Chapter Seven
Claire had regrets. Her regrets had regrets. A never-ending chain of why did I ever agree to meet Josh regrets because now she couldn’t get the man out of her head.
She returned to work, quickly inundated with demands for her attention, yet Josh kept coming back to her in flashes of memory. His smile that crinkled his warm brown eyes. His gentlemanly manners that, thankfully, went out the window once they got to the bedroom. His kisses that made her dizzy with lust. She worked long hours with no downtime in a futile effort to stop thinking about Josh. Finally on Friday, she got a welcome distraction, a text from Hailey inviting her to a book club meeting that night. Yes. This was what she needed. More time with her new friends. But then another text came through, making her grip the cell phone tighter.
Josh wants to see Jenny again.
She knew she should say no. It wouldn’t be fair to Josh to continue the lie. And, if she told him the truth, he’d be angry that she’d pretended. An angry scorned lover was not what the Claire Jordan image needed. He could do serious damage in the press. She wished there were some way she could see him again. Dammit. She texted Hailey back.
No time for Jenny date. Very busy. I can only manage book club.
Same place, same time?
That works for me.
Ciao!
Claire smiled. Ciao.
Work dragged the rest of the afternoon probably because she couldn’t wait to meet up with everyone back in the hotel lounge. It seemed like everything and everyone was against her getting there. Blake was throwing a hissy fit about his hairdresser being out sick. The new girl, who Claire thought did just as good a job, was nervous, which made her take longer, which pissed Blake off, making the poor girl more nervous. And even though Claire switched him to her guy, Blake’s irritation lingered, bleeding into his performance, making what should have been a tender scene between him and Mia into something with an edge that would only confuse the audience. On top of that, the circuit in the kitchen blew out when one of their camera operators plugged in a coffeemaker. At least that was just a matter of resetting the circuit breaker in the basement and figuring out, by trial and error, which outlets could hold the load of cameras, lights, monitors, and laptops.
Finally she made her escape only to hit heavy traffic on the expressway. She wanted to scream. After a week of frenzied working hours, trying to forget Josh, she needed to relax with her friends.
By the time Frank escorted her through the back entrance of the hotel and up the private elevator to the private lounge, everyone was already there. The women were chatting and sipping wine that they must’ve brought themselves because Claire had been too busy to arrange anything. Bags of potato chips and tortilla chips were being passed around the circle of women. The normalcy of it all made her tear up. “Hi, sorry I’m late.”
“She’s here!” Hailey exclaimed. “You must be exhausted after working all day. Have a seat.”
Claire dropped into the chair Hailey indicated in the circle of plush chairs and sofa. Charlotte, next to her, handed her the bag of potato chips.
She grabbed a handful of chips and passed it over to Mad on her other side. “Thanks,” she said around a chip. “I’m starving.”
A moment later, Hailey appeared at Claire’s side and gave her a plastic tumbler full of white wine. “Thanks,” Claire said. “It’s so good to see you guys.”
“You too,” Hailey said, taking a seat across the circle from Claire on the sofa, where three women—Lauren, Ally, and Carrie—were already squished. Lauren, a sweet teacher with long light brown hair, got up and took the floor.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Claire said. “Here, Laur, take my chair.” The woman was too damn accommodating.
“It’s okay,” Lauren said. Claire was about to insist, but then Mad got up, stomped over to the plastic chairs on the other side of the room, and carried one over next to the sofa.
“Sit,” Mad ordered.
Lauren sat.
Mad returned to her seat and peered over at Claire. “I heard you and Josh hit it off. He’s asking about you.”
“He’s great,” Claire said, in what she hoped was a calm voice considering how painful it was to know she’d never see him again. “But I won’t be seeing him anymore. I don’t want to keep pretending.”
Mad nodded her approval. “Good.”
Claire took a long drink of wine. The room fell silent, everyone staring at her like she was supposed to say something more about her Josh date. For some reason, she wanted to keep the details to herself. It was a special memory she’d always cherish. “Are we talking about the next book? Anyone read Gone with the Wind?”
Hailey smiled indulgently at Claire. “First order of business is how was your date with Josh? We want details!”
