His Larkville Cinderella. Melissa McClone
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“No reason to go crazy. I’ll tell Lane the truth. I don’t go out with engaged or married women.”
“She may not be swayed so easily.”
“She won’t have a choice when I find someone else to help me relax during shooting.”
“Please not another actress on the set,” Sam said. “Catfights will be counterproductive.”
Adam remembered the last time two actresses had gotten into it over him outside the Château Marmont. It had been flattering, but a mistake on his part. The publicity and negative vibe on the set easily could have been avoided if he hadn’t been on such an ego trip back then. He enjoyed female companionship and seduction, but he had to be smart about it or he became nothing more than tabloid fodder. No one would take him seriously then. “I’ll find a woman not on the cast list.”
He noticed movement on the patio. He caught a glimpse of a pile of curly dark hair. Megan, the intern from Texas. That explained her slight twang.
A smile tugged on his lips. At least one good thing would come out of the casting change. Her internship would continue for at least another week. Eva would be too busy getting new costumes ready to fire Megan.
The thought of her sticking around longer made him happy. That was a little bizarre given she was a total stranger. But something about her appealed to him. Her eyes, yes, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what else it might be. Maybe her apparent dislike of him.
He looked up on the patio again, but didn’t see her. No doubt she’d been ordered to do something else for someone.
Megan should make the most of her internship and time in Hollywood. She might have received a reprieve from being sent home in the next day or two, but she wouldn’t last. Her quiet personality and self-conscious demeanor weren’t cut out for Hollywood, but Adam hoped she would be here long enough to figure that out herself.
It was better for a person to change their dreams than have them stripped away. That had happened to his mother. His father had broken her heart when he took off. Since then, Adam had watched her chase pipe dreams and men. Nothing mattered to her except grabbing the golden ring—another wedding band. She would give up everything, including him, to find her one true love. Adam didn’t want a broken dream to have that same kind of effect on anyone else, especially someone so quiet and shy, like Megan Calhoun.
CHAPTER THREE
THREE days later, Megan opened the hatchback of her car. Shoes and shoeboxes were strewn everywhere. She swallowed the sigh threatening to escape. She’d been sighing too much the past few days.
Besides, she had only herself to blame for this latest mess. She’d put down the backseats to give her more room to transport items. That hadn’t worked out so well with the shoeboxes.
Megan tucked the car keys in the front pocket of her jeans.
She must have taken a few curves too fast. Not surprising, she’d been running late. Again. Driving was where she could make up time, if, and it was a big if, there wasn’t any traffic on the road.
But standing here staring at all the sandals, pumps, flats and boots wasn’t getting it done. She needed to put the shoes back into their boxes and carry them inside before Lane Gregory’s fitting. That was the reason Megan had been given strict instructions with an impossible time frame.
Eva must want her to fail. Megan matched up boxes with lids. That was the only explanation for being stuck in interning purgatory. A headache threatened to erupt.
She rubbed her temples. It didn’t help. More caffeine might. That stuff had been keeping her going the past two days. What she needed was a sit-down meal with fresh vegetables and a decent night’s sleep. Neither looked likely in the near future.
Megan arranged the boxes so she could see what was missing what. Gathering the pieces for today’s costume fittings had meant killer hours, irregular meal times and little, if any, sleep. Not just for her, but everyone working wardrobe and costumes on the film.
Talk about an insane schedule.
But she couldn’t give up. That wasn’t the Calhoun way. Her dad might not physically be here any longer, but his spirit and memory lived on. She wanted him to be proud of her.
She picked up a shoebox with a single silver slingback sandal inside. The matching shoe had to be here somewhere.
As she sorted through the shoes, putting them into the correct boxes, she imagined what awful task they—okay, Eva—would assign next. A long list of horrible, degrading tasks ran through Megan’s mind. She half laughed.
Hard to believe she was working so hard for free.
Not only working, but driving.
She’d put a couple hundred miles on her car running errands around town for Eva and company. Granted Megan would be reimbursed for mileage and gas, but hazard pay for being forced to drive on the L.A. freeways should be included.
Something silver near the left passenger door caught Megan’s eye. The sandal. She grabbed hold of it. Her cell phone vibrated in her back jeans pocket.
Unbelievable. She grimaced. As soon as she was close to finishing an errand, a text would arrive telling her what to do next. It was as if a camera followed her every move so she would never have a spare moment. Coincidence, yes. She didn’t think Hollywood was that wired, but it was still weird.
She removed her phone from her pocket, but hesitated looking at the display screen.
Please don’t make me go back to the warehouse clear across town. The one I just came from.
That had happened twice yesterday during bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 405. She’d had to drive from Santa Monica to Van Nuys and back again.
Talk about a total nightmare. She shivered.
But if asked to make that drive again, Megan would. She would smile and drive wherever they asked. She would do whatever it took in the hopes of gaining real costume design experience with this internship.
However unlikely that looked at the moment.
She placed the shoe in the box with its match, put the lid on top, then read the name on the cell phone’s display screen.
Rob.
Finally.
Usually a thrill shot through her each time she heard from him, but today she felt a sliver of annoyance. She’d been sending him texts all week, but he hadn’t replied to any of them. No doubt he’d been as busy getting settled in Austin and starting his new job as she was here in Los Angeles. But she didn’t see why he couldn’t take two minutes out of his day—thirty seconds even—to text her back.
Megan read his message.
How’s showbiz?
She thought about everything she’d been doing, from driving all over L.A. to meeting Adam Noble. The guy, or at least images of him wearing only a pair of shorts with water dripping down his tanned skin, had taken up permanent residency in her thoughts. She chalked it up to him being nice to her. But she’d much rather think about someone else.
Someone like Rob.
Her perfect guy. Even if he wasn’t the best at keeping in touch with her.
She typed a one-word reply summing up her first week in town.
Exhausting.
Everything about her internship tired her out. But in spite of the exhaustion, she honestly couldn’t think of anywhere else she’d rather be than here in Hollywood. Well, except Austin with Rob.
“So you can smile.”
The familiar male voice startled her. She glanced up from her phone display to see Adam Noble standing next to her. He wore a pair of khaki cargo shorts with a button-down, light blue, short-sleeved shirt and hi-tech-looking