Could This Be Love? (17 page)

Chapter Sixteen

T
he air rushed from Avery’s lungs. Pia reached out and grabbed her hand, but she still wasn’t sure this was real. “Excuse me, what did you say?”

Jerry pushed his glasses up, then tapped his finger on the contract sitting in front of Avery. “Avery is contractually obligated to appear in a film, and the filming must be started within the next two weeks.”

Avery shook her head. She turned to Pia. “I had no idea I still owed the studio a picture. I . . . I just left. I had to.”

“Lord, Av. It was the last thing I was thinking about too. I had our bags packed the day your last movie was in the can. We drove out that night.” Pia frowned and turned to Jerry. “Why would we even believe you? Who are you? How do we know you’re not just someone making this up to make money off of her?”

“Jerry’s my agent. He’s one of the best in the business. He wouldn’t make something like this up.” Sijan’s gaze stayed on Avery. “Who bought her contract, Jerry?”

“I can’t reveal that. I don’t have that information. But I can reveal that they have excellent connections in Hollywood.” Jerry glanced nervously between Avery and Sijan.

“How do you know that?” Tynan asked, because by this time all of Sijan’s brothers had gathered around.

“They talked Majestic Studios into signing Sijan’s next contracted film over to them too. That’s part of the deal. Avery and Sijan must act in the film together.” Jerry reached into his briefcase and pulled out another contract, handing it to Sijan. “And Dirk Ferris. Dirk’s in the movie too.”

Dirk was the only one not shocked, unhappy, or pissed. He held his hand out to Jerry, waiting for his contract. Jerry obliged. “This is so awesome. Can you imagine the kind of publicity this will get?”

Oh, she could imagine, all right. Avery sat back in the booth, overwhelmed, staring at the contract in her hands. How could this be happening? For five years, she and Pia had been able to stay below the radar, totally anonymous.

“This does not even sound right,” Sijan said.

Jerry glanced at Sijan while he pushed and pulled on the zipper of his briefcase. One inch forward. One inch back. “Yes, well, it is highly unusual.”

“Highly unusual? It’s bullshit.” Sijan handed the contract to one of his brothers. “What do you think, Paxton?”

Pia grabbed Avery’s contract out of her hands and shoved it at Paxton also. “Yeah, what do you think, Paxton? Do these look real to you? Or is this a big scam with fake documents from Documents R Us? Is this your idea of a sick joke, Jerry?”

Paxton looked over both contracts, flipping pages back and forth, comparing signatures, dates, and fine print. He looked up at Sijan. “At first glance, they appear to be in order. It’ll take a few phone calls to actually verify them for certain, though.”

Sijan speared Jerry with his gaze. “Wait. What about the movie you were trying to rush me out of Climax for last week? All those meetings? Directors and actors lined up and waiting to sign? There is no way you are serious about this.”

“Are you kidding me? One of the brightest young actresses, who up and disappeared with no trace, turns up out of the blue in Climax, the hometown of the hottest box-office hero today? And, oh yeah, she’s his fiancée. You two could throw up on screen and it’s already guaranteed to make millions in profit. I mean, people don’t write scripts this good.”

“That’s good to hear,” Avery said, fanning her face with the nearest menu. “Because the throwing up is a strong possibility. How could this happen?”

“It’s Climax,” Sijan said. “I swear it’s something about this town.”

“I’m blaming this on Tansy.” Pia crossed her arms. “And Sijan.”

“I’m not the one trying to jump-start my career, am I? I guess this is one big coincidence too, huh?” Sijan’s silver gaze slammed Avery up against her seat back. He pointed at her. “If Paxton can’t get me out of the contract, I’m telling you right now, we won’t be shooting any skin flick.”

Avery’s cheeks heated, but she wasn’t going to sit and take Sijan’s abuse. “That’s chicken porn if you don’t mind, Mr. Movie Star. Award winning, I might add.”

Tynan grinned. “Now wait a minute . . . let’s not anybody rule anything out until we think this through.”

“Shut up, Tynan,” the brothers said in unison.

“I don’t know. I mean, I’ve got the body for porn, for sure.” Dirk tilted his head, weighing his career options. “But I don’t think it’s a good career choice for me. Not if I want to win an Oscar one day.”

Renee walked over, not even pretending to serve meals or take orders. “Y’all, I just got a call from LuAnn. You know she works over at the Greensboro Airport? She said the flight from L.A. came in about two hours ago, and not only was it full, which normally it’s only half full, but almost everyone got off in Greensboro, which is also unusual.”

