by Elena Aitken
“I’d say it worked.” Cal grimaced. “But that’s it, right? No more surprises?”
Jade shook her head. “That’s it. I’m so sorry. I tried to give you a heads-up but things just got away from me tonight. Cal, please. This wasn’t what I wanted.” She grabbed Milena’s hand, yanking her out of Cal’s grasp, and focused on her. “Milena, I owe you a special apology. That must have been—”
“Please.” Milena brushed off Jade’s apology. “It’s fine and I’m sure it’s all part of the scene, am I right?”
Jade gave her a slight nod.
“Not anymore, sweetheart.” Cal grabbed her hand back and pulled her close. “It’s not part of my scene. No way. Not if you’re uncomfortable. We’ll leave right now.”
“No.” Jade’s face went white, but Cal no longer cared whether she wanted him there. If Milena was in any way uncomfortable, they were leaving. No questions. “Please, Cal. Can you please just make the rounds, say hi, shake hands and that type of thing? Just for another thirty minutes? Then you can leave.”
“Cal,” Mitch implored.
He had no idea. There was no doubt that if his big brother had just had his ex-girlfriend show up, push Jade out of the way and shove her tongue down his throat, he’d be acting a little bit differently. He didn’t bother looking at Mitch. Cal just shook his head and turned to Milena.
“It’s up to you, sweetheart. We don’t have to go back in there.”
He would have preferred not to go back inside. It was bad enough that Bridget was there and she was his co-star, for God’s sake. That wasn’t even a detail that had fully sunken in. She’d already made her presence, and as far as Cal was concerned—her intention—known with that kiss. The worst part was that she didn’t even know about Milena yet.
A year ago, Cal never would have thought Bridget capable of ill will of any kind. But that was before he’d seen her true colors. Now, not only did he think she was capable of it, he knew she wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to get what she wanted. No doubt, her ego was already bruised because Cal had broken up with her and then immediately gone on to land the lead in Mr. Summer. But as soon as she found out that he’d also moved on in his social life and was dating Milena, there was no telling how she would react.
He fully expected Milena to tell him she’d prefer to leave, but to his surprise, she smiled sweetly. “I got dressed up for this. I can’t waste this dress by leaving early.” She did a little half twirl and Cal couldn’t help but laugh. She continually surprised him.
“It’s true,” he said. “You look way too pretty to waste. Besides, just looking at you has made me feel better.”
“You’re sweet.”
“No, sweetheart, you are.”
“You two are ridiculous.” Mitch groaned.
“Oh, come on, man.” Cal slapped his brother on the shoulder and walked to the door. “Don’t tell me the honeymoon is over already for you two.”
“No way.” Mitch and Jade fell into step behind them. “It’s just beginning.”
He didn’t want to turn around to see them kiss or whatever else they might be doing. Cal was still mad at Jade for the stunt she’d pulled. Even if it hadn’t been her idea, she still participated in it and that was bullshit. Besides, they must have known for weeks that Bridget Murphy would be his co-star. It may or may not have changed his opinion on things, but at least he would have had the chance to be prepared. And more importantly, to prepare Milena.
He held open the glass door for her, and together, his hand in hers, they walked into the crowded room. He may not have had any say in what happened earlier, but he was fully in control of what was about to happen next.
Cal spotted Bria, the photographer, snapping pictures of some of the cast and made a beeline straight for her.
The producers may think having ex-lovers sharing the screen would be a ratings hit, but Cal was going to make damn sure everyone knew that any romance between him and Bridget was going to be solely on-screen. The real romance was between him and Milena.
“Are you ready?” he whispered in her ear. She nodded, although he hadn’t explained what he was about to do. His heart swelled with the trust she put in him.
Cal waited a moment until Bria noticed him. She turned her camera on him, and without missing a beat, he pulled Milena in for a passionate kiss, dipping her low and leaving no doubt in anyone’s eyes about who he was there with.
Chapter Seven
“How do you do this?” Milena tossed the magazine she’d been holding onto the coffee table and flopped onto the couch. After the party, where she’d ended up having a pretty good time despite the way things started, she’d had the idea of calling up her old friend Beth Martin. They’d gone to school together and Beth had recently married Slade Black, music superstar.
If anyone was going to understand what it was like to date a celebrity, it was Beth. Fortunately for Milena, Beth was actually in town instead of on tour with Slade, and was more than happy to invite Milena over for a coffee and chat.
“I wish I could tell you it gets easier.” Beth shook her head in sympathy.
“It doesn’t?” Milena sat up again and stared at her friend. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Okay. So how do you do it then?” Milena picked up the copy of Stars Secrets magazine she’d tossed on the table. “How do you deal with the media attention?” She flipped to the page she’d only recently been staring at. “More specially, the media attention that’s wrong?” The full-page spread of Cal and Bridget stared up at her.
She’d been driving herself crazy with it all day. For anyone looking at the magazine and the accompanying article, it clearly looked as if the co-stars of Mr. Summer were very much an on-screen/off-screen romance. Milena had read the article at least a dozen times and there was no mention of her, or the fact that Cal was dating someone new, at all. It was as if she didn’t exist.
