Chapter 97 A Break from Hollywood
Emily got home from her appointment and went to find her fiance. He was busy in his home office, but she suspected he was only hiding from her. She knocked on his door.
“Yes?” he said irritably.
“The dogs want to go for a walk,” Emily said
“I’m kind of busy.”
“They said they want to go with you.”
“Did they?” Byron looked up from his computer, almost smiling.
“Yes, it’s been ages since we both walked them together, and they need to talk to both of us.”
Byron got ready pretty quickly which was a good sign he wanted to talk it out too so they could move past this.
They walked along the beach, letting the dogs off leash to splash in the water.
“Okay, what did the dogs want to talk to us about?” Byron asked.
“About what happened,” Emily began, “I realize how it must have looked like to you. You’re out of town for a few days, and suddenly your fiancee is hanging out with some guy you’ve never met before. I get that would cause some jealousy.”
“Yes, exactly,” Byron said. “But I realize now it was random chance.”
“So, you trust me, right?”
“Of course I trust you,” he said, “I just hope that you know what you’re doing.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emily exclaimed.
“I saw the way he was looking at you. I don’t think you’re aware sometimes of just how much men find you attractive. I catch them staring at you every day, and you hardly notice.”
“Oh...” Emily blushed. She did sometimes notice men checking her out, but she didn’t realize Byron was so aware of it. It seemed he actually had amazing restraint since he didn’t try to pick a fight with every man who looked at her. “But Carter is just a friend. A friend of a friend, really. To be honest, I once had a crush on him, but nowadays I can’t take him seriously. I mean, you met him...”
“Yeah.” Byron’s lips lifted up in a slight smile. “He seems like a bit of a show-off. But girls like those kind of guys.”
“Not this girl,” Emily said, taking his hand tentatively.
“I know,” he replied. “I’m sorry for being so jealous.”
He kissed her, and this time the ice had melted away completely. His lips felt warm and inviting. Emily was glad he trusted her, and she found it easy to forgive his jealousy since she had been secretly jealous herself a few times.
The next day was sweltering hot, and the entire population of the city was roaming the beaches and the streets looking for cold drinks or a bit of shade.
Emily decided to go out for ice cream to a cafe that was just a short walk from her art studio. She ordered a scoop of hazelnut in a waffle cone and licked her lips in anticipation of the treat.
Just as she was about to enjoy it, a chime rang, and a new customer entered the cafe. It was a woman with long, dark hair. She wore sunglasses, but Emily recognized her.
“Nova?” she said.
“Oh, hello... um, Emily.” Nova seemed to recognize her too, though she had nearly forgotten her name. “What are you up to?”
“Just chilling.”
“Haha, nice one,” Nova said, pulling up a chair beside her. “In case you’re wondering what I’m doing in town, I’m following up the success of my films with some much-needed downtime. Going back to my roots and all that.”
“That’s... good,” Emily said, feeling a little awkward. Though out of the two of them, she felt like Nova was the more awkward one for some reason. The actress was not as poised or confident as Emily had seen her at the premiere. She wondered if Nova had some agenda regarding Byron that brought her back to Vancouver. That would explain why she was so nervous around his fiancee.
They chatted about the local sights for a bit, and Emily soon had to get back to work.
“I wanted to see Byron while I was in town,” Nova remarked as they were saying their goodbyes, “Maybe all three of us should get together?”
“Yeah, that would be nice,” Emily said. This seemed like a friendly overture that allayed her suspicions a little. But if the reason for Nova’s return really was to see Byron, she would have to keep an eye on her. She may not be as evil as the clown she portrayed in the film, but Nova seemed like a bit of a crafty woman.
Emily felt like she herself could have used a break from Hollywood, except now Hollywood had come to her.
She was happy for Byron about the success of his two films, and amazed at his luck that The Vampire from Outer Space got cancelled after getting more and more mired in pre-production hassles. However, she wished he wouldn’t focus so much on these films that linked him to Nova.
When she got home, Byron was already making dinner. He had been so caring and attentive lately after their recent fight that she felt bad for thinking he could fall under Nova’s spell again.
