Rumor Has It

Part 22

When she returned from her call, Stefani took one look at where she had been sitting with a sudden jolt of sobriety. "I should really go."

Quickly, a member of her team was already at her side and helped her back into her leather jacket. There really were always people watching her.

"Are you going to show me the film when you're done with it?" She asked, leaning in closer over the table again to whisper the words to him.

"Yes, absolutely. I can bring it over some time too."

The amused glint appeared in her eye again, washing the stressed expression off her face. "Sounds perfect."

After Stefani had said a quiet goodbye to everyone at their table, Todd moved a seat over to Bradley and looked at him like he was expecting an explanation. "So?"

"So how long do you think editing will take us?"

His friend scoffed disbelievingly at Bradley's question. "You can't be serious."

"What do you mean?"

"I have tried not to pay attention and to act discreetly, but you two were all over each other."

He forced a straight face and looked around to check if anyone else was watching them, but nobody seemed to be paying them any attention. "We're trying the Strasberg approach."

"Is this a joke? If it's not, are you sure that's a good idea?" Todd asked and Bradley was surprised at the concern in his voice. They wouldn't always agree when it came to work, but it never came down to a personal level.

"I thought our chemistry was transferring over really well and if we could keep that up..."

"Look, Stef's lovely, I adore her and her work, but I don't know if she's the type that's as...down-to-earth and detached as you are. Keep that in mind, I don't want anyone getting hurt." He nodded and raised his glass. "Now, since that question seems to be burning on your mind, I think editing will take us another week. Depends on how much time we have, maybe a day less."

*

Bradley knew he didn't really have a reason to feel guilty about anything. But he still felt like he had to make all the traces of them filming their screen test at his house disappear before Irina would come over and drop Lea off. Some of Stefani's clothes for filming and random other small items they must have forgotten. Nothing he would think twice about, but he didn't want Irina seeing them.

The house was too empty and too large when he was alone these days. Without someone else around, he would always surround himself with more and more work, one of the most common sources for the fights he had with Irina back then.

They had grown a bit more friendly again in the past weeks, enough for him to offer her a coffee when she appeared. Lea was dashing after Charlie, so they followed her outside into the garden and sat down there to talk about the week. Irina had been looking at him nervously instead of with her usual confidence and he found out why when their daughter was out of earshot.

"Don't you miss the time when we were together even a little, when we were a team?" She asked, voice cracking slightly at the last words.

Was she really regretting how things had gone down, now? Bradley knew what she meant, he had reminisced about the time everything had looked perfect before. They had been through a lot together, and although there had been a few moments when he had wished to go back and fix things, it felt like it was too late for them now.

He looked at her to make sure she would know he meant it. "I used to."

"So that's all you'll say?" She laughed and looked over to where their daughter was playing. "We'll be one of those low contact ex couples. I wonder... if it would have been better for her if we had just pulled ourselves together."