Page 9 of Seven Minutes In Heaven
Claire uneasily laughed. “Yes, we did meet yesterday.” She shot Jake a burning look. “But he didn’t tell me that he was your son.”
“I honestly thought you already knew.’
Oh my God. He fucked me even though…It all made sense now! The things he said, the way he acted both before and after… he was afraid to upset Arthur becausehe was his father and Claire was supposed to be his stepmother!
“You okay, Claire?” Arthur patted her cheek. “Someone get this woman some ice water. She looks like she’s seen a ghost.”
He personally got up to check on the refreshments now that his son was here. Jake sat in the seat between his father and Claire, but now that they were alone, all Claire could think about was throwing up.
She didn’t think she would see Jake again so soon, and certainly not in her future home. Not as a… family… member…
“I honestly had no idea,” she hissed.
“I honestly thought you knew.”
“If I knew who you were… do you think I would have… are you nuts?”
“I was pretty nuts yesterday, yeah.” Jake leaned against the table, his furrowed brows meeting the sunlight coming through the wide windows of the salon. “I propose we don’t think about it. What happened, happened.” He folded his hands together. “Now that I know you didn’t know who I was… it’ll be easier to forget.”
Claire tilted her head. “Really?I’m gonna be your stepmother!”
“I admit, ‘Woman Fucks Stepson’ is quite the salacious headline, but it could also be a legitimate porn category.”
“Don’t even go there.”
Jake snorted. “I’m sorry that you’re so shocked, but if it makes you feel better…” He met her disturbed gaze. “I’m not sorry about what happened.”
Claire let out her pent-up breath. “This whole time I was worried that my new stepson would resent me for being a gold-digging trophy wife. Turns out I’m just a slut.”
“Youarea gold-digging trophy wife, yes?” He said it so candidly! “There’s no way you love my father like that. I was never under that delusion, and I doubt he is, either. My father is a Class A philanderer. You know that, though. You may not know how many women, or how often, but trust me, my mother’s not the only one who knows the real him. So do you and I.”
“Of course I know. Why do you think I was so shameless about… what happened?”
“I admit, I was shocked. That you would so brazenly go after someone,andthat it would be me. I thought that was part of some game you played. Stayed up half the night wondering how today would play out. A part of me was excited. Mostly, I was a nervous wreck.”
“You still came, though.”
“I figured if nothing else, this would be a helluva movie script for me to write.”
“Let me guess.” Claire steepled her fingers beneath her nose. “You would cast me as the lead actress.”
“Was thinking more of Jennifer Lawrence for the sheer star power, but I guess you could work as well.”
“If you’re going to make a movie about my biggest shame, you might as well cast me as the star. Nobody will play it better than me.”
Jake snorted through his flaring nostrils.His father does the same thing. God, they really are biologically related, aren’t they?Because noooo, Jake couldn’t have been the product of Carmen’s affair in the early ‘90s. He had to go and add an extra layer of deplorable disgust to this already shit situation.
“Biggest shame, huh? Thanks.”
“Aren’t you ashamed by what happened?”
“Not nearly as much as you are, apparently.”
Typical. Here Claire had assumed Arthur’s son would be mortified to know they might “share” the same woman. In the biblical sense, no less!Hollywood elite really are depraved, aren’t they?To think, Claire had lived her whole life among Hollywood types and had yet to discover the sheer lows they encountered. A young screenwriter and producer fucking his future stepmom was right up there.
“We’re never talking about this again,” Claire said with finality. “Don’t ever bring it up, and I won’t either.”
Jake mimicked zipping his lips shut.
