Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Tate
Sophia’s ex stares at me and then at my friends. I wish I could say this is an unusual response, but this is far from the only time we’ve left someone shocked. I still remember the first time we ever went out to dinner together. It was in LA and the waitress kept stuttering the entire time. I felt horrible for her. We left her a fifty percent tip.
To me, these guys are just my friends. We’re just normal people with jobs that make us well-known. I think seeing people’s surprise at us being together is more jarring than when it happens just to one of us because at least for me, when we are together, I feel like my old self, the one that existed before all this fame. So, seeing people shocked sort of pulls me out of my comfort zone amongst my friends.
Mark’s eyes find Sophia’s. She shrugs. “Sorry, we seem to have new visitors,” she squeaks. As much as I wanted to use her as a space between my friends and me a moment ago, right now, I want to shield her from her ex. Hell, I didn’t even know she wasn’t married until I got here. Is this guy cool? Should I be worried? I’ve known this woman for a whopping twenty-four hours, and yet, I feel compelled to protect her.
“Uh, I can see that,” Mark states as he looks at my friends and me.
“Oh, hey, Dad. Did you meet my new friends?” Lizzie’s voice calls out as she practically bounces back into the room.
Mark clears his throat. “Uh, yeah. Sort of. I’m Mark. Sophia’s…Lizzie and Cal’s dad,” he tries to explain. Lizzie runs over to him and wraps her arms around his waist, and he picks her up. She kisses his cheek, and he turns his attention to her for a moment, smiling at her as they rub their noses. I decide then that this guy is a decent human.
I reach out my hand, and he takes it, shaking it. “Tate Anders,” I introduce myself.
He chuckles. “I sort of knew that,” he says.
“Dad, did you get snacks? ’Cause I have these,” Cal asks as he holds up two baggies filled with chips.
“I have some yogurts,” Mark answers. He looks around at all of us again as if he is unsure of what to say.
Lizzie waves her hand in front of Mark’s face. “Earth to Dad? We gotta go. We’ll be late,” she says before giving a great pouty face.
“Right…uh, well, then, it was, uh, nice meeting you?” Mark stammers as he sets down Lizzie.
Everyone mutters responses. Fuck, this is awkward. Why are my friends here? I eye them suspiciously as Sophia walks upstairs and re-emerges a moment later with the kids’ suitcases. Cal and Lizzie grab their hockey bags.
Mark laughs at the suitcases.
“How much stuff did you guys need to bring? You know we have everything at our house, too,” he states as he looks between his children.
“You don’t have Mr. Bear!” Lizzie protests and crosses her arms.
“And you don’t have all the video games I want to play,” Cal adds.
Mark sighs. “Fair enough. Let’s get this stuff in the car,” he says as he gives a small wave to us and holds the door open for the kids. Lizzie drops her bag and runs over to me, throwing her arms around my thigh and squeezing.
“Thanks for the bedtime story,” she says and then leans up toward me and whispers, “You are way better at reading than my parents.”
Sophia groans. “We can all hear that, Liz,” she says.
Lizzie giggles and I pat her head. She then turns and gives each of my friends a hug. Cal walks over to me.
“I guess you won’t be here when I get back,” he mutters as he looks at his feet.
“Probably not, but it’s been fun getting to know you, Cal. Maybe I’ll see you again sometime,” I offer.
He glances up at me. “Really?” he asks, his voice filled with hope. Lizzie glances over at me with the same hopeful eyes and it feels like a sucker punch to my gut. How have I become bonded with these two kids in only twenty-four hours?
“Of course,” I assure him. I hold out my fist, and he bumps it and then gets high fives and fist bumps from the others.
Both kids wave and we wave back as Sophia ushers them out the door. When the four of us are alone finally, I glare at my friends.
“What the fuck?” I growl as my gaze meets Jordan’s because there is zero doubt in my brain that he is the driving force behind this idiotic escapade.
“Tate, dude, what are you doing here?” Penn asks in a hushed voice.
“Work,” I answer curtly.
Rex sighs and runs a hand through his signature wavy locks. Fucker is forty and looks like he’s thirty except for a few gray hairs.
“Tate, you up and left. You said you needed a vacation and then didn’t respond to a single text message. No voicemails. No anything. You just…disappeared. We were fucking worried,” Rex says.
I run a hand through my hair in frustration. I get that they care about me but for fuck’s sake.
“Well, you’re here, you see me, and I’m fine,” I grumble as I motion to the door. “No need to stay. You can go back to your regularly scheduled programs.”
I watch as my friends give each other side glances. Fuck my life!
Two things happen simultaneously. Sophia comes back inside and shuts the door behind her, and Jordan speaks.
“We’re here because we’ve seen how upset you’ve been since Lacey left, and we want to get you up to Montana to try and work things out with her,” he explains.
My eyes fly past his to Sophia’s. I can’t read what she’s thinking but I see something flash across her face…disappointment, agreement? I can’t tell.
I look back to Jordan. “It’s done, bro. There’s nothing to salvage. She’s made her choice.”
“I agree with them,” Sophia’s voice interjects. My friends step aside, clearing a path for her to walk toward me.
My eyes widen. Surely she doesn’t know enough to have an opinion…or does she?
I hold up my hands. “Listen, I appreciate the sentiment, I really do. And I appreciate everyone’s support, but Lacey’s made up her mind. We’ve been living separate lives for months now. I just…don’t see that changing,” I admit sadly because I hate that it didn’t work out between us.
