Could This Be Love? (16 page)

“Avery. Ariel. Whoever the hell she is, she isn’t trying to use me to jump-start her career.” Sijan picked up his fork and started in on his pie. “It’s not like actors haven’t tried to ricochet off my name to fame before. I mean if anyone would know, I would, right?”

“Why else would she turn up here of all places after a five-year absence? Anyone know where I can find her? Obviously, Sijan, you were with her three days ago. That’s how I tracked her down to Climax.” Dirk gathered up the paper and looked at the photo again before tucking it back into the bag at his feet. He waited for a response. When none came, he said, “Well, let’s catch up, Sijan. I’m going to check in over at the hotel I saw across the street. I’ll start asking around for Ariel tomorrow.”

Tynan looked closely at Sijan, who gave one shake of his head. He didn’t want Dirk tracking Avery down and confronting her until he had talked to her himself.

“Dirk, we’re real friendly here in Climax, and any friend of Sijan’s is a friend of mine. We wouldn’t think of having you stuck at an old rundown hotel.” Tynan stood up from the booth. “I’ve got a guest bedroom that never gets used. Come on over to my place, and we’ll all go find Avery, I mean Ariel, tomorrow.”

Dirk smiled the smile that made him a heartthrob among today’s teenagers. “I appreciate it. Hotels get old real fast in this business, right, Sijan?” He picked up his bag and let Tynan steer him out of the diner.

Renee walked over to refill their drinks, but sat down across from Sijan instead. “Honey, I think it’s great the way you stuck up for Avery this time, I do. But since I like you so much, and don’t want you to be blindsided tomorrow when you find Avery, I think I should pass on the latest Grapevine news.”

“Renee, I appreciate it, but I’m fine. I believe Avery. Except for the times she lied to me”—and he had to admit there had probably been more than a few in that meeting at the VFW—“that woman doesn’t have a deceptive bone in her body.”

Hawk and Renee raised their eyebrows at him. Of course, he wasn’t making any sense, but he knew what he was feeling, right? He was going to trust that.

“I heard from a trusted source Avery will be over on Levi’s Pond Road in Guilford Grove tomorrow. Filming. With a guy named Petey.” Renee patted Sijan’s hand. “But that doesn’t mean anything.”

“No, it doesn’t. Doesn’t mean a thing.” Sijan’s hand gripped the fork tighter and his jaw clenched. He pushed the plate of half-eaten pie away from him with a sigh. If things went south tomorrow, he would remember this day as the day he stopped liking banana cream pie. That would be a sad day, like the fall of man.

Chapter Fifteen

A
very, Pia, and the crew sat around in portable canvas chairs eating Krispy Kreme donuts and drinking coffee while they waited for the star of their commercial. Petey was known for his tantrums, which was why this normally one-day film shoot had turned into three days. But time was money, literally, since some of the equipment was rented, so it was possible they’d have to look for a replacement for Petey soon.

Kent was in the middle of telling an off-color joke that had Avery blushing when the crunch of gravel on the long driveway broke through the conversation. Avery turned her head to watch Sijan’s silver extended crew-cab pickup truck roll down the lane. Huh. She should have guessed it was only a matter of time until their NSA-style Grapevine had pinpointed her whereabouts and life details, probably down to her bra size. In the days she’d had to deal with it, the Climax Grapevine had been scary efficient, if sometimes inaccurate.

Sijan parked the truck and the men climbed out, the sunshine reflecting brightly off their dark sunglasses. The rugged handsomeness of all three men exiting the truck would have made for a sexy truck commercial. It looked like Sijan, Tynan, and oh, holy Christ—

“Brace yourself.” Pia must have recognized the third man just before Avery did. “How the hell did Ferret Face track you down?’

Avery looked at Pia. “The photo in
The Tattler
. The totally unnecessary photo in
The Tattler
.” The irony tasted like acid in the back of her throat.

Pia stood up and put herself in front of Avery as if she could run interference. It was a sweet thought, but it looked like her nice, quiet life had come to an end. Amazingly, Avery found herself very calm about it.

“I thought we were already treated to the welcome committee yesterday, Sijan.” Pia’s voice was sharp with warning.

Sijan cleared his throat. “We ran into Dirk, who said he was looking for you, Avery. He said he’s an old friend of yours.”

Dirk looked like he wanted to reach down and hug Avery, but Pia didn’t move out of his way and Avery didn’t stand up in welcome. Both women stayed solidly in place and stared him down. Until Tynan said, “Well, this is fun. Looks like you lied to us, Dirk.”

