All Over You (19 page)

T
HE NEXT MORNING
, Claudia and Sadie converged on Grace’s office the moment they heard.

“I can’t believe Mac would do this to you. What a butt head. I thought he was one of the good guys,” Sadie said as she strode in the door.

Claudia eyed Grace narrowly and shook her head.

“I think you might be slandering Mac in vain there, Sadie. What do you think, Grace?”

Grace acknowledged Claudia’s hit.

“He doesn’t know. I haven’t told him about Serena and Owen,” she admitted. She felt as though she was dragging her voice up from the soles of her feet. She’d been feeling oddly detached ever since she’d seen her sister larger than life on her television screen last night. She felt…on hold. As though some vital part of herself had withdrawn from play.

“What?” Sadie almost screamed. “You and Mac spend practically every nonwork moment in each other’s pockets and you haven’t told him about the most important thing that’s ever happened in your life?”

That got Grace snapping to attention, odd feeling or not.

“Owen cheating on me was not the most important thing in my life,” she said.

“Yeah? Then why haven’t you told Mac about it if it’s so damn everyday?” Claudia asked.

Grace glared at them both mutinously. She didn’t want to agree with them. To do so felt as though she’d be admitting a whole bunch of other things, too — such as that the last four years had been a fraud, that she’d been hiding out rather than being her own woman and that, far from being over Owen, she was still flailing in the debris of their breakup all these years later.

She was over him. Wasn’t she? She must be — she was with Mac now. They were happy. Claudia and Sadie were wrong.

“I didn’t want him to see me as a victim,” Grace justified. It was a legitimate reason for withholding the story — except Claudia just put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

“You’re such a bad liar, Grace. At least be honest with yourself — before you screw things up with Mac,” Claudia said.

Grace flinched.

“Tell him what she did to you,” Sadie said.

“I’m going to,” Grace said with dignity, eyeing Claudia coolly. “I’d already decided that before you guys came in here.”

“Good. That’ll be the end of that nasty little skank,” Sadie said, dusting her hands together as though she’d just thrown out the trash. Grace’s friends had always wanted to punish Serena for her betrayal. “I still can’t believe she had the gall to audition.”

“She needs the work. She hasn’t had anything for months now,” Grace explained.

“She should have thought about that before she stuck her tongue down Owen’s throat all those years ago. I wouldn’t hire her if my life depended on it,” Claudia said.

“Mac thinks she’s great. Perfect for the part. She did a great audition,” Grace said. She still felt oddly detached and spacey.

“This is Hollywood. Women like Serena really are a dime a dozen. He’ll find someone else,” Claudia said dismissively.

“Now we’ve got that settled — tell me what’s going on inside that head of yours, Gracie,” Sadie said, leaning forward intently. “You must be steaming that she would do this.”

Grace stared over Sadie’s shoulder, trying to articulate the emotions churning in her stomach.

“I think I’m just…surprised. After everything. I forgave her. And Owen. And I don’t understand why she has to come into my world like this. I mean, we have an understanding — we’re polite at family gatherings, but we keep our distance. Now I feel like she’s invaded my backyard. Hasn’t she taken enough already?”

She knew what she was saying wasn’t entirely rational, but the essence of it was right. She’d made a new life for herself after Serena had destroyed her old one. But now Serena wanted to be part of that, too. It was too much. Too greedy.

Claudia nodded with approval.

“Gracie’s getting angry,” she said. “About time.”

“I was mean to her at dinner the other night,” Grace confessed.

“Yeah?” Sadie asked expectantly. “What did you say?”

Grace reported the incident and Claudia clapped her hands together with approval.

“Yay, Gracie. How did the rest of them take it?” she asked.

“Like I’d said I was having a sex-change operation.”

“They’re not used to you rocking the boat,” Sadie said.

“Mom hates it when we fight,” Grace said, suddenly feeling angry all over again. “She’s called twice since dinner, wondering whether I’ve spoken to Serena yet. I think I’m supposed to apologize.”

