“A bar?” Sierra asked. “They have those here?”
“It’s a bit of a drive.”
“But… I don’t want to see a lot of people. My face is a mess, and I don’t want men bothering us.”
I grinned. “Don’t worry. If they do, the bartender will chase them off.” She still looked apprehensive. “Trust me. If you can’t trust a perfect stranger in the middle of the desert, who can you trust?”
The corner of her mouth twitched upward and then she nodded.
“I’ve just got to contact my roommate and then we can talk. Or wait until there’s booze, your choice.”
“I’d rather wait.”
I pulled out my phone to text Ford, but to my surprise, it looked like there were enough bars to call him. He answered on the second ring. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I don’t need a ride home.”
“I see.” I could almost hear him arch an eyebrow. “Are you going to the same den of iniquity as last week?”
Huh, that had been on a Wednesday, too. Guess I was making a regular thing of this. Ignoring the question, I said, “I’ll be back late. Could you please try to make sure certain parties don’t put an APB out on me?”
Ford let out a huff of air in frustration. “That’s not really my job.”
“It’s not mine, either. I’m an adult.”
“All right.” He sounded so grumpy that I laughed.
“You’re my hero.”
I could practically hear him roll his eyes, but when he spoke, he was in a better mood. “And don’t you forget it.”
“Wow, you’re easily mollified. I’ll have to remember that.”
He chuckled and we ended the call.
“That sounded friendly,” Sierra said. I couldn’t blame her for listening in—it wasn’t like there were any other options.
“It was just Ford.”
“Ford’s your roommate?”
“It’s kind of a long story.”
“You said we have a long drive,” she pointed out. “They said hotel rooms were hard to come by. That’s why they gave me a driver, my hotel’s really far.”
“Oh, I thought it was in your contract or something that you get a driver.”
“I wish,” she said. “Maybe someday I’ll have the clout for something like that, but I sure as hell don’t now. But it’s all right. I’m only here for a week or so, and Trenton’s great.” She aimed a dazzling smile at the driver, an older man who smiled back at us in the rear-view mirror. “So how come you’re doubled up with Ford?”
I had to grin. If Ford were here, he’d interpret that comment in a dirty way. But then my smile faded as I realized that if I wanted Sierra to open up to me about her problems, I’d have to open up to her. “Actually, Aiden, Tanner, and Ford rented a house not too far from the set. They had an extra bedroom, so I’m staying there.”
“With Aiden?” Sierra seemed horrified. “You can share my hotel room.”
I was already starting to like Sierra. Pretty much any other woman on the planet would think it was a privilege to share a house with Aiden. “Thanks, but it’s not that bad. He’s not there that much.”
Sierra nodded. “That’s good. And that Ford is a cutie.” She thought it over for a minute. “And the stunt double seems nice.”
“He is.”
“But still, that seems really weird that they put you up there.”
Though I agreed with that, all I said was, “There wasn’t any other place.”
“Wait, I thought they said that you’re Mac’s daughter. Couldn’t you have stayed with him?”
“Good God, no.”
Sierra looked taken aback, and I realized I’d need to explain more. “We were estranged for years, until just recently. He left me and my brother when we were kids.” I took a deep breath and then told her the rest.
She was aghast. “Aiden’s your stepbrother?”
“No. I mean, yes, technically, but I never laid eyes on him and Tanner until last week. That doesn’t count as relatives to me.”
“It sounds like something out of a movie, but yeah, I know what you mean. If it’s a choice of your own room at their place or sharing a hotel room with your estranged father, then yeah, I get it.”
I nodded. I hadn’t thought about it like that. Mac never even offered to let me stay with him, not that I would’ve taken him up on it. I bet it would’ve seemed improper to him, an adult daughter sharing a room with her father. And yet he was willing to let me stay with three strangers, men in their prime. Men who kissed and teased and flirted. He sure was banking on us maintaining our distance on the strength of a familial relationship I sure as hell didn’t feel. I didn’t see how the others could, either.
The rest of the ride passed quickly and pleasantly. When we reached O’Dowd’s, the parking lot was a little more crowded than it had been last week, but it was later in the evening than last time.