The Real Thing (Sugar Lake Book 1)

by Melissa Foster

  “That’s confirmation right there,” Aurelia said. “And, Bridge. Jesus, girlfriend. Go get laid already.”

  “Don’t bother, Aurelia,” Willow cautioned her. “Half the single men in town would give anything to take her out, and Bridge acts oblivious to them all.”

  “I’m not oblivious,” Bridgette insisted. “You see things that aren’t there. But enough about that. What happened with Kent?” Kent was Aurelia’s on-again, off-again boyfriend.

  Aurelia plunked down on a chair with a loud sigh. “First of all, he had a small pecker. Not that I really care that much about it, but it should have tipped me off. Guys with small dicks have all sorts of crazy shit in their head. They’re always trying to prove their manhood. I finally had enough of his nonsense. He grated on my last nerve, and I ended it. The phone throwing was just a momentary lapse in judgment.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and showed them the shattered screen. “I pretty much just carry it like a security blanket. You know, to remind myself to stay away from men. Or at least guys with small peckers.”

  “Lordy.” Bridgette hugged Aurelia. “I’m so sorry. What can we do to help?”

  Aurelia shrugged. “Nothing. I’m thinking about moving back here and starting over. Clean slate and all that.”

  “Really?” Willow’s mind zoomed ahead twelve steps. “Would you consider reopening the bookstore full-time?”

  “I’m not sure of anything right now. Since my grandfather was put into a year-round care facility and my grandmother decided she won’t be coming back, we need to give Mick Bad, the attorney who bought the bookstore, a decision one way or another. You know his apartment is above the store, and I’m sure he’d like to have that space to actually live in. I don’t know what to do. I’ve worked at Pages since college, and I love it. But I can’t be around Kent. He makes me want to throw more than my phone.” Pages was the largest bookstore chain on the East Coast, and Aurelia worked in their flagship store in New York City.

  “I have an idea I’ve been tossing around,” Willow said.

  “I know all about Willow’s fantastic plan, which I love, by the way. I’m going to take off and pick up Louie so we don’t miss Harley.” Bridgette wrinkled her nose. “Who, thanks to you guys, I won’t be able to look at again without wondering about the muff marauder. Ew. Geez. This should be fun.”

  Willow and Aurelia laughed.

  “Sorry, Bridge,” Aurelia said. “After you put your little guy to sleep, do some recon and report back. I want details.”

  Bridgette shook her head on the way out the back door.

  “She’s so cute it kills me. If I move back here, my first job is going to be to make sure she gets some action.” Aurelia folded her arms on the counter and rested her head on them. “What should I do, Willow? What’s your idea?”

  “Selfishly, I wish you’d come back to Sweetwater and consider going into business with me.” She watched confusion setting into Aurelia’s features. “Think about it.” Willow waved her hand in an arc, as if she were presenting something. “Books and Bites, or Pages and Pies, or Sweetie Pies and Great Reads.”

  “I know nothing about baking, and my family doesn’t own the bookstore anymore. Mick’s been nice enough to let me run it when I’m in town, but it’s not mine.”

  “I know. That’s why I think we should consider buying it back from him.”

  Aurelia sat upright. “You’re serious?”

  “Totally.” Hope swelled inside her.

  “But what about you and Zane? What if you get married and move away? I can’t run a bakery.”

  “I know that, too,” Willow conceded. “I don’t have all the answers. It’s just something I’m kicking around.” I don’t have any answers.

  “I can’t do anything yet anyway, no matter how much I want to. I have to go back this weekend and get my head together. If I decide to move, I have to give notice at Pages, deal with my apartment lease, and deal with tiny pecker once and for all. Ugh. I wish I could just crawl up in the corner with the rest of those cupcakes and go into a sugar coma.”

  Willow swallowed hard. A sugar coma sounded just about perfect. If anyone needed to get her head on straight, it was Willow. She was wearing a rented ring from the man she had no doubt she was in love with, but how could their lives ever mesh? Their worlds were on opposite sides of the country. Could they ever be more than just a two-week fantasy?

  Her phone vibrated with a text, and Zane’s name flashed on the screen, chasing her anxiety deeper into her chest. I’ll pick you up at seven. Can you pack a picnic?

