“You say that with such pride.”
“Damn straight. I’ve seen too many people get caught up in the partying and the money. They end up burnt out in rehab or dead. That’s not going to be me.”
Her head tilted as she studied him, and he wanted to ask what she was seeing. She smiled a little, so it must have been good. “No, that wouldn’t be you. You’re far too down to earth for that. Were you always that way? Even when you first went to Hollywood?”
“I like to think so.” He leaned forward so he could whisper. “Courtesy of one Paula Collins. She never let my head get too big. Her mission in life was to keep me humble and hardworking.”
“It appears to have worked.”
Chuckling, he nodded in agreement as the waitress slid their smothered chicken in front of them. It smelled heavenly and his stomach gurgled with expectation. This was going to be way better than a humble cheeseburger. The butterflied chicken breast was covered with cheese, mushrooms, bacon, chives, and a few other items thrown in for good measure. The first bite was delicious and practically melted on his happy tongue.
“Damn, this is good. You know your food.”
Laughing, she cut into her own chicken. “I know my cheese, anyway. I’m glad you like it.”
“Do you come from a long line of cheese lovers?”
“How did you know? My parents were originally from Wisconsin, but they moved here when all of us kids were small so that they could be closer to my aging grandparents. I was about four and I thought that living next to Mickey Mouse would be the coolest thing ever.”
“I think you were right,” he teased. “Although I can’t remember the last time I went to Disney World. Did you go a lot when you were little?”
Snorting delicately, she shook her head. “I think we went once when I was growing up. I was one of five children, and even though both my parents worked there never seemed to be enough money for a vacation like that. Mostly they’d pack up the car and come to the beach for a week, which of course we adored.”
Sam tried to picture Riley as a little girl, maybe with long braids and freckles on her nose. She’d probably been a real cutie.
“Five kids? That sounds like a houseful.”
“Two parents, two girls, three boys, four bedrooms, and two bathrooms. Add in two Labrador retrievers and a rabbit named Fluffy and you’d describe our household. It was always busy and always loud. Sometimes I’ll just sit in my living room and enjoy the silence.”
It sounded like a wonderful, idyllic childhood. The kind he’d only seen on television.
“Are you still close to your family?”
She nodded, taking another bite of her chicken. “I talk to my mom about once a week and I see them several times a year. My brothers and sisters are sort of scattered all over and only one still lives in the Orlando area. Mom and Dad are talking about retiring in five or six years and they want to move back up to Wisconsin to be near my mom’s brother and his wife.”
That was different. Most people retired to Florida.
“What are they retiring from?”
“My mom is a high school history teacher and my dad works in the legal department at an insurance company. They say they’re ready to play golf and drive slow in the left lane.”
Sam couldn’t imagine retiring from acting, but maybe he’d feel differently in twenty or thirty years. Riley seemed to relax after that, ignoring the stares and whispers that came their way. While they ate their food, he found out a little more about her family and he talked about his own childhood, including a few funny stories with his mother. With her own mother being an educator, it wasn’t difficult to see why they’d hit it off and become friends.
She was easy to talk to even when they discussed what might have been controversial subjects. Luckily, she was polite even when disagreeing with him, presenting a well-thought out rebuttal. He was going to have to rethink his position on school funding after listening to her arguments. Usually the women he dated were in the business and that’s what he ended up talking about all night. This was a refreshing change.
He was having fun. Too much of it. She was the best date he’d had in ages and this was not a date. This was a favor because her ex was a jerk and her best friend a gold digger. He was already anticipating a good night kiss and there wouldn’t be any of that. No touching, no kissing, and absolutely no sex. He’d hold her hand in public, maybe even put an arm around her but that was as far as the evening was going to go. He needed to get his libido under control.
Placing her fork down on her now empty plate, Riley clasped her hands together. “That was wonderful. If Paula talks you into coming here tomorrow for brunch, I recommend the chocolate chip pancakes.”
That sounded like carb-heaven. Much tastier than an egg white omelet and a single slice of turkey bacon. He was glad he’d passed on the bread because pancakes were far superior.
“You must know that from experience. Do you come here a lot?”
