Get a Grip (Hollywood Nights) (6 page)

***

Ivy was stunned. She was angry that he didn’t tell her…what? That he made just as much if not more money than her. She was mad at herself for being such a bitch about it. Really, she hadn’t asked him if that was his only job. She assumed he was just a grip and that he put all of his earnings into that car to impress women. Her older sister, Maybelline had really messed up her mind.

May had
convinced their parents when she entered middle grades to let her attended public school. When May got into high school she convinced Ivy it would be fun for them to go to school together. Their parents moved and they entered into the same school for the first time. People confused them all the time because when it came to features, they were practically twins. The only noticeable difference was the nose.

May was a bit of a diva that year. She had come into her own in the thespian driven, high profile school. It was a ridiculous place. Ivy was invisible because she was so shy and quiet
. She always waved when people said hello, even when they called her May. After all, she didn’t want people thinking her sister was rude. When May got pregnant and their parents pulled her out, Ivy received the brunt of the decisions her sister had made. Her father made her promise to remain a virgin. He became so strict she had no life much less a boyfriend.

The theatre teacher thought she was May, so Ivy switched classes so she would be allowed
stay in public school. It was the only chance she had. Even if it meant pretending to be her sister and outgoing for that one class, she took it. Eventually, May faded into the backdrop and finished high school the home school way, and Ivy stepped into the spotlight. When she got her first agent he suggested using her mother’s maiden name because the team liked the sound of it better than Ivy Milner. The team included Dahlia who later became her ‘adult’ agent.

She puffed out a breath. Her mind was racing again. He looked at her and sh
e realized he probably thought she was still huffing and puffing at him. She had to get it together. She needed to stop worrying about everyone else.

Whatever!
She was Ivy Bliss now.

She looked a
t Bo as they walked to baggage claim. He was everything she had ever imagined the right man should be. She was starting to worry about whether or not she could live up to his expectations.

He hadn’t said another word to her since making it clear he was on to her plan. It was her plan before she chose him.

Before she almost killed him.

Before he had done so many things to her body she was feeling addicted to
his touch.

The camera flashes started and she took a chance. She didn’t want it to be all over the place that they were already on the way to divorce court. It was bad enough everyone thought she had gone crazy for walking out on Sleepers.

Maybe she had. Maybe she still was. She sure felt a little crazy, at least about him.

She slipped her hand into his. He looked down at her
. She hoped her eyes communicated the need to pretend they were happy right now. He heaved a heavy breath and then smiled. Not her smile, a fake one, but it worked for the time being.

Once they were in his car he said, “Why don’t I drop you off at your place and give you some time to think about things.”

Her heart lunged to her throat. She was crushed. “You’re…dumping me?”

“I’m
asking if you want to go home while I go get some of my things.” He started the car and said, “Where to?”

Ivy was suddenly afraid to let him out of her reach. He could easily drop her off and escape forever. She had promised that she would give it an honest try. She wasn’t doing a good job at that. “Your place. I have a few things already.”

“You sure you can handle my meager dwelling over your house in a gated community?” he said dryly.

Ivy had to face this head on.
Louder than she intended she burst out, “Okay! All right. I get it. I know that you think I was trying to take advantage of you, but I wasn’t…at least not like that. Yeah, I thought you were just a grip. I imagined you dumped all of your cash into this car, and that you lived in an apartment somewhere accessible to any and everyone around. I thought by having more you would stay around longer…”

“What?” He briefly looked from the road to her.

“I’m not great at relationships. I didn’t have any through high school because my dad was so protective. Then I started working. My sister had been such a disappointment to my parents. I threw all of my energy into going after her dream…except it was really
our
dream. I just…” She looked out the window at the familiar scenery. He didn’t say anything. She knew he was waiting for her to finish it.

“I just got absorbed in it. Then I tried to find someone, but it’s not like guys who have girls falling in bed with them are too interested in PG relations with a woman in her twenties, then thirties. I thought if I could just get someone who wanted me to give me a chance, I could make it worth his while for a while and then…”

“Then what?”

“Then let him go,” she admitted.

“That’s fucked up.”

She was a bit surprised at his language. Bo had never cursed in front of her before, even when she almost killed him. Her thoughts flashed back to that moment, the prayer of desperation, the hours in the hospital, and the hours of
lovemaking once he recovered.

Her body remembered the lovemaking too and it warmed as thoughts of his lips, his hands, his cock flashed through her brain. She was warm, getting wet, and growing desperate to let him know that her plans had changed when she married him.

“It was. Then it was you. I’ve always been attracted to you. I didn’t trust myself or my emotions in that department. I let my agent help me decide, I let my sister guide me, and even a few friends threw their two cents in from time to time. I thought they knew best. My gut was right, Bo. I should have asked you out three years ago when you wore that t-shirt with my favorite band on it.”

“You remember that?” He softened his expression just a bit.

“Yes,” she admitted. “I do. I remember talking to you about music for a good hour while waiting for them to repair something on set. I remember the talk about old movies and sound effects back then. I remember most recently the conversation you had with Jonas about surfing. I didn’t say much because I don’t surf, but I remember imagining what you would look like out on the waves. I remember that assistant flirting with you and it drove me crazy to see you smile at her the way I wanted you to smile at me.”

