Lisa
I shook Ten Lee's hand. "Good to see you."
"Thanks for the beer. You change your mind about ditching work and going fishing again, give me a call."
"Wish I could."
Ten was taking a vacation, his first since becoming chief of police, and spending two weeks on the river. He'd camp out at night and sleep under the stars. No cell phones. No showers. No schedules.
The trip sounded like bliss, but there was no way I could leave. We were in the thick of shooting and every available second I wanted to spend with Jennie.
Maybe I'd come back one day. Ten and I had bonded over police talk and beers at The Betsy, a seedy bar that reminded me of a spot me and some of the SWAT guys in LA used to hang out in. He'd also taken me fishing one afternoon, giving me a taste of something to look forward to.
"Rain check?" I asked.
He nodded. "I'll hold you to it."
"If you're ever in LA, let me know."
"I'll do that." He slid on his sunglasses, then turned for his truck, waving as he rounded the hood. "Take care, Lisa."
"You too." I waved back, then walked to the Escalade on the other end of the gravel parking lot.
My phone had five texts when I took it out of my pocket. All were from Chaeyoung. She was in full-fledged triage mode, trying to figure out how to rework the filming schedule to account for our recent delays.
We'd been doing so well, staying on track. Tzuyu had left long ago, which had been a blessing for the on-set vibe. The cast and crew were getting along. Hanbin had been happy. Chaeyoung had been constant smiles.
Then everything had gone to shit this week.
It had started with a cold traveling around the crew. Hanbin had caught it first, constantly coughing and sneezing. He'd passed it along to the cameramen next. From there the virus had raged.
People were miserable. Every scene took twice as long to shoot because Hanbin was so unhappy. Nothing was good enough. The script morphed to accommodate the changes, and I held my tongue, trying not to make it worse.
These types of things happened on all movies, things evolved as you shot, but this was becoming extreme. I'd rehearse one set of lines in the morning and the afternoon's delivery would be entirely new.
The only thing I had going for me was that I wasn't sick, because I was staying the hell away from the infected motel. I ate my meals separately and went home at night. Well, not home. I went to Jennie's house, my destination as I pulled away from The Betsy.
Chaeyoung had finally convinced Hanbin that we should delay today's scenes and let everyone take a day to recuperate. He'd reluctantly agreed.
I'd spent some time today catching up on emails and phone calls. I'd spent half an hour on the phone with my mom, then checked in with each of my sisters. They'd updated me on all aspects of their lives and had made sure to tell me about Dad.
I didn't talk to Dad. I wasn't going to talk to Dad.
But my mom and sisters refused to let that rift grow. They fed me information about him, and I was sure they did the same in reverse.
After family calls, I'd talked at length with my agent and manager, reminding them no matter how hard they pushed for this or that audition, once Dark Paradise was over, I was taking a break.
They still pushed.
By early afternoon, I'd been done with the phone and texted Ten to see if he wanted to meet up for a beer. He'd been off work already, packing for his trip and getting his boat ready, so we'd spent a couple hours bullshitting at The Betsy while I watched the clock, waiting for five to roll around, when Jennie would be on her way home.
The past week with her had been one of the best. Time was passing too quickly and there hadn't been enough hours in the day to spend with her. The ones we did have, we'd made the most of. The second I was in her house and the door was locked, her clothes were off.
We'd spent a week mauling one another. Inhibitions went out the door as we went after one another with abandon, clawing and biting until we were both breathless and passed out in her bed.
Earlier this week, I'd managed to make it in and out of a gas station without being recognized to replenish my stash of condoms. Thank God for baseball hats and sunglasses. I had one in my pocket, waiting for the moment Jennie opened the door, took a fistful of my shirt and dragged me inside.
I grinned as I drove across town.
Jennie Kim was an explosion.
She'd destroyed the plans I'd had for Montana. My focus hadn't been on the movie like it should have been. Besides one afternoon fishing with Ten, I hadn't done any exploring of the area. My attention had been on my petite neighbor, as it would be for the next two and a half weeks, before I was scheduled to leave Black Point.
None of us wanted the movie to run past schedule. That cost money and frustrated crew members who were itching to get home to their families. But if it did, I wasn't going to be broken up about it. I'd take the extra time with Jennie.
Could I delay my commitments for October? I should have asked Moonbyul when we'd spoken earlier. There were some scenes we had to shoot on location, but after they were done, could I come back to Montana? I was supposed to attend a children's charity fundraiser at Halloween and had some press engagements to promote an upcoming movie—one I'd shot eighteen months ago. If I asked Moonbyul, she'd grumble and tell me to get my ass back to California.