“This isn’t what happened.” Milena shook the magazine. “I mean, it did. She kissed him and all that. But he didn’t kiss her back and it wasn’t like that. They make it sound in here like there’s some big romance going on here. There’s not.”
“No,” Beth agreed with a smile on her face. “There’s not. At least not one that they wrote about.”
“What’s so funny?” Milena tossed the magazine down again and sat back against the couch. “I don’t think this is funny at all.”
“You have to.”
“No I don’t.”
“Then you’re going to make yourself crazy,” Beth said simply. “And like I said, there is a big romance going on—they just didn’t write about it.”
She wasn’t making any sense at all. “No,” Milena said. “There isn’t. Cal broke up with Bridget back in Australia. There is zero romance there.”
“I didn’t mean with them.” Beth raised her eyebrow and grinned.
It took Milena a minute, but she finally picked up on what her friend was saying. “Okay,” she finally said. “There is a romance. You’re right. But that’s not what they wrote.”
And that’s what was bothering her. After they’d gone back into the party, Cal whisked her all around the room and introduced her to pretty much everyone in attendance. Almost everyone. She hadn’t met Bridget. Not that she minded. Milena was feeling pretty self-confident lately, but she wasn’t sure she was quite ready for that. The point was, there shouldn’t have been any doubt by the time they left that Cal McCormick most certainly was dating someone, and it wasn’t Bridget Murphy.
“Would you have rather they wrote about you?”
The question hit Milena hard. She opened her mouth to respond, but then snapped it shut.
Did she want them to write about her?
“You don’t have to answer that,” Beth said. “Because I understand. It’s conflicting. You don’t want them to write about your man with someone who isn’t you. And maybe there’s part of you that wants to tell the world that you’re dating Cal McCormick because you r
eally like him and you’re proud of that…”
That was it. She did want to tell the whole world that she was with Cal because she really liked him. Maybe even more.
“But trust me,” Beth continued. “You might think you want them to write about you. But…you don’t.”
There was something about the way Beth said it that made Milena pay attention. She’d never been one to read the gossip magazines, not even when Beth and Slade became a thing. In fact, the one she bought earlier that day was the first one she’d purchased since she was a teenager. So if they’d written anything about Beth, she hadn’t noticed.
“You say that like you have personal experience.” Milena left the magazine on the table and picked up her coffee. “Did the gossip rags write about you guys?”
Beth laughed. “They certainly did. They still do. All the time.” She pointed at the magazine Milena had discarded. “There might be something in there. I haven’t looked.”
Curious, Milena leaned forward and picked it up. She wasn’t ashamed to admit she hadn’t looked at any of the other articles, just the one featuring Cal. “Really?” She started flipping.
“Really. Look in the front pages where they put little snapshots.”
Milena did as requested and sure enough, there was a picture of Slade, shirtless in the lake. She could tell it was taken at the beach down past the Grizzly Paw. She could see the raft floating in the distance, and there were other people in the picture. “He’s in here.”
Her friend laughed again. “I’m not surprised. What does it say this week? Is Slade having an affair? Am I pregnant? With twins? Maybe we’re getting a divorce?”
Milena stared at Beth in shock. “They say those things?”
“Sweetie.” Beth shook her head. “All the time. It’s always something new. I don’t pay much attention any more. What’s this one say?”
Milena scanned the blurb under the picture and looked up in horror. “It says this girl is Slade’s illegitimate love child.”
Beth burst out laughing. “That’s a good one,” she said when she finally pulled herself together. “Who’s in the picture with him? It can’t be Jules—she’s been the subject of more than one newsworthy piece.”
“Jules?” Again, Milena was horrified. Jules was Beth’s teenage daughter. To think that she’d been exposed to the gossip as well was upsetting. But of course she would have been. Milena was starting to get the idea that nobody was safe. “No,” she said. “It’s not Jules. It’s some girl I’ve never seen before. Probably a summer tourist.”
“That’s not good. Hopefully it won’t bring more attention to Cedar Springs.” Beth’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “I mean, tourism is great, but we don’t need celebrity tourism.” She looked as if she was thinking about something for a moment before she sat up straight and clapped her hands. “Anyway, you didn’t come here to read about our latest gossip situations. What can I tell you that will help, Milena?”
“You know what?” She threw down the magazine again. “You kind of did help already. I mean, if they write about all that stuff about you guys and you don’t let it bother you, I probably should just let this roll off my back, too. Right?”
“I’m not going to lie to you and say that it’s always easy and that I never get upset.” Beth stood and stretched her arms over her head. “I’m not invincible and sometimes, I’ll read something that stings. It might be after a long period where I haven’t seen Slade, or maybe we’ve just had an argument about something stupid and then I read something that says our relationship is in trouble, and I start to let it get to me. But I have to remember that it’s not real.” She picked up the offending gossip rag. “Nothing they write in this is based on anything real.” She crossed the great room into the kitchen and tossed it into the garbage bin. “It’s trash. That’s it. What’s real is what I have with Slade. I trust him. And he trusts me. If I ever start to believe something I read over what he tells me, that’s when I know we have a problem.”
