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Adelia got a wistful look. “I wish I could’ve gone with you guys. It would’ve been much better than this.” She held up her hand.
“What exactly happened?” Oliver asked. “I’d like to know.”
“I knew Layton would be there for the interviews, but I didn’t realize we were doing them together. He just pushed my buttons all day, and then he made some rude comments about my parents that sent me over the edge.” She laughed as she remembered the look on Layton’s face. “I might’ve broken his nose.”
Gus held his hand up in the air, and Adelia gave him a high five with her good hand.
“Did anyone ask about your parents, besides Lame-ton?” Gus asked.
Adelia chuckled. “Actually, no. They stuck to questions about the movie. I was relieved. Hopefully, tomorrow will be more of the same.” She let out a sigh. “I’ll just be glad when it’s over, and we can head back to Michigan.”
Gus got a call then and excused himself.
“So, this Layton guy. He’s your ex, right?” Oliver asked.
“Yeah. He’s the one you saw me on the billboard with.”
“Ah,” he replied with a nod.
“We dated for a while, and I thought things were going well. He seemed happy, and we both signed on to this romantic comedy together as the love interests, then I found out he’d been sleeping around, so I kicked him to the curb. But we still had this movie to film, and my agent advised me not to break the contract, not only for the money, but for my career. I shouldn’t have done it. I should have bowed out, no matter what it cost me. But my mom also told me to honor my commitments.” She shook her head and let out a breath in a huff. “How hypocritical is that?”
Oliver didn’t know what to say. It seemed like a bad situation all around. So, he simply took hold of her good hand and gave it a squeeze.
She smiled over at him. “I can’t go back and change it now. I just wish I’d known he would be there today. My manager neglected that little detail. Probably because she knew how I’d react. And she was right. But I tried to be professional, Olly. I really did.”
“What did he say to you?”
Adelia filled him in on the things Layton had said, and he shook his head in disgust. “You absolutely did the right thing.”
That brought a laugh out of her, and he adored that sound.
“Hey, I have to take off,” Gus said as he returned to the patio. “I told Merritt I’d meet her for dinner after work. You guys are welcome to come along.”
Adelia looked at Oliver then back at Gus. “No, thanks.” Her eyes met Oliver’s again. “I have a better idea.”
Whoever said you can’t go to California without taking a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway was right. Gus had dropped them off at Adelia’s so they could get her little black convertible, and she let Oliver drive them north, passing beaches, rocks, homes, and shops. The scenery was incredible and definitely worth the trip.
He glanced over at Adelia, whose head was back and eyes closed with a smile on her face.
“This was a great idea,” Oliver told her.
Her eyes opened and found his. “It’s beautiful, right?”
He nodded, thinking that word applied to more than just the view.
“We’re going to turn off at a beach about five miles up ahead.”
When they arrived, she directed him where to go, and they parked and got out. There were still quite a few people out for a late October evening, enjoying the above-average temperatures.
Adelia hovered around the car for a few minutes, fiddling with her bag or her phone.
“Is something the matter?” he asked.
She looked off down the road.
“No, I’m waiting for someone. I thought she’d be here by now.”
She?Why did he think this was going to be an evening with just the two of them? He really needed to stop letting his mind get carried away with him and making more of their situation than it was.