Chapter 51 Lunch with the Enemy
The café in Hollywood was near a lot of the sound stages and backlots, so a lot of famous people ate there. Case had arrived early, wanting to get a table away from the front. He was in a booth, nervously twiddling his thumbs, when the maître d showed Sarah to the table.
She came over to him, her arms open, and even though he didn’t want to, Case stood to embrace her. She kissed his cheek, much closer to his lips than he cared for. “You look amazing,” she said, her eyes wandering down him. “It’s so great to see you.”
“Thanks. You look nice, too.” He gestured for her to sit down, praying there was no lipstick on his face. He didn’t want to look too closely, but she didn’t seem to be showing yet, so that was something. “How are you?”
“Ugh. Morning sickness kicked in a couple of weeks ago. It’s the worst.”
“I’m sorry. The doctor can’t give you anything for that?”
Sarah shrugged. “I guess she could, but I want to do this totally natural.”
He wasn’t exactly sure what that meant when it came to nausea and hoped that didn’t mean she was going to have the baby in a bathtub or in the woods or something. The waitress came and took their order. Sarah ordered a salad, which didn’t surprise him. She always ate like a bird in public, but sometimes at night, he knew she got up and ate junk food. He wasn’t hungry but ordered a sandwich and soup and then returned his attention to Sarah.
She began talking about her new movie. Not the one she was doing with Andrea, but the other one. He did his best to listen, but that wasn’t at all what he’d come for. Even after they’d gotten their food, she wouldn’t stop talking about the movie.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying work, Sarah, but I think we should talk about other matters.”
She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, like she didn’t know for sure what he was talking about. Then, a smile broke across her face. “You know all you have to do is ask, Case, and I’ll get back together with you in a heartbeat.”
He ducked his head and ran a hand through his hair, trying not to let her see him roll his eyes. “I’m sorry, Sarah. I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He met her gaze again.
Her face fell. “Oh. Well, don’t you think we should at least give it a try? I mean, for the baby?”
She said baby way too loudly. Case looked around. Thankfully, no one seemed to be paying them any attention. “Sarah, we tried to make it work every which way I know how. We just aren’t good together.”
“Oh, come on, Case. We need to try again.” She reached across the table and put her hand on top of his. He wanted to pull back but didn’t. “You haven’t been dating Andrea that long. You can’t possibly be that attached. Besides, I had some friends at the club last night who said she was all over Travis Copper.”
That surprised him. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t know what to believe. Sarah was sure to blow things out of proportion. He shook his head. “All right, listen, Sarah, I’ll think about it—on one condition. You come with me to get a paternity test done at a third party doctor—one that you’ve never been to before, and one that I’ve got no ties to either.”
Her mouth dropped so far, it practically smacked on the table. “Are you shi*tting me?” she asked. “What the hell, Case? You don’t trust me?”
“Sarah, you’re talking about an eighteen year commitment her. It doesn’t matter if I trust you or not. I want to make sure everything is legitimate.”
“And if the baby is yours—which it is—you’ll break up with her?”
He nodded. Case didn’t want to do that, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t matter. If the baby was his, Andrea was bound to break up with him anyway—especially if she really was out dancing with her hot costar the night before.
“Fine. I’ll do it. But I’m super busy right now, Case. I’m not sure when I’ll have time. I’m making two movies, you know.”
“I know.” He wasn’t surprised at all to hear her put it off. “I’ll give you a few weeks.”
“It might take longer.”
“I’m leaving to go back to North Carolina soon, Sarah. It’s got to happen before then.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why you keep racing anyway. Just retire and move out here already. You could totally find work as an actor or a model.”
“I don’t want to be an actor or a model, Sarah. I’m a racecar driver because I love it.”
“It’s dangerous. I don’t want our baby growing up without a father.”
“We’ll talk about that after the paternity test, too, okay?”
Sarah gave him a satisfied grin, as if she thought she was winning. “Fine. I have to get back on set now. It’s difficult work starring in a movie.”
She stood and came around the table. He got up and kissed her cheek, and she left, not even offering to pay for her part of lunch—which was typical.
Case sat back down and signaled for the check. He knew it would take some trickery to get Sarah to the doctor, but that was okay. He wasn’t beyond a little trickery if that’s what it took to make sure the baby was his. While he also didn’t want to break a promise to her, he couldn’t imagine breaking up with Andrea if she’d still have him if Sarah’s story was true.
“One step at a time,” he muttered to himself. First, he needed to get Sarah to the doctor. He also needed to talk to Andrea. He didn’t like the way he’d left her the night before. He couldn’t blame her if she had been out at the club with Travis. Case would have to do everything he could to make this up to her because Andrea was worth fighting for.
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