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“It’s okay. I need the fresh air.”
She hoped that wasn’t making it too obvious that being close to him was overwhelming her. She probably should have stayed in the kitchen and let him go, but she was already on her way out.
“I’m going to look in the bedroom while you’re doing that,” he said.
She was already halfway down the stairs, so she just waved and exited.
The step outside was exactly what she needed. She stopped and closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath in and letting it out. Her eyes popped open, and she looked at the truck. She just hoped he hadn’t locked it. She didn’t have the keys. If it was locked, she’d just go back inside and get the keys. No big deal.
As she walked toward the truck, though, she heard something she shouldn’t be hearing out here. In fact, it was so out of place, it took her a second to orient herself.
She stopped just feet from the truck and looked around. That was definitely Jessica’s voice, but Audrie couldn’t hear what she was saying. A loud giggle soon punctuated the silence around her. That sound had started to grate on Audrie’s nerves over the past few days. Jessica just represented everything Audrie was against. Narcissism, selfishness, using people to get what she wanted.
Just one more day, and Jessica would be out of her life forever. It wouldn’t bring her and Landon together, but she wouldn’t be around as a constant reminder of what Audrie wasn’t.
Audrie had started around the passenger side of the truck. If there was a pen in there, it would probably be in the glove compartment. But her hand froze on the door handle when she heard a male voice.
It made sense. Jessica wouldn’t be out here alone, giggling at nothing. But she knew that voice. She’d listened to that voice every day for the past two weeks. That voice belonged to Peter.
Smiling, Audrie opened the passenger door—it was unlocked—and climbed in, pressing the button on the glove compartment and waiting for it to fall open. Of course, Peter and Jessica were together. It had been noted they were both missing from the barn, and Rourke wasn’t the only one who assumed they were somewhere running lines.
As grating as Jessica could be, when it came to her scenes, she was a workhorse. She wanted to make sure she got everything right, and they both stayed at Trailer City, so maybe they had rehearsed in her trailer or his. It could have been completely on the up and up. Or they rehearsed somewhere else and stopped by here to pick up something they’d forgotten.
Audrie shifted her full attention to finding a pen. There was one buried underneath all the receipts and other paperwork that were shoved in there. She scribbled on the back of one of the receipts to make sure the pen worked and closed the glove compartment before climbing back out again and shutting the door.
It was then that she heard a scream. In addition to cable shows about RVs, Audrie was also known to have watched a few crime shows in her time. Okay, more than a few. She often binge-watched the crime network on her days off. So, when she heard a scream, her mind automatically went to something horrible. Maybe Peter was a serial killer, and he’d just been waiting all this time to off the lead actress in his movie, who also happened to be his ex-girlfriend.
As silly as that was, curiosity got the better of her. Audrie looked around, verifying nobody else was on site, and walked across the grass to the edge of the RV. The sound had been coming from behind it. The way these trailers were lined up in rows, she doubted she’d be able to see anything. She certainly wasn’t going to go creeping back any farther just in case, but luckily, the second she looked around the corner, she saw Jessica and Peter.
“Put me down, please,” Jessica said.
It was clear right away why Jessica had screamed. Peter had her in both arms and was holding her well above the ground. She had her hands clasped behind his neck and was looking down, as though she wasn’t too happy with being at that height.
Nodding, Peter set her down, but Jessica didn’t go anywhere. They stood there, the light from the open doorway outlining them. And then, without saying a word, they started kissing. Audrie looked away. It wasn’t right to just stand there and watch two people kiss.
When she looked back, they weren’t kissing anymore. They were simply staring at each other. Even from here, Audrie could tell there was definitely something romantic going on. They weren’t just rehearsing a scene. Then they stepped away from each other, and the fear that they’d turn and catch her watching forced Audrie backward.
She leaned against the outer wall of the RV, staring straight ahead and not daring to breathe. They wouldn’t hear her breaths all the way over here, but she couldn’t be too careful. Finally, she heard a vehicle door open and close, and an engine start up. She assumed both of them were leaving together, maybe heading off to the barn to meet up with everyone. So, she took a deep breath and turned, walking back to the entrance to Rourke’s trailer.
As she entered the trailer, Audrie knew she must be white as a ghost. Or maybe she was blushing. She couldn’t really tell for sure. Her mind was still trying to process what she’d seen.
How long had this been going on? Was it new? Had Tracie known about it? Maybe the whole thing with Tracie and Peter had been some sort of trick, but why?
“I found one!” With that announcement, Landon came walking up the hallway toward her, a big smile on his face. His smile faded once he got a look at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Peter and Jessica…”
That was all she could seem to get out. She’d have to say more, though, because clearly, Landon had no idea what was going on. Peter and Jessica’s reunion was either new or a complete secret from Landon.
“They were kissing out there, and it wasn’t a stage kiss,” she said. “It was a real kiss.”
Yes, in the short time she’d been on set, she’d learned the difference. Stage kisses were mostly closed mouth and never done in a way that made them look messy. The goal was to look sweet and romantic on camera.Realkisses weren’t about looking good for a camera. They were about expressing your feelings for the other person.
As her one kiss with Landon had been. It wasn’t the kiss itself. It was the days of feeling that attraction to him and having it finally end in a kiss. It was the feeling behind it, not the sensation of his lips against hers or his hands against her back--
“Peter and Jessica, the actors?” he asked, cutting into her thoughts.
She almost laughed out loud at that. As if there were another Peter and Jessica running around on this ranch. She sure hoped there wasn’t. One Jessica was too many for this small town.
