Fast Glamour Part 17

"Yes. Since the night you came home after your blowout with Sterling."

"But that's like seven days? They've never been in the same place together for that long. I thought he was staying in a hotel."

"Nope, he's here. They're here. And, really, to be honest, parents who have been separated but are now having a renaissance affair really shouldn't have their adult children in the house."

"What hypocrites!" I said in disgust. "I mean, Papa has the affair and Mama forgives him and yet they want to judge and banish Sterling before he's even done anything wrong."

"We all live in a world of our own creation. You know that. We lived in ours away from Los Angeles for a very long time."

I closed my eyes. "What if I'd never left?" What if I'd decided to stay after Joanne died and been here this whole time? Would Sterling and I have found a way to remain together? Or would we have broken apart-the inevitable conclusion to our family history?

"Don't do that," Maeve said. "You cannot rewrite the past. We both know that."

My sister had suffered her own pain in love and yes, she did understand how the past could not be rewritten no matter how much you might long to do so.

"I say we need a little sister time, and then we should find Amanda. You know the three of us haven't done much together since I got here. We used to be inseparable, well, until that summer when Sterling discovered you had b.o.o.bs."

I pressed my lips together and shot her a dour look.

"Too soon? Right? For jokes?" She pulled the corners of her lips upward into a smile. "Come on, I know your heart is broken and there is absolutely nothing that will fix that except time. Believe me, I know."

"Amanda probably isn't speaking to me either," I said.

"I know for a fact that Amanda does not harbor the same sort of anger as Sterling. But she loves you in a way similar to the way I love you. Not in that icky lovey-dovey 'oh my G.o.d you could break my heart again' way like Sterling." Maeve's gaze settled on me. "So no, she wants to see you and is worried about you and I've fought her off for seven days. Sis. She wanted to come over the first day she heard about you and Sterling."

My body flinched. A horrible pain cascaded through my chest at hearing Maeve say "you and Sterling." There was no me and Sterling anymore. He'd put an end to that. He'd been clear in the finality of his statements. I'd finally given him my heart and he'd said no. His love wasn't infinite. Love could not conquer all. Love was a finite and I was certain the chance of it ever finding my heart again were remote at best.

Sterling "You're kidding. This is the place that Dad's son is playing?" The dive bar was lined with choppers outside the front door. The crowd that milled inside the roadhouse was thick with black leather and tattoos and beards. Not my scene.

"If you mean by 'Dad's son' our brother, then, yes, this is the place. I called and confirmed."

"Seriously, Amanda, I don't think this is safe. I mean, look at this place."

"Sterling, are you scared?"

I shook my head. "No, Amanda, I'm not scared as much as I don't care to know this person. I don't want to meet a half-brother that is the result of our father's infidelity. I'm good with not ever meeting him or his sisters. The only reason I'm here is that I was not about to let you come on your own. Apart from everything else, Ryan would kill me."

"Why do you feel that way? We've lost Mom. Dad is a complete narcissist. How can you not want to meet him? To see him? Like it or not, he is part of our family." Seeing that she would not get a response from me, she let it go.

While neither Amanda nor I were actors, we'd spent the majority of our years promoting the Legend brand, with the result that thousands of pictures of us at premieres and parties and events had been circulated over the years. We weren't interested in being recognized so we skirted the crowd, both of us keeping our heads down.

"Billie is meeting us," Amanda said.

"Seriously? We don't even know if he's any good."

"Excuse me, but did you hear the same song I did? He's good. Billie thinks so, too. I sent her the song. She wanted to see him live. She knows what's up."

"You told her?"

"Look, I'm not keeping Daddy's secrets anymore. This was his mistake; Rhett and his sisters are the result. They weren't the cause. They did nothing wrong. Why would I harbor some sort of misdirected grudge against them when they've done nothing but stay in the shadows just as Daddy wanted? No way. I will not live by Daddy's rules anymore. He can hide his past all he wants, but I'm not hiding it for him."

"Seriously, Amanda, engagement has changed you."

She glared me.

"In a good way, I mean. You never would have said any of that before meeting Ryan."

"It's not because of Ryan. It's because I have my own business and I am beginning to understand who I am. Daddy's stardom impacted who I became, but it doesn't have to dictate the rest of my life. I mean, for G.o.d's sake, Sterling, the Legend facade was something we had to maintain growing up, but not now. Now I can be and say and do whatever the h.e.l.l I want and not answer to anyone but myself. And Ryan."

She stopped at the edge of the bar and scanned the dark room. Across the room a tall leggy blonde waved to us. "There she is! Of course she has the best seat in the place."

We wove through the crowd toward the horseshoe-shaped booth at the edge of the stage. Billie jumped up and clasped Amanda in a tight squeeze. "Oh, my G.o.d, let me see that ring!" She squealed. "I can't wait for this wedding!" She looked at Amanda's eyes. "It's GORG! But, of course it would be. And to h.e.l.l with the wedding. I can't wait for the bachelorette!"

