Chapter 3
Justine had never set out to be the face of the Rainbow Shelter. It had happened gradually and naturally, and it was a common occurrence for a kid to turn up and ask for her specifically, simply because they knew her name. She never denied the request because when someone had mustered up the courage to walk into the shelter—not something anyone did lightly—it was exactly the right moment to give them a tiny slice of her time. In Justine’s book, it topped giving her attention to two Hollywood starlets doing research on her any day of the week. The kids always came first. Surely Alexis and Sienna would understand.
She hadn’t expected either of them to still be there after she’d talked a young girl through her options and how the shelter could help her, but when she walked into the staff’s break room, she found Sienna and Darrel huddled together, chatting like the best of friends. There was no sign of Alexis.
Sienna’s brown eyes lit up when she spotted Justine. She managed a small smile in response. While Justine prided herself on her endless reserves of energy—how else to build a shelter out of nothing?—an intake conversation could be draining, especially if the girl reminded her so much of herself back in the day.
“I see Darrel has kept you entertained.” Justine crashed into a chair. She just needed a few minutes and a strong cup of coffee and she’d be her fired up old self again. Although, admittedly, she was no spring chicken anymore, and every so often, she just needed some rest.
“Largest mug I can find?” Darrel said.
“Thanks so much, D. You’re a saint.” Justine was hardly in the habit of asking the shelter’s staff to pour her a cup of coffee—they had far better things to do with their time—but Darrel couldn’t help themself. If Justine remembered correctly, Darrel’s shift had ended a while ago.
“Do you want some more coffee, Sienna?” Darrel asked.
Sienna shook her head. “No thanks.”
She was probably used to complicated lattes that cost an arm and a leg, but Justine had long ago stopped holding other people’s privilege against them. It served no purpose. And she needed people with money, like Sienna Bright, and their families to fund the shelter.
Darrel handed Justine an extra-large mug and Justine closed her eyes as she sipped. The shelter’s coffee was bulk-bought run-of-the-mill fare, but it tasted exquisite right now. But why was she thinking about the quality of the coffee, anyway? Did Sienna Bright’s presence really have that effect on her? Justine wouldn’t have any of that.
“Did Darrel give you the tour?” she asked.
“Excuse me, ladies, but I have to run,” Darrel said. “My evening class starts soon.”
“Break a leg, D.” Justine paid for Darrel’s management course out of her own pocket because she wanted them to follow in her footsteps one day and run the shelter.
Darrel hugged Sienna goodbye as though they’d known each other much longer than the hour they’d just spent together.
“I hope you don’t mind I’m still here,” Sienna said. “I just… I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m queer that being here does something to me. It’s, um…”
“Hard to fathom?” Justine pulled her lips into the warmest smile.
“Exactly,” Sienna said. “I feel like I’m living the life of a princess when I’m here.”
“Well.” Justine chuckled. “You would be to any of the kids here. You were to Darrel. I could tell. They like you.” Darrel was an excellent judge of character, Justine knew that much. They’d had to be to make it this far in life in their circumstances.
“They did say they admire my mom a lot.” Sienna leaned back in her chair.
“Oh yes. Maxine Brewster, right? Darrel loves her stuff.”
“Yeah.”
From how that single word was spoken, Justine could tell that Sienna and her mother were thick as thieves, which reminded her of the mental note she’d made earlier.
“Can I ask how your parents reacted when you came out?”
“I didn’t, not to my mom, at least. From when my sister and I were kids, she always referred to potential love interests as boys and girls. All options were our normal.”
“And you’re how old again?” While this was how it should be, it was not a tale Justine heard very often.
“Thirty-six and three months.” Sienna grinned and she might as well have said twenty-six because the skin of her face was as smooth as anything.
“Please tell your mother from me that she’s a rock star.”
“That’s high praise coming from the likes of you.” Sienna slung one jeans-clad leg over the other, while flinging a braid over her shoulder.
“Yeah, and it really shouldn’t be in this day and age, yet it is, and this shelter is still needed now more than ever.”
A shadow crossed Sienna’s face. Perhaps Justine had laid on the depressing side of the Rainbow Shelter a bit thick—she tended to do that. She was well-trained in tugging at the heartstrings of the rich and famous, but that’s not why Sienna was here.
“All of that being said, I’ve seen so many kids blossom after passing through here. Take Darrel. They’re thriving.”
“They spoke very highly of you.” A funny kind of smirk appeared on Sienna’s face.
“Is that why you’re grinning like that? Because of all the lovely things Darrel said about me?”
“They did also warn Alexis that you’re a piece of work.” Sienna obviously took great delight in sharing this information. The corners of her mouth tilted all the way up, making the windowless break room feel as though the sun was beaming inside nonetheless.
“That’s a fairly accurate description of me.” It was easy to respond to Sienna’s smile in kind.
