by BETH KERY
Joy walked the length of the table, the smell of grilling sandwiches—fresh basil, spinach, mozzarella cheese and thinly sliced prosciutto—tickling her nose. She loved Katie and Rill’s kitchen. They had a beautiful, obviously newly decorated dining room, but seemed to prefer to congregate in the cozy kitchen and eat at the large, weathered oak table. The comfortable, colorful, casual kitchen seemed the perfect symbol of the warmth and intimacy of Katie and Rill’s marriage and home life.
Joy inspected her uncle’s sketch for several seconds and looked up at Seth. “It is amazing.”
Seth’s lips flickered in a smile at her praise.
“How long were you up doing it?” Joy asked her uncle quietly, giving him a sympathetic glance.
“Not long,” Seth replied laconically.
Rill flipped a few pages in the sketchbook, revealing several other eye-catching new drawings. Joy gave Seth a knowing glance.
He’d been up all night.
“They’re completely fantastic,” Rill enthused, staring at a sketch that integrated everything that he’d shown Seth last night, from drawings from the costume designer and some preliminary photos to drawings from the special effects and set departments. “Everett, you’ve got to see these. You aren’t going to recognize yourself.”
Everett stood, coming over to the rest of them holding Daisy. Rill took his daughter from his friend’s arms and nodded significantly to the sketch currently on display.
Everett’s face stared back at them, transformed into a brutal-looking warrior with a crude, S-shaped wooden helmet that curved up an inch at the neck, a bizarre, forked fringe of coal-black hair on his forehead, which was highlighted by upturned, sinister-looking eyebrows and a slick, highly stylized Fu Manchu.
“Badass,” Everett said.
“The makeup is much less complicated than what we did for Maritime,” Seth said. “It’ll require a silicone prosthetic for that slight protrusion on your forehead, but the rest will be hair work and makeup application. Even though Slader is well-known for his unusual translucent, pale blue eyes,” Seth continued, referring to the character Everett would be playing, “Rill has an idea leaving your own color might be just as effective. Your eyes are striking enough, and part of the importance is the contrast with the rest of the features, given Slader’s complex heritage. Besides, Rill says that you have some trouble tolerating contacts.”
“I do,” Everett admitted, flipping a page in the sketchbook. “What would you decide about the contacts if you didn’t know that?”
Seth hesitated. “Slader’s eyes are the windows to his soul—or in his case, his lack of a soul. I know you’re a fantastic actor, but I’m not so sure you can force your eyes into looking like windows onto a frigid day in hell.”
“Seth’s right,” Everett said, meeting Rill’s gaze. “I want to do the contacts.”
Rill nodded once, respecting Everett’s call.
“I’d like to do some sample runs with some different contact tints,” Seth said. “We don’t have to worry about that today, though.”
“Can we see anything this afternoon?” Katie asked enthusiastically as she went over to the large griddle and flipped their sandwiches, which made a hissing sound.
Seth was studying Everett’s face. “I can’t make the prosthetic here, of course, but I brought some hair samples. We can do that and makeup after lunch, if you’re game. Joy can do his body tattoos. You’d have to shave your goatee for me to apply the hair.” Seth refocused his eyes, as if he was shifting between seeing Everett as a human being and not an inanimate model for his art. Joy felt a flicker of annoyance at her uncle and compassion for Everett. It must be hard, having people look at you constantly like you were an object. Guilt swooped through her when she recognized that she routinely looked at models in precisely the same way.
“No problem. Can I use your stuff to shave, mate?” Everett asked Rill at the same time he stole a piece of the yellow pepper Katie was slicing, ignoring Katie’s slap on his hand. Joy’s heart jumped. Everett planned to go and shave the goatee she happened to love. Right now.
“Yeah. In the master bath,” Rill muttered distractedly, not glancing up as he smiled at his daughter’s reaction to his jingling some car keys.
“Seth,” Joy hissed irritably as Everett walked out of the kitchen.
“What?” Seth asked, looking at her with his dark brows pinched together.