My phone rang and I chuckled at the name on the screen. "Speak of the devil. I was just thinking about you."
"Shit," she muttered. "You already heard."
My grin dropped. "Heard what?"
"Oh, uh . . . you haven't heard. So, there's a picture floating around."
"What kind of picture?" My stomach dropped. There were a lot of pictures of me out there. Ones taken by the paparazzi. Ones taken by fans. I did my best to always wear a smile when I was in public because with today's technology, no place was safe.
"It's of you and a woman. Lisa, you're supposed to tell me when you start seeing someone, remember? Do you not recall what happened with Tzuyu?"
"I'm not seeing anyone," I lied. There was no way she could know about Jennie. "What's the picture?"
"TMZ just bought it and posted it on their website."
"Details, Moonbyul. What's the picture?" My mind instantly jumped to the worst. To another Tzuyu incident. Who was the last woman I'd been with? A travel agent in New York. We'd met at a hotel bar and hooked up that night. But that had been, what, nine months ago?
Not that the tabloids cared about the time stamp.
"It's nothing bad. It's you and a woman on a motorcycle, but TMZ is speculating you're dating someone."
The air rushed out of my lungs. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Jennie was going to lose her shit. "More. What else?"
"I don't know what else. She has brunette hair. You're at a stoplight or something. You're looking back at her and smiling. She's got her arms wrapped around you."
"Damn it." How many stoplights had we hit on the way out of town when I'd taken Jennie for a ride? One. Two, maybe? Just my luck a tourist or local with a cell phone had snapped that photo at the right moment.
If the paparazzi started digging into Jennie, she'd be a target. That was the last thing she needed just weeks before we were all out of her life. "Bury it, Moonbyul. Buy it from them. I don't care how much it costs, but get it down."
"I already did, and you got lucky, it was cheap. I told them that she was your assistant on set, and that you were just testing out a motorcycle you were using for a film."
"Good." There was enough truth to that statement that if they started asking about the movie, they'd find out we had a whole crew in Montana, if they didn't know already. "What else?"
"Nothing else. You know how these things go. Some photos go viral. Others die. Don't be seen with her again and you should be fine."
Repeats of the same woman were when the paparazzi began to drool.
"Send me the picture," I ordered.
"It's in your inbox. Who is she, Lisa?"
"A woman I met here."
"No shit." I could practically hear her eyes roll. "Is this something I'm going to need to explain later? Or will I need to get an NDA sent over?"
"No and no." I sure as hell wasn't having Jennie sign an NDA. My secrets were safe with her and I didn't need a piece of paper to prove it. Besides, after I left Montana, there'd be nothing to explain.
"Are you sure? Because—"
"I'm sure."
"Fine," she muttered. "I'll let you know if something else comes up."
"Okay. And, Moonbyul? Thanks."
"Just doing my job," she said and ended the call.
Fortunately for me, she did it well.
Moonbyul had assumed the role of my manager and didn't stifle her opinions. For the most part, I listened and took her advice. She was peeved with my decision to step away for a while. Moonbyul feared I'd lose my position at the top.
But it was time for a damn break, and the top was a lonely place to be.
It was hard to trust that people didn't befriend you because of your fame. Most had ulterior motives, wanting to use me in hopes of springboarding their own success—which was why being around Jennie was so refreshing.
Hell, she didn't even want to be seen with me.
I pulled into my driveway, Jennie's Jeep already in hers. Opening my email, I took a look at the photo and grumbled. But it wasn't horrible. We could deal with this.
The zoom was too far and the shot partially out of focus. Jennie was in profile, and her face wasn't the primary target. Mine was.
We'd gotten lucky.
Shit. That picnic table stunt had been a stupid-as-fuck move. If a photo of that had been taken and leaked, Jennie would have cut my balls off. I would have handed her the knife for being so careless.
I got out and jogged over to her house, checking over my shoulder to make sure no one was around. Besides me, the street was quiet. The next block over, some kids were playing outside.
At my knock, Jennie swung the door open, greeting me with a sly smile. "Hey."
"Hey." I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Then I cut right to it. "I've got something to tell you, and you're not going to like it."
Her smile dropped. "What?"
"Someone took a picture of us on the bike last week. Probably someone trying to make a few bucks and sell it to the tabloids."
"What?" Her eyes went wide. "What does that mean? Do they know who I am? That we're"—she fluttered her hand between us—"together?"