Billie gave Amanda a final squeeze and then turned to me. "Sterling, it's so good to see you!" She reached up and gave me a careful hug. Once upon a time and long ago we'd gone on a couple of dates. Dates that, while fun, proved to both of us we were much better as friends.

We all scooted into the booth. "I hear you've got a movie going into production," Billie said.

"Maybe. We still have to confirm the cast."

"That's some big risk you're taking with Kiley Kepner. I'm surprised you're willing to go down that road."

I froze. My eyelids closed. I did not want to look at Amanda, but I had no choice. Her whole body had tensed. I met her gaze and she stared at me with hard angry eyes while her face still held a smile.

"Kiley? You are casting Kiley in the role that was written for Mom?"

"It's the only way to keep the script. If we're not in production then we lose the option and, like I told you, Tom said he would burn the script if that happens. He'll never let anyone option it again."

"Right," Amanda said. "I know that part. But there are hundreds of brilliant actresses in the world and any one of them could play that part and you've decided that Kiley Kepner is the right fit for the role."

"Amanda," I said, my gaze flitting from Billie to her, "can we talk about this later?"

"Nope, I want to talk about it now."

Billie s.h.i.+fted in her seat. "Wow, I really stepped in it. Sorry guys," she said. "I'm going to the bar to grab us some beers." She scooted out of the booth.

Amanda leaned toward me over the table. "What are you thinking? Have you lost your mind?"

"I'm thinking how to get this movie made."

"I have a hundred actresses on speed dial who would kill to play that role," Amanda said. "They are personal friends. Let me make a few calls."

"Seriously? You think I haven't made those calls? Talk to Dad. He's put the kibosh on this film so thick that every actress in town is suddenly booked for something, or is scared to say yes. The only actress who will consider doing it is the actress who hates dad the most."

"I'd think that'd be a longer list," Amanda said. She pulled out her phone and scrolled. "What about Olivia or Emma?"

"Tried them. So did Cami Montgomery. I am telling you, Amanda, there is no other way to keep the project alive but to go with Kiley."

"And I told you how I feel about that. You do remember that conversation, don't you?"

"You're not serious. You'd rather see the entire project die than have Kiley play that role?"

"You weren't here, Sterling, last summer, you weren't the recipient of her abuse. I am telling you, in this case, that the enemy of your enemy is not your friend. You do not want to do this with Kiley. She will kill the whole d.a.m.n thing. You are better off letting the project go than trying to make the film with Kiley."

Amanda might be right, but I couldn't hear it. I had cast my future with The Lady's Regret. I couldn't back away now. I needed something, anything to focus on other than the ache that grew in my heart every day. An ache that could turn to anger at the slightest provocation. A heart is a useless thing to have when love doesn't work out.

The lights dimmed and the sound of a lone electric guitar came from the stage. A low and soulful sound. I glanced from Amanda toward the silhouette spotlighted on the stage. Rhett Legend Delgado. My half-brother. A brother who, until just two weeks before, I didn't even know existed.

He had It. That It quality that no one could describe but everyone in the entertainment business tacitly understood. A charisma that demanded attention. An ability to suck the air out of a room. Both our mother and our father had It. I would argue that Amanda did, too. As for me, I'd been content to stand in the shadows, to make the movies, to be the driving force behind all the creativity. Until recently. The shadow had grown cold and I'd thought The Lady's Regret was my ticket into the suns.h.i.+ne. Now I wasn't so sure.

Jealousy and anger combined inside me. Rhett could sing. His smooth soulful voice was thick and ragged. The women in the audience were mesmerized. They stared at my half-brother wide-eyed and slack-jawed. The lights went up on stage, and his band mates joined him in the song. Amanda and I locked eyes. We knew. We knew that our brother was a rock star waiting to happen; a new Legend was about to take over the world.

"He's amazing," Billie said. "This song is even better than the one you sent me. Did he write this song too?"

"I have no idea," Amanda said. "Probably."

"Star quality runs in your family," Billie said.

"So it would seem," Amanda said. "Now we simply need to introduce ourselves."

Chapter 23.

Rhiannon "Why are we here?"

The two dark-haired girls in the front yard were identical to one another. They looked up at me and my heart jolted to a stop. They were a darker-haired version of Amanda.

"I have to deliver something for a friend," Mama said. "Come with me, please." I got out of her truck and we walked to the front of the house. The two girls watched us. Neither of them smiled; both remained stone-faced at our approach.

"Is your mother home? She's expecting me." The envelope in Mama's hand bore the name Anita Delgado. I remembered that name, that person. Until earlier this summer she had worked for Joanne and Steve. Then Amanda had discovered Anita and her father... My fingertips pressed against my lips. My eyes darted from the twin girls to my mother. She looked at me and her jaw was set in a hard line. She leaned down. "You are not to say a word to anyone about this. Do you understand?"

I nodded. I did understand. Suddenly, as I stood on the front steps of a lovely home in Castaic, I understood exactly who these two girls were and how they fit into Amanda and Sterling's lives. Anita opened the door and her smile was wide, although there was hesitancy in her eyes. She reached out and gave me a hug. Then she looked at Mama.

