She pulled back, concern for her friends overriding her lust momentarily. “Is everyone okay?”
“I checked with everyone by text. Everyone is safe, but we have a lot of work here at the hotel to get ready for Saturday. But I think we have time for a quickie.”
She arched her eyebrow. “Better not be too quick. I have expectations, you know.”
“Have I ever left you hanging, Anna?”
And he proceeded to ensure she was satisfied, twice.
* * *
Anna took the truck back to the house while Wyatt stayed at the hotel to wait for Grady and Matthew to work on the hotel wedding venue for Saturday. He might not have been as talented as Grady, but he could do some cleanup without direction and got started on picking up debris and assessing the state of the gazebo and archway for the ceremony. While he was working, he was mulling Anna’s dilemma in his head, wondering how he could help her. He still couldn’t understand why she hid all of her good deeds—working with the kids at the Playhouse, helping the waitress, and probably a whole heck of a lot more—when she desperately needed the good press. Plenty of actors did charity work and got it on camera. Who cared if it was purely for publicity? If it helped people, that was all that mattered.
Anna didn’t deserve the shit hand she had been dealt. Maybe even with some positive press, it could take more time than a few weeks or months before she was back on top.
He flipped through his phone, decision made, and made some calls before the rest of the guys got there, ensuring options for Anna. Once upon a time, someone gave him a helping hand, finding him a new path.
It was time to pay it forward.
* * *
After a long day working on wedding favors and other prep tasks, Anna wanted to crash. Delaney and Ethan had returned from their mainland trip, seeming to be very much back together. Unfortunately, Brigid had taken off, back to Houston for work. Grady stormed out of the house like a bear with a sore paw, and even Caroline, for the first time, was truly pissed off. She tried to hide it by chatting with the girls, but she was subdued and preoccupied the entire time. Delaney and Anna both tried to suppress their own happiness, but neither one succeeded.
By the time the evening had rolled around, everyone was tired and worn out from working hard and tiptoeing around the elephant in the room. They crashed around the fire pit, but the mood was somber. Grady excused himself and disappeared inside. Anna followed him and stopped him in the front hallway just before he left the house, his duffel thrown over his shoulder.
“Where are you headed?”
Grady stiffened but didn’t turn around. “I need some space. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
Anna stepped forward and laid a hand on his arm. “She’ll be back. I know it. She’s dealing with some major shit right now. But she cares about you. In fact, she loves you, and I think that scares the shit of her.”
Grady whirled so fast that Anna’s hand fell off and she took an involuntary step back. “How do you know? How do any of you know? She’s been sequestered in her office for the past week, ignoring everyone unless required. She chose her job over you, me, this wedding. Are those the actions of someone who cares?”
Anna studied him sadly. “Brigid has always been very focused on her goals. As someone who was also focused on her dreams, to the exclusion of all else, I can tell you when something comes along to challenge that, it’s hard to shift that course. Brigid is scared, but I believe she’ll make the right decision.”
“The right decision for whom—her parents or herself?” Grady asked, then turned and walked out the front door, closing it softly behind him.
Wyatt came up behind her and wrapped his arms around Anna. She leaned into him, sighing quietly. “Did you mean that, Anna?”
She laid her head against his chest, happy that he was there. “It’s scary to not know what you’ll do next when you had your whole life mapped out, planned, and decided.” She turned in his arms and looked up at him. “Is that how it felt for you?”
“I guess so. But once you figure out a path, you’ll feel better. You have options; you just need to figure them out.” He took her hand and drew her into the living room and sat on the couch. “Have you thought about anything?”
She laughed. “It’s been twenty-four hours, Wyatt. I’m still trying to accept that my time as Bianca St. John is over. I think I need to mourn a little.”
He nodded, looking a little preoccupied. “Well, I hope you don’t mind, but I made a few phone calls.”
She narrowed her eyes, suspicion growing. “What kind of phone calls? Wyatt, what did you do?” Her voice rose as panic filled her. Oh God, who did he call?
“Nothing really. I never even mentioned your name. I just put out some feelers to a few people I know, see what options might exist for you, to give you something to think about.”
“Are you trying to manage me, Wyatt Turner? I have an agent for that.” She tried to suppress the rising anger that came along with the panic that filled her, the fear that news about her lack of a role would get out before she and her agent had a chance to spin it right.
He took both of her hands in his, holding them tightly. “I know. But you said she was at a loss, so I thought to be creative a little. So, you already know the directorship at the Playhouse is open right now, with Karen retiring. It may not be full time, but it could be an option to keep your fingers in the pie, do some acting, and some coaching. UT has an opening in the drama department. Again, probably not full-time, but Texas has a growing independent film industry. UT has a lot of connections with that industry. I’ll bet you could build a network there and do some indie work. Plenty of actors got a great start there and even built strong careers in indie films. Karen did that when she came back from California.”
He stared at her, his smile fading as she shook her head, shock making her lightheaded.
She yanked her hands from his and glared at him. “I can’t believe you did that without my permission. How could you, Wyatt? You basically told everyone that my career was over. Maybe not in so many words, but that’s how they’ll take it. This is exactly why I don’t tell people anything about my life, my career. Because I can’t trust them not to spill to anyone. Do you know that any of them could call a media contact and get paid a boatload of money for a scoop like this? That’s big news. My agent and I needed time to lay a plan so we could get something lined up before anyone found out. If other producers found out my contract wasn’t renewed, they wouldn’t want me, and I’d be a leper in the industry. You’ve just ruined my chances of spinning this whole thing into a positive. Thanks a lot, Wyatt.”