Page 11 of Finding Her Leading Man

Why in the world had she agreed to sing? She’d not sang since her last performance when the directornicelygave her a leave of absence instead of a round of applause. But here she was, standing just outside a group of people in a small town that had welcomed her without reservations, promising to give Addie a beautiful song on her wedding day. She wanted to feel jealous of the happy couple, but she couldn’t. Addie deserved a happily ever after with Cameron. It gave her heart a quick kick that love did exist for some people in the world.

They stood in the front yard of Addie’s house. Tall pine trees towered around them, blocking out most of the sun, but it was still hot. The humidity of the air made her shirt start to stick to her lower back, and she swatted her hand nonstop due to gnats buzzing around her head. She’d take her New York flies over these pesky little things any day.

But Trevor bothered her just as much. He unnerved her. His looks sent her heart into double time, and he’d given her plenty of them. Like right then.

He laughed at something Grayson said, his gaze trailing back to her, his brown eyes darkening a touch.

He watched her like she might disappear on him. Another man, any other man, acting that way, would have pushed her away. Turned her off. It felt possessive and intense. But by the end of the afternoon, she’d become obsessed, waiting for that next punch of desire.

Needing to feel the excitement.

She’d worked with gorgeous leading men over the years, but none of them, even pretending to be interested while on stage, ever pulled at her so deeply. She didn’t fully trust him. He was still an agent with a plan.

Samantha refocused on Becky as she finished discussing the bachelorette party. Samantha didn’t know the girls enough to go to that.

“Pick you up at seven?”

Samantha blinked. “Me?”

Becky set a hand on her hip. “Yes, you.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. It wasn’t cold, exactly. More calculating. “You promised Addie you’d hang out with us. Besides, your mom and my mom knew each other. Same with Eliza and Juliana’s mom.”

“Really?” She looked to Juliana, standing beside Grayson. Her sister, Eliza, ran a hand over her daughter’s dark hair while she leaned against Dewey, her husband.

She had a connection with these women. Although small, it was bigger than any she’d felt while living in New York. Even with Jasper.

Her gaze drifted to Trevor. He looked up as if sensing her watching him.

Becky patted Samantha’s shoulder. “If you’re playing hard to get, you’re doing a shitty job of it.”

Her cheeks flushed, the heat rising to her hairline. Controlling her reactions was part of acting. Being on stage didn’t allow for nerves. But with Becky and Addie both watching her, she couldn’t help it. Especially Addie.

Addie grinned wider. “We’ll pick you up at seven.”

“For the bachelorette party?” Did people plan those sorts of things at the last second? In New York, they were big affairs with weeks of planning. A caterer or private jet to run off somewhere for a weekend. She knew that not everyone had that type of budget, but surely it took more than a last-minute effort.

Addie shook her head. “Not the party. I meant we need to have our girls’ night tonight. No wedding talk.”

Eliza walked up. She laid a hand over her stomach, barely showing. “Or baby names.”

“Or house renovations. I swear me and Nash may get a divorce over what color to paint the bedroom, and we’re not even married.” Lexi shook her head as she joined their circle, her nearly black curls swaying. “That man hasn’t had a damn opinion about anything until it came to decorating our bedroom.”

Samantha tried giving all the women a friendly smile. That meant the entire focus of the night would be on her. Great.

She’d much rather talk about someone’s kids or wedding or even what color to paint the walls in a room she’d never see.

“Then it’s settled,” Becky said with a nod of her head. “Tonight is girls’ night. Next weekend is the bachelorette party. We’ll have it the same night as the guys have their party. That way, Addie and Cameron won’t think about each other.”

Samantha didn’t bother pointing out that her wedding was supposed to be the following weekend. No one would care about that. “What are the guys doing?” Samantha hoped it didn’t sound too staged of a question about Trevor, but with the women giving each other a look, she didn’t pull it off very well.

“Dewey bought paintball guns. He promised that no one would shoot Cameron where there’d be bruises that were visible in the pictures.” Addie smirked and took a sip of water from the bottle she held.

Samantha had meant what Trevor was doing that evening, during the girls’ night. Not the bachelor party. She wouldn’t admit it, though. Besides, she’d already decided there weren’t enough good qualities in the world that Trevor might possess to sway her decision on the date.

She needed to heal. The man confused her and made her wonder what she’d ever seen in Jasper. That was ridiculous, of course. Jasper had been the love of her life. Sonny to her Cher, as he used to call it. Three weeks ago, she thought she lived in a perfect world with a perfect career and perfect fiancé. They’d grow old together.

The instant attraction to Trevor made her wonder if that’d been a lie. It made her uncomfortable. Could she really trust herself? Her judgment?

She didn’t have the energy to figure it out. She turned to Becky. “Are you sure you don’t want me to head back to the diner? I can work tonight, and we can find another time to hang out.”

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