Shocking Sapphires - Ann Omasta Page 0,21
could see that Molly was gathering her belongings to leave.
Leaning around Eva, I said to Molly, “You don’t need to go.”
Eva whirled around as if noticing Molly for the first time. She looked Molly up and down before saying, “Oh, you must be Grant’s son’s babysitter.”
I took note of the fact that she didn’t even remember Scout’s name. It was classic, selfish Eva. If it wasn’t about her, she truly didn’t care.
Molly nodded and shifted Scout to her hip before politely holding out her hand. “Yes, I’m Molly, and I’ve been taking care of Scout these past few months.”
Eva ignored her offered hand, opting instead to lean down to have a closer look at Scout. After patting him awkwardly on top of the head, she said, “Oh, my… he’s grown rather pudgy since the last time I saw him. It might be time to think about putting him on a healthy diet.”
Quickly shifting her attention back to me, effectively dismissing Molly and my son, Eva plopped her skinny hip onto the side of my bed right beside me. I started to tell her that Scout was just starting to try solid food and that his doctor had said he was in optimal health during his last wellness visit, but she interrupted me by saying, “Darling, I have so much to tell you. You’ve been out of the loop for too long.”
Ignoring my pleading gaze, Molly quietly turned to secure Scout in his stroller. Deciding that I needed to have a serious talk with Eva anyway, I let them go without any further objection.
Once we were alone, Eva said, “I’m sorry I didn’t make it here sooner, darling, but I’ve been so busy filming all over the world. I can’t wait for you to get a look at what we’ve been doing with Pandemic. It’s going to be my biggest blockbuster yet. I just know it.”
She had a dreamy, faraway gaze as she imagined the additional fame and fortune headed her way. Both were as addictive as any drug. I knew that as well as anyone.
I waited patiently as she prattled on about how the movie that she’d just been filming had everything audiences love… dramatic suspense, sizzling romance, fantastic characters, and epic locations. Although I was sure she was right about the movie’s merits, I couldn’t drum up any enthusiasm about it. The entire Hollywood scene felt foreign and insignificant to me now.
After letting her drone on and on about her filming schedule, her travels, and her socializing, I finally broke in with, “So, I’m doing okay. Thanks for asking.”
She did manage to morph her expression into one of guilt, but she was a talented actress, so I couldn’t be sure if her sympathy was legitimate. It was truly frustrating trying to figure out someone who pretended to be everyone, except herself, for a living. I didn’t know how Molly endured dealing with me.
When Eva took my hand within her clammy one, I almost chuckled at the realization that this disproved the ‘cold hands, warm heart’ theory that Molly and I had discussed.
The actress sounded sincere when she said, “I would have asked you how you’re doing, but I assumed you didn’t want to talk about it. This is my first time dealing with anything this awful, so I’m nervous about saying or doing the wrong thing. I’ve been super anxious about coming here.”
Somehow, she managed to turn everything back to her. Anger made my nostrils flare as I said, “Sorry to make you uncomfortable with my permanent, life-altering injury. What was I thinking getting into that horrific crash?”
My sarcasm seemed to sail right over her head.
Her sparkling blue eyes gazed into mine as she said, “I want us to get back together, Grant. I want to stand by your side during this tragedy.”
For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what her angle was here, but I knew she had to be up to something. Narrowing my eyes at her I said, “Then where have you been? This happened months ago.”
“I told you… I was filming. I came as soon as I could manage it.”
Unable to curb my new sarcastic streak, I asked, “And phones don’t work at any of the locations where you were filming?”
She managed to drum up a couple of tears as she said, “I didn’t know what to say, Grant. I wanted to call you, but I was scared. I’m here now, though. Doesn’t that count for something?”
“Are you hoping for a photo op