by Nina Lindsey
Aria and Rory hurried toward them. Callie stared at her sisters. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re here for the big review.” Aria waved at the conference room, her breathing fast. “Has it started yet?”
“I’m just about to go in.” Callie hugged both her sisters, her anxiety easing a bit. “Thanks so much for coming.”
“We’ll be waiting over there.” Rory indicated a small seating area. “I’d wish you luck, but you don’t need it.”
Eleanor put her hand on Callie’s cheek. “I love you. And your father is so proud.”
Taking a deep breath, Callie nodded and turned to the conference room. After one last glance back at her family, she opened the door and stepped inside.
The smells of paint and linseed oil filled the classroom at the Bliss Cove Arts Center. Table-top easels lined the long tables, and about fifteen people were busy setting up their stations. Chatter and laughter filled the air.
Callie set her half-finished painting on the easel and began organizing her paints. A day after her tenure review, there was no word yet about her promotion, but she was keeping busy and trying not to think about it too much.
“Evening, dear.” Mrs. Higgins, the spry, white-haired owner of the Outside Inn, took up the station beside her and nodded at Callie’s painting. “That’s looking beautiful.”
“Thanks.” Callie studied the bright, colorful image of the boardwalk that she’d been painstakingly working on for the past week, both in class and on her own. “Yours is lovely, too. I don’t know if I could tackle painting the details of all those flowers. Have you been painting long?”
“Oh, I used to love painting when I was younger, but after I got married and Hank and I bought the inn, time just slipped away.” Mrs. Higgins began squeezing paints onto her palette. “Hank used to tell me frequently that I should get back to painting, but I kept putting it off. I suppose I always felt like there was time later to do everything. But waiting for later…well, that might be my biggest regret. I took up painting a month after I lost Hank, and I’ve been doing it ever since. It’s been three years now. I like to think he’d be happy I’m doing it again.”
“I’m sure he is.” Callie smiled and patted the older woman on the shoulder. “It sounds like you are too.”
Mrs. Higgins returned her smile as the instructor called the class to order. Callie focused on her canvas, adding more light and color to the sunset and creating whitecaps on the ocean. Painting was so different from the neutral, static drawings she’d always done. Her technique and the oil paints were textured, imprecise, even a bit messy, but the lack of perfection was exactly what made the entire scene come to life.
After the class ended, Callie stored her supplies in her locker and left her canvas to dry. She started home, then took a last-minute detour to Mariposa Street. Aria had sent out a group text message that she and Destiny were going to the Mousehole for drinks and dinner, if anyone wanted to join them. Callie had initially declined, but a night out would do her some good. Since she was early, she could walk over to the Mousehole with Aria.
She parked near the Vitaphone theater. The marquee displayed the name of a new romantic comedy, and a beautiful, laughing couple adorned the movie posters.
An ache pushed at her chest. It occurred to her that Jake loved movies for the same reason she loved myths—the pleasure of losing yourself in a story and finding meaning in the characters’ struggles.
No, myths didn’t often have the same happy endings as movies did—quite the opposite, in fact—but they were an escape, a dream, a refuge. They contained essential truths, fears, and hopes about life.
About change.
About love.
As Callie approached Meow and Then, two cats blinked at her from the lighted window. Behind them, Hunter was sprawled on the sofa with a laptop.
The lounge door opened, and Aria entered. She stopped beside him and ran her hand over his hair. He caught her wrist, tugging her closer for a prolonged kiss.
Callie stopped. Had she ever seen her sister so happy? Aria had always been both carefree and careless, and her breezy attitude never failed to endear her to people. But she’d also done an excellent job of hiding the pain that had sent her into a terrible relationship. One that none of them had sensed.
Callie’s heart constricted. She hated that she’d let her perception of Aria obscure her instinct that something was wrong. Because of her “blinders,” she hadn’t been there to protect her little sister when Aria needed her the most.
