Redemption of a Hollywood Starlet

by Kimberly Lang

  The cynic in her just wanted to chalk it up to several toe-curling orgasms and file it away under “you just needed to get laid.” But sex wasn’t that good a cure-all. Not even sex with Finn.

  No, her whole attitude was different today. Even the heat seemed more bearable today as she rested in her chair under a tent between takes. Naomi’s little temper tantrums seemed more sad than anything else, and Jason’s ego simply amused her. Her co-stars weren’t her problem.

  So she had to assume it was Finn. Late last night she’d realized that she wasn’t just living down her past with the public. She was also living it down to herself, looking for forgiveness for the spectacular way she’d destroyed everything she had. Out of spite and weakness, she’d let her demons drive her almost as if she wanted to bring it all down. And deep down she probably had wanted to. Being around—and with—Finn again had rather brought her full circle, and she was ready to pick up where she’d left off.

  Finn seemed to have forgiven her. She was slowly forgiving herself. Everything else had to be earned. She knew what she wanted now, and she could only earn those things the hard way. But she was in a good place to do so. She’d found herself again.

  “Ms. Reese?”

  Caitlyn shook herself out of her reverie to see a young, dark-haired woman approaching. Based on her clothes, the woman must be one of the extras, but the extras weren’t normally allowed to roam free on the set like this. “Yes?” she answered cautiously.

  “I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Lily Marshall.”

  The name took a minute to penetrate. “Finn’s sister-in-law?”

  Lily nodded. “That’s Ethan—he’s mine—over there with Finn.”

  Caitlyn followed Lily’s finger to the man laughing with Finn. For all he liked to complain about his brothers, there was a certainly comfortable vibe that belied his grouching. But, mercy, the two of them together were breathtaking. They had the same hair color and build, and together, they had quite a few appreciative looks being thrown their way. If the other brother was anything like that …

  “Good looks run in the family, I see.”

  “Oh, they all look like that. You just have to get used to it. Hell on the ego, though, to have to stand next to them.” Lily waved a hand, but the smile showed she was actually quite pleased with her husband’s looks. “The whole family belongs on billboards. It’s just dangerous and wrong for men to be so pretty.”

  It was a half-hearted grumble, and Caitlyn laughed. “I agree. Very disconcerting for the female population.” Since Lily wasn’t just any extra, Caitlyn indicated the chair next to her. “Would you like to sit?”

  Lily shook her head. “I didn’t really mean to disturb you that much. I just wanted to say that I was a fan. Not just your movies, either,” she corrected. “I saw you do Othello in London. You were amazing. It made me cry.”

  “Thank you.” There was something sincere and genuine about Lily that made her easy to talk to. “But please sit. It gets boring by myself sometimes, and I could use some company today.” As Lily sat, Caitlyn asked, “How long have you been married to Ethan?”

  “A little over a year. Brady—he’s the oldest—got married last Christmas, so Finn’s starting to feel the heat now.”

  Caitlyn nearly choked on her drink. Finn married? That was … well, simply unimaginable, regardless of how quickly the tabloids were to pre-plan any star’s wedding. She had to assume that Finn’s family would know that Naomi wasn’t really in the running, but … yikes. Talk about stumbling into a minefield.

  “Well, Finn tends to do …”

  “Whatever he damn well pleases. Yeah, we know.”

  Exasperation and frustration tinged Lily’s words. Maybe there was more danger here than she’d thought. Were there family tensions she didn’t know about? He looked comfortable enough with his brother, but she knew all too well that looks could be deceiving. For Finn’s sake, if nothing else, she didn’t want to accidentally say anything that might make that worse.

  She chose her words carefully. “You don’t get along with Finn?”

  Lily’s eyes widened. “No! I mean, yes … I mean …” She shook her head. “I adore Finn. It’s impossible not to.”

  “True.” Caitlyn wanted to suck the word back once she saw the look on Lily’s face. She reached for her drink. Damn.