Mad fidgeted in her seat. “Please, no gory details, he is my brother.”
Claire pasted on a polite smile. “I was just telling Mad we had a nice time, and I very much enjoyed the gentleman treatment.” And the nongentleman treatment too. She flushed hot, remembering.
“So-o-o…” Hailey said, “do you want to see him again?”
Claire shook her head. “I don’t want to pretend anymore. I’ll end up hurting him.”
“But you liked him?” Hailey asked.
“Did you kiss him?” Carrie, a sweet innocent young nurse with glasses, asked.
Kiss, grope, fuck. Mmm-hmm.
“Was there a spark?” Lauren asked hopefully.
“Sparks are so important,” Ally, a bubbly young blonde woman, said with a dreamy sigh. The women all agreed.
Claire’s mind flashed back to his glorious mouth and hands and body. And before that, on their date, the warmth in his eyes and words and touch. She stifled her own sigh of longing. “More than a spark,” she admitted. “More like an entire Fourth of July fireworks display.”
“Damn,” Charlotte muttered. “I never got that feeling from Josh, and I’ve flirted with him a bunch of times at Garner’s.”
The other women agreed that Josh always flirted and fireworks had never erupted for any of them. Except Hailey, who was quiet. And Mad, who rolled her eyes.
“So you had fireworks, had a great date, and that’s it?” Ally asked. “Goodbye forever?”
“That’s so sad,” Lauren said. Her sympathetic eyes depressed the hell out of Claire. She hated wanting what she couldn’t have.
“It is sad,” Claire admitted. “But I’m moving on and—”
“Lame-o,” Ally sang.
Claire bristled. “I’m trying to do the right thing. There’s no sense in continuing a lie.”
The women argued whether it was better to see where things went and then admit the truth or just shut the whole thing down. Claire bit into a potato chip. It didn’t matter what they said, she was done. She had to be.
“Moving on,” Claire said after she finished her handful of chips and the conversation had circled back around to the importance of honesty. “Does everyone have a cocktail dress they can wear for the corporate party scene next Wednesday? You all did get the email from my assistant, right?” She’d invited the book club to play extras in the movie. She knew they were big fans of the Fierce trilogy.
Hailey spoke up. “Claire, this is the first time Josh has ever asked for a second date. He must really like you. At least talk to him. Let him down easy if you’re not going to see him again.”
Claire ground her teeth and then quickly loosened her jaw, mindful of not destroying thousands of dollars’ worth of dental work required for the perfect Hollywood smile. “I’m not Jenny. There’s no future. I probably shouldn’t have gone out like that in the first place.”
Hailey leaned forward, her pale blue eyes locked on Claire’s. “When was the last time you had a lot of fun with fireworks-level sparks on a first date? That doesn’t happen often.”
“Or at all,” Charlotte chimed in.
The women had to agree.
It was rare. Josh had been wonderful. But what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t keep pretending to be someone she wasn’t. And she couldn’t be herself and risk his anger and the inevitable fallout in the press at this critical time for the Fierce trilogy movies. She’d sunk every last dime into the movies. If the first movie flopped, her production company was done. She knew damn well that beauty faded and good roles for women over thirty (she was twenty-nine) were hard to come by. It was why she’d started her own production company in the first place, to keep her profile high. Even with that kind of creative control, she knew as she aged, she would be less marketable. American audiences worshipped youth and beauty in their actresses. The time for her career was now.
She took a deep breath, trying to ease the ache of longing in her chest. What she really needed was not some romantic happy ending, but friendship. Look around, you have that. Don’t ask for more.
She surprised even herself when she admitted, “I’ve been thinking about him a lot.” She looked around at her friends gathered close with varying levels of concern and a few smiles. “I didn’t expect that.”
“I think it’s wonderfully romantic,” Ally said, her blond bangs bobbing along in time with her head.
Mad frowned. “Don’t string him along. Cut ties so he can move on.”
“In person or by phone,” Hailey said. “Up to you. But Mad’s right, if he really cares about you, he deserves closure.”