“Ariel.” Dirk ignored Tynan. He had eyes only for Avery. “God, you’re even more beautiful than you were five years ago. I didn’t think that was possible.”

“Dirk, here, thinks you got your photo in the paper with Sijan to jump-start your career again.” Tynan’s gaze roamed over the filming equipment set up and waiting for use before landing accusingly on Avery. “And imagine that, here you are making a film.”

Pia shook her head at Tynan.

Avery stood up next to Pia. “It could be it’s all an amazing coincidence. What do you believe, Sijan?”

“Avery, four days ago I listened to every crazy lie you spewed and ignored them all. And you and I both know that didn’t end well, did it?” Sijan took off his sunglasses to look directly in her eyes.

Dirk grinned. “Yeah, and it’s a coincidence I’m in Climax too. Not like I’m trying to sweet-talk Sijan into a part in his next blockbuster movie, either, right? Ariel, why didn’t you come to me to help get your career going again?”

“Because you’re the second to last man on earth I’d ask for help?” Avery finally looked right at Dirk, and found it . . . anticlimactic. Huh. “My name is Avery. Ariel was another person in a different life.”

Tynan took a step forward. “This sure is a lot of expensive film equipment for someone not trying to jump back into acting. What’s all this and who is the guy named Petey you’re working with?” Tynan wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “Maybe you’re moving in a different direction. Are you shooting porn out here in the middle of nowhere?”

Jeff and Kent, who had been enjoying the show, choked on the coffees they were drinking.

Exasperated, Avery said, “I’m sure it’s porn to someone in the world.”

Pia snorted. “Colonel Sanders maybe.”

“Frank Perdue,” Jeff threw in.

The door to the barn behind the film equipment opened and a good-looking twenty-something guy came out with only jeans and cowboy boots on. No shirt covered his well- muscled chest. He was carrying a chicken.

“Looks like chicken porn,” Tynan said with a straight face.

Dirk stepped over and stuck his hand out to the man. “Pete? I’m Dirk Ferris.”

The man looked confused. Partly because it’s hard to shake someone’s hand when you’re holding a chicken in two hands. “Um . . . no, I’m Boyd.” Lifting the chicken, he said, “This here’s Petey.”

“You know, I’m not even going to ask,” Sijan said.

“Okay, gentlemen. I wish I could say this has been fun,” Avery said. “Actually, no I don’t. And we’ve got work to do, so . . .”

Sijan put his sunglasses back on, making it hard to read him, except that his jaw was clenching tight every second or so. That was pretty easy to read. “Yeah, I think I’ve seen enough. Have a nice life, ladies.”

The silver truck drove off at a speed that had gravel flying, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake and an empty feeling in Avery’s chest. And with that, Avery walked off to attempt to cajole a great performance out of the moody Petey, the star of the last three Rise ’n’ Shine coffee commercials. It took patience and a lot of work from Boyd, Petey’s trainer, and three long hours. For some reason, Petey hated Pia, so whenever they needed a close-up, they had Pia move her hands in close. That was enough to rile Petey up so he’d fluff his feathers and strut around. Unfortunately, sometimes that also put Petey within pecking distance, and poor Pia’s hands were sacrificed for the cause.

“Okay, that’s a wrap. Petey, you were great. Boyd, fantastic job, as always. That latest scratching trick you taught him is great. It looks great through the camera.” Avery started breaking down the set as she talked. “That’s two commercials down and one left to go. Should we keep going?”

Boyd shook his head. “I’m sorry, Avery. But I think two commercials did Petey in. Can y’all come back in a couple weeks after he’s rested his wings?”

Avery tried not to look relieved. “Not a problem. Petey outdid himself this time. He’s earned a rest. We’ll call you in a few weeks. Thanks again, Boyd.”

“Thank God,” Pia mumbled under her breath as Boyd and Petey headed back to the barn.

Jeff and Kent started packing the cameras and lights into the back of the RV.

“Why didn’t you just tell him?” Pia pushed her spiky hair off her face.

“Tell who what?

“Sijan. That our little company has been producing some of the top commercials featuring animals for the past three years and you would rather someone stake you down in front of a herd of stampeding hyenas than ever be back in front of a camera again.”

