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“Wait.” Scarlett glanced from me to her parents. “You can’t be serious.”
Mrs. Rees shrugged while I took a sip of my water in an effort to hide my grin. I was so used to traveling alone or with staff or coworkers that the thought of having real people accompany me on a real vacation where there was no shop-talk or nose-rubbing made me happier than I could imagine.
“Why not?” she finally said. “Stephen?” Mrs. Rees glanced at him.
“Think you can teach an old man to surf?” Mr. Rees grinned, and my heart squeezed.
“There are no old men in this room, but I canabsolutelyteach you to surf.”
“I like this guy,” Mr. Rees pointed to me, eyes dancing with humor, while Mrs. Rees laughed and clapped her hands together.
“Could you imagine your dad surfing?” she hooted.
“Uh . . . “ Scarlett’s gaze darted. “I think Thorne was probably just being polite.”
Mr. and Mrs. Rees sobered, glancing at me in question.
“No way. I’m totally serious,” I said.
“Then it’s settled.” Mrs. Rees slapped her palms over her thighs. “We’re going to California this summer!” she hollered as if she wanted the whole neighborhood to know.
“But Mom,” Scarlett started, her tone desperate, “we don’t even know if Thorne and I will still be together. That’s half a year from now.”
“Oh, don’t be so negative, honey. Look at him.” Mrs. Rees motioned toward me. “What on earth would you want to break up with him for? Besides, it’s only six months from now, not six years. Let’s think positive, shall we?” She reached out and patted her daughter's leg, who glanced down with a frown.
“Yeah, be positive,” I said, nudging her in the side.
She shot me a scathing look in response, one I probably deserved. After all, I, of all people, should know we wouldn’t be together then. But the other night at the Addy Awards, when she kissed me, it didn’t feel like we were pretending. On the plane, when she’d stared at me like she was staring into my soul, our relationship felt real. Today at school with our secret grins and stolen moments. Everything had somehow started to feel a little less contrived and a little more like we weren’t just faking it.
“So tell us about this get-together tonight,” Mr. Rees said.
“It’s your typical industry party for the crew of my new movie. The actors will all be there, along with the director, and some of the other people tied to production. It’s really just a way to keep us connected since it’s on hiatus.”
“I saw your interview this morning,” Mrs. Rees said, and my stomach dropped.
How much about my past behavior did she know about?
“Is it hard, being so young and in the spotlight?” she asked.
“Sometimes, yeah,” I answered honestly.
“We noticed Scarlett is getting some attention, which Stephen and I discussed.” She motioned to Mr. Rees, and he nodded. “As long as Scarlett’s okay, we’re okay.”
“Just keep her safe,” Mr. Rees added, with a glimmer in his eye that reminded me of that first night with the baseball bat.
My palms dampened with sweat, and I wiped them on my pants. Never before had I needed to sit down with parents and talk about my relationship with their daughter. I’d never had anything progress to where it was serious enough. Teen actresses were kind of like me. They’d earned their independence along with their fame. They had no one to answer to, and dating someone outside the industry wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t easy either.
“I promise, your daughter is safe with me,” I said. “And anywhere we go that is remotely public, I’ll have my bodyguard. In fact, he’s driving us tonight. He’s parked outside as we speak.
Truthfully, I hadn’t wanted Big Joe to come tonight, but my agent insisted on it, so I insisted he drive. That way, Scarlett and I could ride together in back and talk.
“What about your mother?” Mrs. Rees asked. “What does she think of your career?”
My smile faded slightly. How did I explain my relationship with my mother when I wasn’t even sure I understood it? “Well, my mother always dreamed of being an actress, so she’s a pretty big proponent of my career.”
“Does she travel with you a lot, on location?” Mrs. Rees asked.
Beside me, Scarlett sighed and muttered, “What is this, twenty questions?”
