it. Men aren’t drawn to me like they are to you.”
Rachel pulled in a deep breath knowing there was no use telling Charlene just how wrong she was. Her words would go in one ear and out the other. For once she wished Charlene would be the one to face it and see that she was beautiful and sexy.
Charlene had to be the kindest and sweetest person Rachel knew, but she always slid to the background when it came to dating and romance. Rachel blamed Charlene’s parents, since they always thought their older daughter, Candis, was the “pretty one” and had always put her in the limelight. As far as Rachel was concerned, Charlene had a lot going for her, including a beautiful singing voice.
“I’m in no mood to argue with you, Cha. You know how mad I get when you put yourself down.”
“I’m not putting myself down. I’m just stating facts.”
“Then let me state a few of my own,” Rachel said. “I’m the one on set every day surrounded by gorgeous men. The only problem is that those men are checking out the tall, slender actresses, not me.”
When Charlene didn’t say anything, Rachel had a feeling there was more going on with her friend. “Okay, Cha, what’s wrong?”
There was another long moment before Charlene replied, “I talked to Mom today.”
Rachel slumped down into a chair. Mrs. Quinn was the mom from hell, and that was putting it kindly. She’d always managed to boost one daughter up while at the same time tearing the other one down. “And?”
“And she wanted me to know that Candis made the cut for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition next year and will be staying in Paris for a while.”
“That’s great, and I’m sure you’re happy for her.” Rachel knew she could say that because deep down she knew Charlene was. Candis and Charlene had a rather good relationship despite the competitive atmosphere created by their mother.
“Yes, of course I’m happy for her.”
“And?”
“And what?” Charlene asked.
Rachel pulled in a deep breath; her patience was wearing thin. “And what else did Mrs. Quinn say?”
“Just the usual about she still doesn’t understand how Candis could be so pretty and me so plain when we had the same parents. She ended the call by even suggesting that maybe she and Dad got the wrong baby from the hospital. She said it in a joking way but I knew she was dead serious.”
Rachel bet the woman had been dead serious as well, but she would never tell Charlene that. That was the kind of garbage she’d had to put up with all her life. “She wasn’t serious, Cha. You and your mother look too much alike for you to be anyone’s baby but hers.”
Evidently Mrs. Quinn never took the time to notice the similarity. Or maybe she had noticed and since she’d never been happy with her own looks, she was passing her insecurities on to Charlene.
Rachel thought about her own situation. She had been raised by her uncle Jacob and her aunt Lily after her parents had been killed. Rachel had been only one year old and Sofia had been ten. Her aunt and uncle were wonderful and had raised her and Sofia as their own children, since unfortunately they’d never had any. The one thing Uncle Jacob and Aunt Lily didn’t do was play her and Sofia against each other. Everyone knew that Sofia wanted to follow in their father’s footsteps and take his place with Uncle Jacob at Limelight.
Although her uncle and sister would have loved for her to join them in the family business, Rachel had never been pressured to do so. She chuckled, thinking it was enough to have Sofia as her agent.
“Hey, let’s do a movie this weekend,” she suggested, thinking her best friend needed some chilling time.
“Sounds super, but don’t you have a lot to do?”
Rachel laughed. “I always have a lot to do, but I need a break to have fun, and it sounds like you do, too.”
A short while later, Rachel made her way to the kitchen, hungry after missing lunch. On the way home she had stopped by a restaurant owned by one of the cameramen’s parents. She considered Jack Botticello her buddy, and his parents were truly a godsend. Whenever she dropped by their Italian restaurant, Botticello’s Place, for takeout, they always gave her more food than she could possibly eat in one sitting. There would definitely be enough lasagna left for tomorrow’s dinner.
As she sat down at the table to enjoy her meal, she recalled everything that had happened on the set that day, especially the scenes that included Ethan Chambers. She couldn’t help but remember the moment he had walked into a patient’s hospital room. To say he swaggered into the room would probably be more accurate. And when he began speaking in what was supposed to be a northern accent, all eyes and ears were on him. There was no doubt in her mind he was a gifted actor. It was as if the part of Dr. Tyrell Perry had been created just for him.
She couldn’t wait for the airing of the show in a few weeks to see how he would be received by the viewing audience. It would probably be no different than the way he’d been received on the set. Women were all but falling at his feet, doing just about anything to get his attention.
He had mentioned to a member of the camera crew in between scenes that he was going to get a cup of coffee. The three women who’d overheard him had all but broken their necks racing across the room to the coffee cart to get it for him. She could tell he’d actually gotten embarrassed by their antics. That surprised her. Most men would be gloating about all the attention. But then, this had been his first day on the job. There was no doubt in her mind that eventually his media-hungry playboy tendencies would come out. It was only a matter of time.
Unbidden, the memories surfaced of what had happened during their makeup session that day. Had he deliberately tried to unnerve her? Break down her defenses so she would behave the way Tina, Cindy and Nina had done today with the coffee incident? It wouldn’t surprise her to discover he was just as superficial as all the other playboys in Hollywood. And to think for a short while today she’d actually been attracted to him. But with his make-you-drool looks, the attraction couldn’t be helped. It had a way of vamping your senses the first time around.
And his family had money. He’d mentioned his roots were in Napa Valley, but it was only later that day when she’d overheard some of the camera crew talking about how wealthy he already was that she realized he was one of those Chamberses. There were two African American families whose roots and vast financial empires were in Napa Valley. The Russells and the Chamberses. Both families’ vineyards were known to produce some of wine tasters’ finest.
So, okay, she had let her guard down and let herself be affected by him. But tomorrow would be better. She had gotten used to him and would be more in control.
With that resolved, she proceeded to finish her meal.
“Do you promise, Uncle Ethan?”
Ethan couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, I promise.”
“Truly?”
“Yes, truly.”
His six-year-old niece, Kendra, had him wrapped around her finger and probably knew it, he thought. When his parents had mentioned to her that Los Angeles was close to Disneyland, she had begun asking him questions.
