Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
“ D o you know if Hudson is single?” Eloise asked quietly when Lauren handed her a cup of coffee. They’d both just arrived at the share house Sunday morning. It was early, a few minutes before eight, and the house was quiet—everyone was still asleep. Hudson had just arrived as well and was in the kitchen adding cream to his coffee. His hair was still damp from a recent shower and his dark curls glistened in the sunlight streaming through the windows.
“I’m not sure. I don’t know much about him. Why, are you interested?” Lauren asked.
Eloise laughed. “Not at all. Things are getting more serious with Jim. I was just curious. I thought you might know, since he’s one of Billy’s best friends.”
Lauren took a sip of her coffee and watched as Hudson spread cream cheese on a toasted bagel. “Billy and I only dated for a few months. I didn’t meet Hudson before this.”
“Oh! I didn’t realize that.” Eloise sounded surprised.
“Speaking of Billy, what time did he show up yesterday?”
Eloise thought for a moment. “Maybe a half hour or so after you left. He seemed disappointed that you weren’t here. Do you think you might get back together?”
Lauren almost spit her coffee out. “No! What would make you think that?”
“He talked about you a lot. Asked where you were, how you were doing. I think if you wanted to get back together, he’d be up for it. He seems really nice.”
Lauren sighed. Everyone loved Billy. He was really nice. He just wasn’t a very good boyfriend. “Eloise, I think it’s safe to say we are never, ever getting back together.”
Eloise laughed. “I didn’t realize you were a Taylor Swift fan.”
“Who isn’t?” Lauren grinned as she felt something soft brush against her leg. It was Simon, purring loudly.
“Do you think he’s hungry?” Eloise asked.
Lauren reached down and scratched Simon behind his ears. The purring grew louder, and the cat paced back and forth, flicking his tail and looking toward the kitchen.
“Probably.” Lauren got up and looked around the kitchen for Simon’s food. She found it in a cupboard and spooned some wet food into a bowl and set it on the floor. Simon dove in happily.
Lauren returned to her seat. Eloise had her laptop open and pulled up a video of film from the night before. “What time did they all stay up till last night? Do you know if it was a late night?” Lauren asked.
“I stayed til about ten and left when Hudson and the guys did. The cast had quite a party in the kitchen, doing shots and drinking and eating pizza they’d ordered. They were all still up when we left, but it was starting to slow a bit.” Eloise scrolled through the footage and it looked like no one went to bed before midnight and most were up until almost two. There was lots of laughing and drinking. Lauren imagined that some of them might not be feeling so well today.
“I reviewed most of the footage this morning,” Hudson said from across the room where he was sitting with his laptop open. “It looks like they’ve bonded. They are getting along pretty well, so far.”
Lauren chuckled. “Hopefully not too well. We need some drama.”
“A few of the girls seem interested in Billy. That could be interesting.” Hudson looked Lauren’s way. “Especially if he’s ignoring it. That will drive them crazy and make them try harder. Could be some good TV.”
Lauren felt her cheeks flush. She knew Hudson was implying that Billy was ignoring the girls because he hoped to rekindle things with Lauren. She thought she’d made it clear that wasn’t going to happen. But Billy did like the chase. And maybe he thought that he could get his way if they were working together. It only made her more resolved to move on.
Lauren and Eloise spent the next hour reviewing footage from the night before of the new roommates. It wasn’t too wild of a night, probably because most of them were tired from traveling. Still, they managed to stay up past midnight and by the end of the evening, it looked as though they’d been friends for much longer.
Lauren laughed out loud more than once at some of their antics—especially Billy. It was his idea to drink shots, and he poured his famous concoction, the pineapple bomb, for everyone. Lauren wasn’t much of a drinker, just the occasional glass of wine, but Billy had made her a pineapple bomb once, when they’d first started dating. He’d invited her to his apartment for dinner and she’d enjoyed the sweet and frothy mix of Southern Comfort, amaretto, and pineapple juice.
Billy had grilled steaks that night and they’d sat on his balcony and watched people walking along the busy street below. It had been a fun, dreamy night as she’d lost herself in Billy. It was intoxicating to be the recipient of his charismatic charm. That night, it was like nothing else had existed except the two of them.
Lauren smiled wistfully, remembering how perfect things had seemed—like their relationship was meant-to-be. She had never been swept off her feet like that before. And she ignored the little voice whispering in her mind that it was too good to be true.
So, when she stumbled across the video of the other woman Billy was also love bombing, she wasn’t completely shocked. But it had still hurt.
“Are you dating anyone yet?” Eloise asked. Her words snapped Lauren out of her thoughts and she shook her head.
“No, it hasn’t even crossed my mind. I don’t think I’m ready to get back out there.”
Eloise looked sympathetic. “Breakups are tough. You never know, though. I really do think it is true that when you’re not looking is when you might meet someone.”
