"No!" I bark, writing down several marginal notes in the script. "If he can't act, find someone who can."
I can't believe Viv told them it was about Dane. She thought it was okay once Dane and I got together. It's not okay. No one should know. This is a personal thing they shouldn't get to tear apart.
I turn to walk away, and the producer puffs out an irritated gust of air.
"This is the fourth Dean we've hired. Stop looking for faults."
I ignore him and head back to the trailer. We haven't even started filming the scenes with Dane—dammit, Dean! Because none of them are good enough.
"You going to add a book about what happened six years later when Reva and Dean got back together?" Viv asks nosily, slipping in behind me and following me outside.
"No, because in the Easton Boys, Reva and Dean get together and live happily ever after. Fucking sweet, huh?" I growl. "No need to shatter the illusion."
"Rain, what happened? You sounded so happy when I talked to you."
The tears in my eyes haven't stopped falling. I've mourned the loss of Dane more than anything except my mother. I almost curse Viv for making them start back up.
"Life isn't a fucking fairytale like it is in my books!" I shout, catching her off guard. "Sometimes the girl and the guy aren't meant to be no matter how fucking in love they are. Because the chapter doesn't end with the promise that all will turn out perfect. Real life happens. People change over the years. And in real life, the girl can't keep the dream guy."
Her lips move to speak, but she wisely reins in whatever she was going to say and nods instead. I turn to walk away, leaving her behind as I make my way into the small trailer set up for the pain-in-the-ass writer who can't be satisfied with their poor man's Dane.
It's times like these I wish I could call just one of my boys, but I can't. If I do, they'll want to know what happened, and I'm not ready to talk about it. I don't know if I'll ever be ready.
***
DANE
"It's been a month, Dane. You can't keep sitting around your house and moping," Maverick says through the phone.
"Take out the tables in sections A and C tonight. People will be doing more standing than sitting for the show," I tell Ember, motioning toward the tables.
She nods in agreement and Maverick huffs on the phone.
"I'm not moping at home. I'm at the club, preparing for a big band that's coming tonight. It's going to be a full house, so if you don't mind, I've got a lot of shit to do."
"Good thing you have people you pay to do that. You know what I mean by moping at home. You never go out with us, you always get drunk alone, and you rarely even talk to us anymore. Tomorrow we're hanging out and watching the game at Kode's house. You should come. Britt's going to b
e there."
The last thing I want to do is see my brother right now. I'm afraid that Rain will go to him now that I'm not holding her back.
"I've got stuff to do," I lie.
"We've lost both of you. Rain's even gone so far as to change her number. We can't get a hold of her at all, and you barely answer our calls anymore."
I have no idea why she's ignoring the guys. This is all so fucked up.
"S'not my fault Rain's being this way. All I fucking did was try to be good to her. Still haven't been able to figure out what the hell I did wrong. Or maybe I was too good to her. Fuck, I don't know."
Maverick sighs hard. "I don't want to talk bad about Rain, but for what it's worth, she's being stupid right now. I just wish she'd talk to one of us. Kode tried finding her when he was in New York, but he didn't have any luck. Her agent hasn't seen her, and the last she heard, she was still living in Sterling Shore."
"I'll just bet Kode went looking for her the second we broke up," I growl.
"Not like that, Dane. We're all worried. She's cut us all out of her life. She's never done this before. It has me worried that something else is going on."
I start to speak, but a new voice interrupts.
"Dane Sterling?" a guy asks.