“I don’t blame her,” I say. “Are you here to do interviews?”
“Yeah, I got Declan’s text to come back down.”
“Okay,” Declan calls to us and we look at him. “Almost done setting up. Julie, we’ll interview you first, then Brooke. And Reagan, if she bothers to show up.”
I catch the frustration in his tone and so does Brooke, because she raises a single thin brown eyebrow at me. “I saw them fighting earlier. Reagan and Declan.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen them argue too.”
Brooke stops and moves closer to me, so no one else can hear us. “Do you think that there’s something going on there? I asked Jill and she says she wouldn’t be surprised.”
I frown, “Between who? Reagan and Declan?”
Brooke nods, giving the producer a quick glance.
I can’t help but let out a laugh. “God, no. Reagan has a boyfriend. Charlie.”
“Hmm, right, ‘Charlie’,” Brooke says, air quoting his name.
“You don’t believe her?” I gape.
“Do you?”
“I did, until you just said something.”
Jesus. Is everyone lying about their lives for this reunion?
I look at Declan, who's speaking to Liz, the sound supervisor.
There is no way he and Reagan…no way. He’s not her type. They wouldn’t.
“I’m not saying it’s for sure,” Brooke tells me, “but it’s possible.”
I don’t like what washes over me.
An anxious sensation, it makes me grimace.
Finally, Declan looks back over at us and waves me over.
I sit down in a chair positioned near the windows of the private room, overlooking the mountains. Declan stays behind the cameraman, looking from the screen on the camera to me, back to the screen. “You finally made some headway with Reagan.”
I survey him as he says her name. Nothing jumps out suspiciously at me.
Brooke’s wrong. She has to be.
“I don’t think so,” I say as I place my hands in my lap and cross my legs. “She said she was going to text me about dinner but I doubt it.”
Declan shrugs as his hands as he places his headset over his ears, “She has your number still.”
I frown at his obvious statement. “Yeah…”
“It means she never intended to cut you out forever,” he says.
I can’t help but slowly smile and he quickly smiles back, before snapping a finger at me. “Ready? Three, two, one…”
Chapter Thirteen
“You could have given me a text, ‘just a little heads up, Julie!’”
“I forgot. I have other clients you know?”
“You forgot? It slipped your mind that you agreed to send your sister a fake boyfriend for a reality TV show?”
“It is what it is. I’m sorry. How’d it go anyway? How did they all take it?”
“They were all floored. Adam hates him, said some rude things but Simon held his own. He’s going to make good TV.” I exhale quietly, so Simon doesn’t hear me. “I just want this all to be over already.”
“You only have a few days left. It’ll go by quickly.”
“Super,” my sarcasm seeps in and Finley laughs.
“Well, here’s something that will cheer you up. Adam’s affair is trending on Twitter as of this morning.”
My mouth drops open. “Oh my God. So he is having an affair?”
“Lord knows,” Fin laughs again. “I just threw it out there via an anonymous account and everyone ran with it. Couple women have tweeted running into him, asking for autographs and him being flirty. Anyway, I have to go, meeting a client for brunch.”
“How glamorous.”
“Oh, listen before I go. Mom called.”
I freeze, looking at myself in the bathroom mirror as I wait for my brother to go on. “She’s upset that you didn’t tell her about the reunion show. She saw it on the internet the other day but before you lose it on me, just know that I told her I was handling it.”
“I can’t imagine she took that well,” I scoff.
“No, she didn’t but can you really blame her? After what happened last time...”
I smirk sarcastically. “My divorce or how the media went after her and said it was because she was a difficult mother-in-law for Adam?”
“Your divorce. Come on, Julie. Mom’s not that heartless.”
I roll my eyes, this is not a surprising response from Fin. He’s never had to fight for my mother’s approval like Angie or me. She’s always given it to him. To call Finley her favorite would be an understatement.
“I better go, I think I have to be somewhere soon to film and I didn’t even look at the schedule.”
“Today it’s thermal pools or something…from what I remember.”
“What the hell is that?” I remark.
He laughs. “I don’t know, you tell me later.”
I say goodbye to my brother and hurry from the bathroom.
Though it's nearing 10 am, the suite is dark because the heavy curtains are still drawn over the windows. I don’t see Simon, but I can hear him. He’s sleeping on the ground, on the other side of the bed, snoring.
It was a hassle to tell him last night that there was no way he was sleeping in the same bed with me. After ten minutes, mainly because he was exhausted from his earlier flight, he gave in and made a bed for himself on the floor.
I hear a beep come from my phone and bring it up to my face, it’s a group alert from Oscar for today’s schedule. Neither Adam nor Simon are required for filming, but Jill, Reagan and I are supposed to meet downstairs to sit near the outdoor thermal pools.
Sit outside? In our bathing suits in the middle of winter? Is Oscar crazy?
“I have to admit, I thought Oscar was crazy at first.”
“Oh you’re going to love it,” Jill beams. “I do this every winter. It’s so energizing. You get into the hot pool then jump into the icy one. It feels as if you’ve run for an hour on the treadmill, all the stress just evaporates.”
