Page 78 of The Lighthouse on Plum Island
Brad nodded and moved the subject away from Dawn as he didn’t like trying to explain what had happened between them, which was inevitably the way a conversation went when someone puts him and Dawn together.
“I thought the two of you hated each other?” Jennifer looked to the door Dawn had disappeared through.
“Dawn hated me, and I stayed away from her because I felt so guilty about how things ended between us,” Brad admitted.
“You don’t seem at odds now?” Jennifer noted.
“That’s because I apologized and have since realized that it’s better to get things out in the open, no matter how someone feels about you, rather than bottling it up.” Brad took a big sip of wine. “I’m glad Dawn and I were able to mend our friendship. She also grew up with us.”
Jennifer stared at him for a few seconds. Her eyes bore into him as if she was trying to see into his mind.
“What?” Brad asked after a while, starting to feel uncomfortable beneath the weight of her gaze. “Do I have something in my teeth or hair?”
“No.” Jennifer shook her head. “You just surprise me, that’s all.”
“How so?” Brad raised an eyebrow.
“I came here intending to give you a piece of my mind about what you did to Caroline in New York and to warn you to stay away from her,” Jennifer confessed. “I had you pegged as an Alex Blackwell.”
“I gathered that.” Brad tipped his glass toward her. “You made it quite clear with your frosty looks and warning glares.”
“Caroline is my oldest and dearest friend,” Jennifer explained. “She’s family, and I’d do anything for her, including keeping men like her ex-husband away from her.”
“I’m nothing like Caroline’s ex-husband,” Brad assured her. “Contrary to what the press likes to print, I’ve never cheated on anyone I was in a relationship with.”
“I want to believe you,” Jennifer put the wine glass on the bar. “But I keep picturing you with that drama queen in your arms.”
“I take it you mean Vanessa?” Brad asked, and Jennifer nodded. “Trust me, if it were up to me, I wouldn’t have hired her for the part. But my first and second options weren’t available.”
“I Googled Vanessa Turner before I came here tonight,” Jennifer told him. “I must admit being surprised that she was even in your top ten.” She gave her head a shake. “She doesn’t even resemble the female lead in Caroline’s books.”
“I know,” Brad agreed. “Trust me. I have also been putting off signing contracts with Vanessa, but I will have to in the next two weeks if at least one of the other two actresses doesn’t arrive.”
“You mean Vanessa hasn’t officially been offered the part?” Jennifer frowned.
“We told her it’s between her and two others,” Brad told her. “Vanessa told the paparazzi that she’d landed the part.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not official yet. Before deciding, Ethan wants to screen-test the three actresses Alex short-listed here on Plum Island.” He leaned his elbows on the bar. “There is an actress I want for the part who’d be perfect for it, but no one seems to know where she is.”
“Which actress?” Jennifer looked at him questioningly. “Maybe I can help find her.”
“She hasn’t made a movie or television show in about three years,” Brad twirled the glass on the bar. “Stella Hart.”
Brad frowned when he saw the shock on Jennifer’s face before she quickly looked away. “Do you know where she is?” he asked, looking at her suspiciously.
“I know of her,” Jennifer glanced at him and then back at her wine glass.
She seemed nervous, making Brad even more convinced that Jennifer was hiding something.
“Do you know where Stella is?” Brad pushed her for information.
“Nope!” Jennifer lifted her glass and stared at the remaining wine before turning and looking him in the eyes. “I can honestly say I don’t know where Stella Hart is. The last I heard, she was giving up acting and moving to a remote island to write a book.”
Brad watched Jennifer finish her wine and knew without a shadow of a doubt she knew something about Stella Hart that the rest of the world didn’t know. He also realized that he wouldn’t get any more information about the actress from Jennifer, but he would keep trying to.
“About Caroline,” Brad moved the topic back to why they were at the bar. “She was more than a fling to me, Jennifer. When she disappeared in New York, I tried to find her.”
“Before we talk about Caroline, I need you to answer a question for me honestly,” Jennifer’s eyes searched his as if trying to pull the truth from them. “Did you know Caroline was Carrie Lines when you met her in New York?”
“No!” Brad answered her honestly. “I had no idea. I didn’t even know Caroline’s last name. Your doorman eventually told me after about the one-hundredth time I called around to get you to talk to me and tell me where I could find her.”