  “Romeo?” Aurelia asked.

  “Yeah,” she said a little breathlessly. A picnic. Her big, cocky, smart-ass actor wanted to take her on a picnic. She’d never stood a chance around him. Not all those years ago and definitely not now.

  “WHY DO I have to be blindfolded?” Willow clung to Zane’s arm as he helped her from the car. “I mean, in the bedroom, sure, but on a picnic? Did you become a cult member while you were out today? Are you taking me to a secret ritual? Because if you are, I’d like to eat before I’m burned at the stake. No one should ever die hungry.”

  Zane laughed and gathered her in his arms. “Do you have any idea how happy you make me? I love your sense of humor.” He kissed her lips. “And I love this sexy little picnic dress.” He ran his hand up her thigh and kissed her again. “Knowing I can bring the blindfold into the bedroom is just the frosting on the cake.”

  Her lips curved up in a seductive smile. “You can bring frosting into the bedroom, too.”

  “That’s been on my list ever since you made me a birthday cake when I was seventeen.” He grabbed the picnic basket from the car and wound an arm around her waist, guiding her through the gates of the airfield. He’d been too wrapped up in preparing for his role and, thanks to Willow’s encouragement and Sam’s nudge in the right direction, polishing his screenplay. He hadn’t had nearly enough time to do special things for Willow. He knew their lives were only going to get busier, and he was going to make damn sure that no matter how crazy their schedules got, Willow knew that she was his priority.

  “Where are we? It feels . . . weird. I don’t hear the water.”

  “You’re very inquisitive.” He nodded a greeting to the pilot of his private plane. “Okay, Wills, we’re going up a number of steps. I’ve got you.” He guided her left hand to the metal railing.

  “That’s cold. You’re very mysterious.”

  Chuckling, he helped her into the plane and led her to a seat. She wiggled her butt, settling into the plush leather. His eyes followed the hem of her skirt as it bunched up around her thighs.

  “This is super comfy.”

  He leaned over, speaking in a low voice even though they were alone. The pilot was preparing the plane for takeoff. “You’d better stop wiggling like that. Blindfolded with the world’s most gorgeous gams there for the taking is not a power position.”

  “Can anyone see us?” she whispered.

  “Nope. It’s just us, sweet girl.”

  She curled her fingers around the arms of the chair, trapped her lower lip between her teeth, and spread her legs. His cock came to a full salute.

  “I think you’re wrong, Z.” Her voice was liquid heat. “Very, very wrong.” She crossed one gorgeous leg over the other.

  He groaned, taking the seat beside her, and slid his hand between her thighs. “Surely you don’t think a little leg crossing will keep me from making you come, do you?”

  She grabbed his hand, keeping him from moving any higher. “Tell me where we’re going and maybe I’ll let you.”

  He waited for the engines to rumble to life. She curled her fingers around his hand.

  “Zane?”

  Fear threaded through her voice, spurring him into action. He took her hands in his and kissed her knuckles. “I’ve got you, baby. You’re okay.”

  The plane started down the runway, and she began to tremble. Panic showed in her erratic breathing. “Zane?”

&nbs
p; He pressed his cheek to hers, holding her around her shoulders. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. I promise you’re safe.” The nose of the plane lifted, and she made a frightened sound. He took off the blindfold, and her eyes were squeezed shut.

  “Baby, haven’t you ever flown before?”

  She shook her head, her fingernails digging into his hand. “You know how rarely I leave Sweetwater. Have I ever said, ‘Hey, I’m flying off to wherever’?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “No! I haven’t. Why do you have to do things so big? I thought we were going on a picnic.” Her voice escalated. “Please take me back, please.”

  Shit! This was not the reaction he’d hoped for. Framing her face in his hands, he said, “Open your eyes, Wills. Focus on me.”

  She shook her head.

  “Willow, I promise you this will be worth it.” I frigging hope it will. “Look at me, baby. Now.”

  Her mouth pinched tight, and she opened her eyes. The fear in them nearly brought him to his knees. “Good, baby. Just keep looking at me. You’re fine.”

  “This isn’t a picnic.” Her voice escalated.

  He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “It will be.” The plane veered to the right, and she grabbed at him.

