He disconnected the call and sat back. Hideaway Bay was about as safe as a place could be, but he wasn’t taking any chances. From now on, the alarm was getting set when they went to bed.
Maybe he was being paranoid, but he didn’t trust Addison. Not now that she knew Kyle wanted custody.
She was a young woman with a strong desire for fame. That much was obvious from her social media. People like that could be dangerous. She might think this was the opportunity she’d been waiting for. Her big shot to make a name for herself.
He refreshed his email, but nothing new appeared in his inbox. He picked up his cup and went out to breakfast.
The call with Peter couldn’t happen soon enough.
Chapter Three
After a quick breakfast, during which they mostly talked about their new resident in the guest house and how his visit was a super huge secret, Frankie got ready to head to Lucas’s for the big filming day with Joyce and Beryl. Frankie was only going for moral support and to provide the two women with a friendly audience.
Lucas had said they’d probably be more comfortable talking to her than pretending they had an audience that was really just the camera.
Frankie picked out an outfit she deemed cute enough to be seen in, just in case she ended up on camera, as Lucas said she might. White capri pants and a bright blue T-shirt that she’d never really worn much before. She’d always thought it too bold of a look. Now the color appealed to her.
She was happy to hang out while they did the cooking. For one thing, she liked Joyce and Beryl very much. For another, she was curious about the whole show thing. She’d seen Lucas do a live broadcast off the cuff, but she’d never seen him film an episode for his YouTube channel.
There was no doubt it would be interesting. All the same, she was bringing her laptop, her tablet, her stylus, and her notebook,because she planned to work while she was there. There would be downtime. Lucas had said as much.
Today she was starting the logo design for Lucas’s friend, Stacy. She wanted to get on that right away, because Stacy’s deposit had arrived promptly this morning. This would be a big deal. Not only was Frankie designing a logo for her, but she was going to create at least five designs for Stacy to use on T-shirts.
Frankie hoped Stacy liked them enough to buy them all. As she drove the golf cart to Lucas’s place, she thought about what Stacy wanted and how to translate that into hip, modern designs that would appeal to a young woman like her.
Frankie was not hip or modern. Could she really deliver what Stacy was after? Her confidence suddenly took a nosedive.
She parked in Lucas’s driveway, alongside a car she didn’t recognize. She stayed in the cart for a moment, trying to give herself a pep talk. Stacy liked the art of Alphonse Mucha. With that to build on, Frankie would just have to find a way to interpret his work into something that met Stacy’s criteria.
She could do that, couldn’t she? If need be, she’d look at what was hip and popular right now.
Except she didn’t want to be derivative. She wanted to be fresh and new and set trends. How else was she going to stand out? Talk about putting pressure on herself. What was she thinking?
The front door opened, and Scout ran out ahead of Lucas. He smiled at her. “Hey, beautiful. Are you coming in or what?”
Frankie nodded. “Sorry. Just got stuck in my own head.”
He walked over. “Happens to the best of us. Anything I can help with?” She started to shake her head, then he got into the golf cart next to her. “You know you can talk to me about anything.”
She smiled. “Thanks. I’m just stressing about whether or not I can deliver on what Stacy wants. She wants hip and modern. And I’m not either of those things.”
Lucas laughed. “Baby, you don’t have tobethose things to create those things.”
She melted at being called baby. Then realized he was agreeing with her about not being hip and modern. She was about to say something when he spoke again.
“You have experience and wisdom on your side, and that means you’re cultured and educated enough to know what’s beautiful and what isn’t. Beauty beats hip and modern any day. Stacy doesn’t really know what she wants, but when you show her what you can do, she will. Because she’ll be looking at it.”
Frankie exhaled the breath she’d been keeping in. “You really think so?”
He took her hand. “Look at what you’ve done for me. I didn’t know I wanted a logo like the one you created for me until I saw it. Instantly, I knew you’d understood who I was and what I was about, and you somehow put all of that into the design. I’m telling you, Frankie, you have this intuitive thing that I don’t think you even realize. But trust me, you’ll figure out what Stacy needs. And it’s going to be great.”
She squeezed his hand. “Thank you. I needed that pep talk.”
He smiled and kissed her. “That’s what boyfriends are for.”
“Let me just get my stuff.” She’d set her computer bag on the floor behind the front seats, as that had seemed more secure.
“I’ll get it.” Lucas hopped out, grabbed her bag, and hoisted it over his shoulder.