  “Is it difficult for you?” Her voice carried concern, not the digging-for-dirt she usually got. But this was Finn’s sister-in-law …

  She hedged her answer, anyway. “What do you mean?”

  “Being here with Finn. Considering …”

  Thankfully, she could fall back on the same pat answers she’d been using for weeks now. “We all have exes. And in this business, it’s all but guaranteed you’ll have to work with them at some point. You can’t let all that personal stuff affect the work.”

  “I remember when you two were together. Just from the magazines, of course.”

  Great. She didn’t realize she’d said it aloud until Lily laughed.

  Patting her arm in a friendly and oddly comforting gesture, Lily said, “Believe me, I am the last person on earth who’d pass judgment on anyone for anything. I think that’s why Finn and I get along. He’s like that, too. As long as you’re in a good place now, how you got there isn’t important.”

  This must be the sister-in-law Finn had quoted at her with such admiration in his voice. An odd spurt of purely irrational jealousy spiked into her, but she forced it down. “You seem to know him pretty well.”

  “Finn was the only person to give me the benefit of the doubt when I needed it. I owe him big-time.”

  From the adoring looks Lily kept throwing her husband, that seemed slightly disloyal. “Not Ethan?”

  “Since it was Ethan he was defending me against …” Once again she waved it away. “It’s a long story. But Finn is special and I would like to see him happy.”

  Caitlyn’s heart gave an odd stutter. “I think he is.”

  “Special? Or happy?” Lily challenged.

  Caitlyn couldn’t figure out the correct answer. “Both?”

  Lily gave her a look that clearly questioned her sanity. “He’s come a long way, but he has a way to go yet. Finn does a good job putting on the public face, but then all the Marshalls do. It worries me, though, and since you know him pretty well you probably know what I mean.”

  “I’m not sure we’re on the same page. Finn and I aren’t exactly—”

  Lily kept on talking over Caitlyn’s words, and Caitlyn realized that Lily probably knew Naomi wasn’t really in the picture. Even worse, she’d jumped to the assumption that Caitlyn was.

  “I think Finn’s missing out on something, don’t you? He’s sheltered himself so long that I’m afraid that it’s becoming the truth …”

  Lily trailed off, and Caitlyn figured it had to have something to do with the confusion on her face.

  “Or not.”

  Caitlyn wanted to press the issue more because, frankly, she was quite interested in this glimpse into Finn’s psyche by someone who knew him well and wasn’t romantically interested in him. But that would be out of line. It wasn’t her business. And she had the sinking feeling she’d already revealed more than she should have to this woman.

  Before she could regroup, though, someone called Lily’s name, and she looked up to see Ethan motioning to his wife.

  “I gotta run before I get in trouble. We had long lectures this morning about how we’re not supposed to bother the stars. I was just so curious about you.”

  That statement seemed loaded and dangerous.

  Lily slid off her chair. “I’m sorry if I bothered you, but it was very nice meeting you, Caitlyn. I hope to see you again.”

  “Me, too, Lily.” It was unlikely, however, and Caitlyn felt a little twinge about that.

  Lily went to her husband’s side and he hauled her against him without pausing. It was lovely to see how attuned he was to Lily. Caitlyn could see some conversation go back and
forth—and at least some of it was about her, since they occasionally glanced in her direction—before Finn frowned at Lily and Ethan shoved him. Laughter followed.

  She put her headphones back on and went back to the script she was reviewing for later. The changes were minor, but she didn’t want to hold anything up by not being on top of it. A minute later, though, she sneaked a peek at Finn, who had now moved to a table with Lily and Ethan.

  It was interesting to watch, and she told herself her need to see was just research for future roles where she had a sibling and needed to create that family dynamic.

  Lily was nice enough, but she was obviously wrong. Finn was possibly the happiest, most untroubled person she knew. He was certainly the most confident. Anything that wasn’t great just got shrugged off those broad shoulders.

