When You Were Mine (Adams Sisters) (21 page)

              “How did you hear about--”

              “Are you kidding?  It was on
Entertainment Tonight
,” Michael snapped.

              “I just saw it on the cover of one of the tabloids at the grocery store,” Sheldon informed them.  “Is your ring as big as they say?”

              “Six carats,” Joey said, and held up her hand to admire the beautiful gem.  “You should see it.”  Realizing what she said, Joey’s smile eroded.  The diamond was given to her as part of charade.

              The girls whistled, impressed.

              “Frankie, it sounds like she has you beat by three carats,” Peyton teased.

              “I ain’t mad at her.” Frankie laughed.  “Welcome to the big diamond club.”

              “Hey!” The other girls intoned.

              “Everyone knows that it’s not the size that counts,” Sheldon said.

              “That little diamond dust Edwin gave you back in high school barely qualifies as a ring.” Sheldon joked.

              “Hear, hear,” Michael, Peyton, and Joey agreed.

              “Whatever,” Sheldon laughed.  “If you ask me, if a man gives you a big diamond it’s to compensate what he’s lacking in other areas, if you know what I mean.”

              “I can personally testify that’s a huge lie,” Joey said.

              A round of girlish giggles and moans of “Oh, my” filtered over the line, and so soon after they all clamored for “Details, details.”

              “I don’t kiss and tell,” Joey said.

              “Since when?” the sisters demanded in unison.

              They were right, Joey knew how gossip with the best of them.  She hedged a bit longer and then finally spilled the beans about Ryan’s...equipment.

              “Oh, my,” Sheldon sounded faint.

              “You’re lying,” Michael and Frankie accused.

              “Have you seen a doctor?” Peyton asked.

              Joey laughed at their reaction, but also decided to come clean about the something else.

              “What do you mean that you’re not really engaged?”  Michael shouted.  “What the hell have you’ve gotten yourself into?”

              “Nothing.  Ryan was just trying to help me win Larry--I mean, Laurence back.  It started out all pretty innocent.  I don’t think he thought any of this would reach the tabloids.”

              “He bought you a six carat ring...for a pretend engagement?” Michael asked.  “What kind of nut job would so something like that?”

              “I think its kind of sweet,” Sheldon said dreamily.

              “You would,” Michael and Frankie accused.

              “Did it work?” Peyton asked.

              “Did what work?” Joey asked confused.

              “Did Laurence fall for it?”

              “Hook, line and sinker,” Joey admitted.   Her shoulders drooped with growing depression.

              “So you’re the reason Carlina and Laurence have been sighted arguing over there?”

              “They have?  But how would you--”

              “
Entertainment Tonight
,” the sisters answered in sync.

              Joey rolled her eyes.  “I didn’t realize so many eyes were paying attention to us.”

              “Forget that,” Peyton chimed in.  “If your plan worked, why are you still wearing this guy’s ring?  Why aren’t you and Laurence on a plane heading back to L.A.?”

              “And why are you
sleeping
with your fake fiancé?”

              Joey knew the questions were coming, but she’d failed to come up with real answers.  How did she explain that she no longer loved Laurence without sounding flighty or fickle--especially when she had a reputation for being both?

              “Joseph?” Peyton asked.

              “I’m still here.”

              “Do you have an answer?”

              “Things didn’t quite go as planned.”

              “Meaning you’re whipped,” Michael read in between the lines.

              “I’m not whipped,” she protested.  “I just decided I Larry wasn’t what I wanted and there’s wasn’t any reason why I couldn’t have a little fun.”

              “She’s whipped,” the sisters spoke again in unison.

              “Joey, sweetie.” Peyton trod lightly.  “You’re obviously in a very emotional state right now.  “Why don’t you just come home before you end up getting hurt again.”

              “I’m not going to get hurt.  I know what I’m doing.”

              “Yes.  You’re lying,” Sheldon added.  “Not just not to the world, but more importantly to yourself.  Nothing good is going to come out of
playing
house.”

