continued until finally I dragged my mouth from his, gasping for breath.
"Cade. Noah and Jennifer..."
He bent to slide his hands lower over my butt to my thighs as he lifted me against him. My legs parted and wound around his waist as he pressed me to him.
"Who cares? Oh, God. You feel so good," his velvet voice was so seductive that I doubted I'd have the strength to s
top if I let it continue for one more minute. But I wanted it and wanted it bad.
"Cade. I don't want to stop, but we have to." I rested my head against his as we both stroked each other’s face. Since I'd denied him my mouth, his lips made a hot trail across my cheek and down my neck where he sucked and licked making me tremble.
"Stop, now, honey." His mouth stilled and he slowly set me on my feet. I gave him a sad smile and let my hand trace down his chest.
"Aren't you hungry?"
"Starving. But you won't feed me." He grinned at me and kicked off his Nikes as he moved to the bathroom.
"I'd love to feed you. You know that, but with Noah and Jen..."
"Ah yes, Noah. So what are you doing parading around all soft and wet from your shower in front of him, hmmm?" I leaned on the door as he threw some water on his face and dried it.
"I'm not all soft and wet..."
"Yes, you are." He picked me up again; placing another kiss on my mouth as he moved to the door. "Let's get this bloody evening over with, shall we?" His arms tightened in a hug before he opened the door and walked me out with his arm still around me.
Noah was already eating, but his eyes rose to take notice of us coming into the room. Jennifer was at the bar getting a piece of pizza.
"Hey, Cade," she smiled at him, "how was it today?"
"It was good. It was all very focused. I’m tired.” Cade let go of me to pick up a plate. "I'm not looking forward to the couple of days we have left on the cover sets."
Noah glanced between the two of us and continued eating.
"Are we rehearsing something, tonight?" Cade teased Jennifer. "Is that why you're here?"
"Thanks a lot, dickhead," she shoved him as she made her way back to the couch but she was laughing.
My eyes widened, and I laughed out loud. Jennifer wasn't one to swear or call anyone names; she was so sweet, and it took me by surprise.
"That's me. Ethan must be wearing off on me." Cade took his pizza and sat down on the chair opposite Noah. "Seriously, I knew you'd be here. Brook told me when we spoke on the phone earlier." He laughed, and she smiled back at him.
After I’d gotten Cade a beer from the refrigerator, I took a piece of pizza and my script for the next film and sat down on the couch next to Jennifer.
I SAT BACK ON the couch and watched Noah's eyes follow Brook as she took my plate and hers to the sink behind the bar. I could tell he really liked her, more than liked her. I felt my body tense in involuntary reaction. Who could blame him? She was amazing in many ways.
I tried to be objective and concentrate on the task at hand.
"Jen, can you read the narration in the places we can't act it out?" I asked and handed her my copy of the script.
"Oh sure, don't you need the script?" she took the copy from my hand and I shook my head.
Noah had followed Brook to the bar and when he came up beside her to set his plate down his hand came up to touch the back of her waist. My eyes narrowed as I watched. He was saying something to her and she was smiling, and despite my determination to blow it off, it didn't sit well with me.
Why am I so bloody jealous? I know she loves me.
I was still watching them as they came back to the main sitting area and Brook's eyes met mine. I wondered if she could tell I was irritated. Her eyebrow rose in question and I averted my eyes.
"So, how are we going to do this?" Noah wanted to know. “Am I reading the Spencer part?”
“Just read all the guy parts that aren’t Ryan,” I said. “Since Ethan isn’t here yet.”
Jennifer sat in one of the chairs at the end of the two sofas and when Brook came to sit on one, Noah followed and plopped down next to her, and scooted closer to her. She raised her eyes to mine and I realized she knew what I was thinking.
This would never do.
"Okay, no scripts. Jennifer can prompt if we need it," Brook murmured as she inched slightly away from Noah as I looked on. I got up and went to the bar to pull another beer from the refrigerator.
I stopped by where she was sitting and held my hand out to her. She looked up at my face and I pulled her up and over to the other couch with me. I moved in closer, flung my arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple before glancing at Noah.
It was just a subtle message to get my point across. There will be no life imitating the art of the film... I won't have you pissing on my territory, dog.
My lips quirked into a grin as I huffed, "Hmmpft," and I could sense Brook's uneasiness as she stiffened beside me.
"Let's get started. Cade, you have the first line," she said.
The only reason we were rehearsing a scene that wouldn’t be filmed for months was because Martin had confided he wasn’t sure about Curtis and he might recast him if he didn’t like the screen test we were doing the next day. I didn’t like the guy enough to invite him in to rehearse. Sink or swim, it would all be on his acting chops. I wouldn’t stack the deck in his favor. We proceeded with the scene and it went well, even with Noah reading Ethan’s part.
