“So we set up that boundary,” I suggested. “You refuse to answer questions about him or make any statement to the press about any kind of relationship. You’ll only agree to be photographed in public with him. Let the press make of it what they will.”
Adrianne sighed. “I still hate it.”
But there was no way around it without risking her future in the movie. “It’s going to be okay,” Ethan said and reached to take her hand. He brought it up to his mouth and brushed her knuckles with his lips. His face puckered slightly. “You taste like salt.”
He obviously doesn’t appreciate it as much as I do, I thought. “The ocean is salty, Merc,” Callan commented.
Ethan shook his head and lay back out on the blanket. “We’ll tell Cheswell our decision in the morning,” he said.
“You meanmydecision,” Adrianne countered. “Since the production company can’t know about you all.”
She sounded so sad that Callan and I shifted closer to her. It was automatic, instinctual, and it was hard not to overthink that one. It was too soon to feel what I was feeling, but spending an afternoon in the sunshine in my favorite spot with my favorite people made it all the harder to deny that I was falling for her. “We’re not worried about validation or whatever you’re thinking,” I said. “We know that we have something special here.”
She turned her gaze to me. “Is it?” she asked. “Special?”
“Like you said, every day should end like this,” I repeated her words back to her. “That’s pretty special in my books.”
Adrianne nodded. “Yeah,” she agreed.
When the food was largely gone, Callan and I decided on a few more runs in the surf. Adrianne opted to lie in the sun with Ethan. “You’re falling for her, aren’t you?” Callan asked as we walked down the beach.
“So are you.”
He coughed. “Can you never answer a direct question?”
“Sure,” I said and shot him a grin. “Of course, I can.”
“I’m seriously thinking about drowning you.”
I laughed. “You’ll have to catch me first,” I taunted, “and remember who taught you how to ride that board.”
Callan was from New Jersey. Before we’d met, he’d never so much as seen a surfboard in real life. He was athletic and took to it naturally, but he still learned to surf relatively late in life. It was easy to best him in a race or a contest. He still had a natural fear of the water that kept him from an overabundance of reckless decisions.
We raced out into the water like we were a couple of teenagers again, and in our race to catch the most perfect wave, I won by a landslide. We nearly turned back out, but Ethan was waving us in. “Come on,” I said. “They want us back.”
“You cheated.” Callan pouted as we paddled in.
“Sure, I did,” I said in mock sympathy. “I used my magic wave making machine to create perfect waves for me and leave nothing for you.”
He splashed me, but I made it back to the shore unscathed. Even as we approached the blanket, we could tell that Adrianne wasn’t thrilled.
“She called Cheswell and told him about being photographed,” Ethan explained. “They were happy about it, but she’s feeling guilty. I’m thinking it's time to head home.”
Callan and I nodded. “Agreed.”
13
ADRIANNE
“I’m really sorry about this,” Ryan said for the hundredth time. “I never thought that they would push you like this.”
“It’s fine, Ryan,” I said. “This can’t be totally pleasant for you, either.”
Ryan had tentatively suggested that we get dinner after wrapping for the day. I had called Cheswell and agreed to be photographed alongside him a few days ago, and so far, I had avoided actually leaving the studio at the same time as him. But they had to be getting anxious, so I agreed.
Callan drove us in his F150 from the studio down the street to a bar that served really good burgers and tacos. As expected, the paparazzi were waiting for us, and I’m sure they got several shots of us climbing out of the truck and walking closely together—but not touching, as I’d refused to do that—and going into the restaurant. Luckily, the owner wouldn’t allow them to actually come inside.
Callan was a table away, watching over me, and I was doing my best not to look at him. “It’s not a hardship sharing a meal with you,” he said, and for once, his words weren’t tinged with flirtation or innuendo. Instead, he just sounded like someone who might be a friend. “I’ve enjoyed working with you the last few weeks. You’re a great actress.”