“For goodness sakes,” I mumble under my breath, leaning back against the door of the store after shutting it, blocking out the flashes of paparazzi cameras. “This is ridiculous.”

“Damn, they’re really interested in you today, huh?”

I open my eyes to see Kyle standing there. “Very much so.”

“Welcome back,” he says with a smile, coming over to give me a quick hug. “How was Hawaii?”

Just the mention of it makes me sad to be back in LA. “Amazing. It was so nice there,” I say, handing him the large cup of Starbucks coffee I had picked up for him on my way in.

“You look a little pink,” he comments, touching my forearm.

I look down at my skin, which isn’t it’s normal pale self. “I know. I forgot to wear sunscreen on my last day there.”

“Did you spend a lot of time outside?” Kyle asks as we walk through the store towards my office.

“When Justin was shooting there wasn’t much for me to do so I just sat outside and read.” I set my own coffee down on my desk along with my bag.

“You didn’t watch them shoot the scenes?” he asks, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe. “You had a sneak peak at a big movie.”

“I thought I would be really interested in watching it but after you watch them shoot the same scene fives times it kind of loses it’s magic.” I lean over my desk to start up my laptop. “So I caught up on my reading instead.”

“Read anything good?”

“I read that book you recommended the other day. It was great.”

“I thought you’d like it.”

My computer loads up and I log onto my email account. “So anything exciting happen here while I was gone?”

With his head he motions to the corner of the office and I see a package sitting there. “What’s that?”

“Open it.”

I go over and pull it open. A large smile spreads over my lips when I see the fabric I had specially ordered from Paris sitting inside. “Finally,” I say, fingering the soft material. “I’ve been waiting forever for this.”

“It came on Friday afternoon. That’s why I called you.”

I glance up from the fabric. “You called me? When?”

“Friday afternoon. Justin picked up.”

“Oh. He never said anything.”

Kyle’s silent for a moment before raising an eyebrow. “I don’t think he was very happy that I called you.”

“What did he say?” I ask, hoping he wasn’t a complete jerk.

“Basically that you were on vacation and anything work related should wait until you were back in LA.”

I shut my eyes briefly and sigh. “I’m going to apologize on behalf of him.”

Kyle shrugs. “It doesn’t matter.”

I shake my head. It does matter. If Susan had called me, Justin would have told me. It’s simply because it was Kyle that I didn’t get the message. This is ridiculous. “It does matter,” I reply finally, putting the fabric back in its package to deal with later. “I’m guessing he wasn’t exactly pleasant to you, right?”

He merely raises his eyebrows, which answers my question. “It’s not like it was really important for you to know the fabric came.”

“That’s not the point,” I say, bringing up a hand to run through my hair. “You weren’t doing anything wrong by calling me.”

“That’s what I thought,” he says and then shrugs. “Whatever though. It’s no big deal.” His eyes flicker around the office. “Nothing else too important happened though. Susan called but said she’d email you.”

I glance at my computer screen and see an email from her in my inbox. “Probably about fashion week.”

“Already?”

“I was going to show her a couple ideas I have. And she wanted to talk about revamping the website.”

“You know, I was going to suggest that. The site is a bit dull. No offense.”

“None taken. I know it’s not the most stimulating website ever.”

“I’ve taken some web design classes. I could fool around with it a bit.”

I perk up a bit at that. “Really?”

“Sure. I’ll look at it tonight.”

“That would be awesome.”

Kyle glances over his shoulder towards the showroom. “Someone just came in. I’ll talk to you in a bit.”

I nod. “Sure.” I wait for him to leave and then go and shut my office door. Sitting down at my desk, I stare at my computer screen but make no move to click on the waiting emails. The conversation with Kyle is still going through my head and I’m getting a little pissed off as I think about the fact that I never got the message that Kyle had phoned. Justin’s whole jealousy thing needs to stop now. I had hoped he would just get over it but clearly he isn’t. Every once in a while he’ll say slightly passive aggressive things when I mention Kyle, which is irritating but tolerable up until this point. From how Kyle acted, I know that Justin was rude to him when he called. And then for him not to tell me he called? That has to stop.

