Page 48 of Fool Me

Three faces stared at Grant. Ronny, standing directly across from Julia, mouthed the word “no” as he slowly shook his head. Julia, to Grant’s right, aimed a haughty stare at him as she tapped her foot, counting down the seconds that would decide his fate. To Ronny’s left, Sadie looked at him with soft, worried eyes as she pulled at a curl of her hair. Grant forced himself to tear his gaze from Sadie and back to Julia.

“I do want to follow my dream,” he told her. “It’s the dream I’ve had since college.”

Julia’s lips widened into a grin as her eyes glowed with triumph. “You had me worried there for a minute, Farm Boy, but of course you know what’s good for you.” She threw a look of disdain toward Ronny. “Let’s get out of here. An oil spill beach clean-up would be more fun.”

She held her hand out toward Grant, and he took it.

30

Watching Grant’s fingers meet Julia’s, Sadie’s heart roller-coaster dropped straight into her stomach. He’d made his choice, and it was stardom at any price. This wasn’t the Grant she thought she knew, but she hadn’t been the Sadie he’d known, either. At least now she could leave the party. She’d shown him the truth, but the lure of instant fame proved too much.

Ronny had tried to save him too, and so, hoping for camaraderie, she glanced his way. Instead of seeing her own disappointment mirrored in his face, a half-smile tugged at his lip. How could he be happy at Julia’s triumph?

But wait…did he just wink at Grant and motion with his head toward the ground?

Grant linked his arm in Julia’s and pulled them both a big step backwards, as if wanting some privacy. “Actually, Julia,” he said, speaking at a normal level. “I don’t know about Hollywood, but back where I’m from, if you dish it out you have to be able to take it. At least, that’s the lesson I learned when I mud wrestled in the cow patty fields.”

“Cow patty what?” Julia said, her triumphant tone now laced with misgiving. “C’mon. We can talk about it in my limo.”

“I mean,” Grant continued as he moved her backward another big step, “that you were right all along. I’ve been hopelessly naïve, but I’m done being fooled by you or anyone else. Getting your friend to fake a drowning was manipulative and dangerous. That’s not okay with me. I dream about someday becoming a successful actor, but this isn’t the way I’d ever want to do it.”

Julia’s famous lips parted in a sneer as she yanked her arm from Grant’s. She took a stompy step backwards and away from him, bumping into a caterer in yellow coveralls in the process. Rather than apologize, she kept talking. “Successful actor? As if you’ll ever be one now! I laid the red carpet out for you. Too bad you’re not bright enough to walk across it. Andrea wasn’t supposed to wade out that deep, but she still made you into a hero.” She shook her head as she rolled her eyes. “Only a fool would choose being a mudpuppy over a baywatchbabe.”

Grant said simply, “What I'm choosing is to be a decent human being.”

She pushed lightly against his shoulder with her long fingernails. “Go do that, then, in the cow patty fields or whatever. See how that works out for you. Because you’re done in Hollywood, in New York. In Timbuktu. You think I can’t get a thousand guys even better looking than you to grovel at my feet?”

Given Julia’s power and reach, the threat reverberated in the air. Sadie winced on Grant’s behalf, but he showed no concern.“A small price to pay for my self-respect,” Grant said.

Ronny took several steps forward now, straightened his shoulders, and got directly into Julia’s face. She pulled back, but he moved in closer. “Are you leaving, or do I need to call my guards? They’re dressed like Roman soldier mermaids, so it might be worth getting thrown out.”

“And you—” she began to say, but she never finished her sentence. After taking a final step backward, she tripped over Grant’s outstretched foot, strategically placed at the very edge of the pool.

“Whaaa!” Julia’s scream rent the night air.

“Oopsies,” Ronny said.

Neither he nor Grant made any attempt to save her, and so she became a fruit salad blur, her arms cartwheeling like the wings of a featherless bird. Time slowed as Sadie watched her childhood idol splash into the pool and begin to sink, her eyes and mouth scrunched tight against the impending water, her fuchsia talons the last part of her to go under.

By now well-versed in the sound of a fellow partygoer going overboard, the entire gathering, including the band, silenced in an instant and turned to watch.

Through the stillness, a speechless Sadie caught Grant’s eye. “What happens now?” she mouthed. He shrugged in reply, but his handsome face held the happiest, most relaxed smile Sadie had ever seen on him. It warmed her from the toes up.

The answer to Sadie’s question arrived quickly from the crowd as, to her astonishment, party guests began whooping loudly before throwing themselves into the pool too. Within seconds, a dozen had leapt in, their peals of laughter enticing more and more of Ronny’s guests to take the plunge. Some left their shoes on the sand, but others didn’t give their clothing a second thought.

Ronny waggled his substantive eyebrows at Sadie and Grant. “Maybe now you’ll believe me when I say I throw the best parties?” Sadie laughed as a grinning Neptune joined his people in the watery depths.

She stepped toward the edge and peered across the pool. “Where’s Julia?” There were at least fifty people in the water now, and the splashing and flinging of arms made it difficult to pick out any one person.

Grant pointed. “Over there. She’s the only one who looks miserable about getting wet.”

Sadie spotted her doing an angry breaststroke toward the steps. “But why are the guests all jumping in the pool?”

“BecauseJulia Menlois in the pool,” Grant said, mimicking the star’s haughty use of the third person. They both laughed.

Grant looked sideways toward her, and the mischievous twinkle in his eyes reminded her of the moment he’d yanked her into the mud pit. She braced herself for a well-deserved tossing, but he took her hand instead. His fingers around hers felt so right, so safe and warm. She closed her eyes for a second to enjoy it. Grant’s touch gave her cozier feels than the first taste of Rick’s coffee with extra cream and three sugars on a Sunday morning.

“Shall we?” he asked, tilting his head toward the water.

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