She also hadn’t acknowledged all the wonderful things her sister exemplified—adventure, trying, failing, and trying again, the joy of discovery and new beginnings. Callie had always thought that being a butterfly meant you were flakey and inconstant. She’d forgotten how beautiful butterflies were.
What else had she missed on her straight, narrow path? Wildflowers and sunlight. Dragons. Pink shoes and red, polka-dot blouses. Hot fudge sundaes served in gallon-sized bowls. Skinny-dipping. Carving her initials into wet concrete with her sisters.
You’re thirty-two going on eighty.
Aria’s remark came back to her.
No, she was thirty-two going on thirty-three. She had plenty of years left to live in full, blossoming color.
She let out her breath in a long sigh. As far as motherly meddlings went, she supposed she could understand why Eleanor wanted her “distracted” so she could pursue a new relationship. Her mother and Aria were both walking clear-eyed into futures filled with possibilities and love.
Callie now wanted to do the same thing. She only wished she knew how.
But maybe there were no directions. No map. Maybe sometimes you just had to close your eyes and leap.
Hitching her purse over her shoulder, she entered the café. Hunter set down his laptop and stood to greet her.
“Any word on your tenure yet?” He collected a bunch of papers from the coffee table.
“Not yet.” Callie sat on the sofa. “Hopefully I’ll hear something tomorrow. Are you coming with us tonight?”
“No, I have some work to finish up, but have a great time.” After tucking the papers and laptop under his arm, Hunter bent to pick up Fang. “Let us know when you hear the good news.”
“I will, thanks.”
Callie was pleased by his interest—not only in her tenure, but in all of Bliss Cove. He was a good guy. Rory had sensed it from the beginning. Time for Callie to get fully on board with the fact that not only was Hunter here to stay, he and Aria might really be each other’s One True Love.
Hunter said goodbye and kissed Aria again, then headed upstairs to the room above the café. Aria crouched to coax Kit out of a hideaway, gathering the skinny cat into her arms.
“Don’t even,” Callie muttered.
“Come on, you know you’re lonely without your action hero.” Aria plunked Kit into Callie’s lap. “Look at how much he loves you.”
Kit glowered at Callie and snagged his claws on her silk blouse. Making an effort to ignore him, Callie looked at her sister. “Aria, I’m sorry.”
“What for?” Aria brought a bin of dirty dishes over to the sink.
“Not being there for you when you were with that asshole.”
“I didn’t want you to be.” A shadow crossed Aria’s pretty features. “That’s why I never asked for help. Why I hid everything.”
“I wish you hadn’t.”
“I know.” Aria shrugged and began wiping down the tables. “But if I hadn’t gone through that, and I know it could have been so much worse, I might not have figured out what I’m capable of. I might not have come back home and created this…” she waved a hand to indicate the café, “…or met Hunter. And believe me, I’d have battled much bigger monsters than a violent bully to ensure I have everything I do now. Life’s funny that way. You get to a place that’s better than you ever dreamed, and you realize you’d walk through fire to hold on to it forever.”
“When did you get to be the wise older
sister?”
Aria chuckled. “When you had your nose buried in a dusty old book.”
“I plan to look up much more often now.” Callie scratched one of Kit’s ears with her forefinger. The cat retracted his claws a little.
Aria met her gaze, her eyes warming. “Good to know.”
Feeling somehow lighter, Callie helped her feed the cats before they walked to the Mousehole. The tavern was full, with chatter and music filling the air. Destiny, Rory, and Aria’s friend Brooke waved to them from the corner booth beside the big stone fireplace.
They sat down amidst a flurry of greetings and gossip about everything that had happened. Bliss Cove was settling down now that Jake had left, though he’d certainly left a great deal for everyone to talk about.
“Here comes Grant with the drinks.” Her eyes gleaming, Destiny eyed the handsome tavern owner as he rounded the bar with a tray of glasses. “I love watching him move.”
“You love watching anything with a penis move,” Rory remarked.
“Not true.” Destiny gave Rory a light slap on the arm as everyone else laughed. “I’m quite discriminating, if you want the truth. Oh, Grant, thank you so much.”