“Uh huh.” He sounded doubtful.

She looked at him. His eyes darted to her a moment and then back to the road. She bit into her bottom lip and slid her hand across the seat to his thigh. Her fingers touched then slowly moved up until her hand rest on top of the hard muscle.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to say I’m sorry. I’m trying to let you know that what I thought I could do, I can’t. I don’t think I would have made it to a chapel with anyone else, Bo. I was worried that you would change your mind once we left Vegas and I was trying to keep you with whatever I had to give that might be worth something to you. Everyone wants something from me. My family, my agent, my fans, they all want something from me.” She took a fortifying breath and asked, “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to take you out to dinner.” He let out a breath of frustration.

Her heart warmed, soothed by the simplicity of the answer. “I think I’m available tonight.”

A wry smile crossed his lips and he said, “I might have other plans.”

“Oh.”

He groaned out loud and said, “I don’t know, Ivy. My head is messed up with this. One part wants to believe you. The other part…”

“Forget the other part.” She said quickly. He let out another breath, his cheeks puffing as he did. She knew he was struggling with trusting her. She didn’t blame him. As they pulled into his gated community, she understood why.

             
Ivy tried not to gawk at the place. Her neighborhood was nice, filled with celebrities and others in the industry. The homes were too large for an average family, but not extravagant. His home was ridiculous. She knew the neighborhood immediately. It was exclusive, old Hollywood mansions filled with mega stars and industry owners. It would suffice to say that Bo didn’t need anything from her.

             
“How much does your brother make as a lawyer if this is what she walked away from?” The question came out before her brain could filter it. They pulled into the garage and he parked the car.

             
“I don’t know. She left me when I was just a grip. I guess it’s funny in a way. She left me because what I wanted to do wasn’t good enough for her, and you married me because you thought what I did wasn’t really good enough for you.” He looked at her sincerely.

             
Ivy gulped down the lump that had formed in her throat. She squeezed his thigh. His hand moved to cover hers and then lifted it away. He got out of the car. She sighed and opened her own door. He was on his way around. When she got out he moved back towards the trunk and retrieved her bag.

             
He looked at her and said, “This way.”

***

              Bo wasn’t expecting her to want to come to his house. He couldn’t very well refuse her because she was, after all, his wife. He had purchased this home out of spite. He wanted to show his ex-fiancé that she had made a huge mistake when she chose his selfish and robotic older brother over him. It wasn’t long after the dust on that family conflict settled he realized he didn’t really want such a grand place.

             
It was home, though, and he was glad to be there. He needed a nap. Ivy was more exhausting than the allergy pills he still had to take for another day or two. He sat her bags down as they entered the kitchen.

             
“Do you want something to drink?” he asked as he made his way to the refrigerator.

             
“Sure.” She stood there a bit bewildered. “Did this house belong to…”

             
“Yes. He didn’t die in it. I asked.” Bo grabbed the pitcher of water with cucumbers suspended in the diffuser. He sat it on the counter and then moved to get two glasses. He poured her a drink and then sat it on the counter. He poured his own and walked to the kitchen table. He looked at her. She stood in the large open space a bit bewildered. “Did you want something else?”

             
She shook her head no.

             
“Are you just going to stand there?”

             
She bit into her lower lip and looked at him. He could tell she was unsure, nervous, but hell, so was he. She picked up the glass and moved to sit next to him at the table. “All this space and you want to sit there?”

             
“In the hotel room we were always so close together. I like being close to you.” She looked at him with those puppy dog eyes and he struggled to remember he was really mad at her right now.

             
His phone rang and it provided him the break from her spell that he needed. It was Dale. His family was anxious to meet her. After his brother gave him a lecture he told him, “All right we will be there. I didn’t ask you to come in from Vegas, or to take vacation this week. I told you I would let you know about all that so don’t push it.”

             
He hung up the phone and looked at her. She was paying attention and probably heard most of the conversation since he didn’t move from where he was sitting. He wanted to. He communicated the thoughts to his limbs, but they betrayed him because he too liked being close to her despite his current mood.

             
“Everyone will be there?” she asked.

             
“Everyone isn’t a lot of people. Just my mom, my brothers and their respective partners, and my little sister.” Bo looked at her a moment. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He wanted to touch it, but held back. “We should probably figure a few things out before going don’t you think?”

             
She nodded and asked, “Like what?”

             
“Like what we are doing here. You got what you wanted from me. You got married and you had sex. If you want an annulment I just need to know. I don’t want to take you to meet my family under the false pretense that they are going to get to see a real wedding if there isn’t a chance that you are interested in finding out if there should be.” He laid all of his cards on the table.

             
“I want to. I am that girl, Bo. I know I haven’t been acting like myself lately, but I really do want to give this a shot. I mean, you’re the kind of guy that comes along once in a lifetime, you know?” She had those eyes on again. The big puppy ones that made his heart melt and his chest tight.

             
“You don’t know that,” he said softly. “You don’t know anything about me.”