by Lee Kilraine
“You don’t understand.” Her voice, almost a whisper, cut deep.
“And you don’t trust me. Don’t trust us. That together we can handle anything.”
The big fat tears rolling down her face almost broke him. He wanted to be her knight in shining armor. He wanted to say, Okay, new plan. You stay here at the farm. I’ll go out to L.A. and deal with the tabloids and the rumors. Then we can get on with our lives, but he knew that would only put off what they needed to face. If she couldn’t handle this part of his life, it wasn’t going to work—no matter how much they loved each other. And pretending otherwise would only hurt them both more in the long run.
“Trust is a new thing for me, Sijan.”
“I get that, but without trust, this won’t work. I’ve got to go fix this, because even if we don’t work out, I love you and there is no way I’m letting Ferris hurt you for even one more second. Are you sure you can’t come with me?”
And with a single nod of her head, she gutted him.
Chapter Thirty
Avery cried and paced the rest of the day and long into the night. Pia made her stop and have a glass of wine, but to no avail. She couldn’t sleep a wink, not even after she moved into Sijan’s bed with Peewee and Roscoe. Heck, she couldn’t even eat. So, sunrise found her in the gym pummeling the punching bag. She showered and went back to bed, crying big gulping tears after playing the last conversation with Sijan through her head for the 1,734th time. She was so emotionally destroyed, she couldn’t even explain to Pia how she’d hurt Sijan and probably ended their relationship.
“Look, I’m not sure what happened between you and Sijan, but enough is enough.” Pia ignored her tears and dragged her out of bed to the diner for coffee and sustenance. “When you’re ready to spill, I’m here.”
The breakfast crowd welcomed them with open arms and ears since everyone wanted the latest news on Avery and Sijan’s romance. Renee filled their coffee cups and brought Avery a cupcake and Pia her usual eggs and bacon. She rubbed Avery’s shoulder in a motherly fashion.
“Well, Avery?” Renee stood next to their booth with her eyebrows raised and excitement simmering in her eyes. “Come on, tell us. We’re as anxious as a rooster just before sunrise.”
“Tell you what?” Avery sat slumped against the booth, where she’d been letting the morning’s gossip swirl soothingly around her. Comfort from gossip? Seriously? When had that happened? Over time, somehow the gossip at Dave’s had become a part of her life. It made her feel part of something bigger. It made her feel like she belonged.
“We’re waiting to hear about the results of our matchmaking efforts, young lady.” Agatha’s voice carried easily from a booth at the other end of the diner. “I will have serious doubts in his role as a leading man if the man failed to propose to you.”
“No. He did ask me to marry him. And I said yes.”
“Hot damn! I’m on-top-of-the-world happy for you, Av.” Pia leaned across the table and gave her a tight hug. “I knew he would be good for you. Except that part where he was being an idiot, I knew it.”
Avery settled back in her seat and looked at Pia in surprise. “How could you know? I certainly didn’t have a clue.”
“I saw this.” Pia picked up her phone and searched through her photographs, then handed the phone across the table to her. “This is Sijan the first time he set eyes on you.”
She glanced down at the photo and the air rushed from her lungs. “Oh, my God. How did I miss this?” Her gaze whipped to Pia’s in shock, tears tracking down her face.
“You were a little busy being his number-one fan, if I recall.” Pia grinned at the memory. “Good times. Tynan saw it too, only he was in denial almost as much as Sijan.”
“Why are you crying?” Renee still stood next to the booth, looking back and forth between them. “Pia, why is she crying?”
“This has yet to be determined.” Pia sipped her coffee. “But, knowing Avery, we’ll find out in a minute. She runs deep, but not silent.”
Avery sat staring at the photo of Sijan, then, in a daze, turned Pia’s phone for Renee to see.
“Oh, lord, Avery, how in the world did you resist that man for even five minutes?” Renee fanned her face with the order pad from her apron pocket. “I want someone to look at me like that one day.”
Beatrice clapped her hands in excitement. “Lovely. We’ll need to know the wedding date to put it on our calendar.”