“No freakin’ way. Serena deserves to have her ass kicked, not kissed. I think it’s sick the way your family all pretend that nothing ever happened,” Claudia said.

“It was the way I wanted it. I didn’t want to make a fuss,” Grace said.

“You’re worth making a fuss over, Gracie. And what happened needs to be acknowledged — by everyone,” Sadie said firmly.

It was a hard concept for Grace to get her head around. She knew her parents loved her, that her sisters loved her. But somehow, over the years, she’d gotten used to being the “other” sister, the odd one out. She never made a fuss or demanded attention or caused a drama — apart from one recent notable exception.

But maybe her friends were right. Maybe it was time to start letting her feelings be known, to actively mark her turf and defend it.

Starting with
Ocean Boulevard,
and Mac.

M
AC SAT BACK
in the crappy, under-padded chair in the crappy, under-decorated temporary office they’d given him out at the studio and massaged his temples. Thank God he had casting sorted out was all he could say. The latest delightful hiccup he’d had to deal with was the news that their wedding location on the Ko Olina Lagoons was out of the question thanks to the local council’s decision to have the beach regraded during the week they needed to shoot. Mac had been wrangling with local bureaucrats all day, trying to talk them into rescheduling. The closest he’d come to a solution was their suggestion that the production company pay for the contractor’s fees for the week he’d be stood down. Since Mac was already right on budget, that idea wasn’t about to fly. Running a hand through his hair in exasperation, he clicked open the footage file on his computer. There were a number of other beaches that they’d scouted in Hawaii. There had to be somewhere else that was up to scratch.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about the Lagoons as he trawled through the other footage. The location was perfect and he wanted the episode to be perfect. No — he wanted it to be more than that. He wanted it to be his second chance.

Sitting in his shoe-box office, his ass protesting the lack of padding on the seat beneath him, Mac knew it was time to come clean with himself. He wasn’t dabbling in directing. He wasn’t killing time or finding some way to keep himself sane while his acting contract spun itself out.

He wanted to direct. He wanted to tell stories from behind the camera instead of in front of it.

He knew the chances of him transitioning from a role as a beefcake heartthrob on a daytime soap to the role of respected director were slim, if not non-existent. And for a long time, that cynical, realistic piece of knowledge had held him back from being honest with himself. But lately, he’d found himself daring to hope again. Daring to dream the impossible dream.

Why the hell not, after all? He’d tried and failed before. He’d been lying around licking his wounds for the last little while, true — but it hadn’t killed him. It might even have made him stronger.

Admitting the full truth to himself was like standing in the sunshine after months of rain. First Grace and now this. Things were looking up.

Grace.
Just thinking her name made him smile. Among other things. Adjusting his jeans, he allowed himself a moment of indulgence at the end of a frustrating day.

He was crazy about her. Probably in love with her, if he was going to carry this honesty jag through to the end. He’d started dreaming things where she was concerned, too. Things that included not having separate addresses and spare toothbrushes at each other’s houses.

The past week or so had been great. The distance he’d always felt between them was gone. She’d opened up, put her trust in him. And he was determined not to abuse it. Grinning like an idiot, he wondered how long he’d have to wait before he tried to talk her into moving in with him. There was plenty of room at his place. He’d already earmarked one of the upstairs bedrooms for conversion into her study. He’d even covertly scouted a cherrywood desk that would be the perfect place for Grace to work from. He loved the idea of knowing she would be there when he came home, of waking with her every morning. Very quickly — scarily quickly — she’d become central to his life.

A knock on the office door drew him out of his reverie.

“Come in,” he called.

The door opened and he hid his surprise when he saw Serena Watts standing there.

“Hi,” she said uncertainly. “Have you got a moment?”

He gestured for her to come in, then realized he didn’t have another chair to offer her.

“Sorry, this office is a little low on home comforts,” he apologized, wondering why she was here. He’d contacted her agent and offered her the part that morning.

He hoped like hell she wasn’t going to try to pressure him for more money. Grace’s sister or not, he had a budget to consider.

“My agent called and said you’d offered me the part,” Serena said, her voice husky.

