Chapter 18
Eve
“Why didn’t you tell me?”I asked for at least the fifth time.
“It wasn’t my story to tell,” she said. “Besides, I didn’t think it would matter.”
“Wouldn’t matter? Aunt Winnie, I handled the fact that he’s eight years younger than me. Now I find out he’s the person my daughter had a crush on.” I let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Has a crush on. She was just talking about the reunion show the other night.” I wiped the tears from my cheeks with a crumbled tissue then blew my nose. “Besides, don’t you think that’s something he should have told me? I mean, I’ve been an open book.”
“I’ll admit he should have told you,” she said, running her hand over my back in long soothing strokes. “But should the fact that he didn’t be a deal breaker?”
“Maybe it shouldn’t, but it makes me wonder what else he isn”t telling me. And what kind of things will he choose not to tell me in the future?” I shook my head. “I can’t live in a relationship full of secrets again.”
My phone buzzed and I looked down to find a Zoom link. I’d sent my pole ladies a 911 text and within an hour they put a call together. Talk about true friends.
“Go talk to your friends,” Aunt Winnie said. “I’ll be here when you come back down.”
I walked up the steps, my legs feeling like lead. My friends were already on Zoom when I pulled up the app.
“Well there goes that theory,” Keera said.
“What theory?” I asked
“I hoped you were calling to tell us you got engaged or something. But based on your face, I’d say that’s not the case.”
There are women who cry with dignity. Tears gracefully cascade down their cheeks and just the tip of their nose gets red. I am not one of those women. With my blotchy face, swollen eyes, and runny nose, I could win an ugly crier contest.
Avoiding my image on the screen, I alternated focusing on Anjannette, Keera, and Sophie as I spoke.
“No engagement. In fact, the relationship is over.”
Those words brought a fresh rush of tears. Like the good friends they are, the ladies waited for me to gain my composure and start speaking again.
“I found out this morning that Max is Corbin Kendrick.”
“What?”
That single word radiated from my computer’s speaker in three distinct voices. I would have laughed if I wasn’t feeling so miserable.
“And he never told me. His mother showed up and started a whole thing. I’m guessing she is, or at least was, his agent.”
I relayed the events of this morning, finishing with the part when I walked out the door and stormed down the beach wearing nothing but his robe.
“Have you talked to him?” Anjannette asked. “Let him explain?”
“What’s there to explain? He could have told me at any point the past several weeks, but didn’t.”
“Maybe he had a good reason.” This from Keera.
I rubbed my temples.
“Like what?”
“I don’t know,” she said.
“Seriously?”
“Eve, you’ve been happier with Max than I’ve seen you in the past ten years,” Sophie said. “Don’t let that go over a misunderstanding.”
“Is that what this is?” That question came out more like a screech and I took a breath to rein it in. “A simple misunderstanding?”
“I don’t know that it’s simple, but in the grand scheme of things yeah, I’d call it a misunderstanding,” she said.
I shifted my gaze among the three of them.
“So you think I’m being unreasonable.”
“No, we’re not saying that,” Anjannette said. She looked around and the others nodded. “What I think we’re saying is that you should give him a chance to explain. Don’t judge him based on your past experience. It’s not fair, honey.”
Part of me knows she has a point, but the hurt part wants to wallow a little while longer.
“I’ll think about that,” I said. “Thanks for putting this call together so fast.”
“You’ve jumped on at least a hundred 911 calls for us through the years. It’s time for payback,” Keera said.
“Now call Grace and tell her so that you can put that issue out of your head,” Sophie said. “Yes, he was her celebrity crush, but he’s so much more to you. I’m sure she’ll be cool about it.”
Grace is a great kid, but this seems too weird to be cool about.
I said goodbye to the ladies and shut down Zoom. Picking up my phone, I texted Grace and asked her to call as soon as she could. Seconds later, Facetime rang.
Max
Winnie was sittingon the back porch when I arrived. I’d expected her to freeze me out, but she patted the seat next to her. I took her invitation and sat, unsure what to say. So I went with the first thing that came to mind.
“I should have told her.”
She nodded.
“Maybe not immediately, but yes, once you got more involved, you definitely should have mentioned it.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t tell her.”
“It wasn’t my story to tell.”
“I guess not.” Resting my hands on the table, I leaned forward. “So what should I do now?”
“Talk to her, explain things.”
“Do you think she’ll listen?”
Winnie looked out at the ocean and I didn’t think she was going to respond. But thankfully, finally, she did.
