Twisted Arrangement 4 (12 page)

Emma was, amazingly, having a good time. Or she had been, until Kimber-Not-Short-For-Kimberly had begun talking about her screenplay. She turned her attention to Josh now, grateful to have an excuse to tune out the barista, and smiled up at his annoyingly handsome face. She lifted on tiptoe, brushing her mouth against the corner of his jaw. She felt the muscle there tense and knew she was toeing the line, in light of what had happened last night. But they had to make it look real, right?

“You owe me big time for this, Owens,” she breathed into his ear. “Her script is about the
Jonas Brothers
. She’s recited lines.”

His eyes twinkled, the lines of amusement at the corners deepening. He draped his arm around her shoulders before turning back to Arnold. “Will you excuse us for a moment, Arnold? I see Christine over there and we haven’t had a chance to say hello yet.”

Josh didn’t wait for an answer. He just swept them into the glittering crowd. Before they’d arrived, Emma had worried about being over-dressed. Martin had assured her that her silver sequined dress, with its wide V-neck, draped back, and mid-thigh length, was perfectly suitable, but she’d still been unsure.

He’d been right, of course. She fit in perfectly fine among the sea of silks, chiffons, and gossamer creations. Not quite red carpet caliber, tonight’s dress code, but not far off either.

“Todd’s doing really well.” Josh’s words came out of the blue as he maneuvered them around a knot of people that included two of the highest paid stars in Hollywood. Josh nodded and murmured hellos, but he was actually urging her toward where Christine DeGroot stood, surrounded by well-wishers.

“He said he’s enjoying the work, believe it or not. As a PA, he’s getting to do a wide variety of things, not just the same thing every day. That seems to appeal to him.” Emma was more than a little surprised, actually. Ever since the movie had moved from pre-production into production, some small part of her had been expecting a phone call – from Josh, or her younger brother, or even someone else on the crew – to tell her he’d quit, stormed off set, started a riot. Something.

But the only call she’d gotten was from Todd raving about his job.
Raving
. Her little brother. Apparently he’d already gained a bit of a reputation among the crew as a guy who could get things done. Perhaps his diverse employment history was actually a plus, for once? Maybe being a Jack of all trades/master of none actually worked out when you were called on to fill in a dozen different roles within the course of the day.

“Do you think he was really just bored at all those other jobs?” Josh inclined his head toward her, brow furrowed. He looked genuinely interested in the answer. Why was it so easy for them to talk here, in public? She’d tried all day to break through the barrier of awkwardness between them. She’d even attempted to apologize for trying to renege on the agreement. That had been a moment of panic on her part.

She’d seen the closed off look on Josh’s face and the words had leapt to her lips before she could stop them while her brain clamored for her to ‘hurry, get out, run now’. But despite Josh’s low opinion of her, she wasn’t about to break her word. So here she was.

“I think that was probably some of it. But he’s perfectly capable of sticking to something if he makes up his mind. Trust me, I know.” She grimaced ruefully, and then flashed her eyes to Josh’s face as realization pricked her heart. Probably not the thing to bring up, considering that the last time Todd had made up his mind to do something, it had been convincing her to rob Josh.

Amazingly, Josh’s lips twitched. “I imagine you do,” was all he said. No reproach, no distrust. Why couldn’t it be like this when they were alone?

It was
, the smug voice reminded her.
That led to the toe-curling sex, remember?

As if she could forget. But the stupid voice was right. Ease between them when they were alone did seem to degenerate into heavy petting rather quickly. Maybe they were better off feeling strained.

They reached Christine, and when the older woman caught sight of Josh she ducked around the last few of her admirers to press a quick kiss to his cheek. “Joshua, darling! I’m so glad to see you. And this must be your wife, Emma. I was so sorry to miss the wedding, but we were just wrapping on
Project 13
and I just couldn’t get away.”

Christine DeGroot was nearly as tall as Josh, slender as a reed, and had shoulder-length brown hair threaded through with silver. Her eyes were so dark brown they appeared black, and were seamed by laugh lines. Her bony fingers were piled with jeweled rings. She wasn’t the kind of woman you’d call pretty exactly. In another time period, she probably would have been referred to as a handsome woman. The papers nowadays generally used ‘distinguished’, Emma had noticed. She was also one of the most well-respected, well-known directors in the world.

Emma extended her hand. “It’s a genuine pleasure to meet you, Ms. DeGroot. I’m a big fan of your work. Especially
Dollhouse Massacre
.”

Christine took Emma’s hand and gave it a brief squeeze. She chuckled, the sound surprisingly deep for a woman. “Ahh, a woman of taste, I see. I wasn’t aware anyone had actually
seen
that particular gem.”

“
Dollhouse Massacre
?” Josh eyed Christine, brows raised in surprise. “You?”

“For shame, Joshua,” Christine replied with a wink. “You didn’t think I only did artsy, socially important pictures, did you?” The older woman snickered again, and Emma couldn’t help but join her. The sound was infectious.

Josh shook his head. “That must have been before my time. I didn’t realize you’d ever directed a horror film.”

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen
Dollhouse Massacre
! It’s only the best late eighties haunted killer doll movie. I rented it so often that I probably could have bought twenty brand new copies for the same price.” Emma shook her head, remembering Aunt Margaret’s sour-lemon sneer of disapproval any time she caught Emma watching the gory flick. She turned to Christine.

