he'd see through her
like she was clear glass.
"He and Olivia were involved at one
time."
"Oh." She couldn't help the way her mouth
fell open before she could control her reaction. That added a whole
new dimension to the situation. The only thing it left unsolved was
what Everett was up to, and she had no doubt that he was definitely
up to something.
Chapter Eight
Laurel Heights was one of the nicer
neighborhoods in San Francisco. Stuffy even, with the expensive
looking women and their little pedigreed dogs. Like a less
pretentious LA.
Michael parked the rental and got out of the
car, looking around. He couldn't believe Olivia had ended up
opening a store her. Hard to reconcile the woman she was with the
girl she'd been eleven years ago.
But he was different too. Selling your soul
did that to you.
What was he supposed to have done? If not
for Parker, he'd still be trying to break into the business.
It'd been a dream-come-true. He couldn't
remember a time he hadn't wanted to make movies—from that Christmas
day when he was six and got his first hand-me-down Super 8 camera.
The rest was history.
He wished this movie was history.
Everything about Love Unbound was
wrong—from the storyline to the cast to the location. He combed his
hand through his hair. As if it wasn't enough that he had to deal
with being back in Northern California and seeing Olivia, having to direct
Sophie Martineau was a one-way ticket to an insane asylum. Early in
both their careers they'd worked together, and it wasn't an
experience he'd cared to repeat. Ever.
Parker knew that, but the man wasn't even
bothering to be subtle. The whole movie was a set-up. A story about
a burnt-out actress coming home to hook up with her high school
love? Come on. Sophie Martineau playing the lead? Any pretense of
staying on schedule and under budget might as well be dispensed
with right from the start. And shooting on Granny Mae's farm?
But a set-up for what? To fail?
Failing meant he couldn't get out of his
indenture to Parker Pictures.
Michael shook his head, looking at Romantic
Notions's storefront down the block. That didn't ring true. Parker
was after something else.
Time enough to figure that out later. Now he
had to concentrate on the matter at hand—Olivia. He stuck his hands
in his pocket, touched the locket, and headed to Romantic
Notions.
He pushed open the door to Olivia's store
and stepped in. He looked to the counter, expecting to see Olivia,
but there was no sign of anyone.
The first time he came in, he'd been so
focused on Olivia he hadn't given the surroundings a second glance.
This time, he took his time to take in the ambiance and feel of her
store.
A couple plush velvet chairs were separated
by a coffee table laden with all sorts of magazines—fashion to
automotive. Display racks and tables showcased all sorts of
underwear, from the practical to the seductive in an array of
color. The smell of some flower tickled his nose, but it was light,
almost an afterthought.
Comfortable.
He'd bought his fair share of underwear for
girlfriends in the past and he'd never felt at ease in a lingerie
store. This was a store he could enjoy shopping at. He walked over
to a display and picked up a bottle. "Chocolate Topping for
Lovers," he read.
Was Olivia into this stuff? He pictured her,
naked, her wild hair tangled, her eyes wicked with intent. She was
crawling toward him, the jar of chocolate open. She stopped,
kneeling between his legs, and dipped a finger into the jar.
Slowly, never taking her eyes off his, she smeared the chocolate
across his abdomen. Leaning down, she licked a path from his belly
button, all the way to—
"What are you doing here?"
The arch question startled him out of his
fantasy. Michael looked up to see Olivia emerge from a burgundy
velvet curtain.
She wore a white T-shirt that was thin
enough to see the outline of her nipples.
He'd fantasized about the wrong thing. He
should have been imagining
like she was clear glass.
"He and Olivia were involved at one
time."
"Oh." She couldn't help the way her mouth
fell open before she could control her reaction. That added a whole
new dimension to the situation. The only thing it left unsolved was
what Everett was up to, and she had no doubt that he was definitely
up to something.
Chapter Eight
Laurel Heights was one of the nicer
neighborhoods in San Francisco. Stuffy even, with the expensive
looking women and their little pedigreed dogs. Like a less
pretentious LA.
Michael parked the rental and got out of the
car, looking around. He couldn't believe Olivia had ended up
opening a store her. Hard to reconcile the woman she was with the
girl she'd been eleven years ago.
But he was different too. Selling your soul
did that to you.
What was he supposed to have done? If not
for Parker, he'd still be trying to break into the business.
It'd been a dream-come-true. He couldn't
remember a time he hadn't wanted to make movies—from that Christmas
day when he was six and got his first hand-me-down Super 8 camera.
The rest was history.
He wished this movie was history.
Everything about Love Unbound was
wrong—from the storyline to the cast to the location. He combed his
hand through his hair. As if it wasn't enough that he had to deal
with being back in Northern California and seeing Olivia, having to direct
Sophie Martineau was a one-way ticket to an insane asylum. Early in
both their careers they'd worked together, and it wasn't an
experience he'd cared to repeat. Ever.
Parker knew that, but the man wasn't even
bothering to be subtle. The whole movie was a set-up. A story about
a burnt-out actress coming home to hook up with her high school
love? Come on. Sophie Martineau playing the lead? Any pretense of
staying on schedule and under budget might as well be dispensed
with right from the start. And shooting on Granny Mae's farm?
But a set-up for what? To fail?
Failing meant he couldn't get out of his
indenture to Parker Pictures.
Michael shook his head, looking at Romantic
Notions's storefront down the block. That didn't ring true. Parker
was after something else.
Time enough to figure that out later. Now he
had to concentrate on the matter at hand—Olivia. He stuck his hands
in his pocket, touched the locket, and headed to Romantic
Notions.
He pushed open the door to Olivia's store
and stepped in. He looked to the counter, expecting to see Olivia,
but there was no sign of anyone.
The first time he came in, he'd been so
focused on Olivia he hadn't given the surroundings a second glance.
This time, he took his time to take in the ambiance and feel of her
store.
A couple plush velvet chairs were separated
by a coffee table laden with all sorts of magazines—fashion to
automotive. Display racks and tables showcased all sorts of
underwear, from the practical to the seductive in an array of
color. The smell of some flower tickled his nose, but it was light,
almost an afterthought.
Comfortable.
He'd bought his fair share of underwear for
girlfriends in the past and he'd never felt at ease in a lingerie
store. This was a store he could enjoy shopping at. He walked over
to a display and picked up a bottle. "Chocolate Topping for
Lovers," he read.
Was Olivia into this stuff? He pictured her,
naked, her wild hair tangled, her eyes wicked with intent. She was
crawling toward him, the jar of chocolate open. She stopped,
kneeling between his legs, and dipped a finger into the jar.
Slowly, never taking her eyes off his, she smeared the chocolate
across his abdomen. Leaning down, she licked a path from his belly
button, all the way to—
"What are you doing here?"
The arch question startled him out of his
fantasy. Michael looked up to see Olivia emerge from a burgundy
velvet curtain.
She wore a white T-shirt that was thin
enough to see the outline of her nipples.
He'd fantasized about the wrong thing. He
should have been imagining
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