Milena let her words sink in.
“I know this is also kind of new for Cal,” Beth continued. “I mean, sure, he was a successful model. But something tells me that being a famous model in Australia is going to be very different from starring in what is sure to be a hit show in North America. You guys are going to have to learn how to weather this kind of attention together.”
Milena nodded. She hadn’t thought of it that way. In fact, she hadn’t even asked Cal what he thought about the article. Or whether he’d even seen it.
“You guys are still pretty new, aren’t you?”
“Only a few weeks. If that,” Milena said. “But it doesn’t feel that new. And when I say it out loud, I have to remember that I haven’t been with him for years. But it feels different—does that make sense?”
Beth laughed. “It makes so much sense. And if you ask me, the time you’ve been together doesn’t matter at all. One day, one year, or ten years—if you’re in love, you’re in love.”
Love? Did she love him?
“Love doesn’t have a timeline,” Beth continued. “And you shouldn’t try to give it one. The only reason I ask is because I was wondering if you’ve talked about this kind of thing yet. Have you discussed how you’re going to handle the media attention? Are you both on the same page with your relationship?”
So many questions. And she didn’t have answers to any of them. Milena shook her head.
“Look.” Beth sat next to her on the couch and put her arm around her shoulder. “Don’t stress over all that. Just focus on the two of you and enjoy this part of your relationship. The rest will fall into place. And in the meantime, don’t buy any more magazines!”
They laughed, and the conversation slipped into easier topics before Milena took her leave to get back to work. Beth had the right idea. She could ignore all the media attention and focus on Cal and what they were building together.
Besides, true or not, the articles weren’t hurting anyone. It was best to let it go.
“Hey there. I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new in town?”
“Not new exactly, but…line!”
“Oh come on.” Cal threw up his hands and turned his back.
They’d been trying to run lines for the last three hours, and not only had Bridget clearly not prepared at all, but she was absolutely terrible. Her accent kept slipping through, causing her voice to crack and make strange noises. She’d assured the producers that she could tame her Australian accent, but she’d either lied or was totally delusional herself, because as far as Cal was concerned, it wasn’t working.
None of it was working.
“Alison, what’s the next line?” Bridget barked at the girl who’d been filling in for her.
“Not new exactly, but new again. Things have certainly changed around here since the last time I was here.” Alison delivered the line seamlessly, and with the sass it was intended to have. She winked at Cal and sauntered away to sit on the sidelines again.
“That’s not what my script said,” Bridget whined. “Where’s my script?” She looked around wildly, but nobody stepped forward. “Where’s my assistant?”
Looking exhausted and pale, Jade stepped up. “You don’t have an assistant, Bridget.”
“What?” The actress looked horrified. “Does he have one?” She jabbed a finger in his direction. “If he has one and I—”
“He doesn’t have one either.” Jade was showing way more patience than Cal would be if he was dealing with her. Which was one of the reasons he’d moved as far away from her as possible. He was still pissed about the way they’d surprised him with her, and he wasn’t about to make nice and give Bridget any reason to believe that the little stunt she’d pulled at the party was anything more than an irritation to him. And as far as Cal was concerned, that included saying anything more than his scripted lines.
Which he knew.
Unlike her.
“Here.” Cal pulled a rolled-up copy of the script from his back po
cket and thrust it at her.
So much for not talking to her. But the longer they were at this, the longer it would take for him to get to his date with Milena. There were priorities.
Bridget caught the script, unrolled the pages before flipping to the scene they were working on. “See? It says right here…oh.”
“Oh,” Cal repeated. “Can we get on with this then? I have things to do and if you could manage to be respectful of other people’s time, that would really help.” He turned and stalked away.
“Cal, can I talk to you for a minute?” Jade was right behind him. She put her hand on his shoulder to turn him. He swallowed hard. He wasn’t as upset with her as he had been. Cal wasn’t naive; he knew the business was largely constructed and Jade had just been doing her job. It still stung, but he wasn’t going to stay mad. “You need to let up on Bridget.”
He hadn’t been expecting that.
“Pardon? I need to what?”
“I know, I know.” Jade held her hand up. “There’s clearly some animosity between you two.”
“Clearly.”
“But I think it’s only on your side,” Jade continued. “She doesn’t seem to be angry with you. In fact, I think she’d like to—”
“I’m sorry.” Cal held up his hand. “I need to stop you right there. Whatever it is that Bridget wants with me, I really don’t want it with her. I know you don’t know all the details,” Cal said. “And that’s okay. But Bridget and I are never going to be anything more than colleagues. And even then…” He shook his head a little and looked away. There was no point saying anything about how poor a performance Bridget was giving. Coming from him, it would just look like he was trying to sabotage her. Or worse, that he was the one being the diva. No. He’d stay quiet.