Sienna’s full laugh was even more delightful. Justine could relax more around her because Sienna wasn’t the actor playing her and she didn’t make her feel as though she was trying to pick at all the scars on her soul. Additionally, Sienna was starting to remind her of Rochelle in more ways than one. She was easygoing, had a gorgeous smile, and a certain look in her eyes that was hard to not get sucked into.
“I’m starving,” Justine said. “Do you want to grab some dinner?”
Sienna’s thick eyebrows arched all the way up. Was that a hint of panic in her eyes?
“Not here,” Justine reassured her. “Although there’s nothing wrong with our food.”
“I would love to,” Sienna said, and freely gave away another one of her sunny smiles.
Justine walked them to a small Korean restaurant a few blocks away from the Rainbow Shelter. When they arrived there was a queue of hipsters waiting to get in, but Justine didn’t seem to notice. She marched to the door as though it was her God-given right and the maitre d’, a Korean woman of about the same age as Sienna, she guessed, hugged Justine as though she were a family member she hadn’t seen in far too long.
Being Bobby Bright’s daughter, Sienna had witnessed many times the kind of magic maitre d’s can perform when it comes to conjuring up a table. The woman had the same trick up her sleeve. In no time, a small table was set up for the two of them, tucked away in a discreet corner of the restaurant, as though they were Hollywood royalty and their privacy was of the utmost importance.
“I’m impressed.” Sienna leaned back in her seat and examined Justine’s face.
“My job does come with certain perks, like lifelong gratitude from kids who have done extremely well for themselves against all the odds.” She nodded in the direction of the maitre d’. “Min-ji came to us when she was seventeen. Together with the LGBT Center, we were able to get her a scholarship for the Culinary Institute, and now her restaurant is the toast of the town.” Justine smiled the biggest smile Sienna had seen on her so far. “She always has a table for me.”
“It’s a bit like going to dinner with my dad,” Sienna blurted out.
“The great Bobby Bright.” Justine pursed her lips. “What was it like growing up in his shadow?”
Without having taken any orders, a server arrived at their table with water, bottles of beer, and a divine-smelling Korean pancake.
“Now I really do feel like a princess,” Sienna said.
“You must be used to this.” There was no sarcasm in Justine’s tone, only curiosity.
“My parents divorced when I was five. I’m not close with my father. My mom and stepdad raised my sister and me.” Sienna picked up the bottle of beer and studied the label. “To put it bluntly, I could call my father up right now and ask for a hundred thousand dollars and it would be in my account immediately, as long as I don’t ask him to talk about my feelings, let alone his.”
Justine whistled through her teeth. “A hundred thousand bucks?” Her eyes went wide. “Please, do give him a call with my and the shelter’s regards.”
“Maybe I will.” Sienna sipped from her beer. It was ice cold and wonderfully crisp.
“That was a joke, just to be clear, and one in pretty poor taste.” For the first time since they’d met, Justine looked a touch uneasy. “How did Bobby react to you being queer?”
“As far as I know, he doesn’t care who I fall in love with.”
“As far as you know?”
Sienna shrugged. “As I said, we’re not close. I see him maybe once a month. Less if he’s abroad shooting or doing promo. I’m much closer to Eddy, my stepdad.”
More food was brought to the table. Sienna hadn’t even tried the pancake yet. She picked up a piece with her chopsticks and dipped it in the accompanying sauce. The piece of pancake slipped off and landed squarely in the middle of the dipping sauce.
“Oops.” She grinned at Justine. “I’m usually more dexterous than this.”
Quick as a flash, Justine fished the piece of pancake from the sauce with her chopsticks and held it in front of Sienna’s mouth.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a bit messy.” She gazed into Sienna’s eyes. “It’s always the least of my worries, so here you go.”
Sienna narrowed her eyes, then held up her plate so Justine could drop the piece of pancake on it. She wasn’t going to eat it from Justine’s chopsticks. Sienna considered herself way too cool for that.
“Thanks.” As she successfully navigated the food to her mouth, she wondered what had just happened. The energy had somehow shifted. Then Sienna actually tasted the delicacy put in front of her. “Oh my,” she exclaimed. “It’s out of this world.”
“I thought you’d like it.” Justine pointed at another dish with the tip of her chopsticks. “Try the bulgogi. It’s to die for.”
Sienna focused on the delicious food while she adjusted to the sudden change in temperature. It was as though, after only a few sips of Korean beer, the weight that Justine seemed to carry around on her shoulders all day, had slipped off. It wasn’t an entirely different woman sitting across from Sienna, but Justine looked a lot more relaxed. Sienna chalked it up to the hearty welcome they’d received at the restaurant and the amazing dishes they were treated to.
“There’s a reason Rochelle invited you to her house. You should see my place,” Justine confided in Sienna. “I don’t spend a lot of time at home and after a while the messiness just becomes a part of the decor, you know?”
“And you couldn’t be bothered to tidy up for two up-and-coming actors taking Hollywood by storm?” Sienna joked, because she felt as though she could now.
