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Chapter 6
Buttoning his shirt, Jake studied himself in the mirror for the tenth time. This was his third shirt change, and he couldn’t figure out why he was being such an idiot about picking out what to wear for his date…er, his “get together” with Callie.
Maybe because all of his recent “dates” had been publicity ops, so fashion experts had swooped in beforehand to tell him what to wear. Hell, they’d tailored his suits and tied his damned ties.
He finished buttoning the shirt and stepped back. Black dress trousers and a forest-green YSL shirt. Should he wear jeans instead? The ones with the button fly? Callie’s observation about his fly had him insanely curious about what else she’d noticed about him.
His phone buzzed with a call from his sister. Still studying himself in the mirror, he took the call. “Hey, Pam.”
“How’s the undercover work?”
“Boring.”Though things are starting to look up.“How’s the pregnancy work?”
“So far, so good. I spent two hours yesterday looking up nursery ideas on Pinterest, so I might already been entering the nesting phase. Brad has been looking into starting a college investment fund, so I’d say we’re right on track.”
The tension in Jake’s shoulders eased. Two months ago, he hadn’t expected Pam’s news about the baby. Not only was he glad for his sister and Brad, the anticipation of a nephew had made him think more about the future. He hoped he’d be in Los Angeles when the baby was born, but if not, he planned to return as fast as possible.
His reaction was a little strange—he hadn’t been around babies much at all. A few of his co-stars had brought babies and toddlers to the set, and he’d liked them well enough, but the idea of a little kid calling himUncle Jakehad hit him with unexpected delight.
Maybe because until now, his family had just been the three of them, with his brother-in-law joining them two years ago. Jake had kept his promise to take care of his sister and mother with everything he had. Now he knew he’d extend that promise to future additions to the family.
“What about the news reports?” The lightness in Pam’s voice dimmed. “Any idea when you’ll be able to come home?”
Home.Funny that he’d been thinking of his return to Bliss Cove as coming “home.”
“Hopefully in the next couple of weeks. The studio is rolling out damage control and trying to convince the reporter not to press charges.”
“Youshould be the one pressing charges.”
Jake let out his breath. “I don’t want legal problems on top of everything else. It’ll work out, Pam. No one’s been harassing you, have they?”
“We got a few calls asking for a comment, but nothing too bad.”
“Call me immediately if that changes, okay?”
“I will. How are you keeping yourself busy up there?”
An image of Callie flashed in his mind. “I’ve been taking lots of photos and video. Nothing very interesting. I’m thinking of looking for a job.”
She laughed. “Good luck. Bet you can’t wait to get back to the bright lights and big city.”
Yesterday, Jake would have agreed without hesitation. Now he thought he wouldn’t mind his exile for a little while longer.
After saying goodbye, he put his phone in his pocket and studied himself in the mirror again. He started to unbuckle his belt and stopped. No way was he changing for a fourth time. It was a movie at a small-town theater, not a Hollywood premiere. He wasn’t out to impress Callie anyway.
Irritated, he turned away from the mirror and reached for his wig on the dresser. No, no wig. That was also probably why he was so edgy. All he needed was to be swarmed by fans and the damned paparazzi.
But for Callie…
Pulling in a breath, he grabbed his jacket and keys before heading out to his rental car. He drove to Mariposa Street and parked near the Vitaphone movie theater.
The 1920s-era theater sat like a stately old queen between two dark, vacant storefronts. Arched windows perforated the Spanish Colonial façade, which was decorated with intricate plaster designs. A vertical neonVitaphonesign, the letter T burned out, sat above the marquee.
A pang of sad nostalgia went through him. The theater—hell, the whole district—was a lot more rundown than it had been the last time he was here. Graffiti marred the buildings, and most of the stores were vacant with their windows boarded up. Bliss Cove had been badly neglecting this part of town.
He walked down the almost deserted street. At least the lack of pedestrians lessened the chance of him being recognized.
“Intuitive reading, honey?” A husky female voice filtered into his thoughts.
