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Chapter 21: The Wrong Lesson
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The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 22: Things We Shouldn't Notice
I freeze. I've never seen Luca like this before - looking so utterly dejected. I've seen him show mild concern, mild anger, mild worry...you get the idea. But even at those times, his smile was usually only a few seconds away. His mask always seemed to return the moment he realized he'd let it slip.But this...Clearly he doesn't know I'm here. Even around me - maybe especially around me - he rarely shows his true self, as far as I can tell. He's certainly never expressed anything close to what I'm seeing now. And he's definitely never mentioned any potential problems in his life that could lead to such a dark emotion.Maybe he's practicing a scene, I think. But I know better than that - I've memorized our script, after all.No - something in my gut tells me this is real. He's not wearing a shirt, and I can see the tension in every line of his well-muscled back. I set down the corkscrew and start to walk toward the door, ready to offer what advice and support I can.But I stop aft
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 23: Those Feelings Are Natural
Luca is staring at me, waiting for me to tell him why he, of all people, shouldn't be noticing my body."Isn't it obvious?" I say, flustered. "Considering - shit! The bath!" I dart past him down the hall, back toward my room. I'm nearly to the door before I remember the whole reason I left in the first place. I spin back around. "Towels. I need towels.""There should be some in the closet just down - "I nearly run into him again as I dart past. I throw open the door he indicated and grab as many towels as I can hold."Get as many as you can," I tell him.He still looks confused, but he comes over to the closet. I run back down the hall and into my bedroom.The water has soaked further into the carpet. I throw down a couple of towels and stomp on them, trying to absorb as much liquid as possible. The rest of the towels I throw down on the bathroom floor."Whoa. What happened here?"Luca is standing in the doorway, his arms full of towels and his eyebrows practically up to his g
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 24: Alone Time Means Trouble
I don't sleep much. When I wake, there's still a heavy lump in my throat, though I don't know whether it's from guilt or nerves or some other emotion. Some days I'm not sure I can even identify real emotions anymore.When I check my phone, there are text messages from my mom and Sara. I rub my eyes as I skim through them. Most of them are about the wedding. Something tells me I'm not going to be able to put off their questions about whether or not Luca will be attending much longer.Javy hasn't contacted me yet, but I try not to read too much into that.For now, I need to get dressed and get some breakfast. And about three cups of coffee. I roll out of bed and make my way down the hall to my old bedroom.The workers are gone, but some of their equipment is still here. Judging by the state of the floor, it looks like they decided to tear up some of the tiles. Guilt surges through me. Shit. The damage must have been worse than I realized.I'm still a little confused about what happe
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 25: Watching Myself
Don't do it, I warn myself. You'll only get yourself more worked up. But I can't help myself. I need to know, once and for all.I grab the camera and turn it on. I pull up the video on the digital screen on the back, take a deep breath, and play it.My heart thuds in my throat as the recording begins. But the light in the room was fairly dim at the time, and the screen on the camera is too small for me to see much besides Luca and me rolling around on the ground.I need a bigger screen. Right now.Tucking the camera under my arm, I return to the rec room and the large television. Frantically, I search for a cable or some other way to connect the camera, but all I see are a few carefully hidden wires going back into the wall behind the screen.I run back around the corner into the movie vault. Sure enough, I find a cubby in the wall housing the Blu-Ray player, cable box, and other assorted television attachments - including a cable that hooks right into the camera. I connect it, sw
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 26: Caught
I'm pretty sure I scream as I jump up off the couch. Somehow Luca walked into the room without me noticing.And I'm sitting here watching...oh, God.I probably break a world record sprinting to the movie closet. Behind me, I can hear the heavy breathing and moaning of the two of us up on the television, but I don't dare pause to watch for my orgasm. I have to get this video off. Now.I yank the cable out of the camera. In the other room, I hear the screen go dead, separated from its racy video feed. I stand there with the cable clenched in my fist, panting as the panic rises in my chest.How could I be such an idiot? Why didn't I go somewhere private to watch the damn video? It's been hours since Luca left - I should have known he'd come home at any time.I squeeze my eyes shut and try to calm myself. But my dad's mindfulness exercises aren't doing me much good right now.In the other room, I hear Luca laugh."Emilia?" he calls. "Is everything okay in there?"Like hell it is. H
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 27: The Party
I still have no idea how Luca does this to me, how he brings out an angry side that I didn't know I had.My mood bounces all over the place as I get ready for the party. A cold shower helps, but only a little. One moment I feel ashamed and embarrassed, the next I'm back to being pissed - pissed at myself and at Luca. Everything is a joke to him. Sometimes I wonder if he has real feelings, or if he's gotten so good at the fake ones that he's forgotten what the genuine ones are like.An image of him hunched over next to the pool floats to the front of my mind. He seemed to be feeling something genuine enough then. But if he's not going to show any real emotions around other people - around me - how am I supposed to respond?I do some of Dad's breathing exercises as I pull on my dress. I need to calm myself down before the party. There are going to be a lot of important industry people there tonight, and Luca and I need to present a united front, even if I'm still reeling on the inside
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 28: A Little Chat With Rafe
It's moments like this that remind me of just how screwed up this arrangement with Luca is. Luca and I might stand here with our hands all over each other, but in reality we're almost strangers - we know so little about each other."I might go grab myself a drink," I tell Luca. "Would you like anything?""I'll grab us drinks, love," he says. "I wouldn't be a gentleman if - ""Nonsense. You and your brother are talking. I'll be right back." I stand up on my toes and kiss him on the cheek. Then I turn to Dante and Ashlyn. "Would either of you like anything?"They both decline, and then I finally have the chance to slip away through the crowd.There are waiters walking through the room with trays of champagne, but there's also a bar in the far corner. I head there. I order a dirty martini for Luca - his usual drink when we're out together - and a seltzer water with lime for myself. Part of me longs to have something alcoholic, just to get me through this party, but I've already had m
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Lies Between the Lines Chapter 29: Jealousy
Luca doesn't wait for me to respond. I don't even have time to grab my drink before he's pulling me away from the bar. His arm slides more fully around my waist, holding me against his side as we go back across the room away from the bar - and his brother Rafe."What was that about?" I demand."You tell me. What were you and Rafe talking about before I got there?""Just random stuff, nothing important. I was telling him about the bathroom.""It looked like a lot more than that.""Well, it wasn't. We were just talking.""He was leaning awfully close to you for just talking."I nearly stop in my tracks. "What exactly are you implying here? We were just talking.""But to everyone else here, it looked like a hell of a lot more. Good God, Emilia, he was flirting with you - ""Making toilet jokes is not flirting."Confusion flickers across Luca's face, but he keeps going. "And you were flirting right back - ""I wasn't flirting. I was talking.""You were giggling. And leaning int
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