Interconnected Hearts Read online

  We both laugh and I take a deep breath in and blow it back out. "Alright, I better get back in there, love you Kate."

  "Love you too, Kris. Good luck!"

  "Thanks, I'm gonna need it." I sigh as I hang up the phone and get back out of the car. Here we go again.

  Chapter 9

  As I hurry back to the entry way, I shove my phone into my pocket and yank my hair into a messy bun to get it off my neck, even though L.A heat isn't anywhere near as hot as back home, having thick long curly hair in this humidity really sucks.

  After waiting in line to get back in, I step up and smile at the new guard. "Hi! I just need to get back on set with my husband" I wave and start to walk by but he grabs my arm and pushes me back.

  "I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't allow that without a visitors pass."

  I frown putting my hand up to my neck but only find my heart necklace, not my pass.

  "Crap...look, I left it in my car when I went out there to talk. My husband is Scott Adams, just check your list thingy, Krista Adams."

  "Sorry, Bill just left to get me an updated list with all the new extras and such. We can't have riff-raff getting in with the talent." He smirks looking me up and down and I cross my arms to keep myself from smacking the man.

  "Riff-raff, seriously? You think I'M with the "riff-raff"" I huff and take a look around the lot trying to spot anyone who knows who I am on sight, but luck doesn't seem to be on my side today.

  "Look, if I go back out to my car and run right back up here, can you just let me in? My husband will not be happy if I'm gone much longer."

  He just shrugs rubbing the back of his neck, "No ma'am, you'll just have to go to the back of the line and make your way back up like everyone else."

  I growl in the back of my throat and glare up at the guy, "Fine, but expect to get a complaint to Bill from a Mr. Scott Adams, one of Excite's current leading stars, believe me, he won't be happy that you've caused all this hassle."

  "Ma'am, I'm not the one who forgot her pass."

  Glaring, I turn on the ball of my foot and march back out to my car to get the stupid pass off the driver’s seat where I dropped it while I was talking with Kate. This guard is going to get an earful if he mutters one more smart Alec word to me when I get back through that line.

  I shove the lanyard of the pass over my head and make my way to the line, yet again. Thank God there aren't a whole lot of people needing to get in and out right now or I might just lose my mind before the day is over.

  Once I punch the lock button on the key chain and stomp back to the entrance line, I cross my arms and tap my fingers anxiously against my arm. Does it really take this long just to verify a name on a list and send them in?

  Sighing, I tuck a stray curl behind my ear and take another step forward thankful that I'm finally up next behind this grungy looking teenage boy that really doesn't look like he has any business on a movie set. He must be one of those extras, they can do just about anything with a little bit of movie magic and make-up I guess.

  "Back again, Mrs. Adams was it?" The guard grins at me and I yet again have to resist the urge to smack that grin right off his face.

  "Yes, Krista Adams. See, visitor pass with my name and all."

  He glances down at his list that I'm guessing the other guard Bill brought him while I was waiting in line again and nods with a small smile, "Yep there you are, go right on in."

  "Thanks" I give him a tight smile and walk quickly past him and through the crowd to where I know Scott will spot me if he isn't filming right now.

  As soon as I plop down in my designated chair, I hear footsteps coming up behind me and quickly turn around worried the weird guard followed me or something.

  "There you are....I was getting worried" Scott says pulling me back onto my feet and quickly into his arms.

  "I'm sorry sweetie, I had to talk to Kate about some stuff so I went out to the car for a little bit of privacy, then I went all the way through the line and there's some stupid new guard there that didn't know me, and I left my visitor pass on the driver's seat so I had to go all the way back out to the parking lot and get it back out of the car and wait in line AGAIN." I huff and look up at him, "It's so not my day today."

  "Aw, I'm sorry babe. The new guard didn't give you a hard time did he?"

  I shake my head, "He's just very sarcastic. But on the bright side, after that, I doubt he'll forget who I am."

  He laughs and squeezes me against his chest. "I love you Krissy."