"My manager told them you were my assistant on location and that we were testing a bike for a movie. That's all."
"That's all?" She wrung her hands in front of her chest and walked to the living room. "I don't—I'm not sure what to do."
"There's nothing to do." I followed her into the room. I put my hands on her shoulders, turning her to me. "Sorry. I know it sucks, but the best thing to do is ignore it."
"Ignore it?" She looked at me like I'd grown another head.
"Yeah. Ignore it. The photo will go away. As long as we aren't photographed together again, it will disappear. They don't know your name, so it's not like they can track you down." Yet.
Jennie's eyes darted to the windows that overlooked the front yard. She raced toward them, dragging the blinds down.
I chuckled, but when she shot a glare over her shoulder, I pulled my lips together.
"I don't want to be in pictures." She stomped to the kitchen and opened the fridge, emerging with a fistful of carrots. She snapped one between her teeth, chewing with fury.
"It's no big deal," I promised. "It will go away as soon as I go away. But if you're worried, we can end this now."
I held my breath, waiting and watching her think it over. The last thing I wanted was for this to end. I wasn't ready to give her up, that time would come soon enough. But I wouldn't put her in a bad position. I wouldn't force her to risk exposure to the vipers of Hollywood.
Jennie's chewing slowed, then it stopped and she swallowed. "No."
Sweet relief washed over my body. I smiled and stepped closer, framing her face in my hands. "I love it when you tell me no."
She lifted another carrot to her mouth, but I caught her wrist before it could travel past her lips.
And I put my own mouth there instead.
--
"What did you do today?" Jennie asked. She was draped over my side.
"Worked this morning. Had a beer with Ten. Waited for you."
"Another beer with Ten. Do I need to be jealous of this bromance? We are exclusive, you know. I didn't mention that, but I expect you to be completely mine while you're here."
I grinned, tracing a circle on her bare shoulder. "I mean, I like you. But Ten? He's something special."
"He is dreamy." She licked her lips. "He's friends with Kai. Sometimes I see him around town. He fills out that uniform shirt so well and the jeans he wears are—"
I pinched her ribs.
"Ahh!" she cried, laughing and swatting my hand away. "Kidding. I don't even know the guy."
"That's right you're kidding." I laced my fingers with hers. "They'll be no talk of dreamy cops unless it's about the dreamy ex-cop currently naked in your bed."
She propped her chin up on my chest. "Will you tell me about why you stopped being a cop? You said it was a different movie."
"It's a mess." I blew out a long breath, brushing a lock of hair that had fallen over her eye away. I loved her hair, that it was unique and stylish and different, but I didn't like that at times, it covered her eyes. I wanted to soak in the brown for as long as I had it.
"You don't have to tell me." She pressed a kiss to the sprinkling of hair on a pec. Then another.
If she kept it up, we wouldn't be talking about anything.
We'd stumbled from the kitchen to her bedroom earlier, leaving a trail of baby carrots in our wake. Then we'd spent a few hours in her bed, safe behind her walls and covered windows where I could do whatever she'd let me do to her lithe body without the risk of anyone noticing.
Fuck, she was flexible. Jennie could do this thing with her legs where one was wrapped over my shoulder and the other hooked around my knee. We'd been experimenting with positions and though I was twice her size, she had this way of wrapping herself around me.
Jennie was the best lover I'd had in my life, bar none.
"I'll tell you," I said, shifting us both to our sides. My stamina was at its peak, but she'd worn me out and I needed a minute to replenish my reserves. Then she could kiss me wherever she wanted.
She propped up on an elbow, her beautiful eyes locked onto mine. Jennie listened so intently. She gave me her entire focus, something that seemed rare these days when there was always a screen to steal someone's attention.
"I grew up in California," I told her. For this story, it was important to start at the beginning. "My dad was a cop, and I always wanted to be a cop. It was simple. Every Halloween, I dressed up as a cop. Every time a teacher asked me to draw a picture of a hero, it was a cop."
Actually, it had been my dad. I'd wanted to be my dad.
It stung, thinking of those days and the blind adoration I'd had for my father. I had so many good memories to recall, but when I saw them now, they were covered in a gray film. They'd been clouded by his actions.
"I'm going to tell you something you're not going to like," I said.
"You keep saying that to me today." Her body tensed beside mine. "What?"
I gave her a sad smile, silently pleading for her to understand. "I know you hate her, and I get why. But a part of me needs to believe that once, Avery Wales was a good person. That she wasn't always a bad cop."
