She was extremely hot.
Caitlin’s cheeks warmed, picturing Gemma as a woman now for the first time after all these years.
“Wow, she must have been something,” Maddie decided. Of course, nothing got past her best friend.
Caitlin had never been so thankful for a distraction as when the trailer door swung open, and everyone’s eyes shifted to see who was storming in without knocking. She was surprised to see that the intruder was her agent, although that would explain the abruptness of the entrance. Sandy did what she wanted, when she wanted, wherever she wanted. She had a reputation as a rather badass agent, representing most of Hollywood’s biggest acting stars. She was respected—and a little feared—by most everyone that encountered her, but Caitlin saw through the tough façade. Sandy was loyal, steadfast, and a breath of fresh air in an otherwise two-faced world.
“Sandy, what are you doing here?”
“I had a meeting on the lot and thought I’d pop by to give you the good news in person. They finally set a date to start filmingForbidden Love!”
Caitlin’s stomach sank. “Wait, so they hired Gemma to play Sarah?” No, there was no way Gemma would have taken the part.
“Cait, that’s huge! Congrats, it’s finally happening!” Maddie cheered from beside her.
Caitlin held her breath, waiting for Sandy to look up from her phone and answer her question.
“Yep, they loved you two together. You’ll have a little under two weeks of a break after this movie ends before you’ll need to fly to New York. I know it’s not a ton of time to prepare, but you’ve got this.”
Easy for Sandy to say. She wasn’t about to be caged on a movie set for three months with an ex-girlfriend who clearly hated her guts. Was this Gemma’s idea of revenge? Maybe she planned to ruin Caitlin’s career as some form of karmic justice.
Caitlin sat frozen in her chair as Maddie and Sandy waited for her reaction. She couldn’t pin down exactly how she felt. On one hand, this role was a dream. She couldn’t wait to start filming, she loved this character and the script. But… addingGemmato the mix? She couldn’t imagine acting together, and not as friends or even enemies, but as lovers. Perhaps it was fate, and the universe was offering Caitlin a second chance to rewrite their ending. Only time would tell whether this turn of events would heal or leave her entirely unraveled.
“Okay… I’m going to let you get back to it. Congrats again, Caitlin, you really make my job easy.” Unsure what to make of Caitlin’s silence, Sandy was out the door just as fast as she’d come in.
“Cait.” Maddie’s voice pulled her out of the tornado in her mind. “Why don’t you look excited? I thought you’d be jumping with joy at the fact that it’s finally happening.”
“I am.”
“Tell your face that.”
Caitlin looked in the mirror at her reflection and saw what Maddie did. There was a deep furrow between her copper eyebrows, and the muscles along her jawline were tight, clenched with the effort to stay composed. Her freckles were stark against her pale face.
“Sorry, I really am excited. It’s a beautiful story, and I know the movie is going to be special.”
“But?” Maddie wasn’t going to drop it.
“Remember my girlfriend from college, the one I told you about when I first moved here?” Caitlin sheepishly started to explain. Maddie hadn’t known Caitlin during her time with Gemma, so she had embraced a clean slate when she moved to California.
“Yeah, the girlfriend that broke up with you because you moved to LA.” Maddie scoffed, wrinkling her nose.
Okay, so Caitlin might not have told Maddie the whole truth about what had happened between her and Gemma. But in her defense, she had been ashamed about how she handled the situation, so the lie had just slipped out to her new friend. After all these years, Caitlin probably should have told Maddie the real story, though.
“That’s the one. Gemma.”
Caitlin watched as the realization spread across Maddie’s face.
“You have got to be joking right now. The Gemma that got the part is the same Gemma who is your ex-girlfriend from college?”
Caitlin nodded. “I wish I were kidding. I flew to New York for the chemistry read, and there she was.”
“That explains why I haven’t seen you since you’ve been back.” Maddie spun in her chair toward Caitlin. “I don’t even know where to start. I have so many questions.”
“First. I need to tell you something.” Caitlin felt like she wanted to crawl under the table right now. She wanted to confide in Maddie, but that meant she needed to come clean about the real story. “The truth is, I broke up with her when I moved to LA, not the other way around.”
“Okayyy...” Maddie dragged out the word, and Caitlincould tell that she was deep in thought. “So why didn’t you just tell me that?”
“To be honest, I regretted how I had handled things with Gemma. And you and I had just met, so I didn’t want to give you the wrong impression of me. I thought it would be easier to blame Gemma and act like the relationship hadn’t been a big deal. Then I could move on faster.” Caitlin felt ashamed. “I am sorry that I never told you what really happened before now, but it was serious. I met Gemma when I was fifteen years old. She was the love of my life.”