Claire blew out a breath, knowing Hailey was right. He did deserve closure, but she didn’t think a text or phone call would be enough after the night they’d had together. Her friends didn’t know how far things went, and she didn’t want to share. She had to be Jenny again so she could explain to Josh that she couldn’t do a relationship. She’d have to come up with some excuse.
“I’ll pretend to be Jenny one last time,” Claire said.
Hailey clapped.
Mad spoke up. “Just don’t lead him on. Be fair.”
Hailey spoke in a reassuring tone. “You’re doing the right thing. Let him down with a nice it’s not you, it’s me. Because it is, right? I mean, it’s because you’re Claire Jordan not because of Josh. I mean, he is pretty easy to spend time with.” She pasted a smile on. “And you said yourself there was a spark.”
“Moving on,” Mad said. “Tell us the latest with Fierce Longing.”
Claire gave them an update on the scene they’d just finished and the unfortunate injury the stunt double had on his motorcycle. They were still scrambling to find someone else for Monday’s shoot, only three days away.
Mad piped up. “My brother Ty does stunts.”
Claire turned to her. “Motorcycle stunts?”
“Ty’s your guy,” Mad said. “He just wrapped a movie in the city.”
“Union?”
“Yup.”
“Give me his info and have him contact my assistant. If he can be at the estate by eight a.m. call, he’s hired. Wait.” Claire sighed. “You have a picture, height, and weight? We need someone close to Blake’s body type.”
Mad pulled her cell phone from the large pocket in her cargo shorts. She tapped the screen and swiped a few times before holding it up. “That’s him.”
“That works,” Claire said. “My assistant will set it up.”
Hailey peeked over. “Dang.”
“Lemme see,” Charlotte said.
Mad handed the phone over to Charlotte. “Dang is right,” Charlotte said. “I’d do him.”
Julia wiggled her fingers for the phone, and the women passed it around, murmuring in agreement over Charlotte’s assessment.
Hailey perked up. “You want a date, Charlotte? A personal trainer and a stunt double. Two very physical people. Could be a match!”
Charlotte shook her head. “Girl, you need to stop. I know you’re seeing wedding bells everywhere, but real life doesn’t work that way.”
“Chicken,” Hailey returned.
After that, Claire called for some takeout for everyone and shifted the conversation to what was going on in their lives. But some part of her was already imagining seeing Josh again. What she’d say as Jenny. She couldn’t help but wonder if he would make it difficult. If he would press for another passionate night.
She wasn’t sure she could resist him. She’d have to keep her distance, have a civil conversation, and say goodbye.
It was her own damn fault for playing at normal. Now she had to make things right, no matter how painful it was.
~ ~ ~
Jake tried not to think too hard about the fact that he was bailing on a party with multiple potential business contacts and scads of beautiful women just to jet back home in the hopes of finding Jenny. But he’d let himself into Josh’s apartment late Friday night, and now here he was on Saturday with Josh driving them in his convertible to the park in Eastman for the usual basketball game with the guys.
He hoped the game would get his pent-up frustration out. Josh had no more info on Jenny. He suspected Josh was dicking around, halfheartedly asking Hailey about Jenny while he teased her, getting her worked up for his own perverse pleasure.
Josh made the turn onto the road leading into the park. “Would you lighten up already? You’re like a black cloud in the car.”
Jake scrubbed a hand over his face. He couldn’t lighten up because he couldn’t stop thinking about her. “How can she have no digital footprint? I can’t find her online and you know I can find anybody.”
“I can’t believe you flew back home for a second date.”
“Which I don’t have.”
Josh jabbed a finger at him. “You’re like obsessed or something.”
“Sorry I can’t be like you and pretend I don’t care.”
Josh made the turn into the parking lot. “You fucked her, didn’t you?”
He clenched his jaw. “It wasn’t like that.”
Josh parked and gave him a skeptical look. “I told Hailey you wanted to see Jenny again, and that was a no-go.”
Jake’s mouth set in a grim line. “I need to see her face-to-face, none of this going through other people. I think if we saw each other again, talked, she’d remember how great it was.”