“No problem, ladies.” He set their drinks in front of them and took an order pad out of his pocket. “Ready to order?”
They placed their various orders for artichoke soup, salmon, and steak. Grant looked at Rory, his pencil hovering over the pad.
“I’ll have the fried cheese curds.” She shifted irritably.
He scribbled the order. “And?”
“What do you mean and?”
Grant narrowed his eyes. “Fried cheese curds and beer is your dinner?”
“Don’t judge.” She tossed her hair and pulled her phone out of her pocket. “And this booth is incredibly uncomfortable.”
“Then why do you always sit here?”
“Because it’s the only one open because no one sits here because it’s so uncomfortable.” Rory swiped her phone. Her fingers whisked over the screen.
Muttering something under his breath, Grant collected their menus and walked back to the bar. Destiny watched him go, her lips pursed.
“Mysterious, isn’t he?” she mused. “He has such a contained, powerful sexual energy, but I haven’t been able to get a clear read on his aura.”
Rory tsked and rolled her eyes.
“Don’t judge, Aurora.” Destiny arched an eyebrow at Rory. “You’re not exactly an open book yourself. However, I do have a strong intuition about your One True Love.”
“No such thing.”
“You might think differently when you look at Max Weatherford with an eye toward romance.” Destiny winked and picked up her wineglass.
Aria coughed. “Max the veterinarian? And Rory?”
“Interesting.” Brooke sipped her drink, arching one eyebrow high as if her reporter wheels were already turning.
“Rory can’t keep a houseplant alive.” Callie reached for the bread basket and took out a roll.
Rory scowled at her. “What does that have to do with a vet?”
“Well, he’s a caregiver and you’re…um…well, you’re better at coding and eating gummy worms.” Callie buttered the roll and took a bite. “I mean, there’s a reason Aria has never tried to force a cat on you.”
“Good point.” Rory gave a short nod and turned back to her phone.
“The universe is open to many possibilities,” Destiny remarked. “Don’t close the door on them before you’ve even learned what they are.”
Though Callie often dismissed Destiny’s mystical musings, she kept that credo in the back of her mind as they spent the next hour chatting and eating. It could very well be true that she had many undiscovered possibilities ahead of her.
After dinner, Brooke headed home to work on an article for the following day, and Destiny sidled over to the bar to attempt to “get a reading” on Grant’s aura.
Probably on his “sexual energy,” too, Callie thought with amusement as she and her sisters left the tavern. Together they walked back to Mariposa Street in the evening chill.
“Come on up.” Aria unlocked the front door and ushered them inside. “Hunter is staying at his place tonight because he’s heading to San Francisco early in the morning. We can watch a show or a movie.”
Callie couldn’t remember the last time she and her sisters had watched a movie together. They climbed the worn staircase to Aria’s cozy little room, which she’d decorated with plants, hanging tapestries, and lots of bright, colorful cushions. Aria popped popcorn in the kitchenette while Callie and Rory perused the TV offerings.
They were soon huddled on the sofa together with blankets and a big bowl of popcorn. Callie settled her stockinged feet on the coffee table.
Aria nudged her in the side. “So what about your One True Love, sis?”
Callie didn’t even bother denying that Jake was her One True Love. The seed might have been planted fifteen years ago before blossoming into a love that filled her entire heart. As it turned out, the kind of love she’d once only read about was actually real.
“He’s busy with his new movie.” She shrugged and ate a piece of popcorn.
“Did you try the red jasper before he left?” Aria asked.
“My guess is he didn’t need it,” Rory remarked.
Callie poked her sister’s leg with her foot. “You guessed right.”
“Good for you.” Rory winked.
With a smile, Callie leaned her head on the back of the sofa. Though she missed Jake desperately, she didn’t want to be dependent on him to start branching out in her own life.
Yes, he’d opened up a lot of the world to her and brought her into the true meaning of love and fun, but she could be a comet without him. She could sparkle across the sky. She could shine, glow, and be amazing all on her own terms.
