Hollywood & Vine (24 page)

“Motherfucker,” Anders hissed, his fist connecting with the door she slammed in his face. He squeezed his eyes shut as his heart pounded against his ribs. This was for the best. It was going to happen sooner or later. He needed to walk away. When her car door slammed, he reflexively reached for the doorknob. When her engine started, he was outside before he could stop himself. Sprinting down the driveway, he rapped his knuckles against her window as she waited for the gate to open.

Josie threw her car in park and rolled down the window, her anger and hurt morphing into shock and confusion. “What are you doing?”

Without speaking he opened the door and unhooked her seat belt. Pulling her from the car, he wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed her against him. His words were muffled when he spoke, his face buried in her hair. “I’m sorry. I’m an asshole. Fuck, I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Josie stood stiffly with her arms at her sides. “This isn’t healthy.”

“It’s fine. We’re fine. Okay? Don’t leave like this.”

“I thought you didn’t care if I left.” Her words were soft, the feel of his heart racing against her chest calming, comforting. She wasn’t the only one twisted into a ball of uncertainty.

Anders let out a humorless chuckle and leaned back before cupping her jaw. “It looks like I was wrong. I’m not done chasing you.”

Josie’s smile was small and sad. “I need a little time and I need to cool off. Right now, I still want to hit you.”

Anders licked his lips and swallowed around the lump in his throat. “At least if you hit me, it means you’re still around.”

Josie let out a tired sigh and wrapped her arms around his neck, her forehead falling against his.

“For now.”

“That’s better than nothing.”

I
n an equally secure neighborhood not far from Anders’, Aubrey sat on her lanai sipping a glass of wine. She held her phone to her ear and waited for the call to connect. On the third ring a man’s voice answered.

“Aubrey, love. I trust all is well.”

“Of course, Levi. I called to congratulate you on a job well done.”

“The article worked then?”

“Of course it did,” Aubrey scoffed, a smirk pulling up one side of her mouth. “I always get my way in the end.”

A
nders paced the length of his trailer and checked his watch again. Gritting his teeth, he dialed Josie’s number, and just like last time, the call went straight to voice mail. “I didn’t realize needing time meant dropping off the face of the earth. I’m beginning to wonder if you lied. Are you done, Ivy? Is this your way of telling me? Because it’s not going to work. I
―
” He stopped speaking and ended the call when someone knocked on the door.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he spun around, his face twisting into a frown when the person standing at the door wasn’t Josie. “What are you doing here?”

“I get the feeling you were hoping for someone else. I can’t help but wonder whom.” Madison moved into the room, a garment bag draped over her arm.

“Where’s Josie?” Anders wasn’t in the mood for games.

Madison wrinkled her nose and pulled a jacket from the bag. “You’re kinda rude. Don’t you know you can catch more bees with honey than vinegar”
―
she waved her hand in the air and rolled her eyes
―
“or however that stupid saying goes. Being a jerk will get you nowhere with me. I’m Madison, by the way.”

Anders sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. “I know who you are, but you still didn’t answer my question.”

“And you’re still fishing for answers with vinegar. I’m not a fan of vinegar. Now lift your arms.” She held out the jacket and raised her brow.

Anders pursed his lips but did as she said. He was silent as Madison moved around him, pulling pins from her sleeve and marking different spots. After several moments she spoke. “She’s with Aubrey.”

“What the fuck?” Anders’ eyes widened, his feet already carrying him to the door. Madison hooked her finger in the belt loop of his pants and yanked him back. “What the hell are you doing?” He turned to face her, his expression a mix of anger and shock.

“What the hell are you doing is the better question. What’s the matter? You don’t like the idea of your girlfriends getting cozy?” Madison crossed her arms and waited for an answer.

Anders stared at her, his eyes hard. “I have one girlfriend and she’s with a woman I’m certain she’d like to murder. I’d rather she not end up in jail.”

Madison laughed. “She wouldn’t go to jail. I have a shovel.” She smirked and jerked her chin in his direction. “Something you might want to remember.”

“Jesus.” Anders chuckled and shifted his weight. “You two are just alike.”

Madison hummed and stepped closer, then started tugging on the jacket again. “How does it feel? Is the fit comfortable?”

Anders circled his arms and lifted them over his head before nodding. He pulled off the jacket and handed it to her, warring with himself about asking her anything further. He thought about how his calls to Josie had gone to voice mail all morning and shook his head. “Fuck it,” he muttered. Since she knew everything anyway, there was no reason he shouldn’t benefit from it. “Why didn’t she come here? Is she mad at me?”

Madison kept her eyes on her hands as she slid the jacket back on its hanger. She didn’t need to see his face to know his demeanor had changed. “The dress she’s fitting Aubrey for is new. She worked hard on it and wanted to make sure it was perfect. Her phone is off for obvious reasons. I’m guessing since you almost bolted out of the room the moment I told you they were together, which…” She scrunched her brows together. “What the hell were you going to do anyway? Storm in there and what? Make Josie watch Aubrey hang all over you? You’re not very smart.”

“Would you stop insulting me? I have no idea what I would have done. And I don’t want Aubrey hanging all over me. She’s like a fucking leech.”

“And yet you agreed to a fake relationship with her. Again, not the smartest thing.”

“Again with the insults. I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

“No,” Madison snapped. “But you do have to explain to Josie. And it’s apparent you suck at that too. She didn’t want to hide from Aubrey if you called. She hides enough for you. At least on the phone she’d like to be normal.”