              “Here we go.” Joey jumped up.  “Mrs. Barefoot and Pregnant is going to give a lecture.  Why don’t you give it to Michael?  She’s the one who’s pretending and acting like the family doesn’t have the good sense God gave us to know she’s miserable.  Or how about Frankie?  She thinks she pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes by showing off what George buys her when we all knows he never comes home.  Hell, when was the last time any of us seen George?  Two Christmases ago?”

              Joey paced while her anger boiled over.  “If you ask me the only one in a semi-normal marriage is Peyton and I would just as well like to be spared a lecture from her, too.”

              When she was finished, the line roared with a tense silence.  There was a single click, signifying one of her sisters had hung up.

Joey’s heart leaped, and tears of regret burned her eyes.  “Oh, God.  I’m sorry.”  She slumped down onto the bed.

              “Well,” Michael began.  “It looks like someone developed a backbone in Italy.”

              “Yeah,” Sheldon croaked.  “You must really care for this director guy.”

              “Peyton?  Frankie, are guys still there?” Joey asked.

              “I’m still here,” Peyton said.  “I guess that means Frankie hung up.”

              “Damn.”  Joey sighed.  “I really put my foot in my mouth.”

              “That’s putting it lightly,” Michael sneered.  “But you had a point...and if you must know, Phillip and I have been separated for the last six months.  I think--I think we’re going to get a divorce.”

              “Mike, what happened?” Sheldon asked first.

              “Nothing.  We should have never gotten married.  Looking back on it, I think we did it to save the relationship.  It didn’t work.”

              The girls did the best they could consoling her over the phone.  There were a few sniffles and a whole lot of tears.  All the while Joey felt two inches high and no amount of apologizing made her feel any better.

              “Girls, I need to call Frankie back.”

              “She’s not going to answer the phone.” Peyton warned.  “I’ll drive over there and see about her.”

              “I’ll come with,” Sheldon chimed.

              “I wish I was down there with you guys,” Michael said, since she still resided in Los Angeles.

              “Me, too,” Joey said in earnest.  “Since I’m the one who upset her.”

              “So when
are
you going to end this charade and come back home?” Peyton asked, her voice still laden with concern.

              It was a good question, Joey realized, and one that deserved an answer.  “I’ll need a ticket.”

              “I’ll call the airport right now,” Peyton promised.

              Joey nodded and hung up the phone.  Fat teardrops leaked from her eyes as she stared down at the diamond on her finger.  Her sisters were right, only pain would come from pretending.

              And Ryan knew he’d won his bet the night she didn’t go meet with Laurence.  In fact, they had hardly mentioned his name since then. 

              She chuckled.  Ten days.  She had known Ryan only ten days and he had changed her life completely.  But was it love or sex on the rebound.  One thing was for sure, if she stayed she’ll never find out.

              It was time to go home.  With her heart wedged in her throat, Joey pulled off her diamond ring and placed it on Ryan’s pillow. 

Chapter 25

“And cut!  That’s a wrap,” Ryan roared and stood from his chair.  He glanced at his watch and winced how late taping had gone over.  Hopefully a little kissing, a little hugging and some hot sex would be a sufficient apology for him missing dinner. 

              The crew gave each other a round of applause, and a smiling Carlina sauntered off set.  Nothing unusual about it, but there was definitely something to the way she looked at Ryan that puzzled him.

              No matter.  He shook it off and went over a few more details with the stage crew and his assistant.  Another hour and Ryan was the last to leave the set--or so he thought.

              “Have a minute?”

              Ryan turned toward the angelic voice, though he was certain whom it belonged to.  “Carlina.”  He glanced around.  “What are you still doing here?”

              “Waiting to talk to you.”  Her Cheshire Cat smile grew wider.  “Lately, it’s almost impossible to get you alone.”

              He nodded and took a calm step back.  “Well, you know how it is, being engaged and all.”