Hudson walked over a moment later, carrying his laptop and a fresh coffee. “I’m heading out. I’ll pop back later early afternoon to get some beach shots and before they start getting ready for the clambake.” He grinned. “I think it’s going to be pretty mellow until then.”
Lauren nodded. “I think you’re probably right.”
She turned to Eloise after Hudson walked off. “Are we all set for the clambake?”
Eloise pulled up her phone calendar. “The caterers are coming at four thirty to dig the pit on the beach and cook everything. It sounds great—lobsters, clams, mussels, corn on the cob and potatoes. And butter. Lots of butter.”
“I haven’t had a clambake in years.” Putting a clambake together was a big project—usually for a celebration or holiday weekend.
Another hour passed before the first influencer made their way downstairs. Jason, the big football player, bounced into the kitchen, looking wide awake and ready to work out in his sweatpants and tank top. He waved hello and went straight to the coffee maker. While his coffee was brewing, he rummaged around in the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of eggs, bacon, cheese and butter. He put the bacon on a cookie sheet and threw it in the oven, then found a big sauté pan and got to work beating eggs.
By the time the bacon and scrambled eggs were ready, the others made their way to the kitchen, drawn by the smell of coffee and cooking bacon. Jason smiled when he saw Katy and Anna.
“I made a big batch of eggs and bacon. Help yourself,” he offered. The caterer had also dropped off a bag of egg sandwiches, bagels and an assortment of cream cheeses.
Everyone made a plate of food, except Noah, who just had a black coffee, and sat at the big oval table with the group and flipped through his phone.
“Not hungry?” Katy asked. “Jason’s eggs are awesome. Or there are bagels and egg sandwiches, too.”
Noah took a sip of his coffee. “Thanks. I never eat breakfast though. Just coffee.” He looked around the table. “So, what’s the plan for today? Are we hitting the beach? Going to a club tonight? Or what?”
“I think we’re all going to the beach around noon. Melissa mentioned that she’ll be dropping off coolers for us stocked with sandwiches and cold beverages at eleven thirty,” Honey said.
“And I think the plan is to have a clambake here for dinner,” Katy said.
Noah nodded. “Cool. I’m going to go jump in the shower then.”
“OMG,” Eloise whispered. “Look at Simon. What is he up to?”
Lauren and Eloise watched as Simon walked along the kitchen counter, while everyone at the table ignored him completely—they were all focused on their food. Lauren had fed him earlier, but noticed that he hadn’t eaten much of his food. His tail flicked as he walked and when he reached the last cupboard, he nudged the door handle with his nose. It opened slowly and Simon climbed in and the door shut behind him.
Eloise and Lauren looked at each other, not sure what to do. “Should we say something?” Eloise whispered.
Honey paused from eating her eggs to look around the room. “Have you seen Simon?” she asked Brett.
“No. He has to be somewhere around here, though.” Brett didn’t seem concerned as he spread more cream cheese on his bagel.
The room fell quiet as something fell out of a kitchen cupboard and a moment later, Simon followed, then picked up the bag of rolls in his mouth and hopped off the counter.
“Simon! Drop that!” Honey scolded him. “I told you we weren’t going to do that here.”
Honey looked around the table. “I’m sorry. He gets into things sometimes, but he’s a good boy.” She got up and took the bag of rolls from the cat and put them back in the cupboard. “Simon, you still have food in your dish. Here are a few treats.” She put a handful of cat treats in his dish, then sat back down.
“That’s going to be great on film,” Eloise said. “No one was paying attention when Simon climbed into the cupboard. I didn’t realize cats could do that.”
“Neither did I.”
Everyone was up and eating breakfast now except for Billy. Which didn’t surprise Lauren. He was not an early riser and liked to stay up late. It was almost a half hour later before he slowly made his way into the kitchen as everyone else was leaving and heading to shower and dress. Billy poured himself a cup of coffee, added three sugars and a generous amount of heavy cream. He ignored the food and headed Lauren’s way. He set his mug down and held his arms out to give her a hug hello.
“So great to see you,” he said. He nodded at Eloise. “Morning.”
“Hi Billy.” Lauren smiled. “Looks like you all had a good night. They liked your pineapple bombs?”
He grinned. “Loved them. You could have had one. I thought you’d be here.”
“One of my good friends lives here. I was visiting with her.” She took a sip of her coffee while Eloise kept her attention on her laptop. Lauren could tell she was curious about the two of them.
“You’ll be at the clambake later?” Billy asked.
Lauren nodded. “Of course.”
“Good. We’ll catch up then. I’m going to head back to bed for a while, I think.” He glanced toward the window. It was a warm, clear day. “That sun is hurting my eyes.” He stood and grinned. “I’ll see you two ladies later.”
He headed upstairs, and the room was quiet.
Lauren looked around the room and addressed the production team. “I think we all can head out for a bit. Let’s meet back here at noon and then we’ll head out to the beach together.”
They headed out, and Lauren walked back along the beach to the inn. It was a gorgeous day. She looked forward to relaxing on the beach with a stack of magazines.