“Charles over at the hotel called to say they booked up full in the last three hours,” another customer called from her seat, one ear to her phone and the other to the happenings in the diner.

Kaz walked over and said, “That would explain the parking lot.”

Everyone turned to look out the front windows and groaned.

“Oh, boy. Paparazzi. Lots of them.” Okay, that used to be her cue to hyperventilate. She scooted down to the end of the seat bench and lowered her head between her knees, trying to breathe normally.

Pia patted her back. “Breathe, Avery.”

Well, she was trying, darn it. In. Out. She sat back up, the black spots at the edges of her vision receding.

Sijan looked at Jerry. “Seriously, Jerry? You called them again?”

“Hell no, I didn’t call any paparazzi. Are you kidding me?” Jerry grunted. “Why would I blow the chance at a huge press conference and publicity build-up for a few photos in a tabloid?”

“Si, I suggest you and Avery exit through the back kitchen entrance. Now. Take my truck.” Paxton tossed Sijan his keys. “We’ll run interference while we can.”

Sijan gave a nod, fished out his key ring, and tossed it to Paxton. “Okay, I’ll take Avery out to my farm. Pia, you go with Tynan and check out of the hotel. Ty will bring you out also. Ty, do not let anyone—”

“Please. Don’t insult me.” Tynan spread his hands out to his sides. “Don’t forget, I’ve actually done some real live ‘escape and evade.’ From people holding machine guns, not cameras.”

“Dirk, you probably better come with us. Ty can bring your stuff from his house later. And Jerry, you are going to give the performance of your life. Deny this story as if your life depended on it.”

Jerry shot a nervous look over at Tynan, who wiggled his eyebrows up and down at him, followed by an evil grin. “Okay, but they won’t buy it. This story has legs. The fact that Ariel is alive and popped up in Climax was spreading like wildfire in L.A. when I grabbed my flight.”

“You just have to lie well enough to create a seed of doubt. That will buy us some time to check on the legality of the contracts and think through the situation.”

***

“You have no food in your kitchen.” The stress vibrated through Avery’s body until it felt like it was going to explode, sending a shock wave in every direction.

“Of course I have food. I pay a nice lady to stock up my kitchen before I come home.” Sijan walked over and opened the refrigerator and looked at all the food. He turned and raised an eyebrow at Avery.

“The good stuff.” She didn’t see anything in his fridge from the chocolate food group.

He pointed into the fridge. “Chicken, steak, shrimp, eggs. Greek salads, romaine salads, avocados. Fresh fruit, low-sodium mineral water, fontina cheese, goat cheese, fresh parmesan. I even have a bottle of Dom Perignon.”

“Fine. Hand that over. I’ll get drunk if I can’t eat.” Avery knew she was on the verge of a panic attack. The kind that only breathing into a brown bag or eating a—

“I need a cupcake.”

Sijan shut the fridge without taking the bottle of champagne out. “You need a cupcake?”

“Yes. I really do.” Avery’s breathing sped up. And then the wheezing started. “I’ll call P . . . Pia.”

“Do you have asthma? Is there an inhaler in your purse?”

Avery shook her head frantically as she dialed Pia’s number with shaking hands. By the time Pia answered, all she could do was wheeze into the phone. She shoved the phone to Sijan and mimicked eating food since she couldn’t catch her breath to speak.

Sijan grabbed the phone. “Yeah, Pia, does Avery have an inhaler? She’s having trouble breathing. No, I don’t have a cupcake. A Twinkie?” Throwing a worried look at Avery, he paced quickly to the walk-in pantry, returning with a box of Twinkies. He shoved the phone between his ear and shoulder, tore open the box, and peeled the plastic off a Twinkie. With steady hands, he guided the mini cake into her mouth. Her breathing calmed with the first bite. She grabbed the dessert out of his hand and sat in the nearest chair to eat and breathe.

“Okay, well, she’s breathing normally again. Thanks.” Sijan ended the call and tossed her phone on the granite counter behind him. “How long have you been having panic attacks?”

Avery closed her eyes and filled her lungs with air. She opened her eyes, and used a paper napkin from a basket on the table to wipe a few stray crumbs from her lips. “Since I was seventeen. But I haven’t had one in five years. This is the first since I left Hollywood.”

“And the Twinkies?”

