“You’ll get over it. I promise.”
“Did you?”
I don’t have to elaborate. She knows what I mean. That’s something I have noticed happening more and more often as we film together. We both can sense what we mean without always explaining it. It’s a heady experience, having a woman as sexy as Nancy paying attention to me and then getting exactly what I mean. It’s hard to ignore my need for her while we work this closely, but I have to. A crush from my teenage years is no reason to ruin a perfectly good working relationship.
“No, but I hated it. You love what we’re doing, right?”
I don’t hesitate to respond. “Yes.”
She gives me a brilliant smile that has the breath backing up in my lungs. Fuck.
“See. We will get through this together. I got a call from Syd on the sly last night.”
“Why didn’t she call me?”
“I told her you were busy.”
Both of us know that my sister would freak out if she knew how much my first days of filming were affecting me. I nod and sip some more of my tea. This might just be working, as I feel my nerves settling a little more.
“So, they did some test studies of the show.”
“Why didn’t they contact us?”
“They will, as soon as they do a few more tests, but every one of them have been fantastic. People love us, and At Home said they think they might have another hit on their hands.”
I pause lifting my cup to my lips. “Seriously?”
She nods, fairly bubbling with excitement. She’s always like this, most of the time happy. She’s practically bouncing on the bed. The movement makes her tits go with the motion, and it is taking all of my concentration not to look.
“They said, and this is a direct quote, ‘They might give Fixer Upper a run for their money.’”
My eyes widen. Fixer Upper is the epitome of shows. Hell, they helped rebuild Waco into something after years of a bad economy and worse press. Thanks to Joanna and Chip, Waco is more than just a destination for Dr. Pepper lovers (there is an actual Dr. Pepper museum there).
“Fuck.”
“Right? I was so stunned. I mean, I knew we were kicking ass, but to be compared to Fixer Upper? I about died right there.”
The rest of my nerves seem to settle. “Yeah, well, shit.”
She laughs and we start talking about plans for the shoot and places she has scoped out to eat. And when she does mention hitting up the West Bakery so we can grab some Czech delicacies, my stomach doesn’t revolt.
We might just make it through this.
Present Day
The memory fades away, but my smile doesn’t. At least for a few moments before I remember where we are now. God, I hope she takes me back. And even though I promised my sister I wouldn’t do it; I grab my phone and text Nancy.
Me: Ball is in your court.
I don’t hit send right away. Instead, I stare at the words, trying to decide if it is a good idea. It isn’t pushy and lets her know that I’m still there. Still waiting. A few seconds tick by, then I hit the send button. I know she won’t answer me right away, so I drop the phone and head off to clean up for the night. I know there’s a good chance I won’t get any sleep, but at least I won’t stink.
Chapter Seven
Nancy
I don’t wake up until almost eleven the next morning. I got up a couple times to use the bathroom, but I stayed off my phone. I guess all the stress of the season, along with the drive back without enough sleep that night, helped. All told, I had about sixteen hours of sleep. Jeez.
Sleeping in isn’t my kind of thing. I like to get up early and start the day. I’m one of those people other people complain about. Sunrises are one of my favorite things in the world. Well, except if I’ve been partying with Syd the night before, but we have done very little of that. Once we hit our thirties, recovery from a night of drinking started to take its toll. Now, a glass of wine and some really bad carbs. Like, pizza. Oh, God, that sounds good. And I know I am in a funk if I am thinking about pizza for breakfast. But it does sound very, very yummy.
I ignore my phone and head off for the bathroom. After a shower, I feel the best I have in a long time. I walk out to my kitchen and start my coffee. I sit down to wait and catch up on my texts.
Syd: How do you feel about Milan? You could come with Grady and me on our trip this fall.
Oh, yeah, that will be fun. Tagging along with Syd and Grady on their romantic getaway. Nothing like hammering home just how sad my life has become that Syd is inviting me on a trip that I think has bigger ramifications than she realizes.
Syd: Please tell me you aren’t giving in to my brother just yet. Make him work for it.
She shouldn’t even have to ask me that. Okay, I take that back. We both know I have been a pushover when it comes to Travis.
Syd: I’m wondering how much it will cost to ship my shoe haul back to the US.
That’s probably why she wants me to go to Italy with them. She thinks I’ll be able to take some of them back in my suitcases. Also, she’s going with a freaking billionaire who is probably going to propose to her while they are there. I have a feeling that he can afford to ship her shoes back.
Syd: Do you think I should cut my hair?
Syd: Never mind. I just remembered what it looked like in college after THE INCIDENT.
THE INCIDENT is what we call the night we got really drunk and decided to do makeovers. She ended up with a lopsided bob that looked as if a drunk monkey cut it. Me…I was missing eyebrows.
Syd: I expect to hear from you by noon or I will send Josh over there.
Syd: Seriously. I will do it.
Syd: And I’ll put out an alert to the LOLs.
I roll my eyes. That was just forty-five minutes ago.
Me: I’m here. Just slept in.
Syd: I was just on the phone with Mrs. Peterson.
Me: It isn’t noon.
My phone starts to ring, and Syd’s face appears on the screen. I pick up.
“I know it’s not noon, but I was worried about you.”
Even after all these years, it’s hard to deal with her attention. I don’t want to go all poor little rich girl, but until meeting Syd and Travis, no one really paid much attention to me. Oh, my mother was around for the pageants she forced on me, but other than that, people didn’t check on me. Showing concern. It still gives me that weird feeling in my stomach.
“Well, I’m fine. I finally caught up on my sleep. You know how I am at the end of a season.”
I do tend to go into a kind of hibernation for about a week after we wrap up the last show. I love the job, and the people we work with, but I need a break every now and then. At the end of a season, I often feel wrung out, unable to deal with even little things like…other people.
“And you have not given in to my brother?’
“Absolutely not.”
“Good. Just don’t tell Grady I said that.”
I laugh. I know it’s hard for her being my friend, Travis’ sister, and Grady’s girlfriend. Her job means she should be trying to talk me into going back to Flipping Texas, but she’s my friend first. And it’s one of the things I love most about her. Loyalty is so important to me.