“Everett isn’t one of your hired models,” she whispered heatedly. Seth gave her a bewildered glance. Joy shook her head in frustrated disgust. She stalked out of the kitchen down the hallway.
“Everett?” she called around the partially open door that she knew led to Katie and Rill’s bedroom.
“Joy?” he said. He stuck his head around an interior door. He already had shaving cream spread on his chin. Joy hurried into the bedroom. Like the rest of the house, it had obviously been recently remodeled and was decorated in comfortable luxury.
“You don’t have to shave right now. Not if you don’t want to.”
He blinked. She noticed the large smear of shaving cream still in his right hand.
“What, did Katie say lunch was ready? Should I shave afterward?”
“No . . . no, I mean . . .” She paused, flustered. “It was . . . it was just the way Seth said it to you, that’s all.”
He continued to look at her like she was speaking a language he hadn’t yet mastered.
“Like you were an inanimate object. He said to shave off your goatee so he could experiment with makeup without even thinking twice about it.”
Everett’s expression shifted. “Why should Seth think twice about it? I didn’t. It’s just hair.”
“Well, yeah, but—” She broke off and made a futile gesture with her hand. “It’s your hair. I . . .”
“What?” Everett persisted when she faded off, his focus on her sharp.
“I happen to like your goatee,” she burst out.
“You do?” He leaned his thigh against the marble countertop of the sink as if he was settling in for a nice, long conversation of interest. Joy experienced a need to backpedal.
“I just mean . . . he shouldn’t have talked to you that way. Shave it off when production begins. You don’t have to do it right this second just because Seth mentioned it.”
He smiled slowly. Joy blushed and took a step back.
“Do whatever you want. I just thought—”
“You just thought you’d try to stop me from shaving because you’ve become partial to my goatee,” he said, his eyes taking on that heated gleam to which she was also becoming partial.
“You are as bigheaded as Katie says,” she mumbled. “I just didn’t like the way Seth said it so flippantly. That’s all.”
Everett straightened and held out the hand that didn’t have any shaving cream in it. He came closer and draped it around her shoulder, halting her exit.
“I’d prefer to think you’ve become partial to my goatee. Can I just go on believing that version of things?”
Her annoyed glance faded when she saw the humor in his eyes.
“If you like,” she said quietly. “Everett, don’t!” she cried when he started to kiss her, forgetting the shaving cream on his face.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, although he didn’t look it. He sobered when he met her stare. He smoothed her short hair and paused to caress the top of her ear with his fingertips. She’d had no idea the little fold of flesh was so sensitive, she thought as a shiver coursed down her spine.
“It really is just hair, Joy. I couldn’t care less. If you don’t want me to shave for a while, though, I won’t.”
“No. No, of course not. It’s got nothing to do with me,” she said, mortified now that she’d ever brought the whole thing up.
“I’ll let you be the judge of that,” he murmured soberly before he went back to his task.
* * *
Joy helped Rill clean up the lunch dishes while Katie fed Daisy and put her down for a nap and Everett
and Seth got things ready for the makeup application in the back atrium. She’d discovered last night that while Rill had an intense intellect and unique ability to transform complex visions from his mind’s eye to the big screen, he could also be warm, teasing and charming, most especially with his wife, daughter and Everett.
“Everett almost seems like a real brother to you,” Joy observed as she took a platter he handed her and wiped it dry.
“He is. Katie was like a sister, too, until I wised up and realized a sibling was the last thing on earth I wanted her to be,” Rill said with a sideways grin, which Joy returned. “Meg and Stan took me in when I came to California to go to school. The Hugheses have been far more of a family to me than I’ve ever had. I never even knew my real father, and my mother . . . well, she’s impossible to know, even if you’ve lived with her for years—”
A phone started to ring, interrupting him. Rill wiped off his large, soapy hands with a dish towel and dug in his jeans pocket. He greeted whomever was calling warmly.
