“It’s very picturesque.”
“What’s that?”
“Um… It means—you know what, it doesn’t matter. It’s a beautiful countryside. Rolling foothills, mills, creeks and covered bridges. Everyone knows everyone.”
“It sounds lovely, I can’t wait for you to show me around.”
A little taken aback, Greyson brushed off the comment. He often got that same response of people wanting to see the town he’d described, to see if it was really as charming as it sounded. “It’s a good place to decompress. In fact, the famous Fall Festival is just around the corner. Hay bale maze and hotdish cook-off included. It really is so beautiful in the fall. I’m hoping to get back home soon to see some family and friends.”
“That will be so fun! I’ve never been through a hay bale maze. I can’t wait for it. Anyway, I was talking to my dad about upcoming scripts the studio has lined up and there’s a small-town comedy that would be perfect for us, set in a town just like yours.” She paused in her speech while the waiter arrived, setting their food and drinks on the table. “I’ll send you the script I was thinking of so you can review it, then I’ll meet you in Amber Falls and we can start scouting out locations.”
Greyson choked on his first bite. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Yeah, it’ll be fun! We can start moving this project forward as soon as possible. Nadia said it was a great idea when I pitched that we should do a movie together. No time like the present, and you’re in-between movies now, right?”
Greyson took a deep breath, thinking she had to be joking but she sounded dead serious. He needed to stop this runaway train right now. “I already asked Nadia for a copy, so why don’t we go through the official channels?”
Samantha appeared crestfallen that Greyson didn’t seem as excited about the project as she clearly was. “That’s okay, I guess.”
Samantha lapsed into a petulant silence, pulling out her phone again to photograph her meal, herself with the meal and finally just herself. “Did you want to coordinate outfits for Sunday? My dress has been picked out since the last Versace runway. I guess you can wear a gold pocket square if you want.” Samantha shrugged, without pausing to let him respond. “Or whatever.”
“A gold pocket square sounds good. I’ll just be wearing a standard tux, so that’ll bring the outfits together.”
Samantha smiled, clearly more relaxed, and they were able to finish their dinner without any moreFatal Attractionvibes.
When he noticed Samantha wasn’t eating anything off her plate anymore, just pushing the wilted lettuce around with her fork, he took that as a sign the lunch was over. Downing the rest of his beer he stood. “I’ll walk you to the valet,” he said.
As they walked out of the front door, Greyson was blinded by camera flashes. He put his hand up to cover his eyes. “I don’t understand how they knew we were here.”
Samantha slid on a pair of Jackie Ohh sunglasses. “It’s okay, I called them. All publicity is good publicity after all,” she said coolly, sliding her free hand into the nook of Greyson’s arm.
Giving a little wave to the photographers, Samantha propelled them through the crowd to the valet station, and Greyson opened the driver’s door of her black Mercedes. He still had manners, even in the middle of a paparazzi ambush.
“See you Sunday, Grey.” Samantha gave him a peck on the cheek.
The cameras are going to love this.
Greyson closed her door and walked to his Jeep behind Samantha’s car. He kept his head down, hoping that the paparazzi wouldn’t get a clear picture of him, and naively wished whatever they ran in their rags would be captioned ‘Samantha Crane and Mystery Hunk’. He pulled out of the parking lot as fast as he could while keeping a hand over his face.
What the hell was Nadia doing? Did she really think that he and Samantha would work well together? They were nothing alike and this short lunch had proved that. Although he knew that co-stars didn’t have to get along to make a movie, he still didn’t see what Nadia saw in this pairing, other than doubling her agent fee. Maybe that’s all it was.
If anything, the lunch had made it more clear to him that he missed Prudence and Amber Falls. Too many things had been pointing him back to Prudence. She was the complete antithesis of Samantha, and having to spend one lunch with her was enough for him. He had already agreed to take her to the Verity Awards, and he wouldn’t go back on his word, but that had to be it. Now he just had to convince Nadia that now was not the time for a new movie and not piss off both her and the studio in the process. Maybe Wyatt Reed was available.
Chapter Four
“Seriously, Mom?” Prudence grabbed a bag from her mom at Annabelle’s front door. “How much wine do you think we’ll need?”
Shirley Hardwick gave her daughter a knowing smile. She was tall like Prudence, but her frame a few sizes smaller. Her flame-red hair was artfully arranged into perfect spirals that jauntily bounced with each step. Prudence had never mastered the true art of the spiral, usually letting her mass of curls puff and frizz, not unlike Julia Roberts at her nineties best, but perhaps more like the Muppet, Beaker, at her worst.
“It’s Sunday and the store closes at nine, dear. You know how LuAnne will get if we run out after that.”
LuAnne Winters’ head immediately popped out of a door in the hallway. “I heard that, Shirley. And let’s not pretend we both won’t be upset if that happens.” She promptly disappeared back into the room.
LuAnne, Shirley and Janice Atwood had become friends when Prudence, Annabelle and Greyson had entered kindergarten and now were affectionately known collectively as ‘The Moms’. Then, Janice had moved to Boca Raton after Greyson’s dad retired. LuAnne and Shirley spent many melancholy months not sure what to do with themselves after she’d left. In Annabelle’s words, “their Beyoncé deserted them”, but they’d bounced back and were stronger than ever, enjoying getting in as much trouble as middle-aged moms could in a small town. The Sheriff knew them by name, a fact they delighted in.
“What’s she doing?” Shirley asked Annabelle, who was standing at the kitchen island, gesturing to the hallway with her head.
Annabelle rubbed at her temples in resignation. “She decided to get ‘red carpet’ ready. Gown and everything.”
