Page 51 of At the Heart of It (The Can’t Have Hearts Club #4)

“Stop looking to me for advice,” Viv said. “It’s time to start trusting your own instincts.”

Kate choked on a small, bitter laugh. “My own instincts just led me off the end of a pier with a pocket full of rocks.”

Viv laughed, too, but hers was real. It was tired and a little sad, but it was a laugh just the same. That made Kate’s heart ache even more.

“So here’s your opportunity, Kate,” she said. “Your chance to learn to swim.”

Three days later, Kate watched as Jonah tugged at his shirt collar and glanced over his shoulder at the towering studio light behind him.

Even Kate had to admit the glare seemed extra hot today, or maybe it wasn’t the light at all. Maybe she was feeling the gaze of Chase Whitfield, who’d shown up on set to watch the glorious return to filming after their short hiatus.

“Nice work, Kate,” Chase murmured as he leaned close enough for Kate to smell onions and expensive aftershave. “I knew I could count on you to do what it took to keep the cameras rolling.”

Kate grimaced, not sure what he was implying. “Thanks, but it wasn’t me,” she said. “His sister told me?—”

“Quiet on set!” Pete shot them a pointed look and gestured to the mic.

“Sorry,” Kate mouthed, and edged away from Chase. Across the parlor, Amy flashed her a sympathetic look. Kate sighed and directed her attention back to the center of the room.

Jonah was seated next to Viv, close enough that either of them could touch the other if the mood happened to strike. Kate hadn’t spoken to Viv since that day in the parlor. She had no idea if Viv had told anyone about their conversation, but Chase had been in constant contact.

“I’ve been working my magic with Vivienne,” he’d told her on the phone that morning. “I’m making sure she doesn’t back out on the plan to seduce Joe.”

The thought made Kate’s stomach churn.

She’d tried texting Jonah once since the night he’d slammed the door in her face, but the message had gone unanswered.

“He’s processing things,” Jossy told her when Kate stopped by the animal shelter with a short promo clip to share. “Be patient. He’ll talk to you again as soon as he comes around.”

Kate wasn’t convinced.

She shook her head and ordered herself to focus on the set. Viv was dressed in a fitted purple tunic and black leggings that somehow made her look both regal and comfortable. Kate envied her on both counts.

As Kate watched, Viv leaned forward and spoke in earnest tones to the new couple she and Average Joe were tasked with helping.

“Roger, I can see you’re hurting very deeply,” Viv said. “You, too, Abby. I want you to know I understand where you’re both coming from. Mistakes have been made on both sides.”

Roger started to open his mouth, but Jonah cut him off. “If you’re about to offer a tally of who committed the most errors, so help me God I’ll take that list, tear it into a thousand pieces, light it on fire, and force you to stomp out the flames with your bare feet.”

Roger blinked and shut his mouth.

“Metaphorically speaking,” Jonah added. “Was there something else you had to say?”

Roger shook his head and looked down at his lap. Abby looked triumphant for a moment, but Viv shook her head. “None of this is about winning or losing,” Viv said. “Being right doesn’t make you happy. There’s very rarely a correlation between winning an argument and finding joy.”

“Let’s just agree that you’ve both fucked up,” Jonah said.

Viv nodded, not even wincing at Jonah’s word choice. “The thing that’s important to understand here is that everything happens for a reason.”

“And sometimes,” Jonah added. “The reason is that you’re an idiot who makes poor decisions.”

A few people on set chuckled, and Chase gave him a thumbs-up. But Jonah didn’t look at him. He kept his focus on Roger and Abby. Kate’s chest ached from the compassion in his eyes.

“I’m including myself in that,” Jonah added. “God knows I’ve made plenty of dumb choices over the years. But I’ve always tried to learn from them.”

“And that’s what’s most important,” Viv added. “Moving ahead instead of spinning your wheels.”

Abby sniffed and glanced at her husband from behind a curtain of caramel-colored hair. “I just don’t know if I can trust him again,” she said. “I know things weren’t always great in the bedroom, but I never expected him to—to—to go looking in someone else’s bedroom.”

Roger put his face in his hands and shook his head. “I told you, Ab—it was a mistake. And it wasn’t actual sex. I swear to God, I never even took my pants off all the way.”

Kate glanced at Chase, unsurprised to see he was eating this up. God, there were some great sound bites. At least Abby and Roger were getting help. In the end, that’s what mattered.

