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“But this wasn’t really a business.”
Even as the words left his mouth, he knew they weren’t true. He’d long argued to Rourke that the ranch was a family business. So why, in the context of it failing, did Landon dismiss it?
“It’s not fair for one person to have to hold an entire family business together,” she said. “It’d be different if it was your own thing. When you’re the one calling the shots, you can start from scratch and build the kind of ranch you want.”
He looked over at her. She got him. She got him in a way nobody ever had. In that moment, he understood what it meant when someone said with some people it just clicked. He knew, without a doubt, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman.
A sound off to his left reminded Landon they were not, in fact, alone in this house. There was an entire crew outside with cameras and equipment. He hadn’t even fully verified that nobody was in the house before he came in here to sit. He snapped his head to the left and saw it was the same female production assistant from earlier sticking her head through the crack.
“They need hair,” she said.
By the time Landon turned back to face Audrie, she was already on her feet, adjusting the apron before lifting her head and going straight toward the door. She didn’t look in Landon’s direction as she did so, and he had to remind himself that was for show.
It was getting harder and harder to hide how he felt for her. He didn’t want to jeopardize the production, but he wanted to spend time getting to know her better and convincing her that he was the man for her.
Unfortunately, doing so could put everything they’d worked so hard for at risk.
15
So much for keeping their relationship on the down low. It was clear as soon as Audrie got to Jessica that word of where she’d been had reached the actress.
She wasn’t sure how. Maybe the production assistant had called back that she’d found Audrie and Landon. However it had happened, though, Jessica had serious attitude as Audrie worked hard to match the exact hair positioning she’d had before.
Jessica’s iciness toward her continued during the rest of that afternoon’s filming. When it was dinnertime, Jessica told Rourke she was taking her meal alone in her trailer. One of the production assistants was tasked with delivering it to her.
“I feel like we can breathe a sigh of relief,” Poppy said as they entered the food tent side by side.
Tonight was an Italian feast, and the aroma of tomatoes and oregano filled the tent. Audrie tried to assure herself everything was going to be fine. Jessica was just in a bad mood.
But then Audrie saw Rourke and Landon seated at a table at the far end of the tent, no food in front of them. They both had serious looks on their faces, and Rourke appeared to be giving him a stern talking to.
“At least we can sit with Landon and Christian tonight,” Poppy said.
At those words, Audrie’s attention snapped to her new friend. “What do you mean?” she asked.
Poppy looked at her, eyes wide. “Just that Jessica won’t be here to butt in. I mean, I feel bad for her having to eat alone in her trailer. Why would she want to do that with all these people around?”
“Maybe that’s the point, though,” Audrie said. “Maybe she just needs some alone time.”
“Necklace?”
The male production assistant was standing in front of them now, a sizable chunk of necklaces looped over his forearm. He was holding one up and it was blinking, just like the others were. They appeared to be multicolored Christmas lights strung on a long, thin red string of some sort.
“Sure.” Poppy reached out and took the one he was holding.
Audrie absently took the next one and followed Poppy to the end of the line, picking up their previous conversation where they left off. “I meant why would you say that I would want to sit with Landon?”
That was what bothered Audrie. Poppy had lumped the two couples together like they were on some sort of double date. Like it was understood that Audrie and Landon were a couple, just as Poppy and Christian were.
Normally, she would have loved that, but not now, when they were trying to keep things hush-hush. Poppy lifted her head, her eyes wide just as before. The sight had Audrie immediately retracing her previous words.
Had she been a bit harsh? Panic had laced her tone, for sure, so it might have come across that way, but she certainly hadn’t intended it.
“No,” Poppy said. “I mean, I just know you two have been spending a lot of time together and people have been talking, that’s all.”
People had been talking? Great. That’s probably what was wrong with Jessica. She was just trying to make Peter jealous. Why would she really care? Couldn’t she just move on to another man in the cast and crew to flirt with?
“We’re not dating,” Audrie said. “We’re just friends. Colleagues, really. We’ve been paired together for a couple of errands.” Well, only one that she could think of, but she didn’t correct the exaggeration. “So that forced us to spend some time together.”