  "I love you too. Have you seen Mitchell around any?"

  "Uh yeah, he was talking with some of the other cast a little bit ago. Are you gonna talk with him...about all that other stuff?"

  I nod and give him one more tight hug. "Yep, I have too. Someone in this crazy town has to take this seriously."

  "Do you want me to come with you?" Scott asks wrapping his finger in one of my flyaway curls.

  I shake my head and stand on my tip toes to kiss him lightly on the lips, "No, thank you, but no. I can do this."

  "That's my girl. You do your thing, Mrs. Adams, I'll do mine. Then, when all this is done for the day, I've got a surprise for you."

  I raise an eyebrow at that. "Oh really, what kind of surprise?"

  He grins shaking his head, "If it's a surprise, I can't tell you, silly girl."

  I stick my tongue out at him before making my way around the area of the set looking for Mitchell Fallon.

  I walk around the corner of the faux house they are filming in and spot him giving one of the interns’ instructions about something, pointing to different places around and then motioning for them to go about it.

  "Mr. Fallon?" I say softly and step a little bit closer. "Mr. Fallon, can I speak with you?"

  "Oh yes, Mrs. Adams. Just one moment please. James, make sure the lighting is correct. It didn't work on film well."

  "Yes sir." James mutters and hurriedly does as he's told.

  Mitchell moves his arm to direct me in front of him and I nod before walking beside him.

  "Just this way Mrs. Adams, I have a trailer over this way as my portable office."

  "Please, call me Krista."

  "Sorry, I'm in the business of calling all clients and those connected to them Mr., Mrs., and Ms. it’s a habit."

  I shrug and step back when we make it to his trailer and he opens the door, "After you."

  "Thanks" I walk up the steps and take a quick look around at his make shift office. A small desk, padded chairs and fake plants. I guess it could be worse.

  "What can I do for you Mrs. - Krista?"

  "I wanted to update you on the Zoie situation."

  "Go on." He says folding his hands on the desk in front of him.

  "She spoke with me about some things today, but before that, I witnessed her mother slap her across the face while they were arguing in the parking lot."

  He raises an eyebrow and rubs his right hand over his left. "Have you mentioned this to anyone else?"

  "Just Scott and Kate. I can promise it won't go past them though. But I am obligated to at least inform you, Mr. Fallon."

  "You can't speak with anyone else about this, it'll be blown out of proportion. I'll deal with it, I can assure you."

  It's my turn to raise an eyebrow. "Excuse me Mr. Fallon, but I CAN go to the authorities and that's exactly what I SHOULD do, because Zoie is just 16 years old and what she did was in public. But I am choosing to discuss this with you and hope that things can be reined in. I have a strong feeling that that wasn't the first time that has happened."

  He straightens his back and I can tell he is now every bit the executive. "It will be dealt with Mrs. Adams."

  And we're back to the formal stuff. "Thank you. I'll keep you updated."

  He nods and I quickly stand up and exit the trailer shaking my head as I go. This city is so screwed up in so many ways, everything can just be swept under the rug or covered up with a swipe of a make-up brush. But what happens when those imperfections that they s
trive to hide are screaming to be seen, heard, and cared about? Zoie is one of those little blemishes on the face of the Reese family easily covered with concealer, and I think it's time for a little make-up remover.

  Chapter 10

  By the time I come around the corner, Scott is leaning against a light post with his eyes closed and I smile as I stop walking and just watch him. My poor guy, he works so hard sometimes, but he does it with that make-a-girl-melt grin, I don't know what I ever did to deserve to be thrown into his path.

  "Scotty?" I say softly not wanting to startle him.

  He opens his eyes and smiles at me, "Everything ok?"

  I nod as I walk over and slip his hand in mine, "It will be, so, what's this surprise?"

  "Uh-uh. I'll tell you the first part. We are going to drive to the house, and you are going to grab the pre-packed suitcase for you that is by the door and I will grab mine. Then we'll get right back in the car and take a little road trip. That's all you get right now."

