“That’s not his nephew,” Rill said. Seth noticed Rill was peering narrowly at Gia in the dim light from the porch light. Seth glanced down at Gia’s face and knew everything was exposed. It wasn’t that some of the pink of her mouth was starting to show through because of his forceful kiss. No, it wasn’t Seth’s disguise that turned Gia into Jessie. Not entirely. It was Gia’s acting that did that. Apparently, their kiss had dissipated the acting magic. It didn’t surprise him. There was nothing so honest as what happened when they touched.
Gia stared up guiltily at Rill and Katie, clearly a pretty young woman caught red-handed.
Rill stepped onto the porch and looked down at Gia intently. Seth felt Gia snatch her hand away from his ass and start to back out of his arms. Seth held her fast.
“That’s not even a boy,” Rill said, frowning. “Jesus. Aren’t you Gia Harris?”
Twenty
Seth had left several lights on, but the house in the woods still looked empty and . . . different somehow than the house they’d left earlier today.
“Are you sure Rill and Katie aren’t pissed at us?” Gia asked shakily when Seth turned the key in the ignition.
They hadn’t talked much during the drive home. Both of them had managed to be patient and apologetic, explaining things to a stunned Rill and Katie. But telling their story to the Pierces hadn’t really required conversation between Gia and Seth. What had happened on that front porch before they’d been discovered seemed to hover between them like a suspended bomb.
“They’re not mad. Once we explained, they got that we were doing it for a good reason,” Seth said quietly, his deep, gruff voice in the darkened cab of the car causing her neck to prickle. “And you saw how Rill’s brain latched on to the whole thing. It’ll be fuel for his writing and directing, trust me.”
Gia gave a bark of tired laughter as she recalled what Seth was referring to. In her mind’s eye, she saw Rill sitting at the kitchen table, his chin in his hand as he stared at a rumpled, embarrassed Gia. After the kiss and the discovery, they’d gone inside to try to explain what was happening.
“That’s amazing. That’s weird,” Rill had said distractedly after they relayed most of the story.
“What’s weird—aside from the obvious?” Katie added, rolling her eyes.
“Now that I look at Gia, I can’t believe I didn’t see it. It’s like watching a master magician. First, it was the break in the reality of seeing you two making out. That jarred my brain and signaled something wasn’t right. But then you stopped acting, when you two were—” Rill had waved his hand vaguely between them. “Right, Gia?”
Gia had swallowed thickly. “I guess so. I wasn’t really thinking about Jessie.”
Rill had smirked. “And all of a sudden, the truth was right there, clear as day,” Rill laughed, glancing at Katie. “I can’t believe I ever looked at her and thought she was a boy.”
“Me either,” Katie had agreed.
“She cast a spell, some kind of enchantment. It’s mind-blowing. I work with actors all the time, and I watch them ‘turn on a role’ like they’re stepping into a costume, but my God . . . I’ve never seen it done that well before. Don’t tell Everett I said that,” he’d said under his breath to Katie.
Katie had laughed. “Everett would be the first to agree if he’d been fooled by that spectacle.”
“Given Seth’s skill and your talent, I’ll bet there’s no role you couldn’t tackle. So far, I’ve only seen Shadow Mistress, and I thought you were really good,” Rill had told Gia. “But I’ll say this now from firsthand experience: You’re an exceptional actress.”
“She’s only going to get better too. Gia is just getting started when it comes to her career.”
Gia had blinked upon hearing Seth’s quiet comment. Their gazes met and held. Her chest suddenly got tight. Katie cleared her throat, and Gia had realized she’d been locked in Seth’s golden-eyed, somber gaze.
It was like he’d been stating the inevitable.
“You realize Rill will probably be wanting you for his next movie now. I’ve never seen him so impressed,” Seth said presently.
Gia exhaled. At one time, even the remotest chance of doing a movie with Rill Pierce would have sent her into a euphoric mood. Tonight, it felt like a weight was pressing down on her spirit.
“All I realize at the moment is how tired I am,” she said quietly, unbuckling her seat belt.
“Gia,” Seth halted her when she reached for the door handle. “About what I said on the porch—”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Seth. I just want to go to bed.”
She turned to look at him as she interrupted. His face looked shadowed and hard.
“Okay,” he said. Her heart sank a little when he agreed so readily.
She’d already removed the wig by the time she reached the bedroom. She couldn’t wait to take off the rest of the disguise. After everything that had happened that day, Gia felt exhausted, but weirdly agitated, too, like she wanted to jump out of her own skin. It was as if her brain and spirit and body were all in a fight.