  She sneaked another peek at Finn. So why wouldn’t Finn be happy?

  He had everything.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  THE loud bangs on his front door coupled with the ringing phone he’d tried to ignore could only equal one thing. Well, two, actually: Brady and Ethan.

  Finn glanced at the clock as he rolled out of bed and grabbed the jeans he’d left on the floor after another late night with Cait. She might have the morning off to laze about and catch up on sleep, but he didn’t. Of course when he’d dragged his carcass home like some teenager sneaking in in the wee hours of the morning, he hadn’t expected his brothers to come pounding on his door just after sunrise, either.

  He stretched and felt his muscles protest. He and Cait were going to have to work on actually making it to a bed. The pounding got louder as he got closer, and he could hear the two of them outside his door. Sadly, there was zero chance they’d go away, so he had no choice but to answer.

  Wrenching open the door, he squinted at the light and his annoying brothers. “What do you want?”

  Brady held out a cup of coffee from the shop about two blocks away. “We are taking the ladies to Cherry Hill Park today for an art something-or-another, and they thought you might like to come along.”

  “No.” Finn started to close the door in their grinning faces, but Ethan caught it and they both walked in as if they owned the place. He rolled his eyes but accepted the coffee when Brady held it out again.

  “Why not?” Ethan asked.

  “Because I don’t want to.”

  That earned him a snort from Brady. “Neither do we, you know.”

  “The fate of the married man is to attend art shows for no reason at all. That’s your bad luck.”

  Ethan dropped to the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table. Brady took the chair opposite. It looked as if they planned to stay a while, and any hope of a return to bed was disappearing fast.

  “Where are Aspyn and Lily? I thought you were—”

  “Shopping,” Brady answered. “There’s a maternity store next to the coffee shop. They’ll meet us here when they’re done.”

  He never should have given any of them the address of his temporary home. He took the other end of the couch and scrubbed his face to wake up. “So you’re just going to bother me until then?”

  Brady took mock offense. “So much for brotherly love. We’ve barely seen you since you got back.”

  He pointed at Ethan. “I saw you yesterday.” Turning to Brady, he added, “And I’ll see you day after tomorrow.”

  “That’s on the set. That’s not what we meant.”

  “I’m not on vacation here. I’m working, remember?”

  Brady snorted and pulled a magazine out of his back pocket. A picture of him and Naomi took up a good portion of the cover. “Could have fooled me. That doesn’t look like work.”

  Finn left it where it landed. “Obviously you’ve never taken Naomi Harte to dinner.”

  “Trouble in paradise?”

  “That was most definitely work by every possible definition of the word. You two are both well aware that certain things must be done for the sake of appearances, and letting people speculate about the nature of my and Naomi’s relationship is good for appearances. There’s nothing more to it than that.”

  Ethan looked at Brady. “You owe me fifty dollars.”

  More betting? When had his family become such gamblers? And on his personal business, no less. It was ridiculous.

  But Brady wasn’t paying. “No, you’re only half there.”

  “Are you kidding me? I was there yesterday. There’s a reason why our baby brother makes his living behind the cameras—he has no acting ability at all. Even Lily noticed you could’ve roasted marshmallows on the looks he was giving her.”

  Brady shook his head. “That doesn’t mean the feelings are mutual.”

  “Oh, they’re mutual. Caitlyn is not as transparent as this one, but—”

  Finn started to interrupt, but his brothers seemed to have forgotten he was even in the room.

  “Then why hasn’t it leaked to the press?” Brady countered, indicating the magazine.

  “Finn must have better control over his people than others do. Or else he just hires blind idiots to work for him—”

  Finn stood and headed toward the bedroom.

  “Where are you going?” Ethan interrupted himself to ask.

  “You two don’t seem to need me for this conversation, so …”

  Ethan waved him back. “You could end it—and make me fifty bucks—by just ‘fessing up that you’re sleeping with Caitlyn Reese again.”