“No, this is perfect timing. We’re setting up for makeup application right now. I don’t think Seth has any sketches done for you yet, but this will give him a chance to size you up. You’ll inspire him, no doubt. He’ll be up all night working.”
Joy speculated silently about whom it was on the phone. It sounded like someone associated with the film.
“Is John going to come with you?” Rill asked. He listened and nodded his head. “Great. We’ll see you here in an hour or two.”
“That was Jennifer Turner,” Rill told her when he’d hung up his phone and replaced it in his back pocket. “She’s going to be stopping by later this afternoon.”
“Really? That’s great,” Joy said. “She’s the other lead in Razor Pass, isn’t she?”
Rill nodded as he plunged his hands back into the soapy water. Joy had noticed earlier that he cleaned with the gusto of a rugby player—which his stature and rugged good looks certainly called to mind. Apparently, Rill didn’t believe in attacking even the smallest tasks in a small way. She’d watched in wonder as he’d given the kitchen a hearty once-over that any woman would have adored before he’d even begun the dishes.
“Yeah. She has a friend who lives nearby. He’s having some renovations done on his place, and Jennifer came with him. She’s a pretty regular visitor here.”
“We can size her up for makeup,” Joy said, her smile disguising a niggling worm of uncertainty that had started to squirm around in her belly. Jennifer Turner was one of the most beautiful, talented women in the world.
She was also one of Everett’s old girlfriends. If the press had been even 10 percent correct about their hotly speculated two-year relationship, then the one-time couple had at least considered marriage.
It seemed like too much for Joy to wrap her mind around the idea of Jennifer Turner and her—Joy—on the same playing field when it came to a man. It definitely made something burn uncomfortably in her stomach to consider even the faint likelihood of them both vying for Everett’s attention.
Stop being ridiculous, she lectured herself as she put away the large griddle in the cabinet that Rill indicated. It wasn’t as if this thing with Everett was anything she should be getting worked up over. She’d just met him recently. If Everett truly did still have feelings for Jennifer, there was nothing she could do about it. He was an amazing guy. He deserved to be happy.
It wasn’t as if Joy had any long-term influence on whether Everett found happiness or not.
* * *
Joy worked on Everett’s arm tattoos while Seth did the meticulous hair application. Seth’s sketches for the body art were still in the works, but she liked the preliminaries he’d done that incorporated a mixture of Native American, Chinese and ancient Mongol symbols melded and transformed by Seth’s creative mind. It was a little weird working on Everett so closely while other people were around, especially given the history of their first sexual contact. Eventually, however, she managed to mostly lose herself in the art, only occasionally glancing up to admire her uncle’s progress or to assist him when he requested it.
They worked in an atrium where the large surrounding windows could either be thrown open on a temperate day or shut and regulated during the winter and summer months. Given the hot, humid day outside, air-conditioning cooled the sunny room.
“Are you getting cold?” Joy asked Everett an hour or so after they’d started. He’d been holding his arm up for her as she drew on his inner biceps, twisting and flexing it at her request. With her head close to his chest, she’d noticed how hard his nipples had grown.
“I can turn down the AC,” said Katie, who was sitting in a lounger, watching their progress while Rill checked on Daisy.
“No, that’s okay. I’m not cold,” Everett said, his gaze on Joy. She blinked when she saw how warm his eyes looked. It took her several minutes to get back in the groove of her drawing after that.
When they’d finished, Joy was amazed, and she could tell Seth was pleased by the result. Even though he’d only done a partial makeup job along with the hair application and Joy had only done the tattoos on Everett’s arms, the transformation was stunning. Seth went to get his camera while Rill and Katie examined Everett. Rill glanced from Seth’s tattoo drawings to Everett’s arms.
“I like what you did in the application, Joy,” Rill murmured. “You altered the tattoos to fit with the natural contours of Everett’s muscle and bone. It gives it a living, organic effect.”
“Thanks,” Joy said, warmed by Rill’s astute observation.
“She had me flex and move my arms so she could see the natural movement and use it to highlight the tattoos,” Everett said.