I pull my cell phone from my bag and text Justin to call me when he has a chance, not wanting to call if they’re in the middle of shooting a scene. Apparently he’s not busy because less than a minute after I send the text, my phone is ringing.

“Hello.”

“Hey,” he answers, sounding completely relaxed. “What are you up to?”

“I just got into the store.”

“It’s like eleven LA time, isn’t it? You’re there late.”

“I’m still a bit jetlagged,” I reply and then get right to the point, not interested in any small talk. “So when I got here I was talking to Kyle and he mentioned he called while I was down in Hawaii.”

There’s a pause that lasts longer than it should. “Oh, right,” Justin finally says. “I forgot to tell you.”

He couldn’t have said worse words. “You’re full of bullshit.”

“Excuse me?” He sounds shocked and sends some satisfaction through me.

“From what I heard it sounds like it wasn’t just some quick ‘I’ll give her the message’. You said that I shouldn’t be getting work related calls because I was on vacation.”

“Well that’s true.”

“So if Susan had called, would I have gotten the message then?”

He utters a laugh, which only serves to piss me off further. “It didn’t matter who called. I forgot to give you the message. What’s the big deal?”

“You didn’t forget to give me the message,” I reply, my fingers tapping on the top of my desk. “And I know that if it had been Susan you wouldn’t have told her to not call me while I was on vacation. And you wouldn’t have ‘forgot’ to give me the message. You intentionally didn’t tell me Kyle called because you hate him.”

The voices that were in the background fade and I figure he’s moved to a more private area. “Wow, according to you I got a lot of ulterior motives, huh?”

His voice is carrying a bit of sarcasm and I can feel my face heating up as I get more upset. “Well you do, don’t you?” I challenge him, pushing my chair back and standing. “You hate Kyle for some unknown reason and instead of just dealing with it, you’re rude to him and try and make him as uncomfortable as possible.”

“Forgive me, Cassie, for not being overjoyed that you’re best friends with a guy who, regardless of the fact that you already have a boyfriend, has feelings for you.”

I scoff at that ridiculous statement but before I can say anything, he continues.

“You and him are way closer than a business relationship should be and yeah, that pisses me off because you end up spending more time with him than you do with me.”

“You’re not even here,” I cut in before he can say anything else. “Of course I’m spending more time with him.”

“Do you really think I had any say in where the movie was being shot?” A door is slammed and I assume he is now in his trailer, which is probably for the best because now he’s getting upset and raising his voice and I don’t want the entire movie set to hear all this. “Would you rather me just screw my career so I’m in LA?”

“I didn’t say that,” I quickly say, forcing myself to calm down a bit. He’s getting himself worked up and I don’t want to do the same. I walk over to a painting I have on the wall and stare at it. “What I said is that you aren’t here so of course I’m spending more time with Kyle. And I’m sorry if it bothers you so much that we’re friends but I’m we work together every single day and that’s just how it is. If you trust me at all, it really shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

He groans. “Don’t pull out the whole trust thing, Cassie. You know I trust you. I don’t trust him. You don’t see the way he looks at you.”

“You haven’t ever taken the time to even slightly get to know him. You have no reason to hate him.”

“I have every reason to hate a guy who is going after my girlfriend!”

“You’re joking, right?” I ask incredulously. “You’re not around him enough to have the right to say something like that.”

“I can say whatever I want,” he shoots back.

I shut my eyes and don’t say anything. Fighting over the phone is one of my least favorite things to do. And fighting with someone as stubborn as Justin over the phone? It’s completely pointless. “Please just stop yelling,” I finally say softly.

I can hear him take a few deep breaths and when he speaks again, his voice is somewhat calmer. “It’s never going to get to the point where I like Kyle, Cassie, or want to hang out with him. That’s just how it is and that’s how it’s going to be.”

I sit back down in my chair and drop my head into my hand. “I’m not asking you to be friends with him. I’m asking you to respect him as much as you respect me.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Justin…”

“What? Do you want me to lie and say I will? Because that’s what it’s going to be-a lie.”

I don’t say anything. Sometimes he makes it impossible to reason with him. I can only sit there silently and shake my head.

