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Heading in that direction, coffee mug in hand, Landon finally chose the sofa that faced the fireplace. There was no fire there, but that didn’t matter. It was too hot for that, anyway. He just needed a few minutes to relax and get some peace and quiet.
He’d barely gotten settled when he heard a squeak indicating the front door had opened. It was far enough away that he might not have heard it if not for how quiet it was in here.
As footsteps sounded on the hardwood flooring behind him, Landon ran through the list of people he hoped it would be. There was only one person he wanted to hang out with right now, and they weren’t supposed to be alone together. Not if they wanted to keep Jessica happy.
That alone was exactly why he felt a little down today. He was here to do a job, and he acknowledged that, but he couldn’t seem to rid himself of this longing to put his arm around Audrie when she was next to him. Or hold hands with her. Or just have a private conversation. All things they would do if they weren’t putting on a show for Jessica.
“Is anyone in here?”
That was definitely Audrie’s voice. He’d know it anywhere now. It was coming from the kitchen area. Had she come looking for him? He didn’t want to assume, but he couldn’t help but smile at the possibility that she’d noticed he’d left and decided to track him down.
“In here!” he called out.
Silence. Not even footsteps. Had he imagined the whole thing?
But then he heard her shoes moving across the creaky flooring. He turned just in time to see her standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.
“I was looking for Christian,” Audrie said. “They want to know if they can tack some blankets onto the roof. They didn’t think the roof would be in the shot, but it is.”
Landon looked around. “I haven’t seen him. I assume he and Poppy went off somewhere.”
The crew had set up their equipment in a small room off the kitchen that looked like some sort of visiting area. It was just inside the front door to the place that nobody ever seemed to use. They always entered and exited either through the deck or the side door that led right into the kitchen.
Because it was so tucked away, Landon forgot the equipment room was there. Christian could be there. A full crew could be there. But the house seemed quieter than ever.
She stepped inside the living room and looked around. “I still can’t believe how much decorating they did in here.”
He smiled and turned his attention toward the stockings on the fireplace. There was something about all those stockings that made him long for something he didn’t have. Family. A reason to have his name attached to a mantel with a wife and children.
“Yeah, and they’re going to have to change it all up for the next movie,” he said.
“They’re using the same locations?”
He nodded. “That’s the plan. You won’t believe what they can do to make it look like a completely different room, but Poppy’s looking into some other locations around town.”
Audrie laughed. “Good luck with that. Most of the houses around here are older than me.”
“Old houses have charm.”
Instead of responding to that, she took a deep breath, let it out, and asked, “How are things with Jessica?”
“Good, I think.” He shrugged. “She seems to just want to put on a show for Peter. So, I met up with her and gave her some advice on her scene, as I’m here to do. It’s all fine, as long as she doesn’t start getting physical…”
He let his voice trail off there. Jessica had touched him a few times—just a hand on a shoulder or arm. And she definitely stood and sat too close to him when she thought Peter might see them. When he wasn’t around, she turned off the charm, but she still insisted on spending time around him, even when Peter wasn’t nearby. He supposed she was counting on the gossip to trickle his way.
Audrie looked behind her as though verifying that nobody had snuck into the house when she wasn’t looking. She then stepped into the living room.
“I don’t want anybody to hear this, but Peter came into the trailer when Tracie was getting her hair done this morning. It seems like there’s something there. They’ve been spending a lot of time together, and there was just a vibe in the air when he was nearby.”
A vibe. Landon wondered what that meant, and if the same thing existed when he and Audrie were in a room together. He hoped so, but that could be bad for their ruse.
“Maybe someone should have a talk with the two of them,” Landon said. “If it’s going to upset Jessica, it could be bad for the whole production.”
“Yeah, I get the feeling Peter’s response to that would be, ‘too bad for her.’”
Audrie stepped farther into the room and took the seat next to the couch. It overlooked the fireplace, too, but the angle offered a better view of the Christmas tree. She sat back in the chair, crossing her legs and staring at the tree a while before speaking again.
“I don’t want to give away too many of his secrets, but let’s just say things didn’t end on a good note with Peter and Jessica.” Audrie paused for a sigh, then continued. “He’s not doing anything to make life easier for her.”
