“Moving on,” Claire said after she finished her handful of chips and the conversation had circled back around to the importance of honesty. “Does everyone have a cocktail dress they can wear for the corporate party scene next Wednesday? You all did get the email from my assistant, right?” She’d invited the book club to play extras in the movie. She knew they were big fans of the Fierce trilogy.
Hailey spoke up. “Claire, this is the first time Josh has ever asked for a second date. He must really like you. At least talk to him. Let him down easy if you’re not going to see him again.”
Claire ground her teeth and then quickly loosened her jaw, mindful of not destroying thousands of dollars’ worth of dental work required for the perfect Hollywood smile. “I’m not Jenny. There’s no future. I probably shouldn’t have gone out like that in the first place.”
Hailey leaned forward, her pale blue eyes locked on Claire’s. “When was the last time you had a lot of fun with fireworks-level sparks on a first date? That doesn’t happen often.”
“Or at all,” Charlotte chimed in.
The women had to agree.
It was rare. Josh had been wonderful. But what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t keep pretending to be someone she wasn’t. And she couldn’t be herself and risk his anger and the inevitable fallout in the press at this critical time for the Fierce trilogy movies. She’d sunk every last dime into the movies. If the first movie flopped, her production company was done. She knew damn well that beauty faded and good roles for women over thirty (she was twenty-nine) were hard to come by. It was why she’d started her own production company in the first place, to keep her profile high. Even with that kind of creative control, she knew as she aged, she would be less marketable. American audiences worshipped youth and beauty in their actresses. The time for her career was now.
She took a deep breath, trying to ease the ache of longing in her chest. What she really needed was not some romantic happy ending, but friendship. Look around, you have that. Don’t ask for more.
She surprised even herself when she admitted, “I’ve been thinking about him a lot.” She looked around at her friends gathered close with varying levels of concern and a few smiles. “I didn’t expect that.”
“I think it’s wonderfully romantic,” Ally said, her blond bangs bobbing along in time with her head.
Mad frowned. “Don’t string him along. Cut ties so he can move on.”
“In person or by phone,” Hailey said. “Up to you. But Mad’s right, if he really cares about you, he deserves closure.”
Claire blew out a breath, knowing Hailey was right. He did deserve closure, but she didn’t think a text or phone call would be enough after the night they’d had together. Her friends didn’t know how far things went, and she didn’t want to share. She had to be Jenny again so she could explain to Josh that she couldn’t do a relationship. She’d have to come up with some excuse.
“I’ll pretend to be Jenny one last time,” Claire said.
Hailey clapped.
Mad spoke up. “Just don’t lead him on. Be fair.”
Hailey spoke in a reassuring tone. “You’re doing the right thing. Let him down with a nice it’s not you, it’s me. Because it is, right? I mean, it’s because you’re Claire Jordan not because of Josh. I mean, he is pretty easy to spend time with.” She pasted a smile on. “And you said yourself there was a spark.”
“Moving on,” Mad said. “Tell us the latest with Fierce Longing.”
Claire gave them an update on the scene they’d just finished and the unfortunate injury the stunt double had on his motorcycle. They were still scrambling to find someone else for Monday’s shoot, only three days away.
Mad piped up. “My brother Ty does stunts.”
Claire turned to her. “Motorcycle stunts?”
“Ty’s your guy,” Mad said. “He just wrapped a movie in the city.”
“union ?”
“Yup.”
“Give me his info and have him contact my assistant. If he can be at the estate by eight a.m. call, he’s hired. Wait.” Claire sighed. “You have a picture, height, and weight? We need someone close to Blake’s body type.”
Mad pulled her cell phone from the large pocket in her cargo shorts. She tapped the screen and swiped a few times before holding it up. “That’s him.”
“That works,” Claire said. “My assistant will set it up.”
Hailey peeked over. “Dang.”