Jennie was motionless, not moving even to blink. She kept her gaze on me as my confession stole into the room.
I wouldn't blame her if she got mad. From her pillow, I would have been angry too.
But slowly the tension eased from her body and understanding seeped into her expression. "Your dad. Something happened."
"Yeah." I nodded, so damn grateful she'd listened and heard the vulnerability in my words. "I haven't talked about it, at all really. Just with my mom. She's the only other person in my family who knows, not even my sisters."
"You don't have to tell me."
"I want to." I touched her jaw, needing the softness of her skin before I continued. Her face, that skin, it grounded me. "Dad was a cop his entire life. A good cop. He worked hard and was honest. Then I don't know what happened. Money got tight. All three of my sisters were in college or just graduating. Dad . . . I don't know what he was thinking."
To this day, I didn't understand. How had a man with such character, such integrity, made such a catastrophic, moral mistake because of money? If he had talked to us, we would have pitched in. My sisters would have taken out loans. I would have thrown my salary into the mix. But Dad had shouldered the burden alone.
The one and only time I'd tried talking to him about it had ended in disaster. I'd been too angry to listen, and I hadn't spoken to him since. The disappointment was too crushing, because he'd been my hero.
"Dad was collecting evidence at a drug bust. I've been to a few of them before and it's insane. Usually, there are drugs everywhere. Sometimes, there's money too. Mostly it's left out in the open, but I've found money stashed in toilets and kitty litter bins and dryers. Dad found a roll in a little kid's shoe. Instead of cataloging it for evidence, he put it in his pocket."
Jennie gasped. "And he got caught?"
"His captain was going through Dad's report a week later and there were some inconsistencies. Mistakes Dad never made, so he called Dad in to ask about it. Dad said it didn't take more than one questioning look before he confessed to the whole thing. He returned the money, every dollar."
"W-wow," Jennie stuttered.
"Yeah, wow. He did the right thing, owning it and not spending that money. But he shouldn't have taken it in the first place. He crossed the line."
"Did he get fired?"
"Pretty much. Technically, he retired early. His captain made him turn in his badge, but he got to keep his pension."
"Did he tell you about it? How did you find out?"
"He told me." I nodded. "He invited me over the day he admitted it to his captain and laid it all out for me and Mom. It was six months after the school bus."
"And that's why you quit."
"Yeah." I turned on my back to stare at the ceiling. "I was the new guy on a SWAT team and still in training. I left Mom and Dad's house and drove home. I was supposed to work a night shift, but I called in sick. I don't know why but I couldn't go to work."
Maybe I feared that I'd become my father. Up until that point in my life, I'd followed in his footsteps.
"There was an agent who'd been calling me since the bus. It wasn't the same agent I have now. I fired him because he was a ruthless bastard and hired Ginny instead. But I had this guy's number. He kept calling me once a month to see if I was interested. He said he could get me in with a well-known casting director. He had a hookup. I'd been dodging him but had never outright told him no. That night, I went home and called him. I just . . . I couldn't be a cop anymore. I was too heartbroken. I didn't want that to happen to me."
"It wouldn't have."
"How do you know?" I turned on my cheek to look at her. "Cops don't make a lot of money. You have kids. You get strapped. I see my buddies struggling with it all the time. They have nothing extra to go around if their wives don't work. And I had this once-in-a-lifetime chance, so I took it."
I'd turned into Dad after all.
I'd given up my righteous career for money.
"I'm ashamed of it."
"Why? People change jobs all the time, Lisa. They do what they need to do. You're not a sellout. You just changed."
She made it sound so simple. So innocent. Would I have had this internal battle if I'd become a banker or a mailman or a football coach?
"Maybe you're right."
"Of course, I'm right." She grinned. "Why didn't your parents tell your sisters?"
"Because I asked them not to. Dad wasn't just my hero; he was theirs too."
"And you didn't want to take that from them."
I nodded. "By some miracle, no one found out. A lot of people have dug into my past, but it's stayed quiet."
Hopefully by now, there was nothing to find. If it surfaced, it would destroy my father.
It would destroy my family.
"I'm sorry." Jennie put her hand on my heart.
I covered it with mine. "Me too."
She lifted up and pressed her bare chest into my side. Her hands dove into the strands of hair above my temple and her lips hovered an inch from mine. "Thank you for telling me."
"Thanks for listening." There was a lightness in my chest, one that hadn't been there in a long time. I flipped us both, pressing my growing arousal into Jennie's leg. "Now that's enough talk."
She smiled. "Agreed."