Glitter Baby (Wynette, Texas #3)(52)

“But she hasn’t taken them off for Jake,” Johnny Guy said.

Spano cigar’s tip glowed. “What does that mean?”

Jake sighed. “Leave it alone, Johnny Guy.”

The director glanced over at Spano. “Fleur’s fallen hard for our boy.”

Belinda went absolutely still.

Johnny Guy popped another antacid. “I guess he can’t help being irresistible.”

“Go to hell,” Jake said without any rancor.

Johnny Guy rubbed the back of his head. “Do what you can over the weekend with the rewrites. It’s not the end of the world, but this is going to hurt.”

Belinda’s mind raced as she slipped out of the room. Fleur had fallen in love with Jake? Why hadn’t she noticed?

Because she’d been too caught up in her own fascination with him. She thought she knew her daughter so well, but she hadn’t seen what should have been perfectly obvious. Of course Fleur had fallen for him. What woman wouldn’t? If she looked back, she could see the signs. But watching her dreams come true had made her oblivious. A thrill shot through her. She located Jake’s pickup in the parking lot and waited for him. She wouldn’t let them cut Fleur’s scenes.

He approached a little before midnight. She stepped out into the pool of light behind his truck. Ever since Iowa, he’d been avoiding her, and he didn’t look happy to see her now. She accepted his rejection with the same fatalistic resignation she’d accepted Flynn’s abandonment. She wasn’t important enough to hold him. But when he’d kissed her that day, she’d felt as though she’d gotten a little piece of Jimmie back, and she could be satisfied with that.

“Don’t do the rewrites,” she said as he reached her. “It’s a waste of your time. Fleur can do those scenes.”

“Somebody’s been eavesdropping.”

She shrugged. “I saw the rushes, and I heard all of you talking. But there’s no need to change anything.”

He pulled a set of keys from his jeans pocket. “If you saw the rushes, you know we can’t use anything we shot today. Believe me, I don’t want to do this, but unless a miracle happens, we don’t have any choice.”

“Make the miracle, Jake,” she said softly. “You can do it.”

He locked eyes with her. “What are you talking about?”

She stepped closer to him, her mouth dry. “We both know why Fleur can’t let herself go in that scene. She’s afraid you’ll see the way she feels about you. But you can fix that.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

How could a man who wrote so brilliantly about human complexity be so obtuse? She smiled at him. “Break down that wall. Take her away with you this weekend and break down the wall she’s put up.”

He seemed to freeze, and then his voice grew cold. “Maybe you’d better explain exactly what you mean by that.”

She gave a small, nervous laugh. “Fleur will be twenty next month. She’s well past the age of consent.”

His lips barely moved. “I still don’t understand what you’re getting at. Spell it out, Belinda. Spell it out so I’m sure I’ve got it right.”

She wouldn’t retreat, and she lifted her chin. “I think you should make love to her.”

“Jesus.”

“Don’t look so shocked. It’s the obvious solution.”

“Only in your twisted mind.” His voice whipped her, and his eyes raked her with contempt. “Making love is what people do for pleasure. It’s not a business deal. You’re pimping your own daughter.”

“Jake…”

“What you’re talking about is f*cking. Fuck my daughter, Koranda, so she won’t blow her movie career. Fuck her so she won’t blow my career.”

“It’s not like that!” she cried. “You make it sound so ugly.”

“Then make it pretty for me.”

“You have to be attracted to her. She’s one of the most beautiful women in the world. And she’s in love with you.” Of course, she was, Belinda thought. Fleur had always been a creature of grand passions. She had to love Jake.

His contempt turned to disgust. “Have you forgotten that morning in Iowa?”

“Nothing happened. It doesn’t count.”

“It counts in my mind.”

“Fleur wants you, Jake. And her feelings for you are all that stand in the way of finishing this film exactly the way you want it to be. Only you can break through her reserve.” Belinda had waited her whole life for this, and she wouldn’t let his squeamishness dissuade her. “What’s the harm?” She ignored her uneasiness and looked him straight in the eye. “It’s not like she’s never been with a man.”

Jake flinched.

Belinda hurried on. “She hasn’t been promiscuous, don’t think that. I sheltered her as much as I could. But a mother can only do so much. And this way her feelings for you will be able to run their natural course. She’ll be better for it. The movie will be better. Everybody wins.”

“You don’t win, Belinda.” He gazed down at her with eyes so cold they chilled her to the bone. “You’re the biggest loser I’ve ever met.”

He climbed in his truck, and the engine growled to life. The tires screamed as he whipped out of his parking place. She watched until the taillights disappeared.