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But I wasn’t prepared to lay that out for anyone. Let alone Marley, who was frankly as judgmental as her brother and would think the whole thing was absurd.
“Hey!” I said. “There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s why our chemistry is great.”
“If you say so.” Marley arched an eyebrow. She didn’t buy it for a second, and how could I blame her? “And where is the inimitable Martin Harper?”
I waved my hand. The last thing I wanted was for Marty to be here. “Busy. We have plans for Christmas.”
I had off from work between now until then. He was filming some short film in the meantime for a friend, but we’d planned to be photographed together right before the holiday. My assistant had sent over outfit suggestions yesterday. Sometimes, this life was exhausting.
“Look who arrived.”
I turned at the sound of Maddox’s voice. He was standing in the entrance to a bedroom in nothing but a pair of athletic shorts. I couldn’t look away. His shoulders had broadened. He’d clearly been working out. His hair was dripping wet, his unmistakable curls utterly tempting me to run my fingers through them. Even as he pulled a T-shirt overtop his chest, I couldn’t stop my eyes from roaming over him.
“Hey, Maddox,” I said with a soft smile.
But Maddox did not look pleased to see me. Marley had to have warned him. She knew all about our problems in college. Yet he crossed his arms over his chest and stared me down.
There was anger in his eyes and venom in his voice when he said, “The superstar has graced us with her presence.”
I didn’t wince at his words. I was too good of an actor to show that he’d hurt me. But Marley was looking between us like she’d never seen us before.
“Anyway!” Marley said loudly, breaking the tension. “I’m going to check on the turkey. People should be here shortly. Josie, you can dump your stuff in my room. We’ll figure out the sleeping situation later.”
“Sure,” I said. I grabbed my suitcase in one white-knuckled hand and brushed past Maddox without a word.
I took deep breaths in Marley’s bedroom. It was one day with him. I could get it together. I was here for Marley, and that was all that mattered.
I changed out of my airport clothes and into a cute dress. I checked my phone one more time and smiled at the text from my dad. It was a picture of him in an apron that read Kiss the Cook with the other employees from the art studio around him.
After I’d started bringing in real money from Academy, I’d funneled it to my dad. He’d tried to give it back when I first started making deposits to his account, but I’d hated those years in college when he couldn’t support himself. I had more than enough money to go around. I wouldn’t let him continue to suffer like that when I had the means to make it stop. He’d reopened the art studio. And though it wasn’t doing well, it was doing better than it had when he had to close it while I was in college.
He looked happy now. So much happier than he’d been in years.
I shot off a Happy Thanksgiving text and then hurried into the kitchen.
Right before dinner was ready, there was a knock on the door, and Marley went pale.
“I’ll get it.”
I shot her a look and kept an eye on the door. And to my shock, in walked Derek Ballentine. Well, well, well … maybe Marley wasn’t so anti-boy either. In fact, my bestie looked smitten with this Holy Cross boy. What in the world?
When we got a break in the conversation, I followed Marley back into the kitchen. “So …” I said, leaning against the counter as Mars carved the turkey up.
“Yeah?”
I shot her a look. “That’s Derek Ballentine.”
“I know who it is.”
“What secrets have you been keeping from me?”
“None,” she said, immediately going on the defensive.
I laughed. Oh, this was going to be good. “He’s so into you, Mars. Are y’all sleeping together?”
“No!”
But she’d said it a little too quickly. So, I crossed my arms and waited for her to dish.
“Well, not anymore.”
“I knew it!” I cried. Oh my God, my little Marley, all grown up.
Then, she gushed about how they’d hooked up in college and how he wanted them to get back together, but she was sure they were just friends. It was hard to keep from rolling my eyes at them. They were not just friends. The way he looked at her was as if she was a dream come true. It was frankly disconcerting. I’d only ever had one boy look at me like that, and he was currently talking up Derek.
“Just … don’t tell Lila,” Marley begged.
I shook my head. Oh, she was in a heap of trouble. And I hated keeping secrets from Lila. That never turned out well.