“Where exactly do you see this going? You can’t pretend to be me forever. Eventually you have to run your empire.”
“I don’t know. I just know I’m not done. We’re not done.”
Josh shook his head, snagged his water bottle, and got out of the car.
Jake grabbed his water and followed. “Where does the book club meet?”
Josh let out a loud breath of shut the fuck up.
The park was just like he remembered. A baseball field in the distance with bleachers, open grassy area, and the blacktopped area with painted lines for two basketball courts. It was a warm day, the first weekend of October, the trees still green with bits of yellow and red popping here and there. They approached the court where a bunch of the guys were doing layups, and a woman with light red hair in a high ponytail all in pink—pink headband, pink tank top, pink shorts, and pink high-tops—dribbled a ball in really high bounces.
“Who’s the girl?” Jake asked under his breath.
Josh went stock-still. “What is she doing here?”
They got to the edge of the blacktop, where Mad met up with them. “Hey, Jake! I didn’t know you came home again.” She socked him on the shoulder. He pulled her in for a one-armed hug and ruffled her hair.
“Hi, Josh! Hi, Jake!” the pink woman called, waving and heading straight for them. Hailey. The woman Jake supposedly took out to a top restaurant in the city. Josh had been tight-lipped about the whole thing, saying only they went their separate ways after dinner.
“Did you tell her?” Jake asked Josh under his breath.
“Tell her what?” Mad asked.
“No,” Josh said, shifting uneasily from foot to foot like he might make a break for it.
Mad leaned in and lowered her voice. “She wanted to play. She sucks, so go easy on her, okay?”
“She’s on your team,” Josh said.
Mad swore. “I knew you’d say that.”
Hailey bounded to their side. She turned to Jake and smiled politely. “Nice to see you again, Jake.”
He was surprised Hailey knew which twin he was right away. Jake had on a T-shirt and basketball shorts same as Josh. Of course, there were some differences. Jake’s shirt was designer and new; Josh’s was worn and faded. Jake only had light stubble, and his twin had a couple days’ growth.
Jake smiled, about to have some fun at his twin’s expense. “You too. Dinner was great.” At Josh’s dark look, he added, “Really great. We should go out—oof.” Josh elbowed him hard. Worth it.
“You went out with Jake?” Mad barked.
Hailey smiled politely at Jake and then turned to Mad. “Yes, it was a business dinner. We talked about Dat Cloud.”
Mad socked her on the shoulder.
“Ow!” Hailey exclaimed and socked her back. “Stop treating me like one of your guy friends! Women don’t punch each other.”
Mad grinned. “When did this happen?”
“We’ll talk later,” Hailey said, giving him and Josh a sunny smile. “Ready to get your butts kicked? Mad’s been teaching me mad skills.” She grinned at her own joke.
Mad rolled her eyes.
“Why are you here?” Josh asked Hailey point blank. “Planning some future weddings?”
She threw an arm around Mad’s shoulders. “Mad and I are friends. I want to experience her favorite thing. Sports.”
Mad blushed and then snarled at Josh, “Don’t be a dick.”
Josh headed toward the court. Jake followed behind with Hailey and Mad, wanting to ask Hailey about Jenny.
Hailey turned to Mad. “So Campbell order by age is Jake, Josh, Ty, Alex, Logan, and then you.”
“Yup,” Mad said.
“And now all the Campbells are here,” Hailey said. “Who are we missing from the brothers from another mother?”
Jake chuckled. She sounded so formal about their blood brothers.
Mad sighed. “I told you already. Would you like us all to wear name tags?”
“No, no. I’m very good with names.” Hailey pointed at the guys still doing layups, ticking their names off as she pointed to each one. “Ethan, Ben, Marcus. Zach’s missing. Did I get it right?”
“You get a gold star,” Mad said dryly. She took off and stole the ball from Marcus, who was tall and wide, coming in under his arm and catching him by surprise. She shot from center court and the ball went in with a swish. A brief smile flashed on her face before she retrieved the ball and started dribbling with some fancy footwork, showing off.
Hailey tapped her pink fingernail against her pink lips. “Wait, I think we’re missing another one. That only makes four non-Campbell men.” She turned to him. “Right?”