“It’s never too late. You can make a grand gesture. It could change things,” Sophia says as she looks at my friends.
“We agree. You’ve been miserable. A future with Lacey and kids was something you always spoke about. Why are you giving up on it so easily?” Penn asks.
I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m not. Are you already forgetting everything I’ve done to try and make it work? I’ve tried. She just…doesn’t feel the same,” I mutter before sighing.
“But she could?” Penn insists.
I roll my eyes. “Seriously, dude? What am I even going to say if I somehow figure out a way to just roll up to the set in Montana?” I pause. “Oh, hey, Lacey, remember me? How about we try for a future you’ve clearly said you don’t want?”
Rex groans. “Well, if you start out like that, then yes, this entire mission is sunk from the start.”
Penn glances over at Sophia. “You’re the romance author? The one our boy here has been obsessing over for weeks?”
Sophia blushes. “Uh, guilty?” she says as if unsure of how to respond to that question.
Penn grins. “You don’t need to worry about what to say. We have a literal romance author to help us script your big ‘grand gesture’ speech. You just have to be able to deliver a line,” he states with a little nod of his head as if he’s some kind of evil genius.
I give him a deadpan stare. “Seriously? That’s your big plan?” I ask.
Rex glares at me. “You can’t hide from your life forever. You’ve been miserable since Lacey left. You almost got arrested over that fight with Warren. Your ass is lucky he didn’t press charges. And now, you want to give up on the one good thing you had going?”
I contemplate what he’s saying. He’s not wrong. None of it is wrong, and I sort of hate that. My brain momentarily goes to daydreaming about this idea. Could we make this work? Maybe Lacey would change her mind if I said the right things? I glance over at Sophia. She would know the right things to say. She barely knows me, yet it feels like she’s known me forever. Could she help?
“How would we even get there?” I ask as I begin to contemplate the reality of doing this.
Penn grins. “Fuck, yeah! Game fucking on!”
I hold up a hand. “Hold up, Double Oh Seven. I’m serious. This town is not near anything. They caravanned stuff in from like Cheyenne or something,” I point out.
“When’s the film wrap?” Jordan asks.
I shrug. “I’m not sure. Another week or two?” I haven’t spoken to Lacey. She texted me once about bringing in a package she had delivered, but otherwise, we haven’t spoken.
“So just fly there and rent a car?” Sophia states as if we have no brain cells.
Penn looks over at her. “I don’t fly commercial. I don’t want anyone getting wind of this. It would open up a media shitstorm, the likes of which you can’t even fathom.”
She nods and twists her lips as if deep in thought. “Uh, sorry if this sounds…forward of me, but aren’t you guys like super rich? Don’t you have access to private jets?” she asks.
Penn laughs. “You’d think…but the one we use the most belongs to a friend of ours and it’s out of commission at the moment for servicing. We could try to locate one, but the more we ask around, the more likely people will talk and that equates to another opportunity for a media shitstorm.”
Sophia frowns and nods her understanding. We all stand there for a long moment. Finally, Sophia’s frown begins to turn into a smile.
“What?” Jordan asks her.
“I’ve…got…a plan,” she says, impersonating the famous line from Tommy Boy .
Penn chuckles. “What’s your plan, M?” he asks. Oh God, Penn already has given her a nickname. It’s his thing. That’s how you know you’ve been accepted.
“M?” she asks.
“Yeah, like Double Oh Seven. You’re a mom…and you’re the brains of this operation, I feel it in my bones,” he explains.
She giggles and then looks around at all of us. “What if we rent you a car and you drive out there?” she suggests. “I mean, we took the kids on a road trip out that way a few years ago. You could easily get there in two days, three at the max if you make stops.”
Jordan’s head turns and he cranes his neck to look out the front window at Sophia’s giant, red SUV that seems way too large for her small stature.
“How about, you drive us out there, then?” he suggests.
Sophia’s eyes shoot up to his. “What? Me?” she asks, pointing to her chest.
“Yep. It’s perfect. You can handle all the front-desk hotel stuff. We can just sneak in and out of places. It’s great. No one would be the wiser,” he declares, strumming his fingers together as if he’s an evil genius.
“I…really? Me?” she questions as she looks at each of my friends and then back to me.
“Would you?” I ask as our gazes lock. Something about her being there seems comforting to me. Like, maybe I could do this if she’s there.
“I guess so. How many days are we talking? I can’t be gone for more than two weeks,” she muses as I watch the cogs begin to spin in her head.
“Six or seven days tops,” Rex states.
She lets out a breath. “Come on, let’s grab a beer. We need to do some planning if you all are serious about this,” she declares as she walks past me into her kitchen.
I look at my friends and they are grinning like idiots. “Come on, Taint, let’s go plan your grand gesture,” Penn teases as he slaps me on my back. I hate that nickname and that fucker knows it. I turn and watch my friends mill into the kitchen and grab beers from Sophia before one by one marching out to her fire pit.
"You coming?" Sophia asks as she holds out a beer.
“Yeah,” I answer, taking it from her and following her outside. I have no idea why I just agreed to this crazy-ass plan. I mean, what could go wrong? Four movie stars, a romance author, and an insane cross-country road trip to help me win back my ex-girlfriend…fuck, I don’t even think Hollywood could make up something like this.