Page 81 of Anyone But the Superstar

A little over an hour ago, Holt sauntered into his sister’s house with covered containers full of meat and side dishes.

‘Besides, I wanted to use my new smoker.’

‘Is that how you cooked it?’ Amanda asks, her hand falling on Felix’s shoulder next to her as she leans forward to catch Holt’s eyes. ‘It was delicious.’

I smile in agreement, while thinking rude, appendage-slapping thoughts.

Felix nods, asking Holt more about his smoker, not seeming to care that Amanda’s hand stays where it is.

My face hurts. My smile unnatural since I asked Felix about his mother not long after we arrived.

I hadn’t thought much of Felix’s silence on the drive over to Vance and Rose’s house, having been too preoccupied with the nerves multiplying in my belly the closer I got to meeting my sister. But when he avoided my touch after I got out of the car, I thought maybe the problem was Mike. That despite their slow-burn bromance, between his latent fear of house cats and the latest Neutral Buoyancy Lab debacle, Felix wasn’t comfortable having Mike here, even if he was in the car.

So instead of letting Mike free-range in the limo as I’d planned, I double knotted his leash to one of the seat belts and piled a mound of treats beside him. On top of which, I had the chauffeur promise me – in front of Felix – that he would keep the partition down so he could keep an eye on Mike at all times.

Still, Felix’s smile remained dimmer than usual and the space between us glaringly wide.

Leading me to believe that if it isn’t his mother or Mike that’s the problem, it’s me.

And between having been so consumed with wondering what I did wrong, and going out to the car to check on Mike, I haven’t had time to mourn the profound disappointment that my sister isn’t here.

‘So Anne.’ Beautiful as always in a simple, blue shift dress, Amanda shifts her attention to me. ‘I’ve heard your internship is over.’

My eyes cut to Felix, still arguing the merits of braising versus smoking with Holt before zeroing back on Amanda’s hand still lingering on Felix’s shoulder. ‘Yes.’

Amanda blinks at my less than inviting tone, her eyes following mine to her hand. ‘Oh.’ Straightening, her handfinallyfalls to her side.

The relief coursing through me is grating.

‘Since filming at NASA is wrapping up, the pre-production team is leaving, right?’ Amanda’s smile is kind. ‘Did you enjoy working as a storyboarder?’

‘Yes.’ I take a breath, attempting to quell my petulant thoughts and feelings. ‘It was an interesting experience.’

‘I’ve seen lots of storyboards before, but yours really came together like a complete story.’ She looks at Felix, as if to corroborate her opinion, but he’s moved on, now laughing with Vance.

‘What’s a storyboard?’ Trish, the author ofCountdown to Loveand the second pregnant woman I saw at the press junket, chimes in with herSteel Magnolias’ accent.

‘Kind of like an illustrator.’ Amanda turns back to me looking hopeful. ‘You have to take the adapted screenplay and transcribe it into pictures, right?’

Pulling my concentration away from Felix, I mull over Amanda’s assessment. ‘Yeah, I guess that’s true.’

‘You’re looking for an illustrator, aren’t you?’ Ian Kincaid, Trish’s handsome husband and the son of a state senator, says as he places another slice of corn bread on her plate.

I’m lucky that all the political fundraisers the Moores have attended or contributed to have been north of the Mason Dixon Line.

Trish takes a large bite before answering with a nod. ‘Hmm mmm.’

‘Oh, that’s great.’ Rose, sitting opposite Vance at the end of the table, lifts her large mass of blonde hair off her neck and holds it to her head as if trying to cool down. ‘Now Trish canfinally go about creating those pornos she’s been wanting to publish.’

Thatgets everyone’s attention. Even Felix’s.

Vance excuses himself from the table.

‘They aren’tporn.’ Trish pouts after swallowing her corn bread. ‘I’m looking to creatematureweb comics from my romance novels.’ She shoves another big piece in her mouth, still sulking.

Ian leans over and kisses her full, chipmunk cheek.

‘Relax.’ Rose lowers one hand from her head to take a long pull from her iced tea. Finished, she holds the cold glass to her neck. ‘I meant porno in the best possible way.’ She scans the table. ‘I mean, who doesn’t like a little spice in their stories?’