“Parker,” Jake said. “He’s overseas with the air force. She doesn’t like to talk about him because, you know, she worries.”
“They’re close?” Hailey asked.
“Course. We grew up together.”
“No, I mean romantically.”
He felt queasy just thinking that. None of their friends ever crossed that line. That was the rule. Ty, in particular, had made sure Park knew Mad was off-limits because Park had always gone out of his way to include her in their games when the rest of them thought she was nothing but a shrimp who made them lose. Damn, they were jerks back then. It couldn’t have been easy being the youngest and the only girl. He watched Mad shoot another swishing basket and then trash-talk Marcus. Hell, it couldn’t have been all bad because look at her now. She was a great athlete, strong and confident.
“Hey, Wonder Twin,” Ty, his younger brother by two years, said as he jogged over to him. He was a bulkier version of Jake with a buzz cut, dark tan, and a white T-shirt with the sleeves cut off to show off his bulging muscles and tribal tattoos. Ty grabbed him in a hug that involved a lot of pounding on the back. That was Ty. Very physical. It was why he was drawn to stunt work. “Two weekends in a row, Jake? Sounds like a woman.”
Hailey let out a weird squeak, flushed bright pink, and ran over to Mad.
“What’s the deal with her?” Ty asked, his gaze following Hailey’s ass. He turned back to Jake. “Who’s she with?”
“Mad.”
“I know Mad said that, but…”
“You don’t think Mad could have a friend like her?”
Ty turned to watch Mad trying to teach Hailey how to dribble with her fingertips while Hailey kept complaining about it messing up her nail polish. He turned back. “No.”
“Stranger things have happened,” Jake said. Like Mad being in a romance book club. He kept that little jewel to himself for revenge against Mad’s next prank or leverage, whichever came up first.
Ty rubbed his scruffy jaw. “You here for Hailey?”
“No.”
“Cool. As long as she’s not on my team. She doesn’t even know it’s called a point. She keeps saying she’s going to score a goal.”
They chuckled quietly.
“Come on,” Ty said, pulling his shirt over his head. “We’re skins. Five on six. The girls are shirts, six on their team to make up for Miss Pink. You call the other three since you’re the visitor.”
Jake pulled his shirt off, tossing it on the grass. “Josh—”
“Twin freak,” Ty said.
They always picked each other because they worked flawlessly together without needing to say a word. The guys broke them up most of the time because the teams were better balanced that way. Jake lowered his voice. “He doesn’t want to be on her team.”
They both knew what “her” they were referring to. Mad was really good at basketball, despite being the shortest at five foot four. She had speed on her side and great shooting skills. Probably all those hours she put in shooting hoops by the garage when they were kids.
“Fine,” Ty muttered. “You, me, Josh, who else?”
He eyed the prospects. He knew all their flaws, all their plays. He picked two of their friends. “Ethan and Marcus.” Ethan was a cop, in tip-top shape. Marcus was former varsity basketball in high school.
“Yes!” Ty barked and jogged over to the guys, telling them how it was going to be.
“Why’s he get to pick?” Mad asked. “Jake’s home the least. I should get to pick since I brought someone new.”
“Yeah,” Hailey said, chin in the air.
Josh groaned.
Ethan and Marcus took their shirts off and Hailey stared, seeming to be in awe of their pecs and washboard abs. Man, Ethan had a twelve-pack going on or something. Get a life. Josh made a big show of taking off his shirt, but Hailey didn’t give him a second look. It was hysterical.
Josh and Alex faced off at center, brothers about the same height, same laid-back attitude. Except Josh was unusually aggressive today, smacking the ball away and over to Marcus. Awesome. The more aggressive one of them got, the rest got into it too. Testosterone rush.
He dove into the fray. Running and body checking and sweating his balls off, careful to avoid the delicate-looking Hailey. Though she didn’t shy away from the intense game, frequently jumping in and trying to get the ball. Josh let her once—so fucking obvious they all groaned—but then Ty immediately stole it. Mad passed her the ball a couple of times. Once Hailey threw at the wrong net and they all cheered her on. Mad cursed them out. The other time Hailey tossed it right back to Mad, who scored.
