***
After taking a quick shower, I put on a pair of white shorts and a blue tank top set, strapped sandals on my feet and walked down to the kitchen to find Frank and Deza talking to a guy I hadn't met yet. He had a scraggly beard, but brilliant blue eyes.
"Riley. Did you sleep well?" Deza got up and walked to the coffee pot.
"I didn't, actually. Not sure what's up with me." I smiled at the new guy and Frank. "Morning."
"Morning, youngin'." Frank pointed to the guy. "This is Paul. He's going to be our head videographer. He's a shy guy, but I'm sure you'll pull him from his shell."
The guy laughed and extended his hand toward me. "Nice to meet you, and please leave me in my shell. It's warm and cozy and safe."
I smiled and shook his hand. "You got another one of those shells? I think I need one too."
Deza offered me a cup of coffee. "Here you go. No shells for anyone. We're all going to gel and have a great time becoming a family."
"Hopefully better than the one I already have. If not, we're in trouble." I took the coffee and sat down beside Frank. "Where is Ethan?"
"He's a late sleeper." Frank nursed his coffee and stared at something absently across the kitchen. "He didn't get back to the house until early this morning either. I swear I'm going to have to put a curfew on him like we did when he was a teenager."
Deza snorted. "Good luck on that shit. He's more rebellious now than he was then."
"That can't be possible." Paul moved into the kitchen and pressed his hands to the other side of the counter from where we sat. "He's grown up some, right? At least since the last time I saw him."
"Not at bit." Deza laughed and took the seat on my right. "I wouldn't either if I were him. It's a hard life he lives. At least some of us get a break between filming one movie and the next. The poor kid is always Ethan Lewis no matter where he goes."
"And that's a bad thing?" Frank gave us a funny look. "You should have seen the woman he brought home with him last night. Playboy would pay her large sums of money to keep her clothes on and just smile for the camera. He's a lucky man, but he lets it go to his head."
The woman he brought home?
Sickness swirled in the pit of my stomach until it birthed anger and rejection. The logical side of my mind pushed the horrible thoughts away, but my emotions clung to all of it until I had a hard time finding enough air to breathe. He'd offered himself to me the night before and when I didn't jump into his bed, he ran out and got another woman? A woman that could have any host of diseases that he'd warned me of?
What a bastard. What a horrible, piece of shit bastard.
"So are you excited, Riley? First day of working on scenes for the new movie." Frank rubbed the top of my back and gave me a warm smile.
"What? Yeah. Oh yeah. I'm really excited." I took a sip of my coffee and slipped into character. I was a young woman who was ready to live out her dreams. I had a loving fiancé at home that called three times a day and was quick to remind me of all the naughty things he planned to do to me the minute I got back home from my trip. I could be her throughout the day until I crashed that night, hating myself for denying Ethan. I hated myself for hating myself.
I growled softly and got up.
"You okay?" Deza reached out and gripped my wrist.
"Yeah, just trying to think through why my mother isn't answering my calls. I haven't heard from her in a few days, which is nothing new." I shrugged. "I just wish I knew that she was okay."
"You need us to send someone to look for her? We have a good handful of people on the payroll back in Los Angeles." Frank's offer was kind, and a little humorous.
"You sound like you run the mafia." I changed my voice to sound like a mafia boss from Boston. "Yeah, uh, wez got people everywherez. Just name your price, pretty girl, and itz yours."
They all laughed, forcing a smile from me too.
"You're right where you should be. Obviously." Paul walked toward the hallway. "Which room is the golden boy staying in? I think I should give him a proper wake up call."
"Last door on the left," Frank called out. "Give him hell, please. It would make my day for sure."
"Behave." Deza popped Frank in the chest and turned to me. "Let's get over to the conference room down the beach. We'll be working there mostly today and then tomorrow we’ll get on set. It's supposed to storm this afternoon, so we're holding off on setting up the props for the beach scenes."
"Sounds good." I took a few quick sips of my coffee and dumped the rest. I had to tuck away the fact that Ethan had taken a woman to his bed. I could analyze it later, but knew without a doubt that I would come to the sound conclusion that it was none of my business. He was a single guy with needs, and I wasn't his girl.
I was his co-star and nothing more. Me being the object of his affections was the same pipe dream that every girl with a pulse in America shared.
He was everything to everyone, and I was just me.
Somehow that didn't feel like nearly enough.