He smiles. He looks so completely and utterly relaxed. I haven’t noticed how much tension he holds in his face, except now in its absence.
I run my hand on his jaw to feel its contours, the roughness of his stubble prickling my hand, and remember how hard his face looked as Elsie led him in the hall earlier today. Without thinking, I ask, “What happened in the dining room today?”
He sighs and throws his body back on the pillow.
I quickly backpedal. “Sorry. You don’t have to tell me.”
“It’s fine. I just feel dumb. I almost hit Ty. I would’ve if Elsie hadn’t been there, but thankfully she was.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing. I mean, he said some shitty things, but really, it's what happened before.”
“Before?” I say.
Miles props himself back on his elbow, facing me and tracing my hip again as he launches into it. “I worked on a film in Barbados. It was a small cast and crew, like this one. I got Ty a role in the film. At the time, he was my best friend. All the main players were all in our early twenties—Ty, and the main actress Lana, and me. We all got really close.”
“Lana? As in Lana Freeman?” Lana Freeman—model turned actress, and as it happens, she turned into an excellent one. She won the Golden Globe last year for a limited series where she played Maria Sharapova. The likeness was uncanny—same high cheekbones, same flowing blonde hair, same intensity in the gaze, same uber-toned physique. I resist the urge to cover my body with the sheet.
Miles nods. “Yeah. She and I started seeing each other. She’s the one I told you about.”
I nod. I remember him telling me by the loch.
“I was reading this great script for a period drama that was going to start production soon. It was about Shakespeare, but the man, not the legend. It was funny and poignant. Some of the more insightful lines were delivered by the best friend. They were interested in me for the role.”
I sit up. “A Dhia! You were going to be Antonio inA Walking Shadow?”
That movie was massive when it came out. It was delightful. They completely swept the Oscars that year and the Golden Globes. I’m trying to remember who ended up playing Antonio in that movie, when suddenly I can picture him clear as day, walking on stage to accept his Oscar.
Ty Marshall.
“I don’t understand,” I say, shaking my head.
Miles shrugs. “Lana and I had just started seeing each other, and I was so sure she was the one. I pictured our whole life together—big house in Malibu, kids, the whole thing. I turned them down.”
“You turned down the role?”
Miles lies back on the pillow again, rubbing his hands over his face. “I sure did.”
“Oof. That’s rough.”
He laughs, but there’s no real humor in it. “Oh, but wait, there’s more.”
“Oh no.” I run my hand along his side, and he gives me a genuine smile.
“We kept shooting, and I was really head over heels for Lana. I had a ring shipped there from Tiffany’s.”
I gasp. “You were going to propose? How long was the shoot?”
He laughs, a real one this time. “It was too soon to propose. I knew that. It was more about showing her how I felt. I went to her bungalow and found she wasn't alone. She and Ty were together. It was… quite a show. After that, I kept to myself, kept my head down, and just got through my lines. I tried to get back intoA Walking Shadow.My agent contacted the people about the role. They had already filled it.”
“With Ty.”
He nods. “The movie thingreallygets me. I mean, all of it was awful, but…I thought we were close, Ty and I. There was a whole day in Barbados where I thought I lost the script. I was frantic. It was confidential. I shouldn’t have left it lying around my bungalow in the first place. I confided in Ty, and he kept telling me not to worry, it would turn up. The next day it did, but not before he probably made copies.”
I run my hand over Miles’s arm. “Maybe they had sent the script to both of you?”
“I thought that too. We both have a similar look. We’re up for a lot of the same roles. In the film in Barbados, we were playing brothers. Hell, in this picture we’re playing brothers.” Miles shakes his head. “My agent got the scoop, though. Ty sent in an audition video to the director. He wasn’t even on their radar before. It’s a great video. It’s in the extra features on the Blu-ray. Have you seen it?”
