“Seems fair.”
Cara nodded, and Wes caught himself staring again when she chewed her lip. “You haven’t talked to her though?”
Wes frowned. What was she getting at? “No.”
“Maybe I misunderstood what she meant… She said she would be back ina few weeks. Not at the end of the week, like you said.”
He shook his head. “She said the shoot was no more than a week.” But in the back of his mind, Wes wasn’t surprised. It wouldn’t be out of character for Melody to suddenly change plans but— “What exactly did she say?”
Cara got up to retrieve her phone and tapped on the screen before handing him the phone. He felt his cheeks heat as he read Melody’s words.
“Huh, I guess I should give her a call.” He tried to be nonchalant, but he was pissed. Had she taken another job, and not bothered to tell him… again?
“It’s just…” Worry was plain in Cara’s eyes. “I don’t even know where to send the rent? I never signed anything and…”
“Don’t worry about that.” He waved his hand. “It’s already taken care of.”
“But—” Cara’s brow wrinkled.
Wes wasn’t interested in reassuring her at the moment. “I need to make a phone call.”
Taking his phone onto the deck, he dialed Melody’s number, tucking his hands under his arms to stay warm in the cold morning air.
“I was just about to call you!” Melody said, in lieu of a greeting.
“Right.”
“Yeah, plans changed. Things are going really well here. Fabrizio and the representatives from the line I was shooting for love my look! They want me to stick around to work with them in their studio. Isn’t that amazing!”
“That does sound great. But, Melody, what the hell? How long are you going to be there?”
“I don’t know,” she said breezily. “As long as they want me, I guess.”
“And what? I’m supposed to stay in the house with this girl you moved in?” A muscle ticked in his jaw.
“You’re only there temporarily. Aren’t you looking for a house?”
“Yes, but that’s not the point. We had plans—”
“Don’t nag,” Melody whined. “It’s easy for you to judge. You’re successful, and I’m still trying to make a name for myself. It’s like you don’t even want me to succeed!”
“It’s not that at all.” Wes pinched the bridge of his nose. Conversations with Melody could be exhausting. “We haven’t seen each other in a really long time. I was looking forward to spending time with you.”
“And we still will! We have all the time in the world!”
“What about Cara?”
“What about her? Is she messing up my place or something?”
“No.” He loved Melody, but she could be remarkably self-absorbed. “What do I tell her? She wasn’t expecting to live with a strange guy. You didn’t even tell her where to send the rent?”
Melody blew out an exasperated breath. “Just tell her to hand it to you. You are being so over dramatic, and it’s boring me. Find a house, and then you can move out.”
“I was kind of hoping you would want to help me pick one out.” He had hoped it would be a house they could live in together and start a family.
“Aww, you’re such a sweetie. I’m sure anything you pick will be great! I gotta go, but it was great to hear from you. Ciao.”
Melody ended the call before he had a chance to reply. Her behavior wasn’t that unusual. She’d always been careless of other people. Wes scowled. That’s not what he meant. His frown deepened. Right now, he had the more pressing problem of what to tell Cara.
