Could This Be Love? (26 page)

“Tansy, I didn’t know you were CPR qualified.”

Her sister unlatched her lips with a squeak and spun around, looking like a child caught sneaking candy before dinner. “Avery! I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“See what? What do you think I saw?”

Sijan sent her a frantic look. “You know what you didn’t see, right? Just because I was an idiot jumping to stupid conclusions doesn’t mean you should be. You are much more cool-headed than I am. And you saw where my hands were, and more specifically, where they weren’t.”

“That’s probably true. But, when it comes to my family”—Avery walked over to stand in front of her sister so she could look directly in her eyes—“I’m very gullible, aren’t I, Tansy?”

“N . . . no.” Tansy blinked and wrapped her arms around her middle. “I didn’t mean to, but he smiled at me and I swear it was an ‘I want to make mad, passionate love to you’ smile.”

Sijan snorted. “Avery, no way are you
that
gullible.”

“She loves me.” Tansy shrugged and pushed her brittle hair off one shoulder.

“I do, but right now I don’t much like you.” Avery had clung to the idea of a loving sister for too long. Thinking back, she couldn’t recall a single loving act from Tansy since before Avery had left for Hollywood ten years ago. “It’s taken me a while to accept that you’ve been using me the last few years. But now? You need to leave.”

“Fine.” Tansy’s body stiffened and the smile disappeared from her face. “I’ll see you at dinner then.”

“No.” Avery shook her head. “I mean you have to leave the farm. Now. Sijan, can Tynan give her a ride into town? Maybe even to the bus station?”

“You bet.” Sijan stepped over to pick up his cell phone and make arrangements.

Tansy’s eyes teared up. “Avery, if you throw me out, Mom won’t want to come visit.”

“I’ve lived for too many years waiting for crumbs of affection from Michelle.” Another idea she’d clung to for too long. Avery swallowed, her throat feeling like a clogged rusty pipe. “But even I have finally figured out I can stop waiting for a show of motherly love.”

Not one peep out of Tansy. No denial or platitude. No more pretending table scraps were a meal.

“Good-bye, Tansy.” Avery turned and walked into Sijan’s arms, hanging on to him to keep from falling apart. Her chest hurt like it had been stuck with a thousand needles, more than a few making a direct hit on her heart. She clung to the heat of Sijan’s body, not wanting to let go. Absorbed the press of his lips to the top of her head and wished she could stay wrapped forever in the safe harbor of his arms.

Chapter Twenty-five

A
very didn’t see Sijan much over the next few days. He and Kaz were editing the commercial, and she felt obligated to stay until they turned the commercial over and their contracts were fulfilled. This time, she wanted to know the life chapter called “Hollywood” was truly over. Although “over” was a relative term since the paparazzi were still camped outside the gates of Sijan’s farm, three weeks later.

While they waited, Avery and Pia spent time working and watching movies in Sijan’s theater. She hadn’t watched any movies in years, so they started by rewatching some of the classics like
Casablanca
,
The Philadelphia Story
,
Chinatown
,
Star Wars
,
Snow White
, and
Rocky
.

And then they found Sijan’s movies. Pia had seen them all. Avery, none of them. That was quickly rectified. The man could act. And all that wicked-sexy charisma that he exuded in real life somehow expanded on the large screen. In huge, delicious, seat-squirming scenes. She lost her breath and composure during the love scenes. Pia found that wildly amusing, but Avery knew how to quiet Pia’s laughter.

“That scene doesn’t even come close to real life.”

“You bitch. If I didn’t love you, I’d hate you.”

***

One evening, Avery was already in her sleep tank and drawstring pajama pants when someone knocked on her door. Her pulse fluttered, anticipating Sijan checking in from wherever he had been all day. The fluttering screeched to a halt when she found Dirk on the other side of the door.

“Oh, hey, Dirk. I thought you left for L.A. a few days ago.” She turned around to slip on the robe from the chair next to her bed, only to turn back around and find Dirk had followed her into the room.

“I’ve been helping Sijan and Kaz. I wanted to make sure you guys weren’t bullshitting me about the commercial making me look good.”

Avery moved back to the door, swinging it open it all the way before turning to raise her brow at him. “And? The verdict?”

“I look great. But I look even better in the movie we made.” Dirk attempted to use his movie-star grin on her. “Come on, Avery, help an old friend out.”

