The young women thanked Lisa again before twirling out of the restaurant like a couple of giggling spinning tops.
“Ms. Perry, Mr. Soto, welcome to Victor’s. I’m Anna. My sincere apologies for those girls. They’re not supposed to bother guests.”
“They weren’t dining here?” Lisa asked.
Anna tucked a section of her perfectly symmetrical bob behind one ear. “I’m afraid not. This is a family-run establishment. They’re the daughters of our owner.” She sighed. “And my nieces. Ms. Banks loves our food, which has brought a certain notoriety to our restaurant. My nieces’ favorite pastime is to collect photographs with our famous guests.”
“That’s kind of cute,” Lisa said.
“I’m relieved to hear you say so,” Anna said. “Ms. Banks and Mr. Spencer have arrived and are waiting for you in our private room. I’ll take you to them now.”
Holding thick black menus against her chest, Anna led Lisa and Rafael past tables that glittered with twinkly lights and shiny people. Genevieve and Stefan sat together at a table set for four. At the sight of them, Genevieve sprang to her feet and wrapped Lisa in a warm embrace. The men shook hands.
When they were seated, Anna set the menus in front of them.
Genevieve’s pretty brown eyes narrowed as she looked up at Anna. “What is it, Anna? Something’s bothering you.”
“My nieces are up to their usual antics. They bothered Ms. Perry.”
“It was no bother,” Lisa said. “Really. Think nothing of it.”
“Anna worries too much,” Genevieve said with a kind smile at their hostess.
“I’m not used to people recognizing me,” Lisa said. “Anyway, they were very sweet.”
Anna raised one skinny eyebrow but said nothing further.
Lisa ordered the angel-hair pasta with red sauce. When it came, she picked at her food, taking small bites, self-conscious to eat in front of their new friends.
“Is your food all right?” Genevieve asked.
“Yes, it’s wonderful,” Lisa said. “I have to be careful about my weight. Everyone’s so skinny in this town.”
Stefan nodded. “We feel the pressure, too.”
“Lisa barely eats,” Rafael said.
“Gennie either,” Stefan said.
“I felt immense pressure to lose the baby weight,” Gennie said. “You can’t let the haters dictate what you do.”
After dinner was over, the men excused themselves to have a brandy in the bar so the ladies could talk about Gennie’s movie. They discussed the script and shooting schedule. Lisa would play a restaurant manager in a toxic marriage who agrees to take a job in the middle of nowhere as a favor to Gennie’s character, a chef with problems of her own.
“Tell me, how are you?” Gennie asked. “For real.”
“I’m all right.”
“You know my story,” Gennie said. “It took me years and years to deal with the trauma. I wish I’d done it sooner.”
“This has been such a strange time for me. All the attention has been overwhelming. But then there’s Rafael.”
“Have you been together forever?” Gennie asked. “It appears that way.”
Lisa laughed. “No. We’re pretty new. We fell fast and hard.”
“Stefan and I were like that, too. Although I had a lot of issues when we first met. It was only dealing with them head on that made it possible for me to be with him.”
“How do you stay normal?” Lisa asked. “All these people making a fuss, like suddenly you’re more important than you were before you were famous.”
“Surround yourself with real people. Not industry folks, but real friends. That’s what we have in River Valley.”
“We’re going home to Cliffside Bay tomorrow. I can’t wait.” She told Gennie about Maggie and Pepper and the circle of friends waiting for them at home. Before long she had told her about Pepper and how worried she was that her new fame would affect their friendship. “We always promised each other that whoever made it first would bring the other along.”
“But now you’re not sure how to do that?” Gennie asked.
“Exactly.”
“A couple of years ago, I realized that I was being passive about my career. I took roles that paid big money and then did art films for almost nothing. It was fine. However, when I met Stefan, he brought out a new side of me. One that felt empowered and wanted to control my own destiny. I started my own production company so I could fund projects I believe in. I no longer have the patience to wait around for a man to give me permission or the decades it takes to get a film green-lighted. That’s a long-winded way of saying…take control of your journey. Make some money and then invest it in projects for women. With money comes power. It’s up to you to decide how you want to use it. Funding projects that are meaningful to you and allow you to give your best friends opportunities makes all the horse manure worth it.”
The four of them walked out of the restaurant together. Gennie and Stefan’s car arrived first. After hugs, they were whisked away. Lisa looked around for their car and driver. No sign of him. The car service always sent a different driver each time. They’d all been reliable. However, given traffic, they could be delayed.
“I’ll go inside and ask the hostess to call us a cab,” Rafael said.
The valet attendants dashed to and from cars. She tucked herself behind a trellis covered with vines to wait out of their way. The sky was clear tonight, with a few stars visible. A warm breeze rustled the ivy. This had been a good day. Tomorrow they would go home. She turned at the sound of the restaurant doors opening. Rafael smiled as he started across the driveway. A movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She whipped around. Something shiny glinted from inside the bushy hedge in the middle of the circular driveway. A revolver. The barrel was pointed at Rafael.