  “Zane? He’s going to crash. He’s going down!”

  “No, Wills. He’s turning. This is my plane, my pilot. I promise you the plane is in excellent condition, and my pilot is the best there is.”

  “You’re all set.” The pilot’s voice called her attention up to the front of the plane.

  “I’m going to reach over and open the shade, okay?”

  She nodded, clutching one of his hands tightly as he opened the shade and the lights of Sweetwater came into view.

  “Sweetwater, baby. That’s your little slice of heaven right there.”

  She leaned over, fingernails carving half-moons into his skin. But he didn’t care. The light rising in her eyes was worth every bit of the sting.

  “Oh my gosh. It’s so beautiful.” She laughed, and tears he knew she’d been holding back trickled down her cheek.

  He wiped them away, exhaling a relieved breath. “Sit by the window, baby.”

  She shook her head. “Too nervous to move. You stay there.”

  He moved the arm of the chair and pulled her against him, kissing her cheek as she gazed out the window. “See the lights of the chapel? And the dock?”

  “Look!” She pointed at boats in the distance, the tips of their sails lit up like stars.

  “In a few days, Hollywood is going to crash into Sweetwater, and I’ll be working sixteen hours a day. When it feels overwhelming, I want you to think of this moment. This view of Sweetwater. Not the temporary craziness.”

  Tension formed around her eyes. He took her in a languid kiss, letting her know he was right there with her. “Don’t worry, baby. Nothing will change between us. I promise you that.” He pointed out the window to distract her from the reality he’d just mentioned. “Can you spot your apartment?”

  Her eyes trailed over the landscape, while his landed on the twinkling red lights he and Piper had hung from Willow’s balcony. They’d wound red lights around a wooden sign in the form of “W+Z.” Piper had been much more accepting of him since Louie’s birthday party, and he was glad for it. Of course, she’d given him hell about not having his own tools. Clearly another trip to the hardware store was in order.

  “Z.” Her beautiful green eyes met his, clear and full of love.

  “I know I do everything big, and you think you’re a small-town girl. But you’re my small-town girl, Wills, and I don’t ever want you to miss out on anything.”

  Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks, and a soft laugh escaped as she touched her lips to his. “I love you, Zane. I seriously love you so much I ache with it.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  EXCITEMENT AND UNCERTAINTY rolled in with the clouds Sunday morning, and by midafternoon it felt like the whole town was holding its breath to see what would happen when Hollywood and Sweetwater collided. The first trucks arrived in the late afternoon, followed by a small bus and a few nondescript cars, each of which pulled onto the fairgrounds. Not into the parking lot, but onto the grass. “The crew”—that’s how Zane referred to them. The underlings who were tasked with showing up early to erect sets and prepare for the actors, directors, and other important people whose titles alone gave Willow an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach. She drew upon the midair picnic she and Zane had enjoyed the other night. When it feels overwhelming, I want you to think of this moment. It seemed their relationship was made up of moments she never wanted to forget.

  Zane had been with the crew most of the afternoon, while Willow, along with half the town’s residents, had watched from afar as trailers pulled onto the lot, tents were erected, and a handful of people wearing headsets and carrying clipboards traipsed through the town “spotting locations.”

  Willow locked the door to the bakery and sank down to a chair beside Talia, who had come by to hang out while she graded papers. “At least you and Zane won’t be the talk of the town anymore. I swear I fielded more questions in my classes about what Zane was really like than I did about the actual lessons. Now people will be gossiping about the movie instead.”

  “True. Although I have to admit, Zane did a great job of keeping the onlookers at bay.”

  Talia set down her pen and studied Willow. Of all her sisters, Talia was the one who took the most time to tend to her appearance. Her thick, dark brows were perfectly shaped, like Liz Taylor’s, which made her eyes pop. Her makeup was flawless, and Willow knew she threw it on in a matter of seconds, like she had been a makeup artist in a previous life. A brilliant makeup artist, given her genius IQ. Talia was taller than Willow and their other sisters. At five nine, the girl who had once been as lanky as an asparagus stalk had turned into one of those women who could wear anything, though she almost always leaned toward the professional side, whereas Willow preferred comfort over anything else.

