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  Taylor ignored Jessie and increased her pace.

  Jessie gently yet firmly grabbed hold of Taylor’s wrist, and swung her around, pulling her to a stop.

  Taylor appeared truly stunned by Jessie’s aggressive behavior. She stared at Jessie’s hand that remained latched to her wrist.

  “Look into my eyes,” Jessie whispered.

  Taylor ignored the plea.

  “Look into my eyes,” Jessie repeated.

  Taylor’s eyes slowly traveled from Jessie’s hand, which was still holding onto her wrist, up Jessie’s arm until they met Jessie’s brown eyes.

  She released Taylor’s wrist. “Are these the eyes of a murderer?”

  “What?”

  “If you have any doubt, after looking into my eyes,” Jessie’s voice cracked, “I will turn and leave and never bother you again.”

  Taylor continued peering into Jessie’s eyes. Tears pooled in Taylor’s eyes then ran down her cheeks.

  Lost in her role, Jessie instinctively brushed away the tears with her fingers.

  “This has nothing to do with Jeffrey’s murder,” Taylor whispered. “But you need to go.”

  She tried to turn, but Jessie seized her wrists and pulled her until the women were inches apart. “If this isn’t about the murder, what’s it all about?” Jessie asked.

  Taylor searched Jessie’s eyes, seemingly peering into her soul.

  Realizing that Taylor’s lips approached her own she released Taylor’s wrists and retreated ever so slightly. Taylor cupped the back of Jessie’s neck with her long fingers, preventing her escape and bringing her lips to Jessie’s. This time, Jessie did not back away and the two were consumed by their kiss. For Jessie distant memories and feelings came rushing back.

  For Taylor, confusion emerged by the flurry of emotions that surfaced.

  It was the whistling and clapping that brought Jessie back. She pulled away and found Taylor staring back at her.

  The women stood face-to-face, neither one moved until Travis stepped between them, grinning from ear to ear. He placed his hand in Taylor’s. “Congratulations. We’ve found our Dillon.”

  Mark was right behind Travis and embraced both Taylor and Jessie.

  Travis turned to Jessie with a bear hug, then stepped back to look at her. “You might want to consider moonlighting. You’re quite an actor.”

  Even through all the excitement, Jessie could feel Taylor’s eyes on her. Occasionally, a fleeting look at Taylor confirmed it.

  While Travis spoke with Jennifer, Jessie decided she would be on her way. She bid the group good evening and left. She was just getting into her car when she heard a voice from behind her.

  “Thank you,” Taylor said.

  Jessie turned to find Taylor leaning up against a car next to her own. “Congratulations. You did very well.”

  “Did I?”

  “Yes. You were very convincing.”

  What Taylor didn’t tell Jessie was that she became lost in the role. That she had never experienced this type of connection with a person before, or that every cell in her being seemed to surge with energy.

  Jessie got in her car, started the ignition and opened the window. She didn’t know what to say. “Give my best to Kurk.” She drove away.

  Taylor watched the Lexus disappear around the curve in the road.

  Jessie hated being rude but she didn’t know what else to do. She needed to process what had just happened. “What the hell am I doing? Why is this happening to me?” she mumbled. I miss you so much, Rebecca. It didn’t take long before the tears came.

  Chapter 12

  On Wednesday that week, Travis called Jessie. He had a preliminary schedule for Deceptions and invited himself over to review the dates that afternoon. Jessie was surprised when Mark arrived with him.

  “Surprise,” Mark said, as Jessie answered the door.

  “Hi, and it is a surprise.” Jessie backed away from the door permitting Travis and Mark to enter.

  “I hope you don’t mind. Travis asked me to pick up the schedule. Then he slipped that he was coming here. I invited myself,” Mark admitted. He smiled with his boyish grin.

  “It’s fine, Mark. Come on in.” She escorted them past her office. “Let’s go into my sitting room. It’d be more comfortable for the three of us than my office. Would either of you like something to drink? Lemonade, iced tea?”

