Love Unscripted (42 page)

“
Cami is in bed.” Kelly sat back down at the table; her eyes glanced over all our faces. “Why is everyone smiling?”

“
Ryan and Taryn just designed their dream home, I think. And it sounds like they have most of the details covered, which is good.” He tapped Ryan in the arm. “It will save you a lot of arguments down the line, believe me.”

“
What was that supposed to mean? We didn’t argue
that
much when we built our house.”

Cal countered her comment with a few eye rolls.

As much as I wanted to fantasize about it, in reality Ryan and I didn’t know each other long enough to talk about this kind of stuff. The last thing I wanted to do was get my hopes up.
Protect self,
my subconscious told me.
Think about something else… but what? Need a new topic. Please someone think of something else to say.

I started to count backwards from one hundred in my mind, hoping that would help. Visions of waking up in Ryan’s arms every morning in our beautiful lakeside home broke right through my number counting.

I felt the chain of my new necklace catch on my hair, sending a pinch of pain down my neck. I adjusted the chain to untangle it, ripping a few hairs from my head in the process. I picked the pendant up in my hand and looked at it again; two beautiful hearts twined into one.

“
That’s a very beautiful necklace you’re wearing,” Kelly stated.

“
Thank you!” My smile quickly flashed over to Ryan.

“
Are those real diamonds?” she asked upon closer inspection.

I looked at Ryan, perplexed. I never asked if they were diamonds; I just assumed.

Kelly noticed my gaze over at Ryan. A smile cracked on her face. “A gift?”

Ryan’s lips twitched and he nodded in confirmation.

“
You have very good taste, Ryan!”

“
Thank you. I was glad she liked it.”

“
I love it!” I corrected.

“
I got her diamond earrings too, but she won’t wear them.”

I sighed. “One very expensive present was more than enough.” My eyes locked on the coloring book; I wasn’t used to having a man buy me jewelry, or anything else for that matter.

I heard Ryan scoff. “Get used to it,” he stated directly.

Kelly patted me on the arm. I think for a moment she understood.

“
No, I’ll never get used to it,” I whispered out. “I will always appreciate your kindness and generosity, and never take it for granted.” I hoped he could see the truth of my words in my eyes.

“
Do you have a sister, Taryn? Because I have a brother that’s single,” Cal joked.

“
No, I’m sorry Cal, I don’t.” I didn’t understand why he said that. Were all women perceived as gold diggers?

I jumped slightly when I felt someone touch my rear. I looked behind me to see Cami in her pajamas with a stuffed bunny under her arm.

“
I thought you were sleeping?” I said to her, pulling her onto my lap.

“
Cami! It’s bedtime, young lady!” Kelly was upset.

“
Tawyn, you weed to me?” She rubbed her eye with her little hand. Her soft plea warmed my heart.

“
Sure.” I stood up but Kelly tried to relieve me of her. “It’s okay. Can I put her to bed?”

Although she was four, she was so light to carry - such a petite little thing. I could see why she had a hard time staying asleep; her bedroom was obviously not
her
bedroom. There were nets, shells, and seahorses hanging from the corner. This was nothing more than a strange guest room in a rental beach house, not a room for a little princess.

I read
The Little Mermaid
book under the soft light of her nightlight, using my best voices to pretend to be the different characters. She liked my Ariel voice the best. I watched as her little mouth formed into gentle O’s when she yawned. Her big blue eyes were getting heavy. I closed the book and softly stroked her long, blond ringlets while quietly singing a few lullabies.

Ryan popped his head around the door, watching me as I sat on the floor singing to the little girl. Her eyes closed, and in an instant she was sound asleep. I stared at her for a few moments; she was absolutely adorable.

Ryan was blocking the space in the doorway; his body was backlit by the little nightlight in the wall outside Cami’s room. I looked at him and smiled.

He stepped in front of me and slid his hand around my waist, drawing me into his chest. His other hand slowly slipped across my jaw and stopped at the back of my neck; with the slightest bit of force he pulled me in to kiss me.

This kissing was different. Maybe it was my perception, but it wasn’t the ‘slide my tongue around in your mouth I’m so hot for you’ kind of kiss. It was more tender, personal, and loving.

Kelly was leaning over the dining table, slicing some kind of chocolate dessert coated with a white whipped topping. “Is our daughter finally sleeping?”

“
Yes, she’s sound asleep.”

“
Taryn sang to her.” Ryan took my hand in his under the table.

“
Well, I think you two are going to make wonderful parents one day - when you’re ready. Cami really surprised me tonight. She never goes off with people she’s unfamiliar with. But you,” Kelly mused and slid a piece of pie in front of me, “she loved you instantly.”

Her comment made me smile. I was quite taken with the little girl myself. I felt Ryan’s hand squeeze mine.

“
She’s absolutely adorable, Kelly. One day, perhaps.”
Change the subject, Taryn.

“
Kelly, I’ve been meaning to ask you a question. When you were on
Just Neighbors
there was a character - his name was Kip?”

“
Yes, Kip. That was Jesse Oberly who played him.”

“
What ever happened to him? I was surprised when he was killed off. I’m sorry for bringing it up, but when I see you, I think of him and wonder why he died on the show. Did he make someone angry and get fired?”

“
No, Jesse left on his own. Actually I just spoke to him and his wife a couple of weeks ago. He has a ranch in Tennessee now where he breeds and trains racehorses. He’s never been happier. One day he had a meeting with the producer and said he wanted out. He only signed on for one season, and when his contract was fulfilled, the writers had his character die. More drama that way.”