  “He’s really changed, hasn’t he?” Talia asked.

  Willow smiled. She’d been thinking the same thing last night when she and Zane had taken a walk around the lake.

  “I think it’s less about changing and maybe more about finding comfort in being himself again. His real self. Have you ever felt like you’ve known someone your whole life, truly knew them, but you were the only one who did? Zane is exactly the guy I’ve always known he was.” She put her hand over her heart. “Here, I mean. Not when we’ve seen him over the years when he was snarky and putting on a show.”

  Talia leaned across the table with a curious expression. “What was it like? When you and Zane first realized you wanted to see if this would work. What was that like? I keep trying to picture it, but you’ve always been so . . . I don’t know. Careful around him? Sassy toward him? Those two things conflict, but you seemed to be both around Zane.”

  Leave it to her astute sister to ask the one question that could nail Willow to the wall with her lie. A string of guilt wound around her neck at the prospect of deceiving Talia again.

  “It was maddening, exciting, and scary as hell.” Wow, that wasn’t a lie.

  Talia’s eyes narrowed as she sat back. “I don’t think I could do it.”

  “Be with Zane? I hope not, considering he’s with me,” Willow teased. Talia was careful with the men she dated. She and Willow had never shared secrets the way Bridgette and Willow did. Willow and her other sisters had tried to pry details from Talia after her dates, but she was tighter-lipped than a zipper.

  Talia laughed. “No. Be with someone with that public of a wild past. I mean, I love Zane. You know that. But I remember him as the funny kid who hung out with Ben, which makes it easier to look past all the other stuff.”

  “You know what, T? I can honestly say that I’ve never been with any man who makes me smile and quiver and laugh and cry—in a good way, of course—as much as Zane. I’m terrified of what will happen when he goes back to California, b
ut I’m just as afraid of what will happen if he doesn’t. He could resent me if he moves away from the place he’s lived for so long. But the media would drive me crazy if I moved there, and I’m afraid of gorgeous fans pawing at him all the time. I’ve never been a jealous person, but with him, it’s hard not to be.” She sighed. “Believe me, I know there’s a lot to be afraid of. But there’s so much goodness. I wake up and see the man I never realized was one of my best friends. Nothing beats that.”

  “Well, we all knew that. Before you opened the bakery, you texted him to ask his opinion.”

  “Yeah,” she said absently. “See? I never really thought of us like that. Zane was just . . .” The boy I fell in love with and could never let go of. “Zane. But now I see our relationship more clearly. And even though there’s all that scary stuff floating around, I trust him. I really, truly trust him. He looks at me like he wants to disappear into me. I don’t know where we’ll end up, or if I’ll slaughter Remi Divine the first time they kiss, but I know I want to be with him.”

  “Geez. That’s a whole different level of things I could never do.”

  Willow shrugged, though her insides were twisting into pretzels. “I knew he was an actor when we got involved. What kind of person would I be if I got jealous of his costars?” She pushed to her feet and went to the pastry display. “Seriously. So what if Remi is gorgeous, and rich, and going to thrust her tongue down his throat?” She took out a tray of Loverboys and shoved one in her mouth. She held it up, offering Talia one.

  “No, thanks, but I can see how well you’re handling the idea.”

  “Hey, whatever it takes, right?” She returned to the table with a glass of water and her pastry. “I’m meeting Zane and his assistant, Patch, at Dutch’s for drinks and dinner in a little while. Want to go? I asked Bridge to go with me, but she couldn’t.”

  Zane had texted earlier to say he and Patch were in his trailer in case she needed him, which she’d found very thoughtful. Apparently all the A-listers needed their own trailers, despite the fact that Zane was staying at Willow’s apartment just down the block. She guessed that made sense, so he had a place to go between scenes, though it still seemed like an excessive and unnecessary expense to her. Then again, what did she know about the movie business? She was having a hard time reconciling the guy who had made a point of being in the bakery yesterday morning at eight o’clock sharp just to take a walk with Sam so he could check the decking on Sam’s house, which Sam had mentioned was in need of repair, with an A-list actor who needed special accommodations. Zane had once again become Z, the guy she’d fallen for years ago, only now he’d recaptured her heart with a vengeance.