14. Chapter Fourteen
And the guy on the radio said, “Enjoy the drive, because it’s going to be a long one.”
* * *
If someone had asked me what my plans were for the day, I would have grumbled something about having a commitment to a grand opening. I might have dissed Christina in some way, annoyed that I’d have to spend the day with her and pretend to love her. But never would I have thought that I’d be driving away from her house pent up over having kissed her on purpose.
We didn’t talk all the way from Santa Monica to her house in Beverly Hills. Our arms and hands brushed from time to time when one of us would move, but we didn’t touch otherwise.
When I dropped her off, we sat in awkward silence for a moment before she stepped out, thanking me again for feeding her.
I’d take her to eat three meals a day if I thought it would change the attitude she harbors toward me.
But I’d kissed her on the beach, and that was huge. I didn’t do it to appease a crowd. I didn’t do it for publicity. I didn’t do it just to shut her up. I did it because I wanted to.
The only problem is that now, I want to do it again.
I jump when my phone rings. I look down and see that it’s my roommate, Milo.
“Hey, what’s up?” I answer the call on my hands-free. The wind blows through the car, but there are enough traffic lights in this town, I won’t be going too fast to hear him anyway.
“Loki ate something and got sick,” he says. “I don’t know what it was.”
“Shit. Like food? Did he catch a bird or a rodent?”
“I just told you. I don’t know. All I know is that I came home from lunch to let him out, since you said you had plans. There’s vomit in the kitchen, the living room, and on his dog bed. He’s laying out on the floor moaning.”
I wince. Now I wish I could just bypass all these stoplights and get to him.
“I’m on my way,” I say, turning at the next light, hoping that it’ll shave off a few minutes on my drive.
The house smells, and I have to hold the back of my hand to my nose so that I don’t gag.
“I told you it was bad,” Milo says, walking out of the kitchen with an apron on, rubber gloves over his hands, and a mop.
I walk toward Loki. He turns those dark eyes up to me as if pleading to make him feel better.
I kneel and run my hand over the top of his head. “What happened, boy?”
He cries in response.
“Let me get some blankets and towels, then I’ll get you in the car.”
Yeah, he doesn’t feel good. I said I’d put him in the car, and he didn’t run out the back door to hide behind the house.
“I can’t go with you,” Milo says. “I have to get back to work.”
“It’s okay. I’m sorry you had to walk into all of this.”
Milo shakes his head. “I hope he’s okay.”
“Me too,” I say, running my hand over Loki’s head again.
An hour later, I’m sitting with Loki at the vet’s office. Luckily it appears he didn’t eat anything toxic. He’s got gastroenteritis, and some IV fluids will help. When I get him home, there will be meds to give him, and the poor guy gets a bland diet for a few days.
The vet’s assistant knows who I am. She hasn’t said anything, but she can’t take her eyes off me. And when I catch her eye, her cheeks flush and she grins as if she has a secret.
I’m more worried about my dog than I am about appeasing a fan right now.
While Loki is resting, I walk down the hall to the bathroom, only to notice that the Love Is in the Air channel is on the TV in the waiting room.
I blow out a breath as I see an image of Christina and me on the screen. Seaside Beach House, I think is that movie. I laugh, because I’m not sure anymore. They all run together at this point.
I do know that we weren’t love interests in that movie. We were siblings, so the banter was more authentic when they weren’t getting along.
The thought makes me chuckle. I lift my phone and take a picture of the screen.
The afternoon entertainment at the vet’s office, I send the text with the picture to Christina.
When I return to the room where Loki is, Christina sends a text. Not one of our better performances.
I laugh. I was thinking that feuding siblings was right up our alley.
Why are you at the vet? I thought you were going to the gym,is her next text.
I look at the dog next to me who is sleeping while the IV does its job.
I send her the picture of the chocolate lab laying on the bed. Loki isn’t feeling well. The afternoon took a turn.
My phone rings in my hand and I answer it quickly when Loki’s eye pops open and then closes again.
“Is he okay?” Christina asks immediately. “What happened?”
“He’s fine,” I say, lifting my hand to him and running it over his side. “Just a stomach bug.”
She sighs. “Good. He’s beautiful,” she says.
“He is. He looks better when he’s up and running around.”
“I’m sure. Maybe we can take him to the beach one of these days, when he’s feeling better.”
I sit back in my chair and cross my legs. “I think that would be nice. He’d enjoy that. What are you doing?” I ask, as if it’s normal for me to wonder about her.
“I just finished doing some yoga. I’m feeling a little bloated from lunch.”
It’s horrible that this town is obsessed with working out after you eat. I’ll bet Christina had that yoga session planned to combat the salad she picked through at the hotel and had to do extra for the hamburger and fries.
“How long do you have to sit at the vet clinic?” she asks.
“I don’t know. They’re giving him an IV and some meds. It’s better to be here. Milo was cleaning up the mess at the house. If I sit here long enough, maybe it’ll have aired out.”
I can hear her laugh, and again, it’s a sweet sound. “Poor baby,” she says, and I know she means Loki and not me or Milo. “Who is Milo?”
“My roommate.”
“Oh,” she says, and it lingers there for a moment. “They sent the script over,” she changes the subject.
“Did they? I’ll bet mine is waiting for me then. Have you read through it?”
“Not completely. I know they did a few rewrites, and there are a few steamier scenes than we’re used to.”
I let out a low hum. “Interesting. I wonder when those rewrites happened.”
“Do you think this rumor about us made them rewrite?”
“It was a thought.”
“Maybe we can read through it together.”
I run my thumb over my bottom lip and think about the kiss we shared earlier, and how pleasant this conversation is.
“I may have to stay home the next few days just to make sure Loki is okay.”
“Of course. If you want to, I could come to you. But only if you?—”
“I think that would be great. Let me call you tomorrow and we can make plans.”
“Okay. Let me know if you need any help with Loki. I don’t have any plans until we start filming.”
And that statement tells me just how lonely this woman really is. It also makes me realize that she could quickly attach herself to me if I let her. Do I want that?