Chapter Thirty-Eight
CECE
A few days later, CeCe exited the café and stepped onto Main Street. The setting sun splashed a gilded palette of pinks and yellows across the shimmering sea. She loved this time of day, when evening approached, promising cooler breezes and quieter streets.
She smiled, recalling her stolen moments with Jayce—her fiancé —in the still hours of nightfall. They’d watched movies, made dinner together or simply talked, late into the early morning when the sleepy sun slipped back into the sky.
On her urging, they’d decided to wait until after Abby and Logan’s wedding to share the news of their no-longer-fake engagement—apart from with their parents, who’d been ecstatic—not wanting to pull focus from their friends.
Plus, after years of secretly pining after one another, there was something sweet about savoring the newness of their relationship in the serene, protective sphere of their silence.
However, she realized she’d only been able to keep the secret by avoiding her friends, secluding herself with the excuse of prepping for Abby’s wedding—she’d be supplying assorted desserts in addition to the cake.
Tonight, her powers of restraint would be put to the test during Abby’s bachelorette party. Hopefully, her friends would be too preoccupied celebrating Abby’s upcoming nuptials to be suspicious of her secret.
Resolved to give her full attention to the night’s festivities, not dwell on her own relationship or Gretchen’s ugly threats, which had thus far proved hollow, she stepped into the lobby of East Street Cinema.
Now defunct, the historic movie theater sat vacant except for the occasional special event.
To the right of the lobby, a large room with arched windows faced East State Street.
Formerly a small eatery frequented by moviegoers before and after films, it now sat empty.
For tonight’s celebration, Nadia had cleaned and polished the long mahogany bar top that once served concessions.
Now, it offered gourmet charcuterie boards, spritzers, and colorful mocktails, all in keeping with the night’s elegant Audrey Hepburn theme.
CeCe added her contribution to the smorgasbord—a pastry box filled with flaky croissants à la Breakfast at Tiffany’s —before joining the rest of the party in the main auditorium.
Abby, Nadia, Sage, and Mia all congregated at the front of the room, each clad in their favorite pajamas.
CeCe smiled at their eclectic ensembles, from Nadia’s two-piece set in crimson silk to Mia’s rainbow-colored onesie with a unicorn head for a hood.
She’d opted for her usual cotton shorts and oversize T-shirt, which thankfully hadn’t drawn too much attention on her brief walk from the café.
“Wow, Mia,” she breathed, admiring the run-down yet, somehow, still regal space. “You’ve really worked your magic. It looks beautiful.”
Since the theater equipment was no longer in operation, Mia had rigged a portable projector that connected to her cell phone to stream the night’s movie selection onto the big screen.
She’d also hung twinkle lights strategically along the stage and arranged plush pillows and cozy blankets across the worn stadium-style seats.
“Thanks.” Mia flipped on the projector and the opening credits for Roman Holiday rolled across the screen. “I can’t believe the owner shut this place down. It’s criminal.”
“To be fair,” Sage interjected, “with everyone streaming movies at home, the business wasn’t very sustainable.”
“Maybe,” Mia conceded, “but it’s still a shame to have it just sit here, unused, unless someone wants to rent it out for a random event once in a blue moon.”
“What do you suggest they do with it?” Abby asked.
“I don’t know,” Mia admitted. “Reopen it as a historic landmark?”
“Sounds expensive,” Nadia pointed out.
“Maybe Jayce would have an idea,” CeCe offered. “He loves this place.” As kids, they’d spent multiple nights a week in the theater, feeding Jayce’s insatiable fascination with the film industry. He’d be sad to see it close its doors for good.
“Hang on.” Mia narrowed her blue eyes into a scrutinizing squint. “Did something happen between you two?”
“What do you mean?” CeCe flushed, grateful no one could tell in the dim lighting.
“The way you said Jayce’s name just now sounded different,” Mia asserted, studying her closely.
“Don’t be silly,” CeCe deflected. Great. She hadn’t counted on Mia’s superhuman sleuthing skills.
Mia swiped the flashlight feature on her phone and aimed the beam directly in CeCe’s face like a police interrogator. “Spill.”
“There’s nothing to spill.” CeCe shielded her eyes from the bright light. “At least, not anything that can’t wait.” She darted a meaningful glance at Abby.
As if reading her mind, Abby said, “Don’t hold back on my account. Is Mia right? Did something happen between you and Jayce?”
CeCe waved a hand at Mia, who lowered her blinding cell phone. With all eyes on her, heat swept across CeCe’s face. But so did a giddy smile. “Actually, yes.” She held up her left hand, wiggling her ring finger.
