It wasn’t exactly a lie.
Cooper and I finished breakfast quickly, and though I wanted to climb back into his bed, I asked him to take me home to my rental. When we reached the house, a thought hit me as I was stepping out the Jeep, and before I could stop myself, I asked, “Cooper?”
“Mmm?”
“Why’d your dad do it?”
He leaned his head back to the headrest and gave me a hard look. “Because mum loved me and everything I represented more than him.” I didn’t know what that meant and he chose not to elaborate because he said, “Willow? Tomorrow, when you’re that girl again, will I just be the surfer bum from Hawaii?”
Though his words were teasing, there was a serious edge to his voice that made my throat go dry. I slid back down in my seat and gazed straight ahead until the sun turned the kids playing basketball at the end of the street into a dusty blur. No, I couldn’t imagine Cooper being a just anything after last night.
And after this morning.
“I’m not good with relationships,” I said, and I heard his breath catch. “And from what you’ve told me, neither are you. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting more of you.”
He moved closer, despite the center console separating us, and stroked my cheek. Every nerve in my body tingled as his blue eyes connected with mine. God, when had this happened?
When had I started wanting him like this?
When had I started caring whether he wanted me back?
My voice was heavy when I spoke. “I . . . know you hate Hollywood. You’ll be ripped apart if we make this public, so—”
He shook his head, moving his hand from my jawline to hold my chin. “I’m not hiding. And I’m not f**king afraid of some douchebag with a camera.”
“You’ve got no clue.”
Tilting his head to one side, he rolled his lips together. “I can handle whatever they do to me. It’s you I’m worried about.”
“It doesn’t bother me anymore,” I said.
Liar.
If it didn’t bother you, why haven’t you Googled your name since coming to Hawaii?
I took a deep breath to ground myself. “Let’s just get through the first week of shooting, okay?” Reaching up, I touched his face with the back of my hand. “And just enjoy this?”
For a moment he looked like he was about to argue with me, like he was going to laugh at me and tell me to piss off, but then he nodded slowly.
He kissed me again before walking me to my front door, and as I watched him go, I realized that this was another first for me:
My first normal relationship in my adult life.
***
When I finally got in touch with Kevin, toward the middle of the afternoon, I found out that I was expected to attend a press conference tomorrow morning with some of the key members of the cast. This was the second time in my entire career that I’d never met any of the people I’d be working with. Usually, I was sick of the rest of the cast by now after multiple screen tests for chemistry and meet and greets.
Apparently, James Dickson had a shit load of confidence in me.
My mother called me shortly after I spoke to Kevin. I was in the middle of studying my script, with the original version of the movie playing quietly in the background for inspiration, when I answered.
“Have you checked the homepage of Leah Dishes Hollywood today?” her voice was brimming with excitement when she referred to the infamous celebrity blog that hated me.
I rolled my eyes. “Nice to hear from you too, Mom.”
“I’m guessing you haven’t looked.” I could see her face fall just by the way her voice had dropped.
“I’m not in the habit of reading about myself being mocked.” But for some reason, I’d already pulled my MacBook off the coffee table and was trying to find the website she was talking about. When it loaded, I saw myself, standing next to Tyler at the premier of Into the Dark almost four years ago. Same dark brown hair, same green eyes, same pouty lips, but the look on my face was so alive, so in love with the guy on my right side, that it made my chest burn.
Avery Surfs into Hilary Norton Role
Directly below the caption, there was a film still of the gorgeous actress who’d starred in Tidal in the late 80s, grinning at the camera and gripping a brown surfboard as her blonde hair blew around her shoulders.
I skimmed the page as my mom chattered on about how thrilled she was about the film. Certain words in the blog post jumped out at me like rehab and lawsuit and then of course there were the comparisons between Hilary and me.
Overdose.
The article ended on what my mother claimed was a positive note—the writer mentioned how excited she was to see the movie since she’d been such a fan of the original. Then she’d added that she hoped to every higher power that existed that Avery didn’t “dumb down” such a classic.
“Nice,” I said, closing the MacBook’s screen before curiosity got the best of me and I scrolled down to look at the comments. They were never pretty, and the last thing I wanted was to let them get to me and tear up the high I’d gotten with Cooper.
“People are talking about you again in a good way,” Mom said.
“Yeah, I guess,” I said. There was a knock at the front door, and I peeked up to see Miller standing on the other side of the screen. I motioned him in and pressed my finger over my lips. “Hey Mom, sorry, someone from wardrobe just showed up to—”
She gasped. “They’re sending them to your house now?”
“That’s what happens when you’re washed up,” I replied sarcastically.