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“It is new,” Juliet said. “But it feels … right.” Her delivery was good. I didn’t get a chance to see if Gran was buying it because my eyes were on Tess’s back as she went back inside the house.
Or if I was being honest, my eyes were on her ass.
I waited as long as I could, something inside me ramping up and forcing me out of my seat. “I’m just gonna go visit the bathroom,” I said, rising and dropping a kiss on Juliet’s cheek. “Be right back.” I slipped through the swinging screen door behind Tess, my mind spinning and my heart in my throat. I had no real idea why I was chasing her or what exactly I was going to say. I just knew I wanted to talk to her. Alone.
Chapter Six
Tess
Ihad just turned on the water to rinse my plate at the sink when Ryan came in the door after me, a strange expression on his gorgeous face. I was still a little annoyed—Gran was legitimately impossible, and I was worried what she might say in front of the magazine people when they arrived.
I turned to face Ryan, a nervous hitch in my breath.
“Sorry about Gran,” I told him. “She can be a little …” I trailed off. There was really no word for Gran. “She’s not great in company, but on a daily basis, she’s a pretty entertaining companion.”
“I’d guess so,” he said, leaning against the counter next to the sink, his eyes on me and his gaze intense. There was something in the way he was looking at me that made me feel warm all over, little shudders of excitement popping through me.
I slid the dish into the rack and looked up at him, feeling nervous as the bright blue eyes pierced me. I felt weirdly naked, exposed. “Is there something I can help you with?” It was difficult being this close to him. The attraction I’d always felt seeing him on screen was magnified about six thousand times having him just eighteen inches away from me.
“Well,” he said, his voice low and soft enough to make me tilt in toward him so I didn’t miss a word. He leaned a hip into the counter, his body close to me, his eyes never leaving my face. “I thought we better talk about cake.”
The kitchen was quiet, but the air was filled with some kind of energy, a buzz that filtered between the atoms around us, made me feel like I was levitating just the tiniest bit. I stood there at the sink, staring into Ryan’s eyes, and had the strangest sensation—like he was about to kiss me, like something had to happen between us just to relieve this strange tension. Just when I feared I might do something insane like throw myself into his arms or reach a hand out to trace that perfectly clefted chin, Juliet came through the door.
I stepped back instinctively, like a kid being caught doing something naughty.
“Gran’s crazy,” she said to me, not seeming to notice the thick heady air in the kitchen, or the way my chest seemed to be struggling with each breath.
I felt dizzy and slightly sick when I looked away from Ryan. “Yeah.” I made a point of avoiding his gaze, moving away from the magnetic pull of his body. “So I’m going to get the tractor and start pulling the chairs and tables from the barn in back. And then I’m making a cake.” I glanced at Ryan, who smiled at this, like we shared a secret.
“The caterers aren’t doing that stuff?” Juliet looked vaguely annoyed at the thought of manual labor and baking.
I shook my head, wiping my hands on my jeans. “Nope, just the tent. Now that it’s up, I’ve gotta get the stuff in there. They’re going to arrange it tomorrow morning.”
“I don’t know why you didn’t just let them do everything.” Juliet rinsed her dish and slid it into the rack. Ryan was still watching me. I could feel those piercing eyes on me, and a sheen of sweat was threatening on my brow. It was going to be a very long weekend, since I couldn’t seem to manage to behave like a normal person around him.
“Money, Juliet. It’s a way to save money.” I shrugged and glanced at Ryan, who I was sure didn’t have to worry about regular-people things like money. But I wasn’t about to pay someone else to do something I could easily do myself. I pulled my shoulders up straight, pushing away the heat of embarrassment that was replacing the warmth that had flooded my cheeks just moments before.
Juliet waved a hand, as if she’d heard enough, saying, “I’d help, but I have a few calls I have to return and then I need to start reading lines for my next movie.”
Liar. She’d never been big on helping if it meant the potential to break a nail or a sweat. “It’s fine,” I said, refusing to be annoyed. My sister was here for one weekend. I could deal. “Is Gran done?”
Juliet shrugged.
“Can you sit with her until she goes back for her rest, please?”
“Sure,” Juliet said, but she sounded distracted, or put out, like she had something else she needed to be doing. But she didn’t leave, she just stood, staring out the window at the lawn where the guards still patrolled.
Ryan had been quiet this whole time, standing nearby, watching me. Suddenly he said, “I’ll come help you with the furniture and then we’ll make cake.”
My eyes slid to him, even though I knew looking his way was dangerous. Why would a movie star want to do manual labor? Juliet definitely didn’t.
That got Juliet’s attention. “You don’t have to do that stuff, Ryan. My sister just insists on being a martyr sometimes,” she said.
I frowned at her, trying to figure out what was making her grumpy. She had always been work-averse, but she’d never really been mean. “What?” I asked.
Juliet’s expression changed immediately, and she reached for my hand, looking sad. “I’m sorry, Tess. I’m just…I’m really wound up and distracted. All this divorce stuff…” she trailed off, shaking her head.
“I’ll help,” Ryan said again. “I’m happy to.” He was too handsome, and my body seemed to have a mind of its own when he was close. I should have been listening to my normal, sane mind. The one saying: movie stars who are dating your sister are not fair game no matter how they are looking at you.