Avery sighed. “Well, because you’re wrong on a few points. First, it’s a clan of hyena, not a herd. And second, hyenas don’t stampede. They chase, isolate, and attack. But you are very, very right about not wanting to be in front of the camera again.” Avery pulled her hair off her neck, wrapped it around into a loose bun, and used the elastic around her wrist to secure it. “Tell him? I didn’t see the point. It’s better I just keep quiet and get the heck out of Climax because of the pesky little third reason. It’s a little hard to deny using him . . . when I did.”

***

Avery and Pia ended up at the diner for dinner again. They did call to try to place an order, but were informed that Dave’s had stopped making deliveries that morning. What a coincidence. They would face the Climax Grapevine one last time before they left town. Game. On.

Renee greeted them warmly at the door. “Hello, Pia. Avery, I mean Ariel. Would you like a booth in the corner?”

“Oh, let’s not put everyone to so much work. Just give us a center booth so everyone can hear,” Avery said.

“Isn’t that sweet of you, Ariel. Sure thing, hon.”

“Renee, if you call me Ariel one more time, you and I will have an issue, okay?
Hon
?”

Renee flashed her a grin. “Okay, Avery. Good luck tonight. I’ll be right out with your waters and decaf teas. Please don’t talk about anything juicy until I get back out. I’ll put in an order for burgers, too. I heard the Cates brothers were on their way.”

“That explains the good luck. Thanks for the heads-up.” Pia looked at Avery with a raised brow. “This could be uncomfortable.”

Avery clucked her tongue. “We have just as much right to eat here as the Cates brothers. We’ll just ignore them, eat our meals, and leave.”

They tried. They really did. But when Renee had said the Cates brothers were coming in, she’d meant all of them. Sijan, Tynan, Quinn, Paxton, and Kaz. And they still had Dirk with them, too. Seriously? What? Did they need back-up? Seeing all that good-looking genetic material packaged so perfectly in each one of them was a sight.

“Wow. How does the female population of Climax take it?”

“Lying down is my bet,” Pia said. “But ‘anyway they can get it’ comes to mind too.”

Sijan and Tynan gave the women a curt nod and moved on down a few booths. Apparently, cool and impersonal was the order of the evening. Fine. She could do that. Once she got her heart rate and pulse under control.

“All right, Pia. I’m ready to write off this whole experience. I’ve learned a lot. Good and bad about myself and Tansy and relationships.” Avery rested her chin in the palm of her hand with her elbow resting on the Formica table.

“And sex.” Pia looked over her menu at Avery.

Avery sighed a sad sigh. “Yeah. And sex. Tomorrow we just have to take those last few photo sessions with our new clients, and then we can leave Climax behind for good.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that, Av. I thought I was helping, and it blew up in our faces. I’m—” Pia turned and looked at a man standing next to their booth. “Yes, may we help you?”

The man, in khaki pants, collared shirt, and horn-rimmed glasses, looked like a thirty-year-old frat boy. A frat boy fixated on Avery. Pia waved her hand in front of his face. “Hello? Can we help you?”

“Ariel Diamond,” the man said, still staring in awe. “I almost can’t believe it. You know people thought you were dead. Or addicted. Or institutionalized. And here you are.”

“Here I am. Although
your
choices sound better.”

Sijan left his table, approached the man, and put his arm around his shoulders, trying to steer him away. “Jerry. It’s about time you got back into town. I’ve been waiting to talk to you.”

“Hey, Sijan. I’m not here to talk to you.” He nodded his head toward Avery. “I’m here to talk to Ariel.”

Avery narrowed his eyes at the man. “Jerry, is it? My name is Avery Danford. Maybe you have me confused with someone else?”

Jerry shook his head. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just that—let me start over.” He held out his hand to Avery. “Hello, Avery. I’m Jerry Vickers. I’m an agent out in Hollywood and I need to talk to you. Preferably in private.”

Pia looked him over skeptically. “I don’t think so, Mr. Jerry Vickers. She doesn’t need to talk to an agent. She had one of those once. He died. In fact”—Pia swept her glance onto Sijan—“she doesn’t need to talk to anyone from Hollywood. There will be no private conversations with people from Hollywood.”

Jerry nodded and placed his leather briefcase onto the table. He pulled out a manila folder, took out a legal-looking document and placed it on the table in front of Avery. “I apologize for having to do this in public, but when you left Hollywood five years ago, you still owed the Avant-Garde Studio one more movie. A few days ago, an anonymous party bought out your contract. They expect you to fulfill the contract by making one last movie. Or they’ll sue.”