“Come on.” She reached for the remote and nestled between her sisters. “Let’s watch videos of hamsters eating tiny food.”
Chapter 23
“Get closer to her.” Conrad Birch stalked behind the camera and slapped his hands together. “You don’t want to understand her. You want to fuck her.”
Jake tensed. He stepped in front of his reading partner as if he could shield her from both the crude remark and the dozen pairs of male eyes focused on them—the producers, studio execs, and casting directors who wanted to see how the male lead of Truth and the potential female actors interacted onscreen.
Jake had done plenty of chemistry reads in the past, but this one had a heavy, predatory atmosphere he didn’t like. Not to mention, Anna Lovell was young—twenty, if that—and so nervous she’d about destroyed the script with her tight, shaking grip.
“Tom Dillon doesn’t just want a fuck.” Glaring at Birch, Jake stabbed his finger at his own script. “He wants to get close to people. He just doesn’t know it at this point in the story.”
Birch rolled his eyes. “Look, you’ve got a hot piece of ass right in front of you. I don’t care what Tom doesn’t know. I care about how well Jake Ryan can obey orders. So act like you want to fuck her.”
Anna looked down at her script, her features tensing. Jake knew she’d done a few movies, but this role would be her biggest one…if they could generate the right “chemistry.”
They ran through the scene several more times before Birch called for a break.
“Do you need water or something to eat?” Jake asked Anna, digging into his pocket for his wallet. “I’m going to the vending machine.”
“Water would be good, thanks.” She rubbed the back of her neck and cast a glance at the men who were huddling together in low conversation.
As Jake started to leave the audition room, Birch grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop.
“I’ve directed a shit ton of movies.” The director spoke through his teeth, his eyes hard. “Worked with a lot of actors. I know potential and talent when I see it. You’ve got both. You could be great, if you work hard enough. But my sets aren’t
a democracy. I don’t give a shit how you see the characters. On my set, you follow my orders. You do what I tell you to do when I tell you to do it. You’re a puppet, and I control the strings. Got that?”
Clenching his jaw, Jake bit back a retort that would no doubt get him fired. He nodded. Birch released him with a shove.
Jake slammed out of the room and strode down the hall to the vending machines. He disliked Birch more with each passing day, especially after the director had proudly admitted leaking photos of him and Callie to start generating buzz for Truth.
Jake had warned him never to go near Callie or her family again, but he didn’t trust Birch. The man was out for himself and his movie—everyone else be damned.
After getting a few granola bars and two waters, he started back. Birch’s voice, low and unctuous, filtered around the corner.
Jake stopped.
“I’m staying at the Chateau Marmont,” Birch said. “I’ll send a car for you at six.”
“Who else will be there?” A tremble ran through Anna’s voice.
“Just you and me, honey. Let’s call this your private audition.”
“I’m really not comfortable with—”
“You’d better get comfortable with it,” Birch interrupted, his tone hardening. “You want the part, you cooperate with me. Let’s try again. I’ll send a car for you at six.”
Jake barreled around the corner, shoving himself between Anna and Birch with a loud, “Whoa, hey, didn’t know anyone was here.”
Relief flashed over Anna’s face. Birch glowered and backed off. Jake stuck close to Anna as they walked back to the audition room, where one of the producers waved the young woman away.
“We’re done with you, Miss Lovell. We’ll be in touch.”
She paled, her gaze darting to Birch. He winked and smiled at her. Nausea burned in Jake’s gut. Anna grabbed her bag and hurried out.
“I’ll be right back.” Jake ran after the young woman, who was already halfway to the exit. “Anna!”
She turned, scrubbing at her teary eyes. “I didn’t get it, did I?”
“They haven’t decided yet. There are five more auditions this afternoon.” He stopped in front of her, his heartbeat fast. “Look, Birch is an asshole. Don’t let him manipulate you. And definitely don’t go to his hotel room.”