“Rafael, get down!” She burst out from behind the trellis. With every ounce of muscle and speed she had, she ran toward him. She shoved into his middle and knocked him to the ground. A bullet shattered the glass door of the restaurant. The night exploded with screams. Car tires screeched. Valet attendants ducked for cover. Lisa covered Rafael with her body and looked back to the bush. A man dressed all in black, other than his pink tennis shoes, sprinted across the parking lot and down the street.
She stumbled to her feet and pointed toward the runner. “That’s him. Call the police.”
One of the valets, no older than eighteen, poked up from behind the lectern. His hand shook as he punched numbers into his phone. “We’re at Victor’s. No one is hurt, but a man fired a shot. He’s running east toward Wilshire.”
Lisa clung to Rafael, still covering him with her body.
“I’m okay, baby,” he said.
She tried to stand, shaking. Rafael lifted her with him as he rose to his feet. His muscles were taut, like a coiled spring.
She realized his instincts were to run after the shooter. “Please, no.” She tugged his arm. “Go in where it’s safe.” To her surprise, he followed her. They waited inside the door, where a crowd had gathered. The bullet had not only shattered the glass door but the mirror that hung over the hostess desk.
Anna. Was Anna all right? Lisa searched for her and found her in the corner comforting a guest.
Police sirens screamed. Outside, two squad cars screeched to a halt.
“Did he have pink tennis shoes?” Rafael asked.
“How did you know?”
“That was the brother.”
Her legs weakened as the adrenaline drained from her body. Rafael led her over to a chair, and she collapsed. “The gun was pointed right at you,” she said.
He knelt at her feet and took her hands. “But he didn’t get me. The actress saved the bodyguard.”
Many hours later, Lisa lay in Rafael’s arms in their room at the hotel. They’d spent a long time with the police, describing the scene and answering questions. Members of the force had picked the shooter up a mile from the restaurant, stumbling along th
e sidewalk in his pink tennis shoes. He’d had a flask in one pocket, obviously inebriated. The booze had given him the courage to shoot Rafael and, conversely, gave him terrible aim.
After questioning the suspect, the police learned he’d followed Lisa on Instagram and therefore knew they’d returned to LA. When the young women from earlier had posted the shot of themselves with Lisa and tagged her, he knew they were dining at Victor’s. He waited in the bush for them to come out and then took his shot.
“What made you think jumping in front of a bullet was a good idea?” Rafael asked.
“I didn’t think.”
“Don’t do it again.”
She turned on her side to look at him. “I’ll promise not to body-tackle you as long as you promise not to be anyone else’s target.”
“His aim was terrible. But you didn’t know that.” He spoke quietly. “Do you understand what you did tonight? You jumped in front of a bullet for me. That tells me three things. One, you’re one hell of a brave person. Two, you love me enough to risk your life for me. Three, you just conquered your greatest fear.”
She thought about that for a moment. When she saw the shooter crouched in the bushes, her fears were not foremost in her mind. All she wanted was to protect the man she loved. Love was stronger than fear. She smiled in the darkness. “I’d do anything to keep you safe.”
“I love you, Lisa Perry. I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you know how much.”
She climbed on top of him and slipped her pajama top over her head. “How about you start right now?”
19
Rafael
* * *
Around noon, Rafael lifted the shades in his living room and gazed out to the blue sea. The scent of coffee and freshly baked cake filled the apartment. Lisa’s sandals made a clicking sound as she moved around the kitchen. Mama and Ria were coming for a late breakfast, and she wanted everything to be perfect. As far as he was concerned, everything was perfect. He was home with his love. Mama and Ria were on their way up for breakfast. Stone and Trey had settled into their apartment next door.
He and Lisa had arrived home late last night and fallen into a deep sleep. After the excitement of the last few days, he was surprised they hadn’t collapsed earlier.
There was a knock on the door, quick and loud. Mama. He sprinted across the room and yanked open the door. Mama and Ria stood side by side, beaming up at him.
He ushered them inside and embraced Mama, all five feet of her, then Ria. Despite being tall and gangly, Ria gave great hugs.
“Ria, it’s nice to see you,” he said.
Ria placed cool hands on the sides of his face and started to cry. “Rafael, you’ve done too much. These apartments. This place. I’ll never be able to repay you.”
“I promised Paulo I’d take care of you. It took me too long.”
Ria crossed herself. “My boy would be so happy.”
“Son, let me look at you,” Mama said. “Too skinny. Does the actress starve you?”
“No, Mama. She’s in the kitchen cooking cake right now.”
“We saw her on the television,” Ria said. “Such beauty.”
“Stone and Trey say she’s a good girl,” Mama said. “But we’re here to see for ourselves.”
“Those boys are naughty,” Ria said. “They ate all our enchiladas and drank too much beer.”
“We made them dinner last night,” Mama said. “To thank them for moving us. They ate an entire pan of enchiladas. All by themselves.”
“And drank six beers between them,” Ria said, clicking her tongue. “Then they walked down to The Oar and came back at one in the morning.”
“How do you know?” he asked.
“We saw them from my window. They stumbled up the steps and onto the porch.” Mama placed her hands over her round hips and smiled indulgently. “Stone was singing at the top of his lungs. He’s trouble, that one.”