  "Ooh a road trip, movie stars take road trips?"

  He laughs and pulls me along with him, "This movie star does. It's not all private jets you know."

  "I know, but the private jets are fun too."

  He shakes his head at me and once we are out into the parking lot, opens my door for me so I can get into the passenger seat, "Some southern manners must be rubbing off on you" I tease before sliding in and watching him close the door behind me before he walks around to the driver's side.

  "I think my mother would be very happy to hear that. Just took about 27 years for the manner memory to kick in."

  "I'll make sure to tell her."

  He smiles at me and we make the drive to our modest-for-Hollywood-standards home. It's a two story, brick house with six bedrooms and three bathrooms. And one of those bathrooms has a claw foot tub that is my sanctuary after a long day of dealing with teenage hormones and drama, my favorite thing to do is slide into a hot bubble bath and play some of my favorite music and just melt the day away.

  "You gonna get out babe, or do I need to get your suitcase for you?" Scott asks with a raised eyebrow and I smack his arm.

  "Oh hush, I was just thinking about that luxurious bathtub of ours and all its bubble bath goodness."

  He smirks and we both climb out of the car and I stop him before we walk in, "Wait, if our bags are already packed, who packed them?"

  "I sent Anna in to get a few outfits for each of us and the few necessities."

  My mouth drops as I cross my arms, "You let another woman pick clothes for me...and more importantly, go through YOUR stuff?"

  A blush comes across his cheeks and he stammers a minute before finding his voice again. "It's her job, babe. You know personal assistant stuff and all that. It's nothing more than business to her."

  I narrow my eyes, "Uh-huh...but she could have packed all the wrong things for whatever we're doing! I have to take this back upstairs and sort through it..."I start to grab for the suitcase but he grabs my shoulders and pushes back.

  "She knows where we're going and I told her exactly what to pack, ok? You can run upstairs and make sure nothing is out of place if it'll make you feel better, but we have about an hour drive ahead of us and I'd like to get going before traffic picks up."

  I pout up at him but sigh giving in, "Ok, let me just get freshened up and at least switch into flip flops. Can I know where we're driving to now?"

  He smiles shaking his head, "Nope, now hurry up!"

  Rolling my eyes, I make my way up the stairs and slide my tennis shoes off as I go and throw them in the corner of my bedroom and take a quick inventory of what I know was in the room when we left this morning.

  Scott's right, nothing seems to be out of place, but I can't say it makes me happy that someone was here rummaging through our stuff while we were gone.

  Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I hurry and do all the necessary things and change into clothes more comfortable for a car trip.

  "You ready yet?" I hear Scott from the doorway of the bedroom and give him a look as I walk right on by him.

  "Yes, now come on, we don't want to keep this surprise waiting do we?"

  "No we don't. After you."

  I smile up at him and we make our way back downstairs and snatch up our luggage and pile back in the car.

  "Alright Mr. Secret Keeper, where are we off to?"

  "Well, we have the next couple of days off shooting...so we are spending two days at a bed and breakfast I found out in Avalon."

  I grin over at him, "I've never gone to a Bed and Breakfast before. Good job, you found a first."

  He laughs, "Good, it’s both of our first then. We're newlyweds, we need more firsts."

  "Baby we have a lifetime of firsts to find."

  "Sounds like a good plan to me...onto the first of the firsts."

  As we drive towards our destination, I flip through the radio until I find my favorite country music station and smile as I sneak a glance at Scott out of the corner of my eye and catch him shaking his head at me.

  "You can take the girl out of Georgia..." He smiles teasingly and I smack his shoulder.

  "Sorry Scotty, this Georgia girl needs her roots where she can get them. If I played this in my office at work I would get dirty looks."

  "I'm just kidding...you know you can actually have really good voice." I've caught you singing along when you don't think I'm listening."

  I blush and look out the window, "Remind me not to sing in the shower anymore."

  "Now why would I do that? I like it."

  I smile over at him and take a breath as we pass the Avalon city limit sign.

