Page 61 of Full House

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“Chrissy, what are you doing here?” Victoria asked as she opened her trailer door. A week after her accident she was finally back, packing her stuff now that the police—and more importantly Nate—deemed it safe.

Chrissy was a surprise to find on her doorstep. Sure, she’d seen the stagehand around the set numerous times during filming but had never had a conversation with her beyond the first day when she’d shown Victoria around the set. With filming done, she couldn’t imagine what she would need now.

Then her mind jumped to Nate. He’d been called to the set a little over an hour ago by Simon for some last minute something-or-other that he and the director needed to go over. “Is everything okay?”

Chrissy licked her lips, and her hand clutched the now-fixed railing so tightly her knuckles turned white. She looked nervous, already looking over her shoulder twice since Victoria had opened the door.

“You need to come with me. Hurry.”

“What’s going on? Is Nate all right?” But she was talking to Chrissy’s back as she was already halfway down the stairs. If she wanted answers, she had no other choice but to follow.

She carefully navigated down the steps and was forced to sprint to catch up with Chrissy. Thank goodness, she was dressed comfortably in a pair of shorts and tennis shoes.

“Will you at least tell me if Nate is all right.” They’d just rounded the sound studio and were on the paved path to the commissary.

Chrissy turned to look at her before quickly facing forward again. “Nate’s fine but… it’s best if you see for yourself.”

What the heck was that supposed to mean? What had Chrissy been about to say?

Chrissy stopped a few feet away from the commissary door and raised a hand toward it. “You go in first.”

Feeling exasperated by that point, Victoria grasped the handle, yanking the door open.

She wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted her.

“Surprise!” a chorus of voices shouted as Victoria looked around in dazed fascination. A wave of party-hat topped people blowing noisemakers and blowouts descended on her, surrounding her in a sea of high-pitched horn noises that was almost deafening. Party poppers shot confetti into the air—little dots of paper landing in everyone’s hair, their clothes, and falling to the floor. A tiara was handed to her by a smiling Chrissy, followed by a sash that stated Happy Birthday.

Victoria was speechless, her mouth flapping open and closed like a fish out of water. Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for the one face she wanted most to see. And there he was. Nate stood at the periphery of the crowd, a big smile on his face.

Walking to meet each other, he leaned down close to her ear, so she could hear him over the noise. “You didn’t think I’d forget your birthday, did you?”

“But my birthday isn’t until tomorrow.”

“Which is why this was such a surprise.” Spinning her around, he wrapped her in his arms, pulling her back to his chest. “Tomorrow, we’ll celebrate in style, just the two of us.”

She tipped her head back and to the side to look up at him. “Thank you. This is wonderful. And I’m sure whatever you have planned for tomorrow will be just as spectacular.”

Nate kissed her forehead. “It’ll be even better.”

A few hours later the party was winding down. Presents had been opened, cake had been eaten, and a complete mess had been made. Only a handful of people still remained, sitting and standing around chatting.

Victoria sat at one of the long tables. Nate sat at her side, his arm slung over the back of her chair. Wendy and Rick sat across from them. They all had poker chips in front of them. Victoria’s pile was the largest.

“Straight. King high,” Victoria said, dropping her two cards face up on the table. She looked at Rick. “Whatcha ya got?”

Rick threw his cards down in disgust. He had a pair of queens. “How have you not lost a hand?”

Victoria gave a little shrug. “I learned from the best.”

Wendy piped up from her seat next to Rick. She was a silent player and hard to read. “Yeah, who?”

“Alec Throne.”

“You learned from Alec Throne?” Rick said at near shout. “No wonder you’re kicking our asses.”

“He’s hot,” Wendy volunteered with an eyebrow wiggle. “How do you know him?”

---