"Joanne asked me to deliver this in person," Mama said. "Surely you understand with things the way they are, with her illness, I couldn't refuse."

"Si," she said. "Come in, come in. Girls, Rhiannon will stay with you."

Both the girls looked at their mother. They were younger than me and they couldn't be much older than twelve. Their thick black hair shone in the sunlight. It was pulled up into tight braided buns on their head. I sat on the front step. They both remained under the shade of the tree, one with a book, the other kicking a soccer ball against the house. The pounding of the soccer ball stopped. "I remember you." She wore a blue soccer s.h.i.+rt and loose-fitting black soccer shorts. "You're Rhiannon."

"I am. Did you just come from a game?" I asked.

"We lost," she said. "Ellen let two goals get by her." She nodded toward her sister, who sat under the tree with a book open on her knees.

"Stop, Sophie," she said. "It wasn't my fault."

"Whatever." Sophia kicked the ball hard against the wall. The ball bounced back and up and into the hands of a tall, lean guy.

"Rhett, give it back!" Sophia yelled.

"Stop. Mom doesn't want you to kick it against the house," he said. "Go to the back yard and use the back stop or the goal if you want to practice." He tossed the ball to Sophia. His gaze drifted to me. He had dark hair and eyes the color of night. I was madly in love with Sterling, but this guy was hot. He had a sharp edge that seemed to slice through him, as though he were something very bad.

"You're Rhiannon Bliss," he said. His voice was rougher when he spoke to me. More of a deep growl. His eyebrows clenched tight. "Ellen, go with Sophia."

Ellen sighed, closed her book, and pulled herself to standing. She brushed her hand over the back of her soccer shorts.

"Bye," she said and waved to me. She gave her brother a nasty look as she rounded the corner of the house toward the back yard.

"What are you doing here?" His hands were on his hips and he stood on the sidewalk in front of me.

I covered my hand over my eyes to block the sun, and looked up at him. There was an anger that pulsed off him, an irritation at my presence.

"My mom had to drop something off to your mom," I said.

"I bet." He shook his head and rolled his eyes toward the sky. "I can only imagine what kind of dictate has come down from Mr. Legend. This time."

I bit my bottom lip. I didn't know what to say. I wasn't certain about the relations.h.i.+p between Anita and Steve, I was merely speculating.

"Oh, come on," he said and a sharp unkind smile fell over his face, "don't act like you don't know. Surely you're smart enough to figure it out." He c.o.c.ked his head to the side. "We're the b.a.s.t.a.r.d set. The ones without the fancy last name. The kids of the housekeeper Mr. Legend kept banging."

I closed my eyes. My heart hammered in my chest. What could I say, confronted by a truth that had been unspoken until this very moment? Rhett took two steps closer and I fought the urge to bound up the front steps and pound on the front door. His eyes were sharp and a hard cold meanness settled into the dark of his eyes.

"What? Rhiannon," he whispered. "You don't like slumming with the help?"

"Stop it!" I said. An unbearable anger pulsed through my chest. My eyes heated with anger and frustration over the a.s.sumptions Rhett made about my family, and me, and who we were and what we believed. "I never said that. I would never say anything like that. I'm not that way. Amanda and Sterling and Joanne and-"

"Don't even say their names." He was close to me now. Inches from my face. Anger pulsed from Rhett's body. Rage. His fists opened and closed at his sides. "This is my house, this is my family. You and that Legend family don't exist in this place." His gaze held me, and his nostrils flared. He pulled back and turned away and walked toward the driveway and around the corner of the house. He didn't look back. He didn't need too. My heart thumped hard in my chest. I took a long deep breath trying to still the nerves that rattled through me. I sat down on the top step, uncertain why someone I'd just met hated me so much.

I pulled my thoughts back from the past and gazed at the photograph I held of Maeve, Amanda, Sterling, and me taken the summer before Joanne got sick. The summer before I fell in love with Sterling. The summer before the debacle that was Mom and Dad and Joanne and Steve and all the destruction that l.u.s.t had caused. The final summer of our happiness. We'd been in Cape Cod. All of us. In a giant house that our parents had rented for the summer. We acted like one big happy family that summer, the summer before the end. The photo was in a silver frame on the bookcase in Maeve's room.

"I'm going back to Paris," I said. I set the picture back onto the shelf.

"No, you're not," Maeve said.

We'd spent all day shopping and walking and talking about everything aside from the obvious. Today had been a wonderful distraction but now, with the day coming to an end and Maeve brus.h.i.+ng out her long hair, my mind returned to the problems that lay hard and fast in my heart.

"I don't want to stay here," I said. "Not this way."

"Yes you do and you are," Maeve said. She placed her hairbrush on the white princess dressing table from our childhood and turned to me. "You love Sterling."

I crossed my arms and shook my head. I walked toward the window in Maeve's room.

"And he loves you."