  “Lemonade would be great,” Mark said.

  “Lemonade is fine.”

  “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll get the drinks and my calendar.”

  Jessie left the room, and Mark inspected a sculpture then a painting hanging on the wall. “It would appear that Jessie has done well for herself.”

  “She’s a very talented lady,” Travis agreed.

  “Do you know if she’s seeing anyone right now?” Mark asked.

  Travis was taken aback by the question. “Mark, you are aware that Jessie is gay, aren’t you?”

  “Well aware, unfortunately. You’ve never known her to swing occasionally?”

  Travis shook his head. “If she did, Mark—get in line.”

  Jessie returned with the lemonade and her cell phone. She sat down with Travis and compared the tentative filming schedule with her own calendar on her phone.

  She knew Travis was not obligated to check her schedule, and she also knew they could do it electronically or over the phone. So she was curious about the visit but wouldn’t say anything in front of Mark.

  After reviewing a four-month period, Jessie noted the dates she had conflicts with on a note pad and passed it to Travis. “Here are my conflicts…it looks like there are only four dates.”

  A soft beep came from Mark’s phone. He removed the phone from his belt and looked at the display.

  “Mark, if you want some privacy, feel free to step into my office,” Jessie suggested.

  He stood, reading a message on his phone.

  “It’s right around the corner. You passed it when you came in.”

  “Thanks. I’ll just check on this and be right back.”

  He left, leaving Jessie and Travis alone. “You did very well the other day,” Travis told Jessie.

  Jessie had tried to put the scene with Taylor out of her mind. But somehow, it wouldn’t leave her. She smiled weakly, “Thank you.”

  “I don’t usually go out of my way to check the screenwriter’s schedule, Jessie.”

  “I know that. What’s going on?”

  “I was impressed by the way you handled yourself during the reading. I’d like you to play a more active role during the filming of some of the more sensitive scenes.”

  “Travis, I’m not a director or an actress.”

  “You knew that scene was going no place. Somehow you brought Taylor out of her shell and turned it around.”

  “I shouldn’t have opened my mouth.”

  “Under normal circumstances, I may have agreed with you. Would you make yourself available during some scenes?”

  Filming for Deceptions started within the month. Jessie made an effort to make most of the shootings. Although Jennifer Kendrick was a royal bitch to work with, Jessie recognized that she was very talented. She studied the film that had been made of Jessie and Taylor and strived to mimic the performance. At times when Jennifer struggled with a scene, she would confide in Jessie at a break and ask for some insight.

  After considerable soul searching, Jessie decided to watch the situation unfold with Taylor and Mark. Taylor was always very friendly and seemed to be interested in developing a friendship with her. At times, Jessie would catch Taylor staring at her, but she never asked Taylor about it. Mark was the master of flirtation and appeared to Jessie to want more than a friendship.

  During the filming of one scene at a mall, Mark and Jessie were together on the sidelines. At a break, Mark went to Jessie. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” He pointed at Starbuck’ Coffee on the other side of the mall. Since most of the people in the mall were watching the movie crew, it was muc
h quieter there.

  “Sure.”

  Jessie and Mark made their way to Starbucks and sat at a table outside the store.

  “You’ve done very well for yourself,” Mark complimented Jessie.

  “Obviously you have also, Mark.”

  “Thanks. Things sure have changed over the years. Except…you haven’t changed much.”

  “Oh, I’ve changed plenty,” Jessie disagreed.

  “Not on the outside. You’re just as beautiful as you were in school.” Mark’s eyes flirted.

  “And you’re still the charmer you were then.”

  He smiled. “So what do you think this means? Us meeting up after all this time.”

  Jessie looked at Mark. “What a coincidence.”

  “That’s all you have to say? What about destiny?”

  She smiled. “Is that what you think?”

  “It has entered my mind.”