Her words hit how she intended. Anders’ eyes shut and he sighed. Fighting with Josie was exhausting enough. He wasn’t ready for Josie’s sidekick. “I just don’t want Aubrey to upset her. Things are strained enough right now. That’s just adding shit on top of shit.”

“Look, I want to like you, I do. You make that really hard, by the way. But for whatever reason, Josie does like you, sometimes. You need to work out whatever the hell it is that’s got you so fucked up.” Madison lifted her hand in the air when Anders opened his mouth. “No. Stop talking. You have issues. Work it out. Josie’s not going to put up with this shit forever.”

“Did she tell you that? Why would you say that?” Anders’ tone was sharp, his questions flying from his mouth in rapid-fire succession.

Madison pulled her head back and turned her face to the side, her expression clearly relaying that she thought he was crazy. “She doesn’t have to tell me. I know Josie, and I’m telling you to get it together.”

Anders huffed. The entire situation was causing him to act ridiculous. “Just, tell her to call me, okay?”

Madison rolled her eyes. “I’ll tell her that you asked me to have her call you. But don’t plan on a call tonight. We’re going out.”

“What do you mean ‘out’?” Anders narrowed his eyes, his lips pinched together as he watched Madison grab her bag.

“Out. It’s what normal folks do with the people in their lives. She needs to get out, so we’re going dancing. And I swear to God if you say some caveman shit like ‘the hell she is’ or ‘over my dead body’ or anything similar, I might be forced to cause you physical harm.”

“She’s going out to hook up with some random guy? Is this her way of getting back at me?”

“Of course that’s what you’d think.” Madison rolled her eyes. “Not everyone goes out to hook up with someone. She needs to chill. I need to get Holden out of the house. I need to get out. We’re having dinner and then going dancing, which I’m sure she’ll tell you about herself. She may call you tonight, she may not. I don’t interfere in Josie’s life like that. She’s a big girl.”

“Yes, I’m well aware.” The walls Anders constructed around their relationship felt like they were closing in. All the rules and restrictions he put on them made him feel trapped, not protected. He’d backed himself into a corner and still, he wasn’t going to change.

“Well, this was fun.” Madison’s smile was over-the-top and fake. “We should totally do it again.”

“I’ll pencil you in,” Anders snarked. She’d told him more than he expected. He didn’t like any of it.

He didn’t call Josie again. His pride and stubborn mindset wouldn’t allow him to. He wasn’t going to baby and coddle her every time she was insecure about something, which is why he didn’t hesitate to call Owen. If she could go out with her friends, then so could he. Like Madison said, just because someone goes out doesn’t mean they are looking to fuck someone.

His bravado was short-lived, however, because when Owen suggested their normal hangout, Anders balked. He’d find nothing but trouble there, and Josie was mad enough. His face twisted with annoyance when he realized he couldn’t look like more of a pussy.

Later that afternoon, when Josie texted that she was going out and would talk to him tomorrow, it only soured his mood. He met Owen a few hours later at a bar they’d gone to a couple of times. It was usually low-key. What he didn’t know, until they walked through the door, was that a couple of popular local bands were performing. People packed the building from wall to wall.

“Fuck.” He’d dressed down, opting for jeans and a T-shirt. He hoped it would help him stay off the radar a little better.

“No shit.” Owen laughed as he clapped Anders on the shoulder and pulled him farther into the bar. “Don’t worry, I called ahead. They have a table for us upstairs. It’s not private, but it gives us the perfect view of all the pussy walking around down here. Can’t ask for more than that. Fish in a barrel.”

Anders shook his head but couldn’t help but smirk. “I don’t know how to respond to the fish reference.”

“You fucker. Come on, let’s get a drink.”

Anders stuck to beer while Owen downed whatever was in front of him. He wanted to sit back and relax, but over and over his mind drifted to Josie, where she was and what she might be doing. Owen noticed.

“What the fuck is going on with you?” Owen shouted over the music.

“Me? Nothing. I’m just hanging out, man.”

“Fuck you. What do I look like, Anders? You’ve acted strange ever since that makeup girl fucked with you.”

“She’s a costume designer.” He knew immediately he’d messed up. His automatic response, his defensive tone, it spoke so much louder than his words.

“I’ll be damned. She’s got you all messed up. I never thought I’d see the day. After what happened with
―
”

“I don’t want to talk about that shit,” Anders interrupted, his mouth set in a hard line.

Owen held his hands. “Sorry. But you know I’m right. What are you doing, Anders? You don’t let people fuck with your head. You need to end this shit.”

“There’s nothing to end.” Even Anders could hear the lie in his voice. “Didn’t you hear? I’m in an off-screen romance with Aubrey Nash.” He pursed his lips and lifted his brow, his expression awash with sarcasm.

Owen let out a low whistle and shook his head. “How the hell did they talk you into that?”

“Money. They distracted me with money.”

“Of course they did. Told you how great it’d be for sales, dangled promises of bigger bonuses in front of you... I know the drill.”

Anders grinned when a girl approached the table and asked Owen for a picture. It was the perfect distraction. Twisting toward the railing, he watched the people below. A guy moved behind an unsuspecting girl and gripped her hips, pulling her against his chest. The girl’s friend nodded her approval of the faceless man. He wondered if Madison was doing the same thing with Josie.