“We lived a few blocks from this tiny little video store. I can’t even count the number of times I’d walk down there, rent the movie, watch it, and then have to walk back in the dark, terrified Alice was going jump out of the bushes with her wicked little knife!” She laughed, though the memory wasn’t all pleasant.

She always had to return the movie the same day, because if Aunt Margaret found it, there would’ve been hell to pay. While their Aunt had believed in the old ‘spare the rod, spoil the child’ axiom when it came to Todd, her idea of punishment for girls involved back-breaking manual labor around the house, for the most part. But Emma had so enjoyed the whimsical, gory, creepy film that she’d risked it time and again.

Christine’s smile grew Cheshire wide. Josh’s lips twitched too. “I still can’t see you making a horror movie, Chris. It’s going to take me a while to wrap my head around this new side of you.”

“New, pah.” Christine flipped her hand. “I love a good horror flick. Pity there aren’t more decent ones these days. Too much reliance on jump scares and gore without crafting the appropriate tension.”

“Oh, I completely agree.” Emma almost bounced on her toes. She was talking horror films with Christine DeGroot! Never, in all the years she’d trudged to and from the video store with
Dollhouse Massacre
tucked under her arm in its bulky maroon plastic box, did she think she’d ever be here. “I was just reading a book recently, so good, really spooky and I thought how it would make such a great movie if someone did it right. But that’s the thing nowadays, isn’t it? The getting it right part, I mean. You should totally do another horror movie.”

“
Dollhouse Massacre 2
?” Josh quirked a brow, blue-green eyes sparkling with good humor.

Christine snorted. “No, I’m not one for unnecessary sequels. But what about this book you were reading, Emma? Something I should option?”

Emma’s eyelids popped open. “What? Oh. Um. I don’t know. I’d be happy to lend it to you, if you wanted to read it. Or... well, it’s called
Homeplace
, by Cat Dennis. It’s one of those stories about going home and confronting your past, but woven in with a tale of two young women falling in love and a creepy town with dark secrets. Parts of it were really unnerving. Like, can’t read before bed or without all the lights on unnerving.”

“Sounds intriguing. I’ll have to check it out. Email me the title, in case I forget? Josh, be a dear and give your darling wife my email address, would you?” Christine patted his cheek.

“Of course.” Josh grinned, his dimple flashing. Emma bit her lip to keep from spluttering.  Christine DeGroot had just asked her to send her an email! She’d been mildly star struck when she first met William Ransler, and being on set had been a bit of a revelation too... but actually carrying on conversation with the woman who’d directed one of her all-time favorite movies – and hitting it off! – was something else entirely.

Heat flushed her cheeks. Josh squeezed her waist a little. She looked up at him, knowing her grin was probably goofy, but unable to do anything about it at the moment. He winked. Emma swallowed.

Thankfully, the conversation moved on to other topics and she had a moment to collect her somewhat scattered wits. She rested easily against Josh’s side as he and Christine discussed a change in tax law that affected film companies.

“We managed to lock down locations in-state, this time, for the stuff we’re not doing on the lot, without it being cost prohibitive.”

Christine’s brows rose. “Really? Even though it’s a historical piece? That’s impressive. Who’s your location scout this time around?”

“Max Chartrand.” Josh’s grin was sharp. Christine nodded, as if she wasn’t surprised.

“Figures. That woman is a genius.”

A very round man with a drastically receding hairline scurried up to Christine’s side just then and, begging them all effusive pardons, told her she was needed elsewhere. Christine rolled her eyes. “More press, no doubt. It was a pleasure to see you, as always, Joshua. And very nice to meet you, Emma. I’ve heard only good things, and now I see why. Don’t forget to email, alright?” She squeezed Emma’s hand. Emma pinkened.

“I won’t. And thank you, but really, the pleasure was all mine.”

Once Christine was gone, Josh began leading them back to their table. “Well, you made quite an impression on Christine. Especially with all that stuff about her movie. Big horror fan?”

“Oh yeah. Horror, sci-fi, fantasy. I was always big on the make believe stuff. Especially when I was younger.” Because her real life was so lonely, apart from Todd, and reality rather harsh. Now that she was older, she enjoyed action flicks and dramas and documentaries as much as the next person, but back then, she’d only wanted the unbelievable. That was more than she was willing to share, however. “I still can’t believe you haven’t seen
Dollhouse Massacre
. I’ll see if I can track down a copy. You just have to watch it.”

“If it’s as good as you say, I’ll have to check it out. I’m kind of surprised I hadn’t heard of it, honestly. Horror wasn’t my first genre of choice growing up; I was much more into fantasy. But it was definitely a runner-up.” Josh pulled out her chair. Emma slid into it, grateful to see that someone sat on the other side of Kimber-Not-Short-For-Kimberly and was holding the buxom blonde’s attention.

“I’m rather surprised myself, Mr. Hollywood Producer.” Emma chuckled. “Isn’t knowing movies in your job description?”

Josh’s hands were warm against the skin of her bare shoulders as he pushed in her chair. As he slid into his own chair, his fingers trailed across her nape, drifting up her throat to clasp her chin and turn her face toward his.

“Watch the sass, Mrs. Hollywood Producer.”

Emma’s heart did a ridiculous flip at the words, just like they had earlier when Josh introduced her as his wife. It was stupid. She knew it was a lie.

He pressed his mouth to hers. The kiss was light at first, as if he’d intended it to be only another phantom caress for their charade, but the minute their lips touched, Emma began to tremble. Josh immediately deepened the connection, angling her head and covering her mouth with his.