  “You don’t need another fifty bucks.”

  Ethan merely grinned. “Ah, but the bragging rights that come with it are priceless.”

  Brady ignored Ethan to pin Finn with the “big brother” look and tone. “Not too long ago you were swearing that you and Caitlyn were ancient history, so your attempts to skate around the topic now make me think there is something going on between you two.”

  Ethan nodded. “Might as well tell us, because we’re not going to let it rest until you do. I might even have to hint to Nana that—”

  “Enough. Sometimes I wish I was an only child.”

  Brady nodded. “I think the same thing every day.”

  He’d never been one to care what anyone—including his brothers—thought of his love life, but for some reason he really didn’t feel like sharing in this instance. Letting his brothers in to this part of his life just didn’t sit right. It was what it was: two people who understood each other and their needs. But there was no way that those two idiots would let it rest, and unless he wanted to be hounded endlessly he had to tell them something.

  “Cait and I are friends.”

  Ethan shook his head. “Try again. You’ve never been just friends with a woman.”

  “I didn’t say we were just friends.” He suddenly felt like a teenager. “We’re close friends.”

  “Very close?” Brady asked.

  He let the silence spin out, but his brothers didn’t take the hint. “Quite close,” he conceded.

  Brady frowned and fished out his wallet. He handed a bill to Ethan, who pocketed it with a victorious grin, then turned that frown on Finn. “You do realize you’re playing with fire here and just asking to burn the whole house down, right?”

  “Wow, that’s a tad over-dramatic. I am not now nor will I ever be running for office, so even the biggest scandal I could possibly hatch won’t bring down my career.”

  “Do you really give that little of a damn about other people?”

  The heat in Brady’s voice surprised him. “Excuse me?”

  “It’s not all about you, you know.”

  I never should have let them in. “I think the Marshall legacy will be fine, regardless of what I do.”

  “Probably. But I was talking about Caitlyn Reese.”

  “Cait is none of your business.”

  “And she shouldn’t be yours, either. Aspyn brought me up to speed on Caitlyn’s side of that sorry story. No wonder she’s been in exile.”

  “What?”

  “I only pay attention to you and your
messes and how they affect us, so I’d never given a second thought to the fallout for her.”

  “She seems nice enough,” Ethan added, “but I have to question her intelligence, getting mixed up with you again.”

  With that Ethan had crossed the line and reached the limits of Finn’s patience in one fell swoop. “And that’s all for today, folks. I need to actually work—and don’t you two have an art show to go to?”

  “Not just yet. We haven’t said what we came to say.”

  “What is with you two this morning?” When Ethan merely raised an eyebrow, Finn got his answer. “Nana. She set you two on me, didn’t she?”

  “You haven’t been out to Hill Chase recently.”

  “So she sent you two to lecture me on her behalf?” The need to hit something made his knuckles itch.

  Ethan chuckled. “Something like that.”

  “And you people wonder why I live on the other side of the continent.”

  “We don’t wonder at all,” Brady said. “In fact, I’m often tempted to join you there.”

  “If that’s supposed to be a threat, it’s an empty one. You go into political withdrawal if you get more than a hundred miles from D.C.”

  “And you get downright belligerent at less than that distance.” That remark came from Ethan.

  “Because my family conspires to drive me insane.”

  “It’s only because we care, you know,” Brady countered.

  “Then can we schedule this intervention for another day? Maybe one where I don’t have an entire crew waiting on me to show up and actually work?” As if on cue, Finn’s phone chimed as a text came in. He pounced on it gratefully. “Duty calls. I’ll let you show yourselves out.”

  “You can’t avoid this forever, you know.”

  Watch me.

  Brady narrowed his eyes as if he’d actually heard Finn say the words. “Are you really that shallow? You’re dating one woman in public for appearances’ sake, sleeping with another on the side—I won’t even go into the fact she’s your ex—and you don’t see a problem with that? Much less the fact that you’re practically channeling your fath—?”