“I did, Dirk. As much as I can.” She tightened the belt on the robe. “And maybe more than you deserve.”

Dirk stepped up close to her and reached out, grabbing the ends of the belt to pull her closer. “Aw, Avery, don’t hold a grudge, babe. I was an idiot back then. I think you should give me another chance. I’ve changed since then.”

Avery looked over his classically good-looking face, remembering a time years ago when it had made her heart beat faster. He was better looking today than he had been five years ago. More mature, his face more lived in. But he didn’t even rate a blip on an EKG for her anymore. He’d probably always be a selfish man. “Congratulations, but I don’t care. I don’t need to give you another chance because I don’t plan on seeing you again.”

“You’re afraid.”

She squinted up at him. “What exactly am I afraid of?”

He moved his hands from the belt to her shoulders, rubbing his hands in slow, practiced circles. “Afraid of the chemistry we used to have. You can’t deny what was between us. What if it’s still there? Simmering, waiting to explode again?”

Dirk was still rubbing circles on her shoulders and all she could think was “wax on, wax off” from the
Karate Kid
movie she and Pia had watched yesterday. “Explode is a good word, since that’s what you did to my life five years ago. Don’t you think we’d have noticed any chemistry if it had been simmering these past three weeks together? There’s nothing there.”

“Prove it.”

“I don’t have to prove anything.”

His emerald-green eyes crinkled down at her and he smirked. “You’re scared. I get it. You’re afraid my kiss will wipe Sijan’s right off the map.”

“Dirk, my memory may be foggy, but I think you’d need a GPS and possibly a rocket ship to get anywhere close to Sijan’s kiss.” Avery let her gaze fall to his full lips. When she was twenty-one, just a quirk of his lips had sent her pulse racing. Now, his lips came off as pouty and too soft looking, like a sulky boy’s. “Maybe you’re the one feeling the need to prove something. Fine. Lay your best one on me. No pressure.”

He didn’t slip into the cocky grin she remembered too well. Instead, he looked very serious as he tipped his head to the right then the left and adjusted his shoulders. He nudged her chin up with a finger and slid his other hand through her hair, his palm warm and firm. As he moved his lips down toward hers, her heart skipped a beat, and she panicked thinking she’d made a mistake. The moment and her memories fused for a fragile tick of time. But the instant his lips touched hers, her heart calmed, and she happily realized the man did nothing for her.

His lips felt too soft, mushy even, and he tasted . . . wrong. And what was with the “wax on, wax off” with his hands again.
Whoa!
Okay, she’d take the hand motion over the ass grab from him any day. She stepped out of the kiss. “I think we can run a stake through that now. Agreed?”

“Wait. Going to the left is my weak side. I need to approach from the right. Let’s try that again.” Dirk rubbed his hand over his lips, then cricked his neck the other way and rolled his shoulders twice. “Okay. Take two.”

“This is the last try. None of that ‘third time’s the charm’ business when this doesn’t work,” Avery warned. “And put your hands on my butt again and you’ll be taking female roles in all your future movies, got it?”

“Got it.”

Dirk bent down for a second kiss, his head cocked to the right side. His lips moved over hers a little slower than before, as if he were concentrating, trying to “make love to her mouth.” When he tried to add his tongue, she pulled her head back abruptly.

“How was that? Better?”

“Still nothing.” Avery shook her head, but, at the look of disappointment on his face, added, “But fine. It was fine, Dirk, really. Um, and nice.”

“Fine and nice? Avery, I’m a heartthrob to tens of thousands of women.”

“Then go kiss them and leave me alone.” So much for trying to be nice. She walked around Dirk, planning to escort him out, and saw Sijan leaning up against the door frame.

“Comparison shopping?” His tall body filled the doorway, arms crossed casually over his chest. The creases in his forehead and the straight, serious line of his lips hinted that his casual pose was just that, a pose.

“Proving a point.” Her gaze drank him in and her heart rate picked up its tempo. He’d obviously been off the farm, as he was dressed in black slacks and a crisp white dress shirt with the cuffs rolled up, setting off his strong tanned forearms nicely. A dark gray tie, pulled loose, still hung around his neck. He was a living, breathing Armani ad. “Well, you clean up nicely. Where have you been?”

“Away. For two days,” Sijan said, his voice clipped and his jaw tight. “I can see you’ve been a little too busy to miss me.”