“Intimacy is something you treasure,” Viv was saying. “Something special that?—”

“Cut!” Chase waved a hand in the air, though none of the cameras stopped rolling. The crew knew damn well that the exciting stuff usually happened when no one thought they were being filmed.

Chase moved forward, bumping a camera with his shoulder and earning a glare from Pete. “You all sound great, but I was wondering what this would feel like if we moved the scene someplace more intimate,” Chase said.

“Intimate?” Viv looked confused.

“Right. Since Roger and Abby here have been having trouble in the bedroom, maybe you and Joe could take them back there and show them a few things.”

Jonah frowned. “Seriously?”

“You don’t have to take any clothes off or anything.” Chase waved a hand like that was the furthest thing from his mind, though Kate didn’t doubt the thought had occurred to him. The whole thing gave her a sour taste in her mouth.

Chase leaned close to Viv, easing into his role as her BFF. “Just being together on the bed, maybe offering a few tips about how you might go about?—”

“Stop!”

Kate felt her throat vibrate and her mouth form the word, so she must have been the one to say it. Everyone turned to look at her, and she could hear blood pounding in her head.

She stepped forward, heavy with the sensation of making her way through a swimming pool while wearing snowshoes. “Enough,” she said.

The second she said the word, she knew it was the right one. She kept going, directing her attention at Chase so she wouldn’t have to look at Jonah.

“You can’t keep doing this,” she said.

Chase stared at her. “Doing what?”

There was a challenge in his voice, something daring her to take it a step further. Kate stared back, telegraphing her own message.

I know you’re trying to get Jonah and Viv in bed together. I know what you’re doing, and I won’t let you.

Chase didn’t blink.

Kate took another step forward. “People aren’t playthings,” she said. “You can’t stand here pulling puppet strings while the two people who have the most to lose just flail their arms and legs around with every tug of the handle.”

It wasn’t the most artful metaphor, but it made Chase scowl. “Be careful, Kate.” His voice was low, the threat implied.

A few feet away, Roger and Abby glanced at each other. Viv was frowning, and Kate wondered if she had any idea what this was about. If she still thought Chase had her best interest at heart. That he wanted to help her win back her ex-husband.

Kate didn’t dare glance at Jonah, but she knew he was confused, too. God, he still had no idea. Not a clue that Viv wanted to win him back, or that Chase planned to make a spectacle of him all over again.

Taking a shaky breath, Kate took another step closer. “I can’t let this happen, Chase.”

Chase shook his head and folded his arms over his chest. “You’re treading awfully close to the edges of your contract.”

“Fuck the contract,” Kate snapped. She turned to face Viv, steeling herself for what needed to be said.

“Vivienne, he’s not on your side. The things you’ve confessed—the feelings?

” She shook her head, trying to convey her message without humiliating Viv.

“It’s not going to pan out. They’re playing you, but this won’t go down the way you want it to. ”

She stopped there, wondering if she was starting down the wrong path. Why would Viv believe her anyway? The woman who’d confessed to sleeping with the object of Viv’s affection. Viv probably saw her as a jealous rival.

But she had to try. She had to warn Viv, to warn Jonah?—

“Jonah, I know you hate me right now.” Kate swallowed hard and met his eyes.

Those mossy amber orbs speared through her, taking her breath away.

She knew he wouldn’t argue about hating her, but she needed to keep going anyway.

“I know how much you hate blindsides,” she said softly. “And there’s another one coming.”

Behind her, Chase growled. “Stop this right now, Kate,” he said. “Or there will be consequences.”

She looked back at him and knew he damn well meant it. Ten million dollars , she thought, staring into those steely eyes. Kate stared back, unblinking.

My soul is worth more than that, asshole.

She turned back to Jonah and Viv.

“Go,” she said. “Both of you need to leave the set right now and find a private place to talk.” She shot a warning look at Pete, who nodded once.

“No cameras,” she said to Viv and Jonah. “And no coming out until the two of you have had the conversation you need to have without anyone else standing to gain from it. Do you understand?”

Viv pressed her palms together and looked at her. A small, serene expression was painted on her face. Kate couldn’t tell if it was a smile or a frown. The studio lights were so bright.

“Are you finished, Kate?” Viv asked.

“Oh, she’s finished all right,” Chase barked, moving close enough for Kate to feel the waves of fury radiating from him. “You’re done. Pack your things and get out of here. You’ll hear from the legal team within the hour.”

Kate started to move back, but Viv’s voice stopped her. “I need everyone else to stop talking now .”

Everyone froze. Even Jonah, who was probably the last person on earth to want to follow Viv’s orders.