Avery shook her head and held back the sob that tried to sputter out of her lungs. “There isn’t going to be a wedding.”
“Explain,” Agatha commanded, her voice cutting clearly through the noise of new chatter caused by Avery’s announcement.
She stood up and looked around at all the faces in the diner. “Sijan wanted me to go to L.A. with him and deal with this together. When I said I couldn’t, he said I don’t trust him, but I do. I trust him with all my heart.”
“Then what in the hell are you doing sitting here in Climax?”
“Agatha. Language, please,” Beatrice admonished. “But I quite agree. Avery, why aren’t you out in L.A. helping Sijan fend off the vicious pack of paparazzi?”
“I know I should. I want to, but I can’t.” Avery walked slowly down to the Simon sisters’ booth. She stood looking at them, her hands twisting together in worry and guilt. “It’s not Sijan I don’t trust. It’s me. They would eat me alive.”
“Would they?” Agatha raised a penciled on eyebrow at her. “You seem to have dealt with the Grapevine handily.”
“I have, haven’t I?” The more she thought about it, the more it dawned on her how much she’d changed in the last few weeks. “I have changed. Just a few short weeks ago I would have plowed my way through the contents of Sijan’s refrigerator to get through the last twenty-four hours. Instead, I beat the heck out of the punching bag in his gym this morning. And . . .”
“And?” Everyone in the diner waited eagerly.
“I noticed something else yesterday. When Michelle fanned out the tabloids with all the scandals flying around, I realized out at Sijan’s farm . . . they hadn’t touched me. I’m in a safe cocoon at the farm, like our own private island.”
“Your escape hatch if Hollywood is too much.” Agatha nodded her approval.
“Yes, exactly.” Even as she said it though, she began to shake her head and pace up and down the aisle, only to end up back next to Beatrice and Agatha’s booth. “No. There are things you don’t know that they’ll dredge up. Lord, they eviscerated me five years ago. I was a certified hot mess.”
Beatrice reached out and took her hand. “Avery Danford, you’re not that young girl anymore. You know the expression ‘bloom where you’re planted’? That’s you, dear. That’s what you did. You were transplanted into the most barren desert, yet look how you’ve blossomed. That takes strength, dear.”
“Strength? I never thought of myself as a strong person before.” Avery paced again. “I guess I had to be strong to make it through . . . everything. Of course, I had Pia’s help.”
Pia stood up from her booth. “Who says I can’t help you again?”
“You don’t have to do things alone to prove you’re strong, Avery. Goodness, I wouldn’t have accomplished half the things I did in my life without Beatrice to lean on.”
Renee walked over and placed an arm around her shoulders. “We all want to help, Avery. Just name it, hon.”
She looked around the friendly faces eager to help, and a rush of warmth spread through her veins as she realized these were her people now. “I really do belong, don’t I?”
“Of course you do, dear,” Beatrice Simon said. “Now, what about that little problem of yours?”
Avery wanted to hug everyone in Climax, but she didn’t have time to waste. Jerry had called to let her know the press conference was set for tomorrow. Talk about full circle. For the second time in her life, she was going to deal with Dirk and the Hollywood press. Only this time she wasn’t running. Nope, no more running fr
om anything because she was stronger now. And she did trust that, together, she and Sijan could handle anything.
“Okay. Here’s my plan . . .”
Chapter Thirty-one
Avery and Pia arrived at Majestic Studios ten minutes into the press conference. She’d finally reached Jerry on his cell phone, and she and Pia were waiting at the gate for him to sign them in. Sijan’s next blockbuster with Majestic was due to release in less than two months, and the studio expected Sijan to work his magic with the press and make this scandal disappear. She shook her head and looked over at Pia. “I don’t know how this is going to turn out, Pia, but thank you for everything. I wouldn’t be here today without you.”
“Back at you, Av. I have to say, getting you ready was the most fun I’ve had in ages. I forgot how much fun I had styling people after working with animals for the past five years. You are stunning, for which I’ll only take a little credit.”
