Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
O nce the cast was finished, the caterers cleared the table and brought out clambake meals for the production crew. By now, Lauren and Eloise were starving. The chowder was creamy and delicious, full of clams. There were also steamers, which Lauren hadn’t had in ages. She showed Eloise how to remove the neck membrane before dunking the clams first in broth and then melted butter with lemon.
“These are so good!” Eloise loved the steamers and made sure to wear a bib—they all did. She had watched Suzanne closely when she showed how to crack open the tail and didn’t have any problems with it. The lobster was cooked perfectly and was so sweet.
There were also slices of linguica sausage, red bliss potatoes, corn on the cob and coleslaw. The table was quiet for a few minutes as everyone focused on their food.
Hudson sat across from Lauren and Eloise and was the first one to finish his lobster. He took his time with the steamers and everything else.
“So, I think it’s fair to say Katy may have a crush on Billy,” he said.
Lauren had noticed the same. She couldn’t get a read on his interest level, though, since he flirted with everyone.
“Do you think he could be interested?” she asked him.
Hudson shook his head. “You never know, but his type is usually more like Sami or even Anna, more elegant and fit.
Lauren thought about that. She’d never thought of herself as particularly elegant, but she was reasonably attractive and fit. She tried to do Pilates three or four times most weeks. It was the only workout she’d been able to stick with, and she liked the way it elongated her muscles and strengthened her back.
She’d thought that it would be hard to see Billy flirting or even dating other women, but now that she was around him again, it just felt different. She was surprised by how okay she was with it. But she realized it was because there was just no circumstance where she could imagine giving Billy another chance. The trust had been broken, and there was no way to repair it—not when it came to cheating.
And she’d learned her lesson—she’d made the mistake once before. Her college boyfriend had cheated—supposedly just once—and he apologized up and down and begged her to give him another chance. He was her first love, and she’d been devastated, but he was persuasive and she wanted to believe that it would never happen again. But she found that she could never relax again around him—she was always suspicious when she saw him around other girls. As far as she knew, he didn’t cheat again, but she just couldn’t get past it. It was like she was just waiting for the inevitable to happen and that wasn’t a good feeling.
“I bet the overnight film will be interesting,” Eloise said.
Hudson smiled. “That’s often when we get our best stuff. They get comfortable and forget about all the cameras once the production crew goes home.”
“It might be a quiet night, though, after last night,” Lauren said.
“Maybe. But it looks like they are feeling better now,” Hudson said dryly.
Lauren followed his gaze and saw that Suzanne was lining up shot glasses and Billy was mixing up a cocktail. He poured it into the glasses and they all took one and raised their shots in a toast before downing them.
“We should probably finish up and get in there,” Lauren said. They were all just about done at this point. The caterers came out to clear the tables, and they headed inside. Lauren and Eloise sat in the back of the room, near Hudson and his camera. Mike and Tom were in other corners of the room, so they would catch as much as possible on film.
Lauren and Eloise stayed for two more hours, watching in amusement as the cast turned the music up and danced around the room in between more shots and cocktails. There was plenty of flirting going on. Katy tried to chat Billy up whenever she had a chance. But she had competition, as Suzanne seemed interested too. Although Suzanne flirted with all the guys, so it was unclear if she had a favorite.
Anna and Sami were more reserved and cool about it all. And the guys all seemed interested in talking to both of them.
“Playing hard to get really does work,” Eloise whispered.
Lauren laughed. “It sure seems that way.”
“Oh, it definitely does,” Hudson confirmed. “Guys like the chase. It’s more of a challenge. Katy and Suzanne are cute girls, though, so anything could happen.”
By the time they decided to call it a night, around ten, the cast was still laughing and singing along to the music. Billy played a mix of songs that everyone loved and as the night went on and the drinks continued to flow, their voices grew louder and both Katy and Suzanne sang along loudly. It was almost like karaoke and the others were all cheering them on.
They said goodbye, and the cast waved and kept on singing. They all walked out together. Lauren decided to walk back to the inn along the street, which was better lit now than the beach.
“Well, enjoy your days off, everyone. I’ll see you all on Wednesday,” Lauren said. Their shooting schedule was five days, with Monday and Tuesday as off days.
“Lauren, if you don’t have plans for dinner tomorrow night, I was thinking of going to Millie’s. Someone said their Mexican is California style—supposed to be really good.”
“Sure, I’d love to. I went there a few years ago. It’s great.”
“Hudson, do you want to join us? Unless you’re busy, of course,” Eloise asked.
Hudson smiled. “Sure, count me in.”
“Perfect. Let’s plan to meet there at six,” Eloise said happily.
“See you both tomorrow.” Lauren started walking toward the inn. She was suddenly exhausted after spending the day on the beach, and that delicious dinner. She was going to sleep well tonight. And she looked forward to dinner tomorrow night at Millie’s.