Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“Wasn’t rebranding, Serena. Just trying to have a life.”
“Dax isn’t your name?” I asked, and he looked surprised by the question.
“No, it’s Donnie,” Serena replied by proxy. “Donald, really. They named his character after him. TV producers sometimes do that with kids because they think it’s easier for them to respond to their character names. But I don’t see the reason. He’s an adult and hardly responds to his real or chosen name when I’m the one calling.”
“After this delightful intro, I’ll take note to respond less,” Dax added.
“Isn’t he funny, Jace?”
The tension in the air was palpable as we stepped into the kitchen and I made introductions.
Nance and Keegan approached, exchanging handshakes while I made up for a missed hug from Dax, pulling him in warmly and stroking his back, wanting to feel his body against mine as much as wanting to soothe him through what I could feel was a strain on his sanity.
“You have such a spacious home,” Serena told Nance. “I’m lucky to get a condo the size of this kitchen in Beverly Hills.”
“Thank you,” Nance offered.
Serena spotted Mac and put her hands to her cheeks in an overdramatic gesture. “And this must be the famous Shar-Pei! Oh, come here, you beautiful thing you.”
She stooped down and offered some scratches around his neck. Mac greedily relished the attention, rolling onto his side and then his back.
“Lookie there,” Dax said. “Same effect on dogs as men.”
“They’re one and the same as far as I’m concerned. No offense, Jace.”
“Please note there are three men in the room right now,” Dax stated.
Serena huffed as she pushed to her feet. She turned to Nance. “He’s always like this. I swear, I can’t say anything without getting nipped at.”
“Mom, can I take the murdered animal draped around your neck?”
“Murdered animal?” She offered another laugh. “Oh, please. I donate to PETA. This is faux-fox, Dax. Luxury isn’t nearly as violent as it used to be. No, I’m waiting for the day when we have to lease live foxes and wear them to premieres.” As she spoke, she removed the fur and passed it on to Dax.
“I think you’d look stunning wearing a starved tiger,” he said through his teeth as he took the piece and carried it to the coat closet by the foyer.
“Isn’t he charming?” she said, narrowing her eyes as though unamused.
I noticed Keegan’s expression as he stood before her, his eyes wide, his mouth hanging open. I couldn’t deny she was a captivating figure, and she’d clearly cast her spell over him.
She generously offered to help Nance in the kitchen and then set the table with us, never lacking for words. She was an expert when it came to keeping a conversation moving. And while she offered insights about herself, she continually asked about our lives, not necessarily interested, but as though she knew that was how one was supposed to behave in social settings.
As soon as we were all seated at the kitchen table, she said, “If you want to say a prayer, I don’t mind. I attend mass every Saturday.”
“No, you don’t,” Dax said through his teeth.
“Well, I have a Bloody Mary by eleven, so I can at least say I take communion.”
Keegan howled at the joke, catching us all off guard. “Good one,” he said, snapping his fingers and pointing to her as he grinned ear to ear.
“Oh, thank you. I had an agent tell me I was good enough to do standup on Johnny Carson, but he said I couldn’t be a beauty and funny without getting typecast as one or the other, and you know what they say: people always remember a beauty, but they never remember who told a good joke.”
“No one says that,” Dax insisted, looking tense as ever beside me.
“I just did,” she announced with triumph.
“Perhaps that’s why you think I need a little eye work?”
“Eye work?” Nance asked, seeming horrified by the suggestion.
“Here we go.” Serena threw her hands in the air as though surrendering to his accusation. “This is the part where he tries to make me look like the worst mother in the world. Hollywood isn’t like other industries. You’re in front of the camera all the time. The paparazzi are constantly hounding you—if you’re one of the lucky ones—and when you’re standing next to a man like Jace, sometimes you have to keep up appearances. I was just saying that I thought a little filler would help, and at the most, a smidgen of eye surgery. I don’t know why people get so worked up over these things. Let’s be honest: if I looked in the mirror and recognized some part of myself from my twenties, I’d demand a refund.”
“Oh my,” Nance said.
Serena laughed. “I’m just being flip. Of course I recognize my eyes, past the tinted contacts. But, Dax, the bags aren’t that bad. I was simply offering a suggestion if you wanted to take it, a little tuck there, and maybe that nose job that would make the end a little sharper…you know that look’s never gone out of style.”