  “I think we had a great friendship years ago. But we ended so abruptly that we weren’t able to continue the friendship…because it was too painful for you. I think I understand that better now. It must be terribly difficult to love someone, be involved in their life and yet not be able to have them.” Jessie pondered her feelings for Taylor. It was then she realized her character in Deceptions coincidently struggled with the same feelings.

  Mark nodded at Jessie’s interpretation of their history. “And that’s it?”

  “After all the years, is it still painful for you to be around me?”

  “No.”

  “Then yes. That’s what I think our reconnection means. A second chance at a friendship.”

  Mark took Jessie’s hand in his own. His contact surprised her. “Do you think there could ever be more than friendship?”

  Jessie shook her head. “No, Mark. I’m sorry. I’m gay.”

  He pulled his hand away and smiled. “Okay! You can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  After that, Mark seemed fine and his flirtation with Jessie stopped.

  It was about one month into the filming, and Jessie arrived a little late one morning on the set. The scene was being filmed at Hansen Dam, a park on the outskirts of Los Angeles County. She parked her car and was getting out when she heard a voice from behind her.

  “It’s cancelled.”

  She turned and saw Taylor approach. Other actors, actresses and film crew seemed to be dispersing and leaving.

  “What happened?” Jessie asked.

  “Travis has had some type of family emergency,” Taylor said. “We’re meeting tomorrow, same time. Unless somebody calls.”

  “Is Travis okay?”

  “I don’t know. He never showed. His assistant took the phone call. I think it had something to do with his wife.”

  “Well, I hope everything is okay,” Jessie added as she opened her car door.

  “Have a good day,” Taylor said. Then she walked away.

  “You too.” Jessie got back in her car and started the ignition. Seconds later she heard tapping on the passenger window. Taylor was standing there. Jessie opened the passenger-side window. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. I was thinking—I hate to lose a free day.”

  “A free day?”

  “Whenever I’m blessed with an unplanned day, I try to do something that I’ve never done before,” Taylor said.

  “Sounds like a fun practice.”

  “I’ve always wanted to go to this artsy community in the San Gabriel Mountains, not too far from here. It’s near Phipps Canyon and supposed to have great little shops and vendors. It’s probably a forty-minute drive from here. Have you heard of Legacy Square? What do you say?”

  “What do I say about what?” Jessie asked.

  “What are you doing now?”

  “I guess I was just going home. Do a little work on a new project.”

  “Why don’t the two of us head over to Legacy? Check out some of the shops, have some lunch. You can start a new tradition for your free days.”

  Jessie thought about it for a moment. “I guess I could do that.”

  “Good. Would you like me to drive?” Taylor offered.

  “No. Hop in. I’ll bring you back here later for your car.”

  Taylor got in but she was carrying a manila envelope.

  As Jessie pulled her car from the curb, she pointed to the envelope. “Work?”

  “Not really. Fan mail.”

  “Fan mail?”

  “Yes. Mark just gave me the envelope.”

  “And you read it all?”

  “I can’t say I read every word. But I at least open every envelope.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. It’s one of Mark’s suggestions. For every touching letter I get, we send out an autographed picture. Mark thinks it’s good business. Send them a picture, and earn a lifelong fan.”

  “That makes sense. Do you ever get some hateful letters?”

  “Yes. They’re the worst. No. I take that back. The strange ones are the worst.”

  “Strange?”

  “Yes. Strange. You know…when you don’t know what their motives are…or you don’t know if they have it all together…”

  “Do you get a lot of those?”

  “Not really. The last month or so I started getting some strange letters from someone with the initials ‘I.D.’”

  “What’s so strange about them?”

  “It’s the tone. He…or she I guess, just sounds…strange is the best way to describe it.” Taylor opened the large envelope and sorted through the smaller envelopes. She looked for one with the initials “I.D.” “No. Whoever it is didn’t send me…” Taylor didn’t finish the thought.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Taylor’s face paled. “I got a postcard.”