Final score: Skins 90, Shirts 40.
They headed for the metal bleachers nearby to sit for a few minutes and hydrate. Hailey produced a cooler, wheeling it over to them. “I brought Gatorade and orange slices. Help yourself.”
She opened it, and they all went for it, thanking her profusely. That was a real nice gesture. They all settled back on the bleachers with their refreshing loot.
Jake took a seat next to Hailey and Mad.
“Thanks for including me today, even though I stink,” Hailey said.
“You weren’t that bad,” Mad said generously.
“You did all right,” Jake said.
“Thank you,” Hailey said, taking a sip of Gatorade. She didn’t really need to hydrate. She didn’t even look like she’d broken a sweat. “Where’s Josh?”
Mad jerked her thumb behind her where Josh was sitting on the top row of the bleachers. Hailey gestured for him to come down and sit with them.
Josh pulled his shirt on and took a drink of Gatorade.
She gestured again.
He gestured for her to come up to him.
She gestured frantically and all the guys turned to grin at Josh.
“You’ve been summoned!” Ty called.
They all laughed.
“Shut up,” Josh said, stepping his way down to them. He stood a row behind them, towering over Hailey. “What?”
Jake scooted down to make room for Josh next to Hailey. Josh didn’t move, and Ty gave him a shove. Josh shoved Ty back and sat next to Hailey.
“Jenny would like to meet with you if you’re free tomorrow,” Hailey said. “At Baldwin Park.”
Jake’s ears perked up.
“Yeah, I could do that,” Josh said. “How’s morning?”
“Afternoon,” Jake said. “We’ve got that thing in the morning.” He needed time to make plans.
Josh turned to him. Jake mouthed one. Josh turned back to Hailey. “How’s one?”
“Good,” Hailey said briskly. “I’ll pass along the message. She was busy today.”
“Great,” Josh said. “Can’t wait to see her again.”
Mad stomped down the bleachers and tossed her orange peels in the garbage.
Hailey let out a little sigh. “You really like her, huh?”
“Yeah,” Josh said, not all that convincingly.
“That’s nice,” Hailey said, nodding at the same time like she was trying to convince herself how nice it was.
Josh raised a brow, and Jake elbowed him. “Yeah,” Josh said.
Mad returned and flopped down next to Hailey.
Josh’s eyes went to half-mast, his poker face. “How’d your date go with Jake?”
Mad leaned forward. “Yeah. I want to hear this too.”
Hailey flushed pink. “It wasn’t a date. We talked business.”
“I guess Jake thought it was a date,” Josh said.
Jake glared at him.
Mad laughed. “Friend zoned, Jake!”
Hailey shot Jake an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give the wrong impression.”
Jake held a hand up. “No problem. I get it.”
“You weren’t attracted to him at all?” Josh asked with an edge to his voice.
Hailey stared straight ahead. “That’s very rude of you to ask, especially in front of him.”
“Yeah, Josh,” Mad said. “What’s your deal? Come on, Hailey.” Mad climbed down the bleachers and Hailey followed.
Jake shot Josh an amused look, but his brother didn’t notice. He was watching Hailey.
She grabbed the handle of the wheeled cooler and addressed the group. “It was nice meeting you all. Thanks again for letting me play.”
“Keep practicing,” Ty called. “You’ll get there.”
“Come back anytime,” Ethan said with a leer.
Hailey beamed. “Bye!”
“Bye, guys,” Mad said. They hollered bye to the women.
Jake turned to Josh as soon as Hailey was out of earshot. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell her.”
“It didn’t come up.”
“You mean she didn’t want you, so you let her think it wasn’t you.”
“No,” Josh snapped. “I just…she was too into the money thing.”
Jake shook his head. “She was talking business. You said she had a business plan, that she’s ambitious—”
“Just shut up. You got your date. Now you can stop nagging me.”
Jake grinned. “See? It paid off to jet home for a second date. Score.”
A weight lifted off him. Things were heading in the right direction.