Chapter 9
So much for moving on quickly, Sienna thought, as she added the tofu to the pan. But after that conversation with Rochelle, everything had changed. And Justine hadn’t been very reluctant to agree to this dinner.
She took a sip of the Sancerre she had opened. The rice cooker was doing its job. The cucumber was marinating in the spicy dressing Sienna couldn’t get enough of. As soon as the tofu was done frying in Sichuan peppercorn sauce, Sienna would be ready for Justine to arrive.
By the time Justine finally arrived—more than half an hour later than the time they’d agreed on—Sienna had finished more than her share of that bottle of wine.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Justine said, not sounding apologetic at all. “I also didn’t have time to pick up something to thank you for your invitation. I know it’s rude. I hope my awareness of that is enough.” She looked around Sienna’s apartment. “Well, fuck me. This place is humongous. Do you live here alone?”
“I do. My dad bought it for me, to be honest. It’s his way of showing affection.” The only way he knows how, Sienna thought.
“That’s right. I need to give Bobby Bright a call one of these days. I’m sure I can get his number from you.” Justine gave off a bizarre kind of passive-aggressive energy. Or maybe she was just nervously joking.
“Maybe later.” Sienna tried to usher them toward the lounge area, but Justine was drawn to the walls of glass overlooking the city.
“I was surprised you lived downtown. I’d taken you more for a Bel Air or Beverly Hills type.”
“Downtown is all the rage these days.” Granted, Sienna’s dad lived in Bel Air, while her mother lived in Beverly Hills. “What can I offer you to drink?” she asked. “And more importantly, do you need a snack first?”
“I had lunch so I should be okay.” That was the first genuine smile Justine had sent Sienna’s way since she’d arrived. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
Sienna fetched her guest a glass and poured out the remainder of the bottle. She put some wasabi nuts in a bowl and brought everything to the lounge.
“Will you come sit with me?”
Justine strutted over. She was wearing jeans and a wrinkled shirt. Her shoulder-length hair was pushed back and looked unruly. She hadn’t bothered to put on something special—or pull a comb through her hair—before coming here.
She huffed out a slow breath as she plopped down in one of the lounge chairs.
“Long day?” Sienna asked.
“There’s this girl at the shelter. Her name’s Ashleigh. She’s hard to get through to. She’s been through a lot and it’s, um, yeah, it’s hard, but I’ll get there with her.”
Obviously, Rochelle was right about Justine being married to her work. Sienna waited until Justine sipped from her wine and hoped the alcohol would relax her as it had done at the Korean restaurant.
Justine cut her gaze to Sienna. “I know exactly what you’re thinking. I’m a lot, I know that. I just need a minute to get my bearings.”
Sienna chuckled and shook her head. “That wasn’t what I was thinking, but it’s true that you are a lot and I quite like it.”
“Again with the quite .” Justine sank a little deeper into her chair.
“It did the trick last time.” So much for waiting until Justine had relaxed. But Sienna was not used to this. She hadn’t met anyone like Justine in her thirty-six years.
“Oh, god. You’re relentless.” Justine smiled at her and it was the kind of smile that reached all the way up to her eyes. “Here I was thinking Rochelle told you a cautionary tale about me.”
“Really? What did Rochelle tell you?”
“That you were very inquisitive about me and the reasons why she and I broke up.”
“It’s a fair question to ask in relation to the part I’m playing.”
“Rochelle told me pretty much exactly what she told you about me.” Justine left that hanging there, not giving any indication of how she felt about that.
“Do you think this is a date?” Sienna asked.
“A date?” Justine scoffed. “I thought we had agreed that us dating was a bad idea?”
“I’m not saying it is a date. I’m just curious what you think about tonight.”
“I thought you wanted to talk about the other night,” Justine said. “That’s how I understood it. That’s why I’m here.”
“Okay. So we’re on the same page.”
“But you were flirting with me just now,” Justine said.
“Hm. I guess I was.”
“Let’s talk, then.” Justine ran a hand through her hair, making it look even more disheveled than before.
“Honestly,” Sienna started, “if what Rochelle told me about you was supposed to be a cautionary tale, it had the opposite effect.”
“Cautionary tales tend to do that.” Justine took another sip of wine. “Although she might just have been replying to your nosy questions and I’m the one who concluded that she meant to warn you about me. About all my flaws and insecurities and the reasons why I royally suck at being in a relationship.”
Sienna shook her head. “It wasn’t like that. It’s obvious Rochelle thinks the world of you.”
“And I of her.”
“Do you regret that things didn’t work out between you?”
Justine huffed some air between her lips. “That was so long ago. But no, I don’t regret it because I was not the right person for Rochelle. I could never give her what she wanted.” Justine put her glass on the coffee table. “But enough of the twenty questions, please. Because of this movie, I already feel like my life and personality are being turned inside out. I’m not here for some more of that.” Justine nodded at Sienna. “Tell me something about you. Why aren’t you on a hot date on a Saturday night? It can’t be down to a lack of suitors.”
“Who says I’m not,” Sienna quipped, because Justine had that effect on her. If she wanted someone to fawn over her, tell her how great an actor she was, how beautiful she was, she could have that in a heartbeat. But Sienna wanted the opposite—she always had. She wanted a challenge. A difficult woman with barbed wire for skin and a solid ice cube for a heart—at first.
“There you go again. It’s truly impossible to get a straight answer out of you. It’s hardly fair what with all the questions you’ve been asking Rochelle and me.”
“You’re right.” Sienna was momentarily all out of quips.
“Just give me a glimpse. For instance, tell me about the last fling or relationship or whatever you want to call it you had.” Justine reached for her wine glass and relaxed into her seat, as though settling in for a captivating tale.
“That was a couple of months ago. Her name was Dolly and she turned out to be a huge error of judgement.”
Justine gave a small but encouraging nod.
“I was drawn to the fact she barely noticed me, or that she at least gave that impression. She played really hard to get and that’s a game I can’t resist. But, well, let’s just say that the playing hard to get didn’t stop when we got together. She was always canceling on me and blowing hot and cold over everything. I like a challenge, but I’m not into being treated like dirt.”
“Thank you for sharing that with me.”
Sienna swallowed a gulp of wine, then hid part of her face behind the glass, feeling as though she’d said too much.
“Are you hungry?” she asked, suddenly feeling too exposed—which was probably how Justine had been feeling when Alexis and Sienna visited her with the sole purpose of studying her movements and gaining insight into her personality.
“Starving.” Justine shot her the kindest smile. Having a penchant for women who were hard to get was all well and good—and terribly exciting—but a warm smile from a woman who obviously had no clue of how gorgeous she was also went a long way.