"You guys are really great. You're nailing it," Jennifer interjected.
Brook shook her head. I could tell that she hated the interruption when she was in her zone, but we were at the part where Ryan takes Julia away to the dance floor and that wouldn’t be part of the test.
"Okay," Noah broke in. "That's it. It was great.”
Jennifer threw her script on the coffee table. “I thought that Leah chick was supposed to come over. Where is she?”
I shook my head and inhaled deeply. “No clue. I’m relieved if you must know.” I leaned back into the deep cushions of the couch and reached for Brook’s hand.
"I'm beat, and you don't really need me, do you? You guys did a great job!" She gave Noah and I a hug before Brook walked her to the door.
Noah turned enthusiastic eyes on me. "That was incredible, dude. Should we run it again?"
Bloody hell! I thought. I wanted to be alone with Brook. I had to tell her about Wendy's call and how she crashed lunch last week.
"How do you improve on perfection?" There was always room for improvement, but I wanted him to leave.
Brook wandered back from the hall and plopped down on the couch. I could see how tired she was.
"It’s great working with you guys, but if you're tired, I guess I should go. Cade, should we share a cab or do you have your limo?" Noah asked me.
"Well, I wasn't going to leave just yet, Noah. Sorry," I responded quietly, my eyes steady on his.
"Oh, yeah. Okay. Well, thanks for the pizza, Brook. You did a good job. I don't know how you turn on the tears like that, but it's amazing." He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a tight hug. Her eyes met mine over his shoulder and I smiled at her.
"No problem. See you tomorrow."
As soon as the door closed I scooped Brook up over my shoulder and ran into the bedroom.
"Not this again, Cade!"
"Okay," I unceremoniously dumped her in the middle of the bed and laughed when she squealed. "I'm gonna hop in the shower, but there is something I want to talk to you about. Will you come in, and talk to me?"
"Are you asking me to come in there and stare at your naked body? You have a lot of nerve..." Her face split into a grin as she crawled off of the bed. "But, okay."
I turned on the shower and peeled off my clothes, while Brook sat down on the rug and leaned against the wall. "Nice view," she ran her hand up my calf as she looked up at me, and I knew if I didn't get in the shower instantly, I'd have a huge hard-on. Her eyes were lidded; so sexy, and I could see her nipples harden through her T-Shirt. Holy Hell.
"Stop flirting with me, honey. We have to sleep tonight," I groaned as I stepped under the hot spray.
"We do? Dang." I couldn't see her because the steam was covering the glass of the shower door.
"Okay, so...."
"Yeah? That doesn't sound good.... You've got that tone..."
"What tone?" I hedged.
"The Brook, you're not
gonna like this, tone. That tone."
I closed my eyes as I lathered up my hair. She knew me too well. I decided just to dive in and say it.
"Wendy called today because she wanted to know what I wanted for my birthday."
Silence.
"Brook?"
"Yeah. I knew she wouldn't give up so easily. But, I trust you, Cade. What did you do?"
"Basically, told her I didn't want a gift and hung up on her."
"Well, that was hardly worthy of the tone," she admonished.
Now it was my turn to be quiet. "Cade?"
"There's obviously more, so just tell me."
"I should have told you this last week, but I didn't want to upset you, but the day of the cast party, she crashed my lunch with Ethan and Dawson." I grimaced as I waited for her response.
"The day you drank for twelve hours?" I could hear the tension in her voice.
"She wasn't with us the whole time. She showed up at lunch, and I barely spoke to her. She was asking all kinds of questions about Italy, and hinting around that she wanted to be there, but I told her to piss off. It wasn't worth upsetting you, love. She's insignificant."
Brook didn't say anything for a moment, but when she did it wasn’t good.
"If she were so fucking insignificant, you would have told me about this when it happened," her voice had an acid edge to it. "Why didn't she come to the cast party if she was in Vancouver?"
"Because I asked her not to. I told her I didn't want her there, and that I didn't want anything to do with her. I was so anxious to see you that I completely forgot about her being there. Then when we were finally alone, I got lost in you and I didn’t think about it."
More silence. Fuck.
I rinsed my hair and shut the water off as I opened the shower door.
She was still sitting on the floor, absently plucking at the fibers in the carpet as I dried off.
"Besides, shit happens, doesn't it?"
She finally raised her eyes to mine and then got up off of the floor. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you've been spending a lot of time with Noah, and I see how he watches you. I know he wants you, and I struggle with it, too." I threw off my towel and put my arms around her and forced her to walk backwards into the bedroom.