“Sounds insane,” I reply as I gaze around the pool area. I don’t think Jill senses my unenthusiastic tone because she keeps grinning at me. We’re standing right outside of the thermal pool and hot tub patio, which is located inside another dome shape addition of the lodge. Except this dome is missing its windows and Jill told me that during the winter they remove them so people can experience the thermal pools in all their glory.
Because we’re all in bathing suits, there are no microphone packs on us, there will only be hovering booms to catch sound. I stay wrapped tightly in my towel. The thermal pool pad is beautiful. There are two, oval shaped pools, and several hot tubs surrounding them. Snow graces the pavement in a few places, and on the planted shrubbery throughout, making the entire area look like an enchanted swimming hole.
“I’ve always wanted to try this,” Reagan declares as she steps up to us.
A moment later, we are ushered out into the pool area. Our entrance, they film once, because our “Ohhh’s” and “Wow’s” seem convincing. What surprises me is the warmth of the area, and I slowly unclench my towel as Jill heads toward a set of loungers near a hot tub.
“It’s the heat from the hot tub and thermal pool,” Jill tells me. “It warms up the area.”
We throw our towels down on some loungers and then Jill suggests we go into a hot tub nearby for twenty minutes before jumping into the cold pool.
We settle in, the hot water prickling at my skin kind of uncomfortably for the first few seconds. The hot tub is huge, and the bubbles splat water on our faces every few seconds. Lights deep down beneath our feet turn the water different colors slowly.
“So, last night was interesting,” Jill states, she looks across from me and raises her eyebrows. “It looked like Simon really got to Adam.”
“Doubtful, that’s just what Adam is like
,” I remind her. “He’s suspicious of anyone remotely successful, like they’ll suck his success right out of him or something.”
“I think he’s jealous, sure,” Jill agrees as she shuts her eyes and dips her head back against the headrest. “But not of Simon’s successes…” She suddenly lifts her head, her eyes falling back on me. “I think he’s still in love with you.”
“What? You’re crazy,” I laugh again. Reagan’s attention has turned onto Jill and she looks at her skeptically.
“What do you think?” Jill asks Reagan suddenly. “Don’t you think so?”
“No,” Reagan answers with a small smirk. “Definitely not.”
I raise my eyebrows at Jill as she looks back at me. “See?”
“Why else is he is eager to talk to you one on one?” Jill asks.
I let out a breath before I answer her. “Because he wants me to have coffee or dinner with Diana, one on one, that’s why.”
Jill’s face scrunches up and she shakes her head. “I don’t think so.”
I know she’s doing this for the cameras, I know Oscar gave her instructions on what to say, I know it’s all fake but...but I don’t like it. I hate it more than any of the other stuff I have been forced to do or say that I didn’t want to. This just makes me antsy.
I don’t want to go down the path of thinking Adam is still in love with me. It’s dark, and confusing. I almost drowned in it.
“Are you going to do it?” Reagan suddenly speaks up, looking directly at me. “Are you going to talk to Diana?”
“No,” I shake my head slowly. “There’s no point. We weren’t ever friends, and what’s done is done. You saw us yesterday, we can’t even have a conversation in a group without taking cheap shots at each other.” I remember who I am again, and add, “Besides, I’ve let it all go. What would I need to speak to her for? Or her me?”
“Closure,” Reagan shrugs.
“Why should Diana get closure?” Jill demands with a snort. “She stole her husband.”
“I’m not talking about Diana,” Reagan explains, “I’m talking about Julie.”
“I don’t need closure,” I state.
Reagan raises a single eyebrow at me. “Are you sure about that?”
Why would I need closure? I made my peace with it! I walked straight out of the room after I stumbled upon a scene forever etched in my memory, and never walked back.
Why’s Reagan staring at me so—
“Hi, everyone!”
I glance over my shoulder to see Diana and Brooke enter the area, both wrapped in towels but only Diana is waving wildly towards us. “Make room in the tub!”
Either Diana is acting like Adam’s affair trending isn’t bothering her or she doesn’t know its trending yet. In any case, it’s like a volcano waiting to erupt.
“I thought they weren’t coming,” I mutter as I look back at Jill and Reagan.
“Diana, miss an opportunity to be on camera? Never,” Jill smirks. She then sighs and pushes herself away from her seat. “I’m done in here. Heading to the pool.”
“But it hasn’t been twenty minutes,” Reagan protests.
Jill gets to her feet as she throws a cool glare at Diana, who has stopped near the loungers with Brooke to drop off their towels. “If I’m in here with her, I’ll drown her and be arrested for murder.”
I let out a giggle as I watch Jill walk out of the hot tub. She taps my shoulder with her toe. “Come with me.”
“Into the cold pool? No, thanks.”
“You want to sit shoulder to shoulder with Dynamite Diana?” Jill enquiries.
I don’t want that.
I push away from my seat and slowly stand up. I point to the cold pool across the deck. “But I’m not going into that.”
Because of the airy heat, I don’t shiver as I leave the hot tub. Jill and I make our way towards the pool, leaving the cameras and booms behind us. I can see Oscar scrambling with a crew member to get another camera and boom.
“Are we away from the crew?” Jill whispers as we reach the oval cold pool. She sticks a toe in and shivers in place.