“Look,” Justin finally says. “I don’t want to argue about this, okay? I’m sorry I forgot to give you the message but that’s what happened-I forgot. I really don’t have all this malicious intent in me that you seem to think I have.”

“I don’t think you have malicious intent,” I say with a sigh. I really hate fighting with him and he’s so stubborn that I’m just running around in circles with this. This can just be dealt with at a later date. I can’t deal with this right now. “You forgot?”

“I forgot,” he repeats. “Next time I promise I’ll write it down. Better yet, next time I just won’t answer your phone, okay?”

I have a feeling that’s as good as I’m going to get so I’ll take it. “Okay.”

“So is this all okay? Are you still pissed off?”

I take a deep breath and shake my head even though he can’t see it. “No.”

“Good. Hey, I’ve got to get to set. They keep calling for me.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“No, it’s cool. They can wait a couple minutes. But we’re okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I’ll you later once I’m done. Will you keep your cell phone on?”

I hate having my cell phone on when I’m working but I don’t want Justin calling the store and Kyle picking up. “Yeah.”

“Alright. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay.”

He hangs up with that and I drop my phone onto my desk and let out a large sigh. At least now I know he wasn’t intentionally not telling me Kyle called. But even with all he said, I just have this feeling like there was something really really wrong with what just went on.

* * *

“So would you like us to have a nice glass of warm milk sent up to your room? Or maybe some extra blankets so you don’t catch a chill?”

I roll my eyes as Grace begins to laugh at Sasha’s words. “You guys are hilarious. Really.”

Sasha giggles and snakes her arm around my side, squeezing me until my ribs begin to ache. “We try to tame it down around you. We don’t want you to get too excited and have a stroke or anything.”

I simply shake my head and fish through my pocket for my room key. Filming for the past two and a half months has really been catching up to me lately and this is the fourth night in a row that I’ve wanted to go to bed earlier. That prompted Sasha to develop a theory that I’m aging at a rapid pace and I’m actually close to eighty years old. The old man jokes haven’t stopped since we sat down for dinner at the hotel restaurant. But really, it’s almost ten o’clock and I have to be on set by five tomorrow morning. It’s not that unreasonable to want to go to bed, is it?

We reach the elevators and I push the up button. “Well ladies, as fun as it’s been to put up with your abuse for the past three hours, I’m going up to my room.”

“You’re really sure you don’t want to come out with us?” Grace asks. “You do realize that you only get thirteen more days with our lovely presence before the filming wraps up.”

The elevator dings and the doors open. “Seems like an eternity,” I reply, laughing when Sasha flips me off. I step into the elevator and hit the button for my floor. “See you guys tomorrow.”

“Don’t forget to take your arthritis medicine!” Grace calls to me and I would respond but the doors close before I can.

The silence of the elevator is actually a nice break. I’ve been around people all day and the constant noise was about to make me go crazy. I can’t wait to get to my room, change into some sweats, and call Cassie.

My plans for the remainder of the evening immediately take a turn when I open the door to my hotel room. For a second I think I’m dreaming but when I blink and still see Cassie standing at the door to the balcony with her back to me, a smile spreads across my face. What the hell is she doing in Hawaii?

“Cass,” I say happily, letting the door shut behind me. “What are you doing here?”

She doesn’t say anything at first and I’m crossing the room to her when she turns around. My smile falters a bit at the look on her face.

“Where were you?” she asks, her voice soft.

I reach her and draw her into a tight hug. It’s been two weeks since I flew back to LA to see her and I didn’t think I would be seeing her again before filming was wrapped. This is an amazing surprise.

“I was out with some people for dinner,” I reply, not missing that she didn’t return my hug but instead kept her arms wrapped around her stomach. “How long have you been here?”

“Since five. When I talked to you last night you said you were coming back to your hotel right after filming today.”

She’s right here in front of me and yet she seems a million miles away. “I was going to but then some of us went for dinner instead.” If only I had known she had planned a surprise visit and was up here just waiting for me. I wouldn’t have wasted the past five hours with people I see every day.