“
Why did he want to leave? His character was so popular,” I asked, sampling my slice of pie.

“
He wasn’t happy. He was a brilliant actor; very natural in front of the cameras. But he didn’t like all the attention or the invasion of his privacy. Kind of reminds me of someone else we know?” She looked at Ryan.

“
Kelly, they post on the Internet where I’m having dinner for God’s sake. The attention I can handle; the obsessive crap is something altogether different,” Ryan defended.

“
No, I understand. When my show first aired, our cast went through something similar. We were followed and reported on, and of course we were all sleeping with each other too! I think in one week it was reported that I slept with four different actors from the show. While I was in the makeup trailer, supposedly I was getting lucky at the same time! One of the magazines reported that I had a weeklong affair with this one actor when in reality I was at home with the flu. Cal knows. We had just started seeing each other.”

“
So how do the magazines get away with printing all the lies? Can’t you sue or something?” I asked.

“
I wish. It’s the lies that sell the magazines,” Kelly uttered sadly. “The bigger the lie, the more money they make. And if they get some racy pictures too – that could turn a hefty profit for the photographer.”

“
We had our picture taken a lot tonight,” I murmured. Ryan squeezed my hand again.

“
Just be prepared, Sweetheart. Those pictures of us are going to be all over the tabloids, Internet, you name it. There’s going to be outlandish captions under those pictures too, like when we both cleared off your windshield? If you moved your arm too fast to sweep one of the papers off, they’ll print that you were having a jealous fit.” He rubbed his forehead. “Just don’t read them.”

He looked me in the eyes. “Remember what I told you when we were fishing? You can’t believe anything you hear, read, or see. If something needs to be clarified for the public, I have a Publicist.”

“
Can I ask a stupid question? Are you even allowed to have a girlfriend while doing these
Seaside
movies?” I felt dumb just for asking, but after what Suzanne said I wanted to know.

Ryan looked at me like I was crazy. “What?” he asked.

“
Are you under some contract or anything that says you’re not allowed to be seen in public with a girlfriend?”

“
No.” He shook his head and squinted at me. “Where would you get an idea like that?”

“
Something Suzanne said.” I shrugged.

“
What did she say?”

“
She said that the studio executives will be upset once they discover you’re seeing me - that they wouldn’t allow it.”

Ryan abruptly sat forward; the legs of his chair squeaked on the tiled floor. “She said what?” His eyes were wide.

“
She said exactly what I just said, and also that if you stay single, your fan base will be higher and your movies will make more money. But if the public knows you’re involved with someone, you may lose fans, your movies won’t make as much money, and the studio executives won’t allow that to happen.”

“
Is this another reason why you were so upset last Sunday? Because of these lies?” Ryan asked.

“
Well, it was part of it. Suzanne made it seem like some studio executive was going to break us up first.”

Kelly gasped.

“
That’s completely absurd!” he muttered. “They can’t do that.” He looked at Cal for reassurance. Cal didn’t say a word; his head was swaying back and forth in disbelief.

“
So what other lies did she tell you?” Ryan’s look frightened me. I could tell he was angry.

I looked down at the table, hoping to dismiss this entire conversation, but Ryan squeezed my hand again.

“
Taryn, what else did she say?”

I took a deep breath and looked at Cal and Kelly. I didn’t want to say the rest of what she said to me in front of them. “I’ll tell you later,” I said quietly to Ryan.

“
No, I want to know now!” he urged.

“
I always said that girl was trouble,” Kelly interjected.

“
She basically called you a womanizer, but in many more words,” I whispered.

“
What? She called me what?” His eyes scrunched up in confusion. “What is that supposed to mean?”

I stared at my dessert plate. “She said that you sleep with different women in every town. You tell them what they want to hear so you can get some, and you leave a trail of broken hearts behind you.”

I locked my eyes on his. “She also said that you lie to women to make them feel like they’re your perfect match – that you’re a talented actor and a gifted liar and I was just another fool to fall for it. Stupid American girls… Then she said that once you leave to do your next movie and find your next conquest, you’ll forget all about me.”

Cal started to laugh. Apparently my comment was amusing to him.

“
Oh my God! No way!” Kelly shouted. “Taryn, that’s such a lie! Ryan is the complete opposite of that!”

Ryan’s face turned red. “She’s a fucking piece of work, that girl. Why didn’t you tell me all of this before?” He was definitely angry.

“
Because I was scared and I didn’t want to cause problems for you.” I hid my eyes under my hand. “I even thought that if I let you go, then you wouldn’t feel obligated and somehow you’d be better off. You have enough stress to deal with without me ruining your career. The last thing I want is to be another name on your stress list.”

“
No wonder you were crying so hard. I went downstairs for fifteen minutes; when I left you with Marie everything was fine, and when I came back, you were falling to pieces and breaking up with me. It all makes sense now.”

“
You tried to break up with him at the party?” Kelly shrieked in horror.

Ryan nodded at her and then glanced back to me.

“
I’m going to rip her throat out when I see her,” he spit through his teeth.

Thoughts of his career and his movie being jeopardized because of me flashed through my mind.

“
That’s why I didn’t tell you,” I muttered, feeling guilty.

“
Taryn!” he started.

“
Ryan, you have a multi-million dollar movie riding on the fact that you have to get along with her. And there’s a third movie which you are under contract to finish. I don’t want to be the catalyst to dissension.”

“
She’s right, Ryan,” Kelly agreed. “As much as I despise that girl, you do have contractual obligations. And having you blow up at her in front of everyone would not be a good idea.”

“
Why is she doing this to me?” His fingers clenched his hair. “We
used
to get along so well.”