“Uh, yeah, but I think Oscar’s about to send another camera after us,” I answer. I watch her dip her entire foot in the pool and goosebumps appears on her arms.
“This stays between you and me,” Jill looks over at me, suddenly, “but I hired a Private Investigator.”
Despite the news stunning me for a moment, I manage to ask, “Does Oscar know?”
“Nobody knows, except you and my husband,” she answers.
I wrap my arms around my torso. “Why did you do it?”
Jill turns to me. “Because I know Diana is the one who started those rumors, and I’m going to prove it. While my P.I. is investigating in the city, he’s sending a partner to investigate up here. So if anything happens, I may need you to cover for me.”
Now I get goosebumps, and it’s not from the cold pool. “I don’t know...”
She points a finger at me. “Hey, I’m playing along with this Simon charade.”
“Okay,” I agree after a moment. “I will do my best. And, uh, thanks for that by the way. You were pretty convincing last night.”
“I did theatre in high school,” she jokes. I let out a laugh along with her and watch as she points to the pool. She takes a small step back before swan diving as best as she can into the pool. I watch her reappear with an exhilarated squeal before backstroking away from me. After a few seconds, I head over to our loungers and take a seat in the one with my towel. I glance over at Reagan, Diana and Brooke in the hot tub. The cameras pan over their faces as they laugh at something and I feel a twitch of jealousy.
“Shouldn’t you be in the hot tub?”
I look away from them and see Declan walking up to the loungers, a camera man behind him and a woman with a boom behind him. He’s removing his winter coat, obviously surprised at how warm it is in the area.
“Too crowded,” I mutter.
“Where’s Jill?” he asks. “I’m supposed to film the both of you.”
“She’s in the pool,” I gesture, “and there really isn’t anything to get on camera.”
“You could push Diana in the pool,” he jokes, motioning for the crew behind him to join Oscar.
I let out a laugh, “Drop that suggestion by Jill. I bet she’d do it.”
“I think people would like to see you do it.”
Declan walks to the nearest lounger and takes a seat on it, his elbows resting on his knees. He looks over at Jill in the pool. “I can’t believe she likes this kind of stuff.”
“Me neither,” I say.
After a few silent seconds, Declan speaks again. “Spent the last hour filming with your boyfriend.”
I’m about to ask “Who?” when I suddenly remember Simon. “Oh right, how did it go?”
“The crew loves him, especially the women,” he says.
“That’s generally how it goes,” I give Declan a smile. “People love him.”
“Right,” Declan agrees, dryly. I frown at him,
“You don’t like him.”
Declan shrugs. “I don’t know him. He seems fine.”
“That’s what people say when they don’t like someone,” I smirk loudly.
He laughs and flicks something off his shoe before looking up at me. “Not always.”
“Always.”
He’s about to respond when something catches his eye and he smiles softly, “Hey.”
I look away from him to see Reagan two loungers away from us, wrapping herself up in her towel. She greets Declan back, “Hey,”
“You don’t want to try the cold pool?” I ask her.
“Getting a bit of a headache,” Reagan lets me know as she unravels her long black hair from a high bun. “I skipped breakfast, which wasn’t the best idea.”
“That’s perfect because Julie said she was hungry,” Declan
tells her.
I what?
I watch him get off the lounger and motion at me as his eyes stay on Reagan. “I told her there’s a good cafe in town. Oscar wants more shots in the village, so this works out. Give me a second and I’ll tell you guys the plan.”
He hurries away from us towards Oscar before Reagan can protest and she gives me a shrug, “Guess were going into the village.”
I feel a smile grow over my mouth slowly, “I guess so.”
Simon wasn’t in the suite when I got up there, and for that, I was grateful. The last thing I needed was him tagging along with Reagan and me.
An hour and a half later, Reagan and I are seated at a cafe in Dirhurst village, right off the main street. I could see the gigantic fountain through the cafe windows. It’s the same cafe from the other day, and after we order we’re given electronic saucers so the servers can bring us our late lunch.
We take a seat near the window with the crew hovering nearby.
I wasn’t given talking points by Declan, so I had to run with it.
“Last night was crazy,” I say.
“I know,” Reagan agrees glancing out the cafe window. “Jill and Diana need to talk to each other.”
“Preferably in an empty and locked room,” I joke.
“It probably wouldn’t have happened if Simon hadn’t put Adam and Diana in a bad mood though,” Reagan suddenly says. Her dark eyes rush from the window to me.
“He was only defending himself, and me. Adam was being a jerk.”
Reagan puts her hands on the table between us. “He shouldn’t have fed into it. You should have warned him what Adam was like. He could have risen above Adam’s antics.”
I let out a breath as I frown at her. “What happened last night isn’t Simon’s fault.”
“I didn’t say it was,” Reagan replies casually. “I’m just saying he didn’t help the situation.”
“Neither did Adam showing up, or Diana.”
Reagan shrugs, just as the waitress shows up with our soup and chicken wraps. We thank her as she takes away the electronic saucer. I can’t take my eyes off Reagan as she unwraps her utensils to dig into her soup.
Reuniting Reality Page 17