J. T. quickly pressed the phone to his chest and whispered, “Rebecca’s dropped out.” He’d told Britt about his truck. She’d told him about the toast video, because he miraculously hadn’t heard about it yet, and it actually made him blush.
But Al was still talking. J. T. raised the phone back to his ear.
“But it seems the producers saw that toast video from Nicasio’s wedding. It’s closing in on five million hits, you romantic son of a bitch. And they realize that you’re catnip to millions of women. They want you to fly in and read with Tara Gonzales instead. So it’s all about you, now, and they just have to cast the other lead. Check your e-mail for your flight numbers and boarding passes. We’ll have a car pick you up in about four hours.”
Tara Gonzales. Another big star, a fine actress, a smoldering brunette with a body like sin. She would be amazing in that role, too. She had a husband and three adorable kids and no history whatsoever with J. T.
J. T. smiled slowly. “Sounds great, Al.”
“I’ll take you to lunch while we’re there.”
“Natch,” J. T. said, and ended the call.
He stared at Britt in utter bemusement.
“Your expression says you have some amazing news,” Britt prompted.
“So... like I said, Rebecca dropped out. But because of that video of the toast, and all the publicity around it, they want me to test with Tara Gonzales tomorrow. The part is mine. Now it’s all about me.”
She gave a short, amazed laugh. “Tara Gonzales? That troll?” she teased. “Actually, I love her.”
“So does her husband.” He kissed her.
“Wanna come with me? We’d be back in a couple of days,” he murmured, when they came up for air.
She touched his face. “You go do this. It’d leave Sherrie and Glenn in the lurch if I do. Next time. I promise. I’ll be fine, J. T., I swear. I’ll miss you, but I can’t wait to see you in this movie. And to buy a dress at Kayla’s boutique for the premiere.”
He studied her face as if to ascertain the absolute truth of this. Checking to see if she was, indeed, okay.
She loved him. She knewhelovedher.
She knew pretty much what she’d just signed up for.
And she did trust him, and that was the honest-to-God truth.
But J. T.’s expression was a little somber. He was pensive about something.
“What do you want to do for four hours?” Britt asked him.
And then his eyes took on a portentous gleam. Some kind of lightbulb had just clicked on in his head.
She was pretty sure she knew the answer. She hoped, anyway.
But it was his turn to surprise her. “I think we should go for a hike.”
Once or twice a week, when they could get away alone, Glenn and Sherrie took a long hike in the cool of the evening, if it did cool down in the evening, which was no guarantee.
Their favorite hike was Full Moon Falls, because they could stop by the Eternity Oak to admire their initials. Glenn had carved them there with absolute unswerving conviction when the two of them were still in high school.
The scar was old and bold, and the tree, they liked to think, bore it proudly.
They stopped before it like a shrine.
And then Sherrie gasped. “Oh, my goodness. Look, honey. Brand-new initials up there on that branch. You can see they’ve just been carved. It’s a little raw.”
They moved in for a closer look.
BEL + JTM