He couldn’t help feeling a little thrill of satisfaction — that sexy voice was exactly what he’d been looking for for the part of Tania. He’d seen hundreds of beautiful women during the casting process, but sexy was a whole other ball game from beautiful. Grace had sexy in spades and so did Serena. Must run in the family.

“Yep. Did you have some questions? If it’s about the contract, I should confess up front that I’m a complete legal dufus,” he said.

Serena shook her head, then bit her lip. It was odd seeing someone who looked so much like Grace use one of Grace’s little habits. Not that Serena and Grace looked that much alike or he wouldn’t have been fooled by Serena’s stage name. But the resemblance was there, now that he knew to look for it. They had the same amazing, creamy skin. The same nose. Grace’s eyes were green to Serena’s pale-blue, however, and he much preferred their exotic tilt. Grace’s mouth was more generous, too — wider and fuller. Judging by conventional standards, Serena was the more beautiful. But Grace had her sister beat in his book. She was the whole package, a gorgeous face and a hot body, all of it powered by a mind like a steel trap. It might not float some guys’ boats, but it did a lot for him. He was figuring it would do enough for him to last a lifetime, in fact.

“Have I got spinach in my teeth?” Serena asked self-consciously.

He realized he’d been staring, and he laughed guiltily.

“Sorry, I was just looking for the family resemblance. I took your audition over to Grace’s last night to celebrate — you have no idea how long we’ve been looking for Tania — and I was pretty thrown when she told me you were her sister. You should have said something at the audition,” he said. “Not that it would have made a difference to the outcome, but it would have made up for not being invited to that family dinner you guys had a few weeks’ back.”

It was a joke, but Serena didn’t laugh. Instead, she looked sick.

“God, this is just getting worse,” she said. She looked around the office as though she was searching for something to throw up in. Since there wasn’t anything, Mac fervently hoped he was wrong.

“Hey. Um, maybe you ought to sit down,” he said, jumping up to offer her his own chair.

She shook her head. “I’m okay. I just didn’t know you and Grace were…seeing each other.”

He shrugged philosophically. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? Grace is the best keeper of secrets I’ve ever met. But you must know that.”

Serena swallowed noisily. “She didn’t always used to be like that. She used to be the most open person in the world.”

Okay, now she was going to cry, he was fairly certain. Not only did he not have a sick bucket, he didn’t have a box of tissues, either.

But Serena was blinking rapidly and taking a deep breath.

“I’ll just say what I need to say, and then I’ll leave,” she said with determination. “I can’t take the part. I wanted to tell you in person because I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea. But I guess you must know why I’m here, since you know Grace so well.”

She looked utterly miserable and the tears that had been threatening finally welled up.

“I’m so sorry. I’ll get out of your hair,” Serena said.

“Don’t be silly. Couple of tears won’t kill me — have you seen how many women work on this show?” he joked.

“I hope it doesn’t muck you around too much, me not taking the part. I should never have gone to the audition. It was stupid, but my car broke down and I really needed the money….”

Since she’d refused his offer of his chair, Mac sank back into it and Serena parked her butt on the corner of his desk. In the calculating budding-director’s part of his brain, he hoped it was because she wanted him to talk her into taking the part. The last thing he needed was to have to recast when he’d already found the perfect actress.

“Sounds like a pretty good reason for taking the part to me,” he said lightly, testing the waters.

Serena stared at him, her blue eyes wide and luminous with tears. She was one of those rare women who could cry and remain beautiful and she looked the picture of tragedy.

“How can you even say that, now you know who I am?” she said. She sounded a little annoyed, as if Mac had just put his hand on her knee or something.

That was the second time she’d referred to some knowledge he was supposed to have, something to do with her identity. He frowned, suddenly remembering last night and the way Grace had reacted when she’d seen her sister’s face on her television screen. For a second he’d got the old feeling from her as she smiled and explained who Serena was. Then she’d left the room for a few minutes before returning to ask all the right questions. The feeling that she had withdrawn from him had faded and he’d let the moment go.