Her friends stared blankly.
“I don’t get it,” Sage confessed. “We already know about your fake engagement.”
“Wait!” Mia cried, grabbing CeCe’s hand for a closer look. “This is a different ring!”
CeCe’s grin widened. Mia really did have a gift for observation.
“A different ring?” Abby asked, wrinkling her brow. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” CeCe said slowly, her heart fluttering. “That Jayce proposed for real. And I accepted.”
Their shocked gasps and squeals echoed around the room.
Mia jumped up and down like a little kid on a pogo stick. Abby and Nadia cheered.
CeCe turned to Sage, her dearest friend in the group, and the one who knew her best, hoping she’d be happy with the news.
Her friend gazed at her with joyful tears in her pale green eyes. “I’m so thrilled for you both!” She drew CeCe into her arms, and whispered, “I’ve been praying for this.”
Her throat suddenly tight, CeCe returned her hug.
“When did it happen?” Sage asked, taking a step back.
“A few days ago,” CeCe admitted sheepishly.
“And you’ve waited this long to tell us!” Mia cried. “For shame!”
“We didn’t want to draw attention from Abby and Logan’s big day.”
“That’s sweet, but definitely not necessary,” Abby said with a bright, genuine smile. “Your good news only adds to the celebration.”
“Plus, now we can have a double wedding,” Mia teased.
“Fine by me!” Abby beamed.
CeCe laughed, appreciating their enthusiasm. “I don’t think we’re quite ready for that. We still have a lot to figure out. Like, where we’re going to live.”
“Can’t you live in Blessings Bay?” Sage asked hopefully, as if the thought of her friend moving hadn’t occurred to her until now. “Jayce could take his private jet back and forth from LA.”
“He prefers to use the jet sparingly, since it uses so much fuel.” When she thought of his recent trip to South America, she still couldn’t believe the lengths he’d gone to on her behalf.
“He could just buy a smaller plane,” Mia pointed out. “Maybe he could even get a pilot’s license and fly himself.”
“We’ve only been engaged for a few days,” CeCe reminded her with another laugh. “We have time to figure it out.”
While her friends continued to plan their future, her phone pinged.
CeCe retrieved it from the side pocket of her shorts.
A Google alert she’d set for Jayce’s name popped on the screen.
At the ominous headline, her heart sank.
“Hollywood Heartthrob in Hot Water.”
“What’s wrong?” Abby asked in response to her stricken expression.
“I—I don’t know.” She clicked on the headline and a video filled the small screen. Her blood instantly chilled. “It’s an interview with Jayce’s agent, Gretchen.” Former agent, she mentally corrected.
“What’s she saying?” Sage asked, straining to hear.
“Hang on.” Mia grabbed CeCe’s phone and plugged it into the projector.
Gretchen loomed above them, large and formidable.
CeCe shuddered.
“I knew something was off the second Jayce mentioned his engagement,” Gretchen told the excessively preened male interviewer who wore way too much hair gel. “But I never thought he’d lie to me. Or to his fans.”
CeCe gaped in horror. What did she say?
“That’s why I had to let him go as a client,” Gretchen continued as if she’d been forced to bear a heavy burden. “Difficult as it was, I can’t work for someone who would maliciously mislead his fans for some tasteless publicity stunt.”
“That’s a lie!” CeCe blurted, indignation rising in her chest like molten lava. “Jayce fired her .”
“It’s sad, really,” Gretchen waxed on with a simpering expression.
“I know his last film didn’t perform as well at the box office, but to stoop so low.
” She shook her head in feigned disbelief.
“I’ve already heard from several directors who refuse to work with him again.
Frankly, after pulling this fake engagement scam, I doubt he’ll be cast in any films at all, let alone in a starring role. ”
“That witch,” Mia hissed, glaring daggers at the screen.
CeCe forced herself to inhale, too outraged to breathe without concerted effort. The nerve of that woman to blame the whole debacle on Jayce when the sham relationship was originally her idea!
“How did you uncover the truth?” Hair Gel asked.
“Quite easily,” Gretchen claimed. “To be honest, I don’t know how Jayce expected to get away with such an egregious lie. In a small town like Blessings Bay, secrets don’t stay hidden for long.”
“Who do you think told her?” Abby asked.
“I have no idea,” Mia growled, gritting her teeth in her fury. “But if Jayce fired her, she wouldn’t go down without a fight. I bet she used plenty of underhanded, dishonest tactics to dig up whatever dirt she could find.”
“And hit pay dirt,” Nadia muttered, her expression pained. “Poor Jayce.”