7
Lucy
Lucy was gazing into the woods from one of the rockers when Adrian burst out onto the porch.
“Lucy,” he said, a smile finding its way to his eyes when he spotted her.
“Hey,” she said, arrested by the warmth in his greeting.
“Are you ready?” He gestured toward the rental car.
She nodded and hopped up, nearly forgetting her bag. Then she almost bumped into Adrian, who somehow hadn’t moved a muscle yet.
“Sorry,” she muttered.
He tore his eyes from the trees. “What’s that?”
“Nothing,” she smiled. “Let’s go.”
It was weird that he was staring into the woods like that. Lucy wondered if he’d seen something out there that she’d missed. As far she knew, there weren’t really any dangerous animals in the woods of South Carolina.
She glanced back, but all she saw were trees swaying slightly in the breeze.
Adrian was already headed down to the car, so she trotted after him.
“Here we go,” he said, opening the trunk.
They swung their work bags inside.
Ever the gentleman, he opened her car door for her.
Lucy tried not to notice the scent of his aftershave or the shiver of awareness she got from being so close. If she’d thought one night sharing a bed would steel her to his nearness, she’d thought wrong. After only a few minutes apart, it was as if they’d never shared personal space before.
He got in and she looked out the window, waiting for him to start a conversation.
Instead, he started the car without a word and they left the parking lot.
“Do you think we’ll get a different performance out of them in a new setting?” Lucy grasped at straws for something to break the tension of the drive.
“Hopefully not too different,” he replied.
“Seems like an awful lot of money to spend,” Lucy observed, not for the first time. “Flying us and all the actors out here.”
Adrian nodded and didn’t reply.
Damn it. He’d gone into one of his moods again. She was getting emotional whiplash.
Lucy slid her phone out of her pocket, desperate for distraction.
Two texts awaited her.
Jeremy Hall:
Had fun last night! ;)
Wow, he was super friendly.
Unsure how to respond, Lucy went on to the next message. It was from her best friend.
Clover Plainfield:
Heyyyy, grl!
She fired off a response.
Lucy Wren:
Hi, Clover. How’s it going?
Clover Plainfield:
Are you kidding??? How’s lovrboy?
Lucy cradled the phone closer. There was no way Adrian was reading over her shoulder while he drove, but still…
Lucy Wren:
Cute, Clover. He’s fine.
Clover Plainfield:
Really though, are you kids having fun?
Lucy Wren:
Um. Yeah. No. He’s in a bad mood again.
Clover Plainfield:
His time of the month, huh?
Lucy barely suppressed a giggle.
Lucy Wren:
That’s not how I would have put it, but, yeah.
Clover Plainfield:
At least you can hole up in your room. Is it nice?
Lucy Wren:
No holing up for me. A freaking tree fell on my cabin. So we’re sharing a room.
Clover Plainfield:
… … …
Lucy watched as Clover wrote and deleted a couple of replies, then finally settled on a single word answer.
Clover Plainfield:
Epic.
Lucy Wren:
No, it’s torture, plain and simple. I must have done something really bad in a past life.
Clover Plainfield:
You’re looking at it all wrong. This should be torture for HIM.
Lucy smiled and looked out the window.
Clover persisted.
Clover Plainfield:
Seriously, wear some sexy lingerie. He deserves to be messed with.
Lucy Wren:
I’ll keep your advice in mind. We’re almost at work. Xox
Clover Plainfield:
Whatever loser. Wear the lingerie. xx