Chapter Seven
Jade latched onto another hunk of stubborn weeds from the flower bed beside the house and tugged when she heard happy squealing followed by excited barking. She turned and smiled when Isabella raced into the yard with her dog dancing around her heels.
She'd given a lot of thought on what to name the cute puppy the last couple of days and hoped Isabella might like the name Snowball. She stood and brushed dirt from her shorts, intending to suggest the name. A female voice rang out, warning the little girl to make sure she grabbed water wings from the pool house. Isabella disappeared into the building and reemerged with a pair of orange floats.
Jade turned her head as a blonde in a red bikini strolled across the lawn to unlock the gate surrounding the pool. Although the woman looked a bit young for Logan, she was stunningly beautiful.
Jade crouched down, not wanting to be seen. She frowned at the sudden stab of jealousy. Of course a man as sexy and virile as Logan Bradley would have a girlfriend.
Jade laughed at herself and wiped a gloved hand across her forehead, leaving a streak of dirt. She didn’t even know Logan, had met him only once. Men were absolutely not on her agenda. She was on a personal quest to rediscover herself and what made her happy. For so long, her life had been dictated by others: her agent, producers, studio honchos and her husband. Somewhere along the way, the real Jade LaRossa became lost in the shuffle.
She already discovered that she loved gardening, suspense novels and Oreo ice cream, maybe not the best thing to learn, she thought with a laugh. It didn’t stop her from buying an extra gallon anyway.
She'd always loved to swim, too. She spent hours at the community pool growing up and although her spacious house in the Hollywood hills boasted an Olympic sized one, she rarely used it. Her gaze strayed again to Isabella and the blonde. They were laughing and tossing a beach ball, Snowball scampering around the grass inside the enclosed pool fence. She wondered if Logan would mind if she took a dip when he or Isabella or his girlfriend weren’t around. She made a mental note to ask him the next time she saw him.
Jade jumped when her cell phone buzzed. She still hadn’t been able to turn the thing off completely, not that she was actually expecting MegaPics to bombard her with offers to star in their next movie. Still, she held out hope as she checked the number. Vanessa, again. She rolled her eyes skyward.
“What’s up, V?”
“Jules, sugah, why aren’t you back yet? I need to talk to you.”
“I’m still on vacation.”
“But dahling, you're my best friend and I have so much to tell you. Guess what?” She didn’t give Jade time to respond. “I got a part in the new Tarrenvessi movie.”
“That’s awesome, V.”
“And I just got back from the GlamGirls shoot. The editor said he would make room for you, Jules. He said we could even share the cover. What do you think?”
Knock, knock, anyone home? “I won’t be able to make it, V. Give the editor my regrets.”
“Fine, Jules, but one day, when that gorgeous bod of yours starts sagging, you'll wish you had visual proof of how magnificent you were.”
“I’ll get a Polaroid.”
“You are such a wit, Jules. Anyhoo, I wanted to go out for drinks at the new place on Wilshire. I just broke up with my BF and need someone to commiserate with.”
“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend Vanessa. Who was he this time?”
“I told you about him, didn’t I? Mike.”
“The stuntman you dumped before because he wouldn’t sleep with you?”
“You don’t have to be so harsh, Jules. Yes, I dumped him, but he came begging on his hands and knees, so I took him back. And before you ask, no, we didn’t sleep together, not that I didn’t try, mind you. Then I caught the strange man snooping through my things. It’s one thing to allow a man to go through my drawers, another for him to do it on his own, if you catch my meaning.”
Hard not to, V.
Jade wiped her arm across her forehead. She wanted to get Vanessa off the phone without sounding rude. “There are other fish in the sea,” she said absently as she tackled a tough weed.
“Don’t I know it,” Vanessa agreed. She proceeded to drone on about this guy, that guy and another one. Jade finally managed to cut her off and hang up, vowing not to answer another call from Vanessa Van Gogh.
She lost track of time as she yanked weeds and plucked dead blooms off the bounty of flowers. She heard Isabella and the blonde getting out of the pool.
“Come on Fiji,” Isabella called. The little puppy raced to catch up.
“Fiji,” Jade repeated softly. She smiled. What a great name. She bet Logan had suggested it. He picked a name that was exotic and still managed to be close to the one Isabella wanted. It was the perfect choice.
Standing, Jade winced as she stretched sore muscles, overworked from an afternoon of bending and tending the garden. Although she worked with a trainer five days a week, she must have activated muscles that she normally didn’t work.
She felt more alive than she had in a long, long time.