“She’s not an unreasonable person, so I think she’ll listen,” she said. “Whether or not she forgives you is another question.”
“I really screwed up, didn’t I?” I dragged my fingers through my hair, wishing I could go back in time and make this right. “But honestly, I didn’t think it was that big a deal. All that happened so long ago. That’s not me anymore.”
“Do you know why Eve’s marriage ended?” I nodded. “So this may not be that big a deal to someone else, and you’re right, it did happen a long time ago. You’re not that person anymore.” She placed her hand over mine and squeezed. “Butto Eve, none of that matters. What matters is that you lied to her. True it was a lie of omission, but it translates to the same thing. Her ex-husband had a whole other life going on for years, so anything you keep from her is going to be an issue.”
“Put that way, it makes so much sense.”
“Talk to her, explain your position, and let her process.”
“For how long?”
“As long as it takes.”
The back door opened and I glanced over my shoulder to find a tear-stained Eve looking at Winnie, eyes wide. I took it as a good sign when she stood in the doorway instead of going back inside.
“I’ll leave you two alone to talk,” Winnie said as she stood and breezed past me.
Eve stepped onto the porch, letting her aunt go inside.
“Can we talk?” I asked.
She hesitated for a second but finally walked over and sat in the chair Winnie just vacated. She didn’t say anything, so I continued.
“Pop kept urging me to tell you about my past.” I shrugged. “I did plan on telling you, but I didn’t think it was that big a deal. But now I understand that anything other than complete and total honesty is a problem.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” she asked. “I blabbed on and on about marriage and family.”
“You know, a lot of people go through awkward teenage years, and when they”re through them, they burn their yearbooks and swear their family to secrecy,” I said. “But my awkward teen years are in reruns.”
I let her process that for a minute before telling her about my mom, and how I ended up starring in one of the most popular teen shows of its time.
“With no experience or education, she somehow talked her way into a job at a talent agent’s office. She made herself indispensable and eventually started getting me booked for commercials.”
“How old were you?”
“Two, almost three.”
“Eventually I got small parts in sitcoms and when the concept for Chase and Corbin came along, she pushed hard for me to read.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“At first I didn’t mind, but once I got older, I hated it. Instead of going to school, I had a
tutor and I felt so isolated. It got to the point that I only spent time with the cast and my mother when she was home.”
“Did you tell her?”
“You met her today. Do you think she’d listen to a child?”
“I guess not.”
“She signed a four-year contract for me right before my eighteenth birthday. I’m sure I
could have gotten a lawyer and contested it, but I figured I’d play nice. I told them I was out when my contract was up. The show was still successful so they thought I’d keep doing it. But once I turned twenty-one, I was done.”
“And you came here?”
“I came here.”
I explained how Pop stayed in my life through the years and offered me a place to live and work.
“How have you stayed anonymous here for so long?”
“At first, I didn’t have a car or bills or anything in my name. So even though people could search the internet for my real name, it wouldn’t have led them anywhere.”
She chuckled, which I took as a good sign.
“You know how I kept saying you look familiar?” He nodded. “That’s because my daughter was obsessed with you. Kind of still is.”
“With me?”
“When all her friends went on and on about Chase, she only had eyes for you. Posters of you are still on the walls of her room and she watched the show so much, I probably know all your lines.”
“But I felt connected to you too, so I think there’s just something between us.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “Either way, it freaked me out when I realized you didn’t tell me something so big. It made me wonder what else you’re hiding.”
I drew a cross over my heart with my right hand
“I swear, this is it. There’s nothing else to tell.”
She looked down and traced her finger along the edge of the table. Without looking up, she said, “I need total honesty if we’re going to continue this.”
“You have it. I swear, you have it. Just please give me another chance.”
As soon as she nodded, I was out of my chair and on my knees in front of her. Placing my hands on either side of her face, I drew her mouth down for a soft kiss to seal our second chance.
When I pulled back, she nibbled on her bottom lip and studied me.
“What are you going to do about your mother?”
I sat back in my seat and pulled her out of hers and onto my lap. She rested her head on my shoulder.
“I’m not doing the reunion show. If she tells people where I am, I’ll deal with it. We’ll deal with it together.”
Her smile curled against my chest just before she pushed back to meet my gaze.
“Regardless of what your mother does or doesn’t do, you’re going to have to meet some rabid fans,” she said. “My daughter and pole friends expect an introduction soon. And since I met your mom, it’s only fair you meet my parents.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded.
“Yeah.”
“I love you, Everly Reese.”
“And I love you Max Corbin.”