Second Act (His Chance 1)

After a while, he caressed my cheek and asked, “Are you getting tired?”

I looked up at him and nodded, but then I said, “I don’t want you to stop what you’re doing, though.”

There was so much tenderness in his expression. He turned off the TV and guided me upstairs, picking up his backpack along the way. We stripped down to our briefs, then took turns in the bathroom. By the time I returned to the bedroom, the lights were low, the cat was curled up on the duvet, and Lorenzo was tucked under the covers. He held up a corner of the blanket, and I slid in beside him.

The feeling of his skin against mine drew a sigh of pleasure from me. He went back to playing with my hair, just like he’d been doing downstairs, and I closed my eyes and murmured, “Just to clarify, when I asked you to stay a while, I actually meant the entire time I’m here in Mendocino.”

He kissed my forehead and whispered, “Good, because that’s exactly what I’m planning to do.”

Chapter 10

The next morning when we went downstairs, Phoenix greeted us with freshly brewed coffee, banana nut muffins, and my phone, which he’d found in the trailer’s sofa. “The news of Trent Chambers’ New Year’s Eve drug binge and the accident finally broke,” he said. “It’s all over the internet.” He put his laptop in front of us when Lorenzo and I sat down at the kitchen island, so we could read the story on the screen.

I murmured, “I’m surprised his people kept a lid on it that long.”

“Me too.” Phoenix took a sip of coffee, then said, “I reached out to one of my contacts at the studio. They’re going to release a statement about replacing Trent on this picture sometime in the next few hours. That means your name’s going to be all over the news, and we should be ready to start fielding requests for interviews.”

“Do you really think anyone will be interested in what I have to say?”

Phoenix said, “Absolutely. The first things they’ll probably ask is when you found out you’d gotten the part and what you knew about Trent’s accident. You should reach out to Sylvia so you can discuss possible answers.”

“Will I be expected to lie?”

“No, but it’s a good idea to keep your answers vague. You don’t want to make it sound like the studio was intentionally covering up the fact that their star committed a series of felonies.”

Lorenzo had turned the laptop slightly so he could read the news story, and he looked up from the screen and asked, “Is Chambers facing criminal charges? This article didn’t say.”

Phoenix shrugged. “That information hasn’t been released yet, but Will should probably have an answer ready in case a reporter asks him if he thinks Trent should go to jail.”

I frowned and said, “They wouldn’t actually ask me that, would they? Whatever happens to Trent Chambers doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

“They might ask anyway, in the hopes of getting a juicy sound bite.” I must have looked worried, because Phoenix reached across the kitchen island and patted the back of my hand as he said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be fielding your calls, and it’s a closed set, so it’s not like any reporters are going to be able to ambush you with questions. Also, you really shouldn’t worry about this now. You have an important day of filming ahead of you, so just try to concentrate on that.”

“What time is it? I told Harper I’d meet him half an hour before our call time so we can run our lines.”

Phoenix glanced at his watch. “In that case, we should leave in about fifteen minutes. I’ll go round up your cat and get ready. Any special requests for today?”

“No, but do you have any tips for someone who’s about to spend all day shooting his first love scene? Like, is there anything special I should be doing to prepare? I obviously already took a shower so I don’t repulse my scene partner, but is there anything I’m overlooking?”

“You might want to wear something like a track suit, so you can change into and out of it quickly. I’ll bring a robe and a pair of flip flops, which you’ll want when you’re waiting on set or walking to your trailer. Other than that, just be prepared for a makeup artist to get up close and personal with your body makeup this morning, and try to relax. It’s going to be great, despite having to spend the day with Harper Royce.” Phoenix stopped just short of shuddering when he said that name. He started to leave the kitchen, but then he turned back to me and said, “I’d suggest eating a muffin before we take off. They’re my special low-fat, high protein recipe, and you may need the energy.”