              She laughed.  “Yes, I find it all a little tedious.  But one does what one must do for the right press.  Right?”

              Carlina had his full attention.  “What are you talking about?”

              She didn’t walk so much as slink toward him.  “You’re a smart man, Ryan.  What do you think I’m talking about?”

              He lifted his chin as his eyes narrowed.

              “Ah.  Cat got your tongue?”  She continued slinking.  “You know, I should have guessed something was up.  Some things were a bit
too
coincidental.  You and Joey at The Blue Diamond, you punching Laurence, and then both of you showing up here.”  She stopped just inches before him.  “You feel it, too.  Don’t you?”

              Ryan was following along fine until she hit that road bump.  “Feel what?”

              She leaned up so when she spoke her mint flavored breath blew against his face.  “Feel the electricity flowing between us.”  Her arms snaked around his neck while her famous, curvaceous body pressed against him.  “We started something once.  What do you say we finish it tonight?”

              Ryan laughed.  He couldn’t help it.  It was just that funny.  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”  He tried to peel her arms off, but they were like a boa constrictor, the harder he pulled the more they tightened.

              “You’re going to deny that you punched Larry because you were jealous or that you staged your ‘fake engagement’ to that skinny nobody just to get my attention?”

              Speechless, Ryan stared.

              She laughed.  “It’s okay.  I heard you and Mr. Griffin talking earlier.  I’m not mad.  I’m flattered.  And to tell you the truth, I was doing the same thing.”  She giggled.

              “Come again?”

              “I accepted Larry’s proposal in hopes to make
you
jealous.  And it work!” She launched forward and kissed him soundly on the lips.

              A light flashed and Ryan jumped back.  “What the hell was that?”

              “If you don’t know then your
fiancé
hasn’t been doing a good job.” 

              She launched again, but Ryan’s hand shot up before his face and Carlina’s lips smacked the center of his palm.  “Carlina, stop.  You’re making a fool of yourself.”

              She unplanted her lips and he lowered his hand.  “You have the wrong idea.  I didn’t hit Laurence because I was jealous, I hit him because of the way he treated Joey.”

              “Joey?”

              “Yeah.  My fake fiancée.”  He successfully pried her arms off and stepped back.  “Only, the pretense is going to turn into reality.  I love her--probably from the first time I saw her crawl through the men’s bathroom window.”

              “What?”

              He laughed and shook his head.  “Nothing.  It’s a story only our children will hear about.”

              Carlina looked as though she had a hard time digesting his words.  “Then why--”

              “I was supposed to be helping her win back her ex-almost fiancé.  But between you, me and the light post, my heart wasn’t in it.”

              “Her what?  That doesn’t even make sense.”

              “Try and tell her that.”  He chuckled.

              Carlina remained thunderstruck.  “Why on earth would she want Larry back?  I just sent him packing.”  She flashed him her bare left hand.

              “She
wanted
--past tense.”  His chest swelled.  “I’m applying for the position of fiancé--for real this time.”  Ryan had spent his last two projects trying to capture on camera the array of emotions that rippled across Carlina’s darkening face.  “I’m sorry,” he added.

              She stared, and then suddenly Carlina burst out laughing.  “You almost had me.”  She invaded his personal space again.  “You and Joey.  You and
eight
children?  Please.”

              Ryan’s face twisted.  “What’s so funny about that?”

              “Come on.”  Her arms slithered around his neck while her silicon breasts pressed hard into his chest.  “Since when were you interested in another man’s leftovers?”

              He chuckled.  “And what does that make you?”

              “I was with you first.  Remember?”  She winked and steered one hand south where it quickly slipped below his pants’ waistband.

              “Whoa!” Ryan jumped and jerked her arm back up before she had the chance to seize the family jewels.  “Chill out.  Chill out.”  He successfully pushed her away.

              Carlina’s expression crumbled at his body’s lack of response.  “What the hell is wrong with you?  This is the second time I’ve practically thrown myself at you¾”

              “Practically?”