Page 7 of The Small-Town Seduction Plan

My phone lights up with a call, as if on cue. It’s my agent, Max.

My heart leaps. Finally! Maybe he’s calling to say the female lead of Annihilation 3 broke both her legs and they want me for the role, after all!

“Hello?” I click to connect the call. “Max, what’s up?”

“Nothing much,” he replies, sounding busy. There are voices in the background, and I can hear him talk to them, muffled, before his voice turns clear again. “Was there something you needed? You left me a bunch of messages.”

My heart sinks. “Well, you haven’t been answering my calls.”

“Yeah, sorry, things are crazy right now. you know how it is, we’ve got Cannes, and Venice…”

His voice fades out from bad cell reception, and I grip my coffee mug tighter, waiting for him to find a precious moment to, you know, speak to me.

“Max? Max!”

“Yeah, I’m here,” he replies, sounding anywhere but.

“Are there any projects I should know about?” I ask hopefully. “Big auditions? I heard Madeline Marrone is putting together her next movie,” I add, mentioning an amazing female director who just broke out with her debut indie movie. “Even if I only tried for a small role, it could be the right move for me. Get me in more prestigious films.”

Max snorts with laughter – and then tries to hide it with a cough. “Yeah, I don’t think she’s looking for your type,” he says dismissively. “Look, we’re all still rooting for you, things are just quiet right now. We did get that offer for Motel Nightmare 6?—”

“No.” I cut him off immediately. “I told you, no gruesome horror movies where I get stalked and dismembered by an axe murderer. Real acting gigs only.”

“But Avery?—”

“The Last Time I Left You was a box office smash,” I remind him, naming the romantic drama I shot here on Cape Cod. “I had equal billing with Jackson Kane in that movie, I got great reviews, but now he’s off booking superhero movies and Oscar biopics, and the best you can offer me is ‘dead hooker’, or the cookie-baking lead in a TV holiday movie?”

“That’s different, Avery. He’s a star.”

“And I should be, too.” I snap back – and then immediately regret it. I sound like an entitled bitch, and Lord knows, I’m in no position to make demands right now. “Sorry,” I apologize quickly, “I just mean?—”

“Listen, I’ve got to run,” Max interrupts me. “But I’ve got my ear to the ground for you. We’ll figure something out, I promise.”

He hangs up before I can reply.

I exhale, trying to keep my Zen vibes. What’s that my old yoga instructor used to tell us?

What’s meant for you cannot pass you by.

Well, I’m meant for A-list projects and leading roles. I just wish they would hurry the hell up and get here already.

I dress in a pair of casual denim cut-offs and a tank top, then grab a tote bag and head into town to see about my car. It’s an easy walk along winding country lanes, and it feels good to stretch my legs after all that travel, cooped up in one spot. I’m surprised to find I even recognize some of the landmarks from the last time I was in town, filming the movie last summer.

The dive bar… the Main Street drag of cute boutiques and cafes… the grassy town square… it’s all quaint and beachy, exactly the way I remember – but I’m guessing not much ever changes in Blackberry Cove.

I keep my head down, hiding behind my sunglasses as I cut down a side street, away from everyone. It’s early, but there are still people out: tourists and locals strolling the wide sidewalks, enjoying their morning coffee before a day at the shore. I shoot a longing look at the mocha whip-type drink some woman is slurping as I pass. Dammit. That instant coffee nonsense didn’t put a dent in my morning craving, and I know the local coffee shop serves a mean vanilla latte, but I can’t risk the crowds. I’m trying to stay incognito here, and firing up the town gossip pages is the last thing I need.

Literally.

I couldn’t believe it, but apparently there’s a website, The Squall, where people post all the local news and scandal. From what I could tell, the biggest furor is usually about the town Gardening Club, or someone leaving their dog off-leash, so I can only imagine the kind of attention a disgraced movie star would draw.

It’ll be good for me, I decide, walking faster. A detox! Clean living, no sugar… By the time Max calls back with my dream role, my skin will be glowing like I just spent a month at la Spa Roche-Posay in Switzerland!

“Hello?” I venture, arriving at the garage. My rental car is parked out front… but the tire looks just as flat as it was last night. I look around the grease-stained place, filled with parts and boxes... and no sign of actual humans. “Is anyone here?”

“Larry’s on a break.” A gawky teenage boy materializes, rubbing his hands on a rag. “What do you want?”

“I’m here about the flat tire?” I ask, pointing to my car. “He said it would be done today.”

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