“Cupcakes work better, but Twinkies and a brown paper bag are my emergency back-ups.” She gave a self-depreciating laugh when she saw the look in his eyes. “I know. A therapist explained it years ago. Basically, I’m a hot mess.”

Sijan raised an eyebrow at her. “You solved it with cupcakes. Which sure beats the sex, drugs, or alcohol the rest of Hollywood uses.”

“I solved it by leaving Hollywood. And if I could get away from you Hollywood types, maybe I wouldn’t be eating Twinkies again.” Now that moving oxygen in and out of her lungs was handled, Avery looked around the kitchen. The cabinets appeared to be original. A little scratched but warmed up with what smelled like a light coat of lemon oil. The wood plank floors had a well-worn patina. Although the appliances looked updated, they weren’t top of any line. Just standard new appliances, probably because the others had died. The dark, sleek granite counters were the only nod to style. “I like your kitchen. It’s cozy, like one a happy grandmother would bake cakes in.”

“I bought this farm three years ago and haven’t had time to renovate it. Ty’s been itching to have at it, but I want to be here to help, and my career’s been too crazy.”

“I guess an Oscar nomination will do that.”

Sijan picked up the box of Twinkies and moved them to the counter beside the coffee machine. “Well, you would know.” He got a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water from the dispenser in the refrigerator door.

“Oh, you Googled me, did you?”

Sijan’s gaze burned into her like molten silver as he handed her the glass of water. “Honey, you and I both know I did more than Google you.”

If his knowing, lopsided grin hadn’t melted her bones, she would have had the backbone to get up and smack him. Maybe redirection would be safer. “Why did you bother to change out the counters?”

“I’ve got granite out in L.A., and forgot where I was. Hot pots and sharp knives on Formica? As Ty said,
no bueno
. He put in granite to avoid a repeat.” His gaze pierced her, unwilling to move to a safer topic. “What I can’t figure out is—”

Dirk entered the kitchen from the hallway leading to the guest room. “Sijan, I would not have pictured you living in a house like this. You’re blowing your image, man.”

Sijan raised an eyebrow at him. “No black marble orgy-sized bathtubs?”

“I’ve been to your place in Hollywood. The party you gave after
Hangman
wrapped up filming? Ka-bling, baby. That place is state of the art and luxurious. I guess a house in this town isn’t worth the investment.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I’ve sunk money in the farm, just not where your Hollywood brain would think. Except the addition with the theater and gym. I’m sure those will get your approval.”

“Sweet.” Dirk rubbed his hands together and sat in a chair next to Avery. “I can’t wait to use them both.”

Avery watched Dirk’s attention slide to her. He hadn’t changed much in the five years since she’d last seen him. He had been twenty-four to her twenty-one when they’d met on the set of her last movie. On day one, he’d targeted her with his charm, and it hadn’t taken her wounded soul long to fall for him. When he’d told her he loved her, she’d believed it whole-heartedly. Until she’d caught him using the same lines on another cast member a few weeks later. Good ol’ Dirk had been sleeping his way through the female cast.

“Avery, I bet you never thought you’d be making a movie with me again.” Dirk leaned back with his hands behind his neck, elbows spread out beside his head.

“You couldn’t be more right.” Avery had planned never to make any movie again. Ever. Let alone with Ferret Face.

Dirk grinned. “Lucky for you, you get both me and Sijan in your come-back film. You can ride our coattails back to success, baby.”

Avery took a sip of water before speaking. “Dirk, as fun as that sounds, I hope to pass on that honor. I’m hoping Sijan’s brother discovers the contracts are a worthless fraud and I can head back to my boring, humdrum, unsuccessful life.”

“Sure you do.” Dirk winked at her. “You’re right. It’s more dramatic to say you were forced back into acting. Hell, the fans will eat it up. Great angle. I forgot how smart you are.”

It wasn’t even worth the effort. Avery glanced at Sijan to gauge what he was thinking, but his face was impossible to read.

Dirk got up from the chair and started pacing. “I am so totally stoked about this. Why don’t we decide on our project?”

“Why don’t we wait until Paxton gets back to us?” Avery said.

“Avery, Jerry is the best. The odds are lower than low that those contracts don’t withhold scrutiny. We might as well start discussing what we want to film.”

Avery was sure she was having an out-of-body experience. Was she the only sane one in the group? “This is ridiculous. Not only do I not want to act, let alone with you two, but I haven’t acted for five years.”