  "Almost there." Scott smiles over at me and squeezes my hand before dropping it and focusing on the road ahead. I can't help but check my side view mirror every so often making sure there's no one following behind us or anything. Alexia Dalton may be long gone now, but the whole thing has left me super paranoid, especially if Scott and I happen to be out and about without a bodyguard on hand. I know how to use a gun, and how to protect myself with some simple self-defense moves, but there are always going to be big bads out there that can do a lot more damage than my little fists.

  Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I reach over and rest my hand on Scott's thigh as he drives and watch out the window until we turn down a back road. I raise my eyebrow, "Out in the middle of nowhere? It's not going to be one of those crazy places with a serial killer is it?"

  He laughs deep in his chest and shakes his head, "You watch too many movies."

  "Lucky for you, me watching movies keeps you in a job!"

  He rolls his eyes at me and continues driving down the road until we come up to a driveway that leads to a wrought iron fence in front of a Victorian house that takes my breath away.

  "Wow," I breathe taking in the architecture of the home we will be staying in for the next couple days. The house is three stories high and I can spot at least a couple of balconies and a vast looking yard with large strong oak trees to welcome everyone in.

  "Did I do good?" Scott asks with a smile in his voice and I quickly bob my head.

  "Very. Do we have to be allowed in by a butler or something?"

  "Or something." He smirks grabbing his phone and, quickly punching in a number, puts the phone to his ear. "Mr. Craft? Yes, this is Scott Adams, we spoke on the phone earlier?" He pauses to listen to what the man on the other end of the phone says. "Yes sir, my wife and I are right in front of the gate...Great, thank you." He hangs up and shoves the phone back into his pocket and I quirk an eyebrow at him.

  Grinning over at me, he grabs my hand and points at the gate. "The house may be old, but they have high quality security so no photographers or anything can sneak in."

  I nod my approval. "Perfect! I can't wait to see what the inside looks like if the exterior looks this amazing."

  The next moment the gate swings inward with a loud screech and I smile watching Scott as he drives us into the driveway, "Thank you for this, you really know
how to surprise a girl."

  "We live in L.A, where there is probably anything and everything you could dream up...this is just a little more on the level of a normal couple, right?" He asks raising an eyebrow.

  I lean over and kiss his cheek, "Right. You and Liam are very good on the surprise front."

  He smiles over at me before pulling the car ahead and under the awning by the front entryway.

  "Hang tight, I'll be right back out."

  I nod and stare out my window absently as he goes. I have a feeling this is going to be a great break from reality. Scott is right, L.A has a big imagination, sometimes it's easy to get sucked in to the make believe and forget that once you walk off of that movie set the real world is big, sometimes scary, and not as pretty as what can be filmed and edited for the big screen.

  The car door reopening startles me and Scott smiles showing me the key to the door attached to a carved wood keychain.

  "Ooh how cute!" I grin snatching it from his hand. "This isn't gonna be one of those cliché' bed & breakfasts with corny themes and heart shaped beds, is it?"

  "God, I hope not." He says with a pained expression and I cross my arms giving him a warning look.

  "Scotty..."

  He puts the car in gear and grins at me, "Gotcha...No kooky themes or odd shaped beds, I promise. They have rooms fit for a Queen, or well, the rich and famous." He says with a shrug.

  I shake my head at him as he drives us around the back of the home and parks next to a large rose bush.

  "It really is beautiful here," I sigh contently as he gets the car into park and I push my door open. "What do you have planned for tonight, Mr. Adams?"

  "One more surprise for the night. But first, we both need to shower and then change into something nice."

  I raise an eyebrow at that, "Are you sure I have something in my suitcase that would work?"

  He slides out of the car and I follow suit, leaning my elbows on the roof of the car.

  "Yes, I had Elize send something special. You'll know what it is when you see it."

  "Ok, I trust her to not let me down."

  Shaking his head, he walks around the front of the car and pulls me into his arms before placing a chaste kiss on my lips, "You'll love it, trust me."