Starfire (Peaches Monroe #3)(70)
Author: Mimi Strong

“Jake? I’m so confused. Why didn’t he tell Dalton?”

“He didn’t know. My mother works under her married name, and it was a long time ago that her family, meaning my family, disowned Aunt Lyra.”

I just couldn’t stop staring at Connor’s face, noticing the similarities. “Wow. You’re cousins.”

“I just hope he can forgive his aunt for not telling him.”

I waved to the door behind me. “Get in there and join the reunion. I’ll warn you, though. It’s a shirts-optional family gathering, and you can only talk about sex.”

Connor wrinkled his nose with distaste, which was a common expression of his character on the show. Shayla and I called it the who-tooted face.

“I’d rather meet them at breakfast, as planned. Maybe you’d like to put some of those clothes on and come down with me to the dining room?”

I agreed to the plan, and he let me into his room to get dressed while he waited out in the hall. I’d managed to grab a not-bad outfit in my haste: a plum-colored dress with a paisley tie belt, and pink ballet flat shoes. I left the robe in Connor’s room and joined him to walk to the dining room.

We sat in the breakfast lounge, which was by an east-facing window looking out over the vineyard. The morning sun was bright, but made bearable by roll-down screens that reduced the light without blocking the view.

I ordered my mocha, and Connor got a matcha latte, saying he was addicted to the strong green tea ever since his first trip to Japan. He explained that it’s normally served as a ceremonial tea, and not in a giant mug with foamed milk.

“Jake is your uncle? How does Dalton not know about this?” I asked.

“We’re related through our mothers. They’re twin sisters. I mean, they were twin sisters.”

“Identical?” My mind raced off, jumping to conclusions. If you have an identical twin who starts making adult films, and showing all of herself… doing things… that would mean…

“No,” Connor said, shutting it down. “They’re not identical.”

“Okay. I guess if they’d been identical, Dalton might have noticed your mom looked just like his. Wow, that would be a good twist on your show. But why didn’t he know that you’re his cousin?”

“My family disowned Dalton’s mother,” Connor explained. “I knew my mother had been born with a sister, but the way they all talked about her, I assumed she’d died.”

“And what does your mother do? Is she also in acting?”

“She’s Jamie Adair. The executive producer of the show.”

Hmm.

Connor Adair.

Jamie Adair.

I had seen her name in the credits, but I wasn’t the show’s number one fan or anything.

So, they didn’t know Dalton, their relative, yet he ended up on the same show.

I narrowed my eyes at Connor. Sure, it was early in the morning and I was hung over, but the whole story had a wrongness to it.

I said, “It seems like an awfully big coincidence that your estranged cousin ended up on the same TV show as you.” I swirled my mocha, looking into the foamed milk for answers. “Then again, you guys look so similar. And you were both raised mostly in LA, so becoming an actor isn’t that crazy, but…”

“It wasn’t a coincidence,” he said. “My mother kept tabs on her nephew all those years. She secretly created One Vamp to Love for both of us, only she never told anyone. I had to audition, just like everyone else, and she put out an open call for the part of Drake.” He chuckled. “You know, when a man runs a hardware store and hires his son to take over one day, nobody bats an eye. But when you give a prime acting role to your son, you get in a lot of flack for Hollywood nepotism. Let alone casting both your son and nephew.”

“You never knew?”

“I’ve always felt close to Dalton. We fight like brothers, but… I love the guy.” He grinned down at his pale green drink. “Even though he gets twice the fan mail as I do, you gotta love Dalton. He’s like a force of nature.” He looked up at me, his blue eyes as calm and clear as the sky behind him. “But why am I telling you? You’re getting married to the guy.”

“Apparently.”

“What’s the deal with the wedding, anyway? Is it for publicity, or is it for real?”

I glanced around the still-empty dining room. Could I trust Connor? He didn’t seem to know about the arrangement, but wouldn’t it be just like his annoying character to do something to mess up Drake’s plans? I mean Dalton’s plans. Damn. This whole thing was so confusing.

He continued, “You guys are a really cute couple.”

“We’re very much in love,” I said, smiling sweetly. “I can’t wait to get married to that man of mine, and be his wife.”

Connor winked. “He’s a lucky guy.”

“Everything’s moving so quickly, but when you’re as deeply in love as we are, why wait?”

“True. So, are you two going to commute back and forth between LA and that crazy cabin he’s renovating? What’s your schedule going to be like?”

I had to admit to Connor that I had no idea.

He didn’t find this unusual at all, saying that most actors live with a suitcase packed at all times, their lives arranged around intense shooting schedules and appearances. Since I was marrying into that lifestyle, it was good that I seemed ready for anything.

The next hour passed quickly, with Connor telling me about their production schedule for the show and some of the plans he had on the back burner.

My life seemed rather small and simple in comparison, but he insisted he was interested in hearing about all my family members who were part of town history, as well as my current job at the bookstore.

We were so engrossed in conversation, I didn’t notice my parents had arrived until my mother tapped me on the shoulder. They were both frowning at Connor, looking worried.

My mother leaned down and whispered in my ear, “He looks different from what I remembered.”

They hadn’t seen Dalton since my cousin Marita’s wedding, and were understandably confused by me dining with this other man, who looked so similar.

I quickly explained that Connor was the other main actor on Dalton’s show. My parents took the news in stride and joined us at the table.

We were just looking at menus when Dalton and his father joined us, both wearing shirts this time.

Dalton spotted Connor and greeted him with a complicated handshake, then introduced him to his father before asking why he was at the resort.