Landon & Shay: Part Two (L&S Duet #2)(78)

How were those words falling from my mouth?

When did I become so cruel?

The tears sitting at the back of Mom’s eyes began rolling down her cheeks, and David was quick to soothe her. Mima was staring at me with shock in her eyes.

“You know what, Shannon Sofia, maybe you should go if you are going to have that attitude. This is a joyous occasion, and I won’t let you ruin this for your mother.”

I hadn’t known what to say, because Mima was right. I should’ve left, because nothing about me was feeling joyful in that moment. I felt confused. Betrayed.

Mom spent years expressing how men were evil. How could she just up and change her mind one day, and act as if it was normal?

I gathered my things, and left my grandmother’s apartment, murmuring an apology on my way out.

“Shay, wait!” a voice called after me as I was walking down the hallway.

I turned to see David chasing after me. A knot formed in my stomach as he approached me, and I pulled my purse closer to my chest.

“Yes?”

He rubbed his hand against his full salt-and-pepper colored beard and sighed. “I know you don’t trust me. You have every reason to be wary. You don’t know me from Dick or Jane, and I get that. I am a complete stranger to you, but I promise on everything that I am that I love your mother. I love her so much in ways that I didn’t know love could exist, and I will spend forever proving to both her and you that my love is true.”

I wished I could believe him, but I still hadn’t a clue who he was, other than a man my mother met three months prior. “I’m sorry, this is just too much for me. You have no clue what my family has been through.”

“I know. I only know the things Camila has shared with me about your father, and your grandfather, and I know that there is a lot of trauma there. But I swear, I’m not them. I’ll work to prove it to you, but I want you to know that I’m okay with you not trusting me right off the bat. Trust is earned, not given. So, take as much time as you need.”

I didn’t say another word to him, because I didn’t know what to speak. My mind was running a million miles an hour and didn’t seem to be planning on slowing down any time soon.

I left my grandmother’s with heavy guilt sitting on my chest for making my mother cry. I couldn’t give her my blessing, though. Not when she was falling in love with a complete stranger.

The next day, I did my best to shake Mom’s and David’s engagement news from my mind. Lucky for me, Sarah kept me busy at work.

“I need you to run lines with him,” Sarah instructed me after she finished getting ready in hair and makeup. She’d just spent the past hour going on and on about how her body was beyond bloated due to Mima’s epic Sunday dinner. I hoped I never lived a life where carbohydrates weren’t allowed.

If it came down to it, I’d rather die fat, with a smile, and a Twix candy bar in my mouth.

Any other way seemed too torturous. What was I supposed to do? Die with a salad? What would my tombstone read? Here lies Shay Gable. She lived her life under one thousand calories and never enjoyed a Snickers.

What a sad, sad life lived.

“What do you mean run lines with him?” I asked, sitting at her table.

“You know—run lines,” she echoed, as if I were deaf or straight up dumb. “He asked me to do so with him the other day, but I’m too busy. I have a reiki master coming in to give me a session, but he needs someone to run lines with him.”

“Can’t his assistant Willow do it?”

“Yes, she can,” Sarah agreed, but she gave me a devilish grin. “But it should be you who does it. That why you can get me some more information on him. Like his new favorite hobbies or foods. I want to plan something for him, but I need more dirt.”

“To be honest, I don’t really feel comfortable doing all of this, Sarah.”

The last thing I’d ever wanted to do was help hook Landon up with another woman.

For a split second, I swore I saw flames flash in Sarah’s eyes, before she returned to her normal, sweet—yet odd—self.

She took in a few breaths and released them slowly. “Shay. I know this might not be the most normal job position for you, but this is part of what it entails, all right?” She walked over to me and handed me the script. “Please do the job without complaints. We get along so well,” she chimed, smiling ear to ear, but I could tell she was forcing it. “I wouldn’t want any of that to change. Okay?”

It sounded more like a threat than anything else.

I swallowed hard and took the screenplay from her. “Okay.”

She went back to her bubbly personality and clapped her hands together. “Oh, wonderful! I’m glad we’re all on the same page. I’m glad I was about to make myself clear.”

“Crystal.” I smiled through gritted teeth. I knew if I didn’t take that script, I probably would’ve been out a job by the end of the day. And my bills would’ve been so pissed off at me.

I headed over to Landon’s trailer, and knocked twice before Willow opened the door with a wide smile.

“Oh, hey, Shay. What’s up?” She grinned. Willow had been my saving grace over the past few days, coming off as a bit of a mentor around the set. It was clear she’d been working in the industry for a long time, based solely on how she moved as if she belonged.