“What were you doing up at one in the morning?” he asked.
“We couldn’t sleep. It was too quiet,” Ria said.
“We gave up and decided to play cards,” Mama said. “Plus, someone needed to wait up for those two boys. Who knows what kind of trouble they could get into on a Friday night? They should have wives to look after them.”
“Keep them out of trouble,” Ria said with a knowing nod of her head.
Lisa came out of the kitchen. An apron covered her sundress and her hair was up in a ponytail, making her look about eighteen.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Mama, Ria, this is my fiancée. Lisa Perry.”
Mama’s hands fluttered at her sides. “Fiancée? Am I dreaming?”
“No, Mama. She’s real.”
Lisa, with pink cheeks, came forward. “Hi, Ms. Soto. I’m glad to meet you.” Mama ignored her outstretched hand and pulled her into a hug, then spoke a few rapid sentences in Spanish. He didn’t catch every word, but it was something about thanking Jesus and the Virgin Mary for rescuing her son from a life of loneliness.
“Call me Mama. You are the daughter I’ve been waiting for.” His mama was nothing if not over the top.
Lisa and Ria exchanged hugs. There were more tears from Ria and exclamations of Lisa’s beauty and talent.
The ladies all sat in the living room while Rafael poured them coffee and pulled the cake from the oven. By the time he returned, they were laughing and talking faster than he could think. He grinned. He knew Mama would love Lisa.
While they ate pieces of cake and drank coffee, they covered the entirety of Lisa’s life. Ria asked the questions. Mama added the commentary.
Where had Lisa gone to college?
“Such a smart girl, Rafael. A college girl,” Mama said.
Lisa went on to describe the years of struggle in New York.
“Nothing easy is worth doing,” Mama said. “If only more young people understood this.”
Lisa told them of their recent trip, including the story of Glynnis Stewart and her racial slur. They left out the part about the shooter. Mama didn’t need more worries.
“I suspected she was a wicked witch. Now we know,” Mama said.
Rafael described the interview where the dropped light had scared Lisa.
Mama made a clicking sound with her tongue. “You poor dear. They should be more careful, dropping lights like little boys.”
Lisa described her family, including David’s wife’s death.
“Drugs. They’re the devil. We lost too many kids in the neighborhood,” Mama said.
There were more tears from Ria as she and Mama told Lisa about Paulo. His obsession with trains when he was a little boy. How lost he’d been after Rafael left. How much they still missed him.
Lisa teared up and reached for Ria’s hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“He would be proud to see Rafael now,” Ria said. “Providing us this life. He is with Jesus now and at peace, so this is a comfort to me.”
The discussion was cut short by a knock on the door. Rafael hurried over to answer. It was Stone and Trey, both unshaven and red-eyed.
“We thought we smelled something baking and figured you two were home,” Stone said.
“And we’re out of coffee,” Trey said.
“You’re here just in time to rescue me,” Rafael said, under his breath. “These ladies have been talking for like two hours. You’ve got to get me out of here.”
“Is that the young men who woke up the entire neighborhood at one in the morning?” Mama called out from the couch. “Do come in and tell us all about it.”
Rafael backed up and let his friends pass through.
Greetings all around.
“Tell me, young man, what was the song you were so boisterously sharing with all of Cliffside Bay?” Mama asked Stone.
“Singing?” Stone rubbed his eyes. “I was singing?”
Trey grimaced as he sank into a chair. “We might have had a few too many last night. There was a band, and The Oar was packed.”
“We were celebrating that we’re living in a real place now, instead of an RV and the basement of a damp house,” Stone said.
“And that Stone finished his sister’s cottage so we can finally start decorating,” Trey said.
“We got a little carried away,” Stone said.
“We’re sorry if we woke you up,” Trey said, looking miserable. “I promise, we’re not usually like that.”
“I certainly hope not,” Mama said. “Or we’ll have to complain to the landlord.”
Rafael glanced at his watch. It was a few minutes before four. “What do you guys say about heading over the market and picking up some stuff to barbecue? It’s about time we christened the grill, don’t you think?”
“We can have our first official building cookout.” Lisa clapped her hands together.
Seriously, she was adorable.
The guys agreed to accompany him to the market. Lisa asked him to wait—she would write a list for them.
A list. His fiancée was writing a list for the store. Life was good. His mother was right. Thank you, Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
After she handed him the list, Lisa kissed him. “Don’t hurry back. I want to take Mama and Ria to the bookstore.”
The moment they were outside, the guys pounced on him. “You got the girl,” Stone said.
“You got the girl.” Trey slapped him on the back.
“I got the girl.”
“Not to be a girl, but we need the scoop,” Stone said.
“And I need a little hair of the dog,” Trey said.
“Lisa said not to hurry. The Oar it is,” Rafael said.
Minutes later, they were in a booth sharing a pitcher of IPA and a plate of nachos while Rafael told them the guy version of his whirlwind romance. “Basically, we’re crazy about each other and once I finally stopped acting like an idiot, everything fell into place.”
“They say when you know, you know,” Trey said. “Unless you’re like me and didn’t know what I thought I knew in epic proportions.”
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