When You Were Mine (Adams Sisters) by Adrianne Byrd Page B

him?”
                  Joey gasped as she shifted toward him.  “Of course I believed him.  Why wouldn’t I?”
                  “There is the issue of him running off to a foreign country with another woman.  And not just any woman--an actress.”
                  “Carlina Leoni can’t act her way out of a paper bag.”  Joey slapped a hand across her mouth. 
                  “Finally, we agree on something.”
                  “Didn’t you just do...seems I remember reading--”
                  “Yes, Ms. Leoni and I have a working relationship.  I still full-heartedly agree with your assessment.”
                  She smiled.  “Like I was saying.  After I listened to Laurence’s voicemail--”
                  “You mean Larry?”
                  “Laurence.  He doesn’t like being called Larry.”
                  “Sort of how you don’t like being called Jo-Jo?”
                  “I don’t mind...too much.”  She shrugged through the obvious lie.  “We’re getting off the subject.”  Joey cleared her throat.  “After I listened to Laurence’s voicemail and he said that he loved me, I knew his breaking up with me, the sudden engagement and the impulsive vacation to Italy all equals one thing,” she concluded smiling.
                  “Midlife crisis,” he guessed.
                  Joey’s eyes widened.  “You think so, too?”  Hope returned to shimmer in her eyes.
                  “So, let me get this straight.” Ryan chuckled, edging closer to her.  “You’re just going to show up in Italy like this--” He quickly gestured to her plain attire  “--with your arms open wide and say ‘I love you, Larry.  Please choose me over Hollywood’s hottest actress.’”
                  She swallowed.  “Hottest actress?”
                  “ Candyland opened number one at the box office this weekend.”  He lowered his voice to add.  “Trust me.  It wasn’t because it was a good film.”
                  Joey shifted in her chair, while doubt carved lines across her forehead.  Then just as suddenly her confidence charged back into her features while her shoulders lifted.  “He’ll choose me.  I’m loyal, dependable and have more class than Carlina Leoni, who can’t seem to keep her business from being broadcast across the Internet.”
                  “Well, good luck to you.”  He finally returned to his script.  “You’re going to need it.”
                  “Luck will have nothing to do with it.”  Her chin lifted to a ridiculous level.
                  Ryan stared at her without being obvious.  He hadn’t lied when he said that he liked this toned-down version of her.  She looked softer, adorable and obtainable.  He thought about Larry and wondered how he could choose a narcissist like Carlina Leoni over Joey.  Has to be going through a midlife crisis.
                    “Are you a workaholic?” Joey asked, glancing at the paperwork still strewed across his lap.
                  His lips sloped unevenly as he slid on his glasses.  “Something like that.”
                  “You probably get tired of people coming up to you and pitching their ideas to you, huh?”
                  He glanced over and saw the hopes shining in her eyes.  “There’s a lot legal reasons behind it,” he said, letting her down easy.  “If I end up making a script similar to yours, lawsuits fly...”
                  “Yeah, yeah.”  She nodded through her disappointment.  “I figured as much.”
                  “But you still have my card.  You can have your agent send me something and I’ll make sure I take a peek at