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“I’m going to fire him. We can find someone else. Reshoot.” Joe gets up and puts his empty plate in the sink a little harder than necessary.
“You won’t. We can’t afford to start over. I looked at the latest scenes you shot. He’s good. We’ll wrap this up and then never hire him again.” I smile with as much confidence as I can muster, but I’m not looking forward to the next few weeks.
“It’s a deal. I hate to eat and run, but I have scripts to tweak for tomorrow.”
“And I’m heading to bed to catch up on some sleep. Come here. I need a hug before you go.” I hold my arms open, and he steps into them. The hug turns into a sweet kiss before my director boyfriend pries himself away because duty calls.
He’s barely out the door when my phone rings.
“Hi, Gwen. How are the wedding plans?” I feel a twinge of guilt that I’m not more involved. As maid of honor, I should spend more time at home in Rockville, helping the bride-to-be with wedding tasks.
“Everything’s under control. Mom and Mrs. McAlister have been a huge help.”
“Sorry I can’t be there.” I feeling of guilt increases.
“I can think of a way you can make it up to me,” Gwen says.
“How?” I’m in trouble. The only question is how deep.
“Let’s meet in Charleston. One night. My treat.”
“I don’t think I can get away. My calendar is full.” I pull it open, scanning through the time between now and Gwen’s big day, realizing how quickly the wedding is coming up.
“I emailed Cara. She says you could probably get away Friday after you wrap. You can head back Saturday late afternoon if you need to.” Her tone is urgent.
“Let me see how the rest of the week goes,” I hedge.
“We need to find you a dress, and I need some face time with my twin sister. Say you’ll be there, and I’ll take care of everything else.”
I take a deep breath. She’s right. We haven’t spent quality time together, just the two of us, in over a year. And it will be a slow weekend. “I’ll be there and don’t worry about anything. I’ll find us somewhere to stay.”
“Great. Tell Cara to pick something pretty,” Gwen says.
I laugh. She knows me too well. “Will do. Hey, there’s something I want to tell you, but I need you to swear you won’t tell anyone. Except for Greg, of course.” She won’t keep this from her fiancé.
“I pinky swear. Let me guess. You and Joe are back together?”
“How’d you know?” We’ve been discreet. There’s no way word got back to Rockville.
“Joe called Greg last week. I’ve been waiting for you to call me. That’s how I know we haven’t spent enough time together. I can’t believe you didn’t call me the minute he kissed you.”
“I kissed him first,” I say.
“I know, but that one doesn’t count. You were drugged and half-asleep. He was pretty worried about that one.” Gwen sounds amused.
“You are well informed. I think we can skip the girls’ weekend.” I can’t help but tease her.
“No way. You need a dress, and I need all the details. See you Friday, sis.”
The rest of the week flies by. I’m barely home long enough to shower and catch a few precious hours of sleep. Aside from missing spending time with Joe, I’m loving it. This is my favorite part of the process. Everything is running at full speed and it feels a little like one of those plate-spinning acts.
“Cara, can you look at Joe’s schedule and see if there’s any chance we can spend some time together before I leave for Charleston?” I ask. We’d followed Dave’s advice and let her in on the fact that we were dating. Sworn to complete secrecy, of course.
“Looks like you’re both free Wednesday night. Want me to make you a late dinner reservation? I’m sure Hikari would stay open late for the two of you.” Cara has a pen poised over her notepad waiting for my okay.
I shake my head. “We’ve been working too hard. The last thing either of us wants is a date out on the town. I’ll cook or order something in.”
“That’s not very romantic. And don’t take this personally, but you’re not the best cook,” Cara says.
