Page 19 of One Life to Loathe

“I will,” Jax promised. “You’ll see her, though. She’s here most days. We live on the top floor.”

I stirred. “You live in a hotel?” I tried to imagine what that would look like and drew a blank.

“We live in our hotel,” Jax replied. “Eventually, we’re going to get a house. Right now, taking over the suite upstairs saves us money on rent and allows us to save.”

“I bet houses here are expensive,” I mused. “Probably not as expensive as LA, but expensive all the same.”

“They are,” Jax confirmed. “Eventually, I’m going to buy Daisy her dream house. She wants something historic with a view of the water. It’s going to take me a bit.”

When I risked a glance at Sam, I found her hand pressed to the spot above her heart. “Historic houses are my favorite,” she enthused. “I bet the houses here are amazing.”

“They are,” Jax confirmed. “I’m sure Daisy will take you to an open house while you’re here if you want. She goes to at least one a week to look around. She can’t help herself. She likes to dream.”

“Me, too.” The words were gusty when Sam let them loose. “I’ve always preferred East Coast real estate to West Coast real estate. Well, at least in California. There, they have no respect for history. They basically buy the property so they can build some new obnoxious mini-mansion on top of it.”

“What’s wrong with a mini-mansion?” I demanded. I technically owned a mini-mansion. It wasn’t as grand as the houses some of my friends owned, but it wasn’t embarrassing or anything.

“There’s just no culture attached to it,” Sam replied. “Sometimes a house is just a house.”

“And sometimes it’s a home,” Jax agreed. “I can see why Daisy decided you were going to be her new bestie the second she saw you. You guys think alike.”

Pleasure tinged Sam’s cheeks. “Oh, well, that’s flattering.”

“You can’t actually be her bestie because Levi would revolt, but something tells me she’ll have you attending sunrise yoga with her moms before it’s all said and done.”

I thought I’d misheard him. “Moms? As in plural?”

Jax was a big guy, so when he gave me a dirty look, I was taken aback … and momentarily afraid for my life. “Do you have a problem with that?”

It was rare that I found myself tongue-tied. “Of course not. I’m from LA. Nobody has a problem with that in LA. I just… I…”

When I looked over at Sam, I found her shaking her head. Thankfully, she didn’t say anything.

“I think I’m going to head to the bar,” I supplied. I was over this conversation.

“Some of your castmates are in there,” Jax said. “That older one with the wandering hands is going to be in trouble if he doesn’t rein himself in. Maybe you could send that message for me.”

I didn’t have to ask who he was referring to. It was a given. Just like I had a certain reputation, so did Ed Porter. “I’ll handle it.”

Jax cocked an eyebrow. “Do you actually think he’ll listen to you? Because he’s not listening to any of the servers who have already warned him. If he doesn’t stop grabbing butts, I’m going to put my foot in his.”

Jax’s size suggested he might serve as a deterrent. “I have no idea if he’ll listen. I’ll make sure the message is sent, though. In his defense, he doesn’t actually realize he’s being a piece of crap.”

“Well, he’d better start realizing it.” Jax was having none of it. “I don’t care how important this production is to the area. I will boot his ass out of here so fast his head is going to spin.”

“I’ve got it,” I assured him. “I’ll talk to him.” With that, I cast one more look at Sam—was she laughing at me or Jax? I couldn’t tell—and took off toward the bar. Sure enough, I found Ed sitting with two of the other vampires from the show.

Dexter Montrose and I had known each other for ten years. We’d both been cast as supporting characters on a popular medical show for a season. I wouldn’t say we were close, but we didn’t dislike one another. In fact, I had a sneaking suspicion I would be spending the bulk of my nonwork time with him.

Chad Domingo was the other vampire. He was an up-and-comer and was only in his early twenties. I couldn’t get a firm read on him yet, but he laughed like a nasally weasel. That probably would be a no-go for me at some point.

Between them, Ed was holding court. He had what looked to be straight bourbon in a glass and he was talking in a voice that suggested he didn’t care who was listening. Or, to be more apt, he thought he was impressing people whether they wanted to listen or not.

“And I told that little filly that she would have to wait in line,” he said. “Just because she was younger, that didn’t mean she could skip ahead of the lady who was lined up in front of her. Do you want to know why?”

Dexter took a drink from his cocktail and didn’t respond. Chad, however, seemed enchanted by the story.

“Why?” Chad asked. He was almost breathless.

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