“I tried calling you but it kept going to voice mail.”

I’m becoming more and more anxious as I see moisture developing in her eyes. Her voice is almost down to a whisper now and she hasn’t even smiled at me yet. “My phone’s completely dead,” I say, rubbing my hands up and down her arms, trying to get something from her. Anything. “I’m sorry you’ve just been waiting up here all by yourself.” I lean down to hug her again, needing the contact. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

She’s still in my arms for a moment before she speaks, her voice cracking this time. “You smell like perfume.”

I pull back abruptly so I can see her face. A tear has fallen down her cheek and it looks like it will soon be joined by others. “I was hanging with Sasha and Grace,” I say, anxiety going through me. She can’t possibly think that I was with another girl like that.

Cassie says nothing but her chin trembles a bit and her shoulders drop.

I cup her face in my hands and bring it up so she’s looking at me. “Cassie, I swear. We were just all at dinner together. I would never do that to you.”

Some more tears fall. “I know that.”

I wipe my thumbs under her eyes, drying her skin. “Why are you crying then?”

She brings her hands up to run through her hair, her arms bumping mine out of the way. “I’ve just been waiting here for five hours not knowing where you were. I’ve had this trip planned for weeks and it’s just ruined.” She rolls her shoulder slightly. “And this stupid lace has been scratching me the entire time.”

My eyes slide down her body. One of the first things I noticed when I first walked into the room was what she was wearing but it hadn’t seemed appropriate to comment on it at the time. But I’m pretty sure there’s a present waiting for me under the short silk robe she has on. I move my hand to her shoulder and start to push her robe to the side.

“What have you got on under there?”

She pushes my hand away and crosses her arms over her chest. Okay, so we won’t be doing any of that right now. “Stop it, Justin.”

My hand falls back to my side and I stare at her silently. “You’re mad at me,” I finally state, feeling a sight build up in me.

She looks to the side. “No, I’m not.”

I watch in dismay as her tears start again and she draws in a shaky breath. “Cass, what’s wrong?” I ask softly. “We’re here together. Why are you crying?”

Her tears really start at that point and when she goes to draw in a deep breath, a small sob escapes her. Not caring if she wants me to touch her or not at this point, I draw her into a hug, cradling her head against my chest.

“Cassie,” I whisper into her hair. “Baby, what is it?”

She chokes in a breath and shakes her head against my chest. The only sounds in the room for a while are her crying and I don’t know what to do. At seven and a half months, I’ve seen her cry but never really cry like this. I don’t know what to do or say to comfort her so I simply keep her tightly against me and stroke my fingers through her hair.

A few minutes pass before Cassie finally says something but her words are muffled and I pull my upper body back a bit so I can see her face.

“What?”

She brings her hands up to wipe her face. “I hate this. I can’t just be away from you constantly and only see you for a day or two every few weeks. I miss you too much.”

I lean down and give her a slow kiss. When I pull back, I rest my forehead against hers. “I know. I miss you so much too. But you’re here now.”

“But only until tomorrow night. And then I don’t get to see you again.”

“It’s only for two more weeks,” I say, desperate to make her feel better. I hate how upset she is. “And then I’m back in LA for good and we’ll get to see each other every single day.”

She takes a deep breath and nods slightly. “I know.”

I kiss her again. “We only have to make it through two more weeks and then everything will be back to normal. I promise.” I run my hands up and down her back. “Okay?”

She nods again and I’m relieved to see that her tears have ceased. “Okay.”

I kiss her nose and then forehead. “How about you take a bath? You’ll love the tub. It’s huge.”

“I know. I saw it.”

I drop my arms from around her and pick up her hand instead, pulling her toward the bathroom. “You might only be here for a night but we’ll make the best of it, okay?”

We reach the bathroom and I lean down to put the plug in the drain and start the water. When I straighten, Cassie surprises me with her hands suddenly pushing my t-shirt up my torso. I laugh slightly.

“What are you doing?” I ask, lifting up my arms so she can pull off my shirt.

She gives the first smile I’ve seen yet. “You’re going to join me, right?”

My own smile curves up my lips. Things are starting to look up. “I’d love to.”