“Ouch,” Ronnie commented.
I was well aware that she’d been on the receiving end of his ire as well, though it was undeserved in her case. “Aiden’s a little apprehensive about her being here next week.”
Ronnie’s jaw dropped. “You mean he’s, like, nervous? That doesn’t seem like him.”
That thought brought a wry smile. “He doesn’t get nervous. He just doesn’t want it to happen again—her delaying the shoot or messing up take after take and then him getting mad and getting accused of being mean to her.”
Ronnie took a sip of her water. “It might be nice if he stopped getting mad at her and me.”
Guilt filled me. I didn’t want to betray my brother, but this was something Ronnie deserved to know. “Look, Ronnie, when he jumps down your throat, I don’t think it’s entirely about you. I think that some of that anger is misplaced.”
She grimaced. “Yeah, I figured that out.”
“Really? When?”
“Just now. Let me guess—this Sierra is about my age, right?”
“Yes.”
“And we’re both newcomers who don’t really know the way things are done on set.”
“Yes.” Then I couldn’t help adding a third similarity. “And you’re both beautiful.”
Ronnie’s smile practically lit up the diner.
After I paid the bill, we headed back to the studio to switch cars, Ronnie happily at the wheel again. The roads weren’t quite as empty, but she still took pleasure from the way the Camaro handled. I didn’t blame her for that.
For a while, she seemed lost in thought, but then she came up with a question that opened up a can of worms.
“Does it ever bother you that you and Aiden look exactly the same but he gets the big bucks and the fame?”
“Not really.”
She grinned as she looked over at me. “Not even when he’s got adoring fans crawling all over him?”
That’s when I made a big mistake. “He’s not the only one with fans,” I mumbled.
“He isn’t? What, are there stunt double groupies?”
“Something like that.”
“Your face is turning red.” Her eyes cut to me briefly before returning to the road.
“Maybe, when you’re driving down the highway at eighty miles per hour, you shouldn’t be focused on my face.”
“Tell me what you mean and I won’t.”
I sighed. “It’s really no big deal.”
“Then you shouldn’t mind telling me.” Even though I was purposefully watching the scenery, I could practically hear her smirk.
“It was for the first Chase Cooper movie. The studio did a huge publicity push, and a reporter from small-town USA decided that they wanted to interview me about what it was like working as a stunt double for Aiden. The studio made me do it, and it was excruciating. Two hours of questions, and at least half of them weren’t about the movie. The reporter seemed determined to get the real scoop of what Aiden Hunt was like. It was awful.”
“I wouldn’t have liked that, either.”
“After that, the article came out, and they even put a video clip of it online, and it got picked up and put on a lot of news sites. And… well, a group of women decided that, well, that I…”
“Was as hot as Aiden without the crappy attitude?” Ronnie supplied.
Shit, did she just use the word hot to describe me? But maybe she was referring to the heat that was coming off my reddened face. “Something like that.”
“So what did they do? Stalk you? Mail you their panties?”
Both those things had actually happened, but I wasn’t about to admit that to her. Besides, Aiden had to deal with far more of that crap than I did. Like a hundred times more. “They started a fan club.”
Ronnie’s jaw dropped open. “Really?”
“Watch the road,” I growled, though she’d only looked away for half a second. The truth was that this was a deeply embarrassing topic to me.
“Does the fan club have weekly meetings or something? Can I go to one?”
“No.” I rolled my eyes. “I mean yes, they have meetings, but I think they’re online. And no, you can’t go.”
“Does the fan club have a website? Oh my god, I’ve got to see that.”
I chuckled. “Bet you wish you’d let me drive.”
“Damn straight I do. I have to see it ASAP.”
I contemplated whether to tell her the rest, but, well, it wasn’t like my face could get any redder, and once she checked online, she’d find out anyway. “They’re having a convention.”
“What?” The car actually swerved this time as she whipped her head around to look at me.
“Watch it,” I barked. Then I took a breath and calmed myself. “Just a small one in Des Moines. That’s where the president of the fan club lives.”
“Are you going to go?”
“Of course not. Probably.”
Ronnie shook her head in disbelief. “I was kidding when I asked if you were going to go. It doesn’t sound like something big enough for Aiden Hunt’s stunt double to attend.”