Pia had styled Avery’s hair in long, lose curls tousled softly around her shoulders. Smokey-gray eye shadow highlighted her eyes. Light blush with a hint of shimmer accented her high cheekbones, and a deep rose-pink lip gloss kissed her lips. Her hourglass figure was showcased in a tastefully body-hugging aqua Chanel dress with a hint of cleavage. A pair of funky Jimmy Choo pumps completed the deal.
“Am I glad to see you,” Jerry said from behind the gate. He signed them in with the guard and zoomed them off in a golf cart like he was driving in the Indy 500. “Sijan’s doing the best he can, but the press is not giving up. Dirk has been telling so many wild-ass tales that just when Sijan stomps one out another flames up. And they know there’s a movie, but they don’t seem to know any details. Are you sure you can handle this? Because Sijan will have my head if you have a nervous breakdown up there.”
“Jerry, I got this.” Thank goodness her voice sounded more confident than she felt.
“How did the studio get Dirk here?” Pia said. “I thought he was holding his own tell-all press conference?”
“The president of Majestic called and invited him. No way Dirk was saying no to that.” Jerry wiped his hand across the dampness on his forehead. “Now it’s Sijan’s job to shut Dirk down.”
Finally they were standing in the wings of the stage. The studio had set up a table downstage at the edge of the orchestra pit, turned the spotlights on full, and filled the seats with the press. Camera lights flashed at such a dizzying speed one would think Elvis or the Pope had made a surprise visit. Or two handsome mega-movie stars.
She worried all of it would bring back memories from her crazy days in Hollywood. But instead what it reminded her of was the last time she’d stood waiting to jump into Sijan’s life. “Wow, Pia. You getting a déjà vu vibe too?”
“I am. And it turned out pretty good the last time you photo-bombed the man, didn’t it?” Pia fluffed Avery’s hair and pushed her breasts up a little higher. “The girls were very helpful last time.”
Avery laughed. “This poor, poor man. He can’t escape me. Every time he turns around, I practically mug him. And yet he’s willing to sign up for a lifetime contract. Maybe he’s the one who needs therapy. Okay, I’m going in. Wish me luck.”
She paused to make her entrance as Sijan’s voice cut coolly into another of Dirk’s trumped-up stories. “Dirk is either misremembering history or practicing writing his own screenplays, because Avery Danford was never engaged to Dirk and she sure as hell never had a nervous breakdown.”
“Then where is she? Why won’t she appear in public?” Dirk was eating up the spotlight and attention, his slick movie-star smile happily in place. “She could have shown up today to set the record straight, but she didn’t.”
Avery figured that was as good a cue to enter as any. Especially because Sijan looked like he wanted to punch Dirk, and that would be bad. How she played the next thirty minutes might make the difference in whether she would live the next few years of her life normally or in a feeding frenzy of constant paparazzi. Show time.
“Actually, Dirk,” Avery said, stepping out of the wings and walking confidently onto the stage. “I did. So that’s another thing you’re wrong about today.”
A nanosecond of stunned silence fell over the press, and then the theater lit up like the finale of a Fourth of July fireworks show. They were stepping over and on each other to get a photo of the reclusive former movie star. After allowing a few minutes for photographs, she moved to take the empty seat at the table. Both men were standing waiting for her. Dirk’s face was frozen in shock as she passed him with a cool nod. Sijan’s lopsided grin put her at ease, and she took his hand and leaned up to kiss him. He tried to protect her by aiming for a kiss on the cheek, but she didn’t see the point. She highly doubted they could hide their attraction to each other, even if they were two of the best actors in the world. She turned her head and planted a firm kiss on his lips, which set off another round of flashes and mad clicking of cameras.
Sijan helped her sit down, and while the press was still busy taking photos, he put his hand over the microphone and said, “I was trying to keep you out of this.”
“I love that you try to protect me. I haven’t had much of that in my life, but you know what I figured out yesterday? I’m not the same person I was five years ago. I don’t I need to hide anymore. Ready?”
“You bet.”
“Oh, and Sijan, when we’re done with this, I’ve got that other work to finish. You remember?” She let her gaze drop to his lap and back to his eyes. “I like to finish what I start.”