Justine tilted her head. “Alexis Dalton is definitely an up-and-comer, but you?” She sank her front teeth into her bottom lip. “I’d say you’ve very much arrived already.”
Sienna looked into Justine’s eerie blue eyes. “The praise just keeps on coming. And that from a woman who has no time for half-truths.” If Sienna knew one thing, it was what flirting looked like—and she was staring it straight in the face.
“You’re right.” Justine painted on a small smile. “What do I know?” She tilted her head and kept her gaze on Sienna. She seemed to have lost interest in the delicious food in front of them.
“Have you seen anything I’m in?” Sienna braced herself for a hard no.
“No, but I can so easily imagine you as, um, let’s see.” Justine narrowed her eyes. “Any type of smoldering leading lady, really. Surely you’re aware of being drop-dead gorgeous?”
Although an expert at flirting, Sienna was thrown. She didn’t know whether to laugh it off or go along with it. From the vibes she’d gotten from Justine throughout the day, she could only conclude she wasn’t a woman who’d play games. Unless playing games was her preferred relaxation after another challenging day at the homeless shelter.
“A famous movie critic once wrote I won big-time in the genetic lottery, although he might have been referring to my status as a Hollywood nepo-baby rather than my looks.” In the end, Sienna couldn’t resist playing along. She never could. And most definitely not with a formidable woman like Justine Blackburn.
“Nah. I don’t think so.” Justine sipped her beer, all the while keeping her gaze trained on Sienna.
Sienna had focused most of her research on Rochelle’s life, personal as well as professional. She’d need to do a deep dive into whatever there was to find about Justine’s romantic history—or the lack thereof. Her best bet was probably to just ask Rochelle.
“Everything to your liking?” The maitre d’ appeared at their table, carrying two more plates, and breaking the spell of whatever game they were playing.
“It’s all fantastic as usual, Min-ji.” Justine beamed a wide smile at the woman. “I swear the food gets better every time.”
Sienna took the pause in conversation to regroup. She inhaled deeply and piled some more of the mouthwatering food onto her plate.
“This one here…”—Min-ji pointed at Justine—“forgets to eat half the time, so I make sure there’s plenty whenever she comes to my restaurant.” She placed the dishes on the table. “I will not tolerate leftovers so, please, eat more.” She suddenly sounded rather bossy. Min-ji glanced at Sienna and shot her a wink. “Sometimes, Justine needs a firm hand.”
“Good to know.” Sienna had a feeling she’d be coming to this restaurant again. “Thank you for this invaluable insider information.”
“My pleasure.” After another stern nod at the food, Min-ji walked away.
“She’s right,” Justine said. “I barely ate anything today. I got so sucked into things, I just forgot. And today’s been a weird one, what with you and Alexis coming over.” She averted her eyes and reached for more food. “That beer might have gone to my head a little and I’m a terrible flirt when tipsy.” She looked at Sienna from under her lashes, a crooked grin on her lips. “Let me focus on this bibimbap first before I become even more impertinent.”
“For the record, I don’t think you were being impertinent at all.” Sienna spooned a few bites of the divine-smelling bulgogi onto her plate. “And I’m a big fan of flirting, although I admit I wasn’t expecting it tonight.”
Justine shrugged. “I don’t have many vices, but inappropriate flirting with beautiful women is definitely one of them.” She didn’t come across as extremely apologetic—it was stated like just another fact about herself.
“It’s not inappropriate when reciprocated.” Sienna could push the boat out as well.
In response, Justine widened her grin. “And you are very beautiful.”
Between mouthfuls of food, Sienna asked, “Do you tend to flirt just for the sake of it or with a certain outcome in mind?”
Justine gave a hearty chuckle now. “Your directness is absolutely refreshing.” She leaned over the table. “I don’t usually hit on women who are so much younger than me so I’m not used to that, but I like it.”
“Ten out of ten for not answering my question.” Sienna was getting fired up—perhaps even getting a little carried away.
“Gorgeous and feisty. Fuck. I think I might be in big trouble.”
“And still you persist with your non-answer.”
“I’m nothing if not persistent.” Justine took a sip of water instead of beer. “But fair enough.” She tipped her head to the right. “While I do like a good flirt, that doesn’t mean I’m very skilled at it and half the time, even if I have, um, a certain outcome in mind, my advances get rebuffed. Turns out that practice doesn’t always make perfect.”
“Persistent and brutally honest. Wow.” Sienna was impressed with Justine’s candor.
“That thing about not having time for half-truths also pertains to myself.”
“It’s good that you make time for flirting in your busy life, though.”
“Thank you for being such a good sport about it.” Justine caught a piece of kimchi between her chopsticks.
“Who says I’m just being a good sport about it?” Sienna pulled her lips into the kind of half-smile that had driven many a woman crazy—her own success rate with flirting and certain outcomes was much higher than fifty percent, especially since her first movie appearance. “Who says I’m not thoroughly enjoying it instead?” Should she or should she not? Why the hell not? “With a certain outcome in mind?”