Rill examined her with sharp blue eyes. “I know you’re here as Everett’s guest and you aren’t an official part of Seth’s makeup company, but will you consider doing Everett’s tattoos personally when we go to production? Everett and Seth both say you did a fantastic job on the Maritime tattoo for promotional photos. Seth was upset he couldn’t have you do it for the actual shoots.”
“So was I,” Everett said casually as he twisted his arms, examining them.
Joy blushed. “Oh, well, I doubt that—”
“Look who I found,” Seth interrupted her as he joined them again, carrying his camera.
Joy paused, her mouth open, as she stared at the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen in her life following her uncle into the atrium. Jennifer’s smile was like sunshine as she hugged Katie and received a kiss on the cheek from Rill. She turned her attention to Everett, her large, dark eyes going wide.
“I didn’t recognize you at first!” She walked a few steps, her attention on Everett rapt. “Oh my God, you’re going to be a perfect, totally intimidating Slader.”
Joy’s heart sank a little when the two of them shared a grin, Everett’s charm breaking through the grim disguise. “I haven’t seen you since the Toronto Film Festival,” Everett said.
“I know. I’ve been so busy with—” Jennifer’s attention was fractured when she noticed Joy standing there. “Hello,” she said warmly, putting out her hand. “You must be Seth’s niece. He told me about you just now. I’m Jennifer.”
“Hello, I’m Joy,” she said pleasantly, shaking Jennifer’s hand. Jennifer’s countenance was open and friendly. Her blond hair was almost as legendary as Everett’s. It used to be longer, but she currently wore it at shoulder length. It fell in thick, lustrous waves around her delicate face. She wore not a hint of makeup. She didn’t need it. Her expressive, dark brown eyes were soft and warm. It was almost impossible not to like her on first impression.
“I’m sorry for interrupting, but I was in the area, so I thought I’d stop by while John met with some contractors at the cabin.”
“We’re glad you did,” Katie enthused. “There’s been something I wanted to ask you.” She waved Jennifer toward the living room. “We’ll be right back,” she told the rest of them.
“Joy, can you touch up Everett’s fri
nge?” asked Seth, who was focusing his camera on Everett.
“Sure,” Joy said, dragging her gaze off the doorway where Jennifer and Katie had just disappeared. She gave Everett a quick, furtive glance as she lifted a comb to the forked black bang on his forehead. What was he thinking upon seeing his old girlfriend—his nice, gorgeous, sexy former flame? His expression was calm and unreadable as he met her eyes. But then, Everett was an extremely good actor, wasn’t he?
Jennifer stayed for about an hour, chatting with them all out in the atrium, asking about the various concepts Seth was having for the film, getting some clarification from Rill about the nuances of a line in the script and catching up with Everett. Joy noticed that Seth was quietly sketching her as she talked, the actress unaware of what he was doing.
“So what’s this I hear about you falling into a hole?” Everett asked Jennifer as he returned from the kitchen carrying two glasses of iced tea. Seth had removed the hair and makeup after he’d taken pictures, but Joy’s tattoos remained. She thought they looked quite eye-catching beneath the simple white T-shirt he wore. Everett handed one of the glasses to Joy and sat down next to her on the sofa.
Jennifer groaned and looked embarrassed. She gave Katie an accusing, amused glance. “You told Everett, huh? Well, what can I say? I was an idiot and fell into a sinkhole not eight miles from here and had to be rescued. It happened last spring.”
“What?” Joy asked, pausing in the action of taking a sip of tea.
Jennifer laughed. “It’s true. Twenty feet straight down into a sinkhole.”
“There are lots of them in an area down south a few miles. Old abandoned mining area. It’s why you shouldn’t wander too far off the forest preserve paths. Let Jennifer be your lesson,” Rill said.
Jennifer shook her head ruefully. “I’m a living lesson, all right. It would have been one of the worst days of my life if John hadn’t fallen into that hole with me. But John has a habit of turning the darkest moment into the brightest.”
“Now it does sound interesting,” Everett said, sipping his tea.