Sijan hissed in a breath. “You did not just do that. That was twisted and really hot, and you just guaranteed I will help make this the shortest press conference on record.”
She grinned and turned to her microphone and a rapid-fire barrage of questions. For a second, she sucked in a breath, wondering if she’d been wrong about being ready to deal with the past. But Sijan grabbed her hand, offering his strength, and she recalled the advice of her future sister-in-law on handling the Climax Grapevine. Take control. So she did.
“Whoa. Ladies and gentlemen, take pity on me. I’ve been out of this lovely town for five years and I’m out of practice. Jerry? Can you get a mike down front? We’ll take these one at time. Okay, who’s up first?”
“Miss Danford, where have you been the past five years?”
In her best Russian accent, she said, “I moved to Mother Russia and became an international spy for four and half years under the code name Svetlana the Red. But I quit that also, to become a taste tester for a famous vodka producer. I could tell you the name of the vodka company, but then I’d have to kill you.”
Dirk and Sijan turned their heads her way. The press paused in unsure silence, and Avery knew this was the moment that would determine if this was going to be a shark chumming or fly fishing among friends experience. When the silence lasted a beat too long, she tensed for the feeding frenzy, but then the laughter started.
She smiled her prettiest smile and said, “In all seriousness, I just wanted a normal life. That’s all. I’ve heard all the rumors, and honestly, I’m sorry to tell you my life is boring in comparison. No drug overdose, no secret pregnancy, or rehab. No nervous breakdowns. Nothing. If I’d known we’d be meeting here today, I would have tried to work some tragedy in my life for you to report, honest.”
Another round of laughter as they moved on to the next question. “Avery, as a young movie star you had dark hair and dark eyes. Obviously, today you look different. Which is the real you, and why the change?”
She gave them a playfully scolding look. “I had to be incognito somehow, right? You guys would have tracked me down if I hadn’t gone into disguise.”
The press ate it up. They were having too much fun not to. She had them in the palm of her hand. Of course, these were just the first few softballs. They hadn’t brought the heat yet.
“I’m kidding, of course. I’m a natural blonde, but if you remember, brunettes were popular the year I arrived in Hollywood. The studio decid
ed to dye my hair dark and change my eye color with contacts. And when The Mermaid was a surprise hit, they were stuck with me as a brunette.”
“Avery, were you ever engaged to Dirk Ferris, as he claims?”
“No, never. You guys do know Dirk is a kidder, right? Always with the practical jokes on set, he is. He also doesn’t mind getting extra publicity, so he might have fed you a fib or two.”
Dirk gave a weak grin, unable to counter it without looking like an ass. Check. Mate.
“Avery, what about the rumors of an inappropriate relationship during your second movie?” That question silenced the crowd as they waited with bated breath for her response.
She tensed and Sijan leaned forward to field the question for her, but she placed a hand on his forearm and took on her worst nightmare. The thing she’d been running from for years.
“What I will say about that is here in Hollywood and in our inner cities and out in the suburbs, some of America’s children are left unprotected and unloved. And that breaks my heart.” She blinked back tears and fidgeted with the microphone with shaking hands, but couldn’t gather her composure. She turned to Sijan for help.
Sijan gave her a wink and took over. “Which is why we called this press conference today. I know you thought there was some new movie about to be released. Blame our funny friend Dirk for that, but I appreciate it since, look at the crowd he gathered for us. Today, we’d like to announce the start of the Blake and Ann Marie Danford Foundation, in honor of Avery’s parents. It will start with offering support and adoption help to children in the foster system.” He reached out again for Avery’s hand and looked at her with blazing eyes. “Because every child deserves to be loved.”
Avery turned her head toward Sijan in surprise. What had he just said? Was he for real? She whispered, “What are you talking about?” but unfortunately she forgot to cover the microphone.
Questions fired right and left faster than anyone could make sense of them. Sijan took control. He wagged his finger at the press. “Now see what you guys made me do. You made me ruin Avery’s birthday present.” He turned to Avery, suddenly serious, and said, “Surprise. Happy birthday, Avery.”