“How else can I say it? Get off my boat,” David said.
He saw the corner of Wren’s mouth quiver as if she were trying not to smile at the bad joke he’d told the day before.
David narrowed his eyes at Emily, who finally broke and giggled.
“I’m telling everyone you claimed me, so only you can sleep with me,” Wren announced.
Her determined look told him that she would. Honestly, it was probably for the best.
“Fair enough, but this dating thing is a bridge too far,”
David agreed.
“Now you have to feed us breakfast,” Wren said.
“It’s the least you can do,” Emily added.
Sunday brunch at Sandoval Hall rivaled any of the downtown hotel offerings. He grabbed his phone and sent Cassidy a message, and she sent him one back, saying Jim
was joining them. He returned the thinking man emoji to let her know he wanted details at some point.
They were going to his Malibu place for a late lunch because Phil needed to wrap up his visit to USC before joining them. Phil and his parents would fill everyone in at lunch on how it went.
Also, his soap would be filmed at night for the introduction of Adrienne. She was flying into Van Nuys Airport, and David had promised to pick her up.
Greg had been on the fence about lunch at the parents’
until he began to send David death threats over not inviting him to Zak’s. Phil must have overshared, which meant David would have to face his mother at some point.
He planned to claim that he was the good son and kept it in his pants at the party. No one needed to know what happened once he got home.
◊◊◊
Typically, David missed Sunday brunch. When Alex discovered he was going down, he let Kirk, Lindsey, Lauren, and Jamie know.
Today, instead of omelets, the chef was making to-order crepes. Not just the normal ones you would think of, either.
“Give me something I’ll love,” David said when it was his turn.
“How about I make you two kinds? Smoked salmon with fresh chives, salty capers, sliced heirloom tomatoes, and a hint of lemon. The second is stuffed with pâté and cream cheese.”
Alex leaned close so only David could hear.
“You know he only suggests that crap because no one else will eat it.”
“I heard that,” the chef said. “You’re getting boring strawberry and blueberry crepes.”
Alex gave David a thumbs-up to let him know he was pleased with what the chef said he had to eat.
While their food was being made, Alex leaned close.
“Remember our deal about Wren?”
“Sorry, buddy, but I’m not sharing,” David, ruining Alex’s fantasy.
“That’s not right. I let you play with Chloe.”
“And I appreciate that, but this is more about Wren. She wants to cool it with being with multiple guys. If that changes, you’ll be the first one I tell.”
Alex grudgingly accepted that.
When they got to the table, Lindsey dominated the conversation and wanted details about Zak’s party. David let everyone else fill her in about all the celebrities who attended. He was surprised that no one talked about the orgy that broke out.
While they ate, David received a message from Adrienne. She wanted him to set aside some time so they could talk. When he asked what it was all about, she said she would tell him after they were done filming today.
“Who’s that from?” nosy Cassidy asked.
“Adrienne.”
“The model?” Cassidy asked.
“Who’s Adrienne?” Lindsey asked.
David smiled as he pulled up one of her pictures from Sports Illustrated.
“She and I are getting naked and filming today,” David said with a neutral expression.
‘Wait for it,’ David thought.
“You probably need someone to oil her up before the scenes,” Jim offered.
“I could bring you drinks and towels,” Kirk added.
“Naked?!” Emily worried.
The three of them talked over each other. Sometimes this model/movie-star stuff wasn’t so bad. He knew that the staff of The Young and The Wild would run into a terror
because Adrienne wouldn’t let them display her in an unflattering way. That meant everything from camera angles to lighting would have to change from the standard soap-opera format.
They filmed a soap differently from even an average TV
show, where they had more time and a larger budget.
Soaps required a lot of footage with minimal reshoots. This type of cost-effective production required them to be filmed on smaller sets, which were often evenly lit to accompany a multi-cam setup.
Although this saves time by cutting down on the number of takes, it also causes a noticeable amount of backlighting in a frame’s foreground, making people and objects in the shots more pronounced. Adrienne would have none of that.
What he was looking forward to was she also knew how to visually show sexy. Adrienne would put to shame anything that had been done on the show up to this point.
◊◊◊
Cassidy drove David to his house in Malibu, which gave him a chance to quiz her about Jim.
He stared at her with a goofy grin on his face. After fifteen minutes, Cassidy glanced over and scowled.
“Give me the deets. Are you two going steady now?”
David asked like he was an adolescent teen girl.
The little bounce and hand clapping sold it, in his humble opinion. His acting like a goof kept Cassidy from punching him. He might have even seen a hint of amusement in her eyes.
“It’s none of your business.”
David’s grin grew as he turned in his seat and looked out the front window.
Finally, Cassidy got suspicious and asked, “What are you up to?”
“It’s none of my business,” David said, then paused.
“That means you can’t bug me when … it’s none of your business.”
David glanced over as the penny dropped, and his little ninja realized he’d neatly pushed her into a corner, or so he thought.
“When I ask, it’s completely different,” she said, shaking her head to tell him she disagreed.
“How so?” David asked and instantly knew that was a mistake.
“I’m your security, and I must know all the details to assess potential risks.”
“So, I should tell you everything that happened with Wren and Emily last night?” David asked to play along.
“I don’t need to hear about your pervy threesome fantasy,” Cassidy said with a huff. “I’ll ask when I think I should know something.”
She was more intelligent than she looked because he planned to go into detail every time he had a hookup if she hadn’t stopped him. Then he had an idea.
“I’ll just call Jim,” David said as he pulled out his phone.
“Stop!”
David gave her a confused look. She finally caved and told him. The way she described it, it might have been a one-off. David didn’t press because he thought the two would be good for each other.
◊◊◊
When they pulled into the driveway, his mom stopped them and handed David a piece of paper.
“Go to the vegetable stand off Pacific Coast Highway, and buy everything on this list for Rosy.”
His children came running out, so his mom added, “And take your kids.”
“But there aren’t car seats,” David said.
“You used to ride in the front seat at their age, and you’re still alive.”
He could see that his mom was in a mood, so he didn’t argue with her. He did get out his phone, and when all the little ones were in the back seat, he sent a text.
“Butts in the seats while I drive,” S said over the speakers.