  “And.”

  “There’s only three words on it.”

  “They are?”

  “I’m your destiny,” Taylor looked at Jessie. “Do you think that’s I.D.?”

  “What have the other letters said?”

  “Oh, I don’t remember except…there was something about finding each other someday and the two of us are meant to be together. I don’t remember that much; I just gave them to Mark. Come to think of it, this one is addressed to me in care of Mark.”

  “And the others?”

  “They went through World Records.”

  “Where’s it postmarked?”

  Taylor studied the stamped card. “It looks like LA.”

  “So if it’s the same person, they know your record company and personal manager. Both are pretty easy to learn,” Jessie said.

  Taylor stuffed the postcard back in the envelope and put it on the floor next to her feet.

  “I’m surprised in this electronic day and age you’d even receive snail mail.”

  “I don’t have time to respond to email or join the social media craze.”

  It was close to eleven o’clock when they arrived at Legacy Square. The quaint community had artsy shops on both sides of a narrow street. The street was closed to traffic and peddler carts were set up in the center. Taylor pulled her sunglasses and scarf from her purse and put them on.

  “What are you doing?” Jessie asked.

  “I want to enjoy myself, I don’t want everyone to recognize me.”

  “Do you dress up in disguise often?”

  “When I’m with Kurk I don’t; he loves the attention. But I usually do when I’m by myself.”

  The women walked the quaint shops for about an hour and a half, and then chose a sunny café for lunch. “Do you realize that this is the first time we have had some time alone since we met?” Taylor said.

  “I hadn’t really thought of it,” Jessie lied. In actuality, Jessie had been cautious around Taylor and had intentionally avoided her. Today, she had surprised herself when she agreed to join Taylor.

  “For a while there, I thought you were avoiding me.”

  “Avoiding you? Now why would I do that?”

  “Just a feeling I had after we wor
ked together on that scene.” Taylor’s eyes showed a curiosity.

  Jessie changed the subject. “How’s the filming going?”

  “I think okay. I have nothing to compare it to, though. This is my first major role. How do you think it’s going?”

  “It seems to be going fine.”

  “How’d you come up with the idea for Deceptions?”

  “It just came to me.”

  “How long did it take you to write it?”

  “It took…four months before I had a manuscript ready for the publisher.”

  “Four months? That’s not very long. I always thought that it took longer to write a book.”

  “It normally does, for me anyway. Deceptions is my record. The idea came, and then the story took on a life of its own.”

  “So, tell me about you and Mark,” Taylor said. Her eyes were showing a curiosity again.

  “We’re old friends from college.”

  “Old lovers you mean?”

  Jessie had built a wall between herself and Taylor. In that moment she wondered why. Why am I trying to stay so unattached?

  “Lighten up, Jessie,” that little voice lectured.

  “Yes, we were lovers.”

  “I thought you were a lesbian.” Taylor even surprised herself by her own bluntness.

  “Yes, I am a lesbian. I was with Mark before I was honest with myself about my own sexuality.”

  “So, have you only been with women…since Mark?”

  Jessie found Taylor’s uneasiness with the question amusing. “Yes. Actually, Mark was the only man I have ever been with, sexually.”

  “The two of you broke up and you never saw each other until a few months ago?”

  “We broke up, but Mark had always been my best friend. So I wanted to maintain a friendship with him.” Jessie looked into Taylor’s eyes. She knew how Mark had felt and smiled. “But it was hard for him to be just a friend. So, he severed the friendship a couple of months after we broke up. He went off to medical school. That was the last I had heard until…I learned he was your personal manager.”

  “Are you happy with your lifestyle choice?”

  “I guess I never really thought of it as a choice. It’s just who I am.”

  “How did you know you were gay?”

  “Initially, I didn’t know. Actually, I didn’t even suspect. A woman made a pass at me and the feelings that came up were surprising…I knew then there was a chance I was a lesbian.”