The man went away for two days without so much as a good-bye and
he
was pissed? She narrowed her eyes up at him. “Maybe if you’d thought to say good-bye, I’d have known to put missing you on my to-do list.”

“I’ll put something on your to-do list all right, only it won’t be Ferris.”

“I believe we just established that, didn’t we, Dirk?” Avery didn’t take her focus off of Sijan, only quirked an eyebrow in Dirk’s direction.

“Well, you don’t have to rub it in.” Dirk shoved his hands in his pockets, then grinned over at Sijan. “Back already, Sijan? Did you handle your business in L.A?”

He wouldn’t have delivered the commercial without telling her, would he? “You flew to L.A. yesterday?”

Sijan uncrossed his arms and straightened up from the doorway. He stepped into the room as he moved his focus from Avery to Dirk. “Yeah. I had a few fires to put out, didn’t I, Ferris?”

Dirk played wounded innocent well. He shrugged his shoulders. “One man’s fire is another man’s way to put food on his table. Or Oscars on his mantle.”

Sijan laughed. “Whoa, Ferris. Even if I don’t get the brakes put on this situation, that will never happen. You’re not only a selfish prick. You’re a selfish, delusional prick.”

“You two have lost me. What are we talking about?” Avery looked back and forth between the two, trying to read their faces and body language. Sijan’s jaw muscles clenched and his nostrils flared. Dirk’s eyes avoided Sijan as he stood, arms crossed defensively.

“That set of lips you just tried on for size are attached to a slimy, ambitious weasel.”

“Oh, I believe I’ve read this book before. Fifty Shades of Ferret Face.” Avery shook her head and walked over to stand in front of Dirk, only Sijan grabbed her and pulled her to his side. “What did you do this time, Dirk?”

Dirk wielded anger as a defense. “I’m not the selfish one here. You’re the selfish one, Avery. I need this movie. And there is nothing wrong with being ambitious.”

“True ambition would drive you to get better at your craft, Ferris. What you’re calling ambition is pure backstabbing laziness.” Sijan grabbed a handful of Dirk’s shirt and escorted him to the door. “Rather than work at becoming a better actor, you’re trying to draft in Avery’s slipstream. And mine.”

Avery was getting nervous. This didn’t sound good at all. Working with Dirk over the past three weeks, she’d started to believe Dirk had changed for the better. Oh lord, she was never going get this trust stuff right. It was looking like the safe bet was to never trust anybody. “What did he do?”

“Our Ferris has been a busy boy.” Sijan made a noise somewhere between a sneer and a growl. “He snuck off the farm with a copy of the movie, made multiple copies, and sent them out all over Hollywood trying to promote himself.”

“The movie? Not the commercial?” Avery started to wheeze. “Dirk, you’re a selfish ass.”

Dirk pulled his shirt from Sijan’s grip and brusquely smoothed it back down. “No, I’m smart. Smart enough not to let opportunity pass me by. My career shouldn’t suffer just because you need to lie on a psychologist’s couch for a year or two.”

Sijan hit him. One punch to his stomach had Dirk doubled over and wheezing louder than Avery. “Ferris. You have five minutes to get out of my house. One hour to be on a plane to L.A. and twenty-four hours to get back all the copies I missed. Or your career is over in Hollywood. And you had better pray no bootleg copies end up on the Internet because I’ll crush you like the cockroach you are.”

Dirk’s face paled as it seemingly dawned on him that he’d made a grave mistake. Sijan’s threat was a stark reminder of who carried more weight in Hollywood. One word from Sijan and Dirk would never work again.

“Oops, Dirk. Looks like you forgot to think this all the way through,” Avery said. “I may be crazy, but I’m not suicidal like some people.”

“It might be too late.” Dirk’s voice quivered.

“Fix it, Ferris,” Sijan said and slammed the door in his face.

Avery looked up at Sijan and started to speak, but stopped at the intensity of his gaze. Whoa, he was still pissed, and she had a strong feeling this wasn’t about the movie anymore. This was about the kiss. “You know that kiss meant nothing, right?”

“And yet, I seem to have strong feelings about it,” he said, taking a step toward her and then another.

For each step forward he took, Avery backed up a step until she was against the wall. “Sijan, you’re only the second man I’ve ever made love with. And in between you and Dirk, I’ve only kissed a few men. Two, maybe three. I don’t know. I wasn’t counting. I . . . I just wanted to see if what was between us was just a normal response to kissing or something d . . . different. Something more.”