“At least once a month,” Riley confirmed. “Me, Paula, and Tara.”
She didn’t have to add that Monica was part of that group at one time.
“I don’t think I’ve met Tara.”
“You’d know if you did. My friend Tara is one of your biggest fans. I should probably warn you that when you do meet her she is definitely going to want a selfie and an autograph. And if you give her half a chance, she’s going to want to know all the Hollywood gossip on her favorite stars. She especially loves Nate Mason.”
Sam chuckled at the mention of one of his best friends and co-stars. “I can truthfully say that Nate and his wife are living on very little sleep since the birth of their twins, and I can also say that I think they’re terrific parents. Nate took to the whole father thing right off the bat and of course Paige was already a mother. Annabelle and Andrew have him wrapped around their finger and they’re only a few months old.”
Nate and Paige had it all. True love, parenthood, and great careers. At one point he’d thought that maybe he’d have that too, but now he knew better. He wasn’t cut out for that kind of life.
“With parents that good-looking, I bet they’re really cute.”
The check came and he made a grab for it before she could. Wrinkling her nose at him, she tried to retrieve it from his fingers but he held it out of her reach.
“I’m getting the check. This is a date, remember?”
Her mouth was set in a mutinous line. She wasn’t going to give up too easily. It was actually kind of nice to have a woman that didn’t think of him as her personal ATM machine.
But he still wasn’t going to let her pay.
“Not really,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Let me at least pay for my half. It’s only fair.”
He placed his credit card down on the check and kept his hand there until the waitress took them both away as she breezed by.
“I am not letting a kindergarten schoolteacher who probably has to buy supplies for half of the kids in her class pay the dinner check. I’d lose my man card. I’m happy to get it, so I’m asking you to please allow me to do this.”
She nodded but there wasn’t much surrender in her eyes.
“Okay, but you have to let me cook you dinner one night while you’re here.”
“Deal,” he instantly agreed. “I don’t get much homecooked food, although Mom made me lasagna when I got here. Are you ready to go?”
The waitress had returned his credit card and the slip, so he scrawled his name on the dotted line.
Riley nodded toward the beach. “How about we walk off some of this dinner?”
A sandy beach, a moonlit sky, a beautiful woman. What could go wrong?
Say no, you idiot. You’ll try to kiss her for sure.
“That sounds like a great idea.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
This wasn’t the best idea Riley had ever had. In fact, it was downright lousy.
She’d simply wanted to work off some of her heavy meal, but the entire activity had
taken on a different feel as she and Sam walked down the beach, their toes digging into the wet sand. The stars twinkled in the inky night sky and a warm breeze caressed her skin. Even in early April, Florida had left the cold weather far behind. There was silvery moonlight and the scent of salt and hibiscus in the air, along with the faint sounds of laughter from somewhere off in the distance.
It was romantic. The last thing she needed right now.
After she’d found out about Chad and Monica, Riley had decided to take a break from men for awhile. Not because she’d been deathly heartbroken, but because she wanted to be on her own. She needed to think about what had led her to stay with Chad for as long as she did. She’d known deep down that he was wrong for her, but she hadn’t taken the final step of breaking up.
She’d chickened out every time she thought about it. Rationalizing that all relationships had ups and downs. No one was perfect. Was she afraid to be alone? Or was she afraid that maybe it was her that was the issue?
She wasn’t the most exciting woman on the planet, nor the prettiest. She wasn’t model-slim and her wardrobe was decidedly utilitarian. She was intelligent but no genius, funny but not hilarious. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d cut loose and had a wild night. In fact, she was pretty sure that had never happened in all of her thirty-one years. She was organized, practical, and the level-headed grownup in any situation. She was good in a crisis, too, which was helpful in her line of work.
In other words, she was run of the mill, ordinary, forgettable. And what man had said to his best friend over a couple of beers, “I’m looking for a female that’s pretty much just mediocre. I don’t want her to have any special qualities.”
Or perhaps it was something she didn’t even have a clue about. Either way, she wasn’t happy with her actions, so she’d decided to take a hiatus from dating. There weren’t any men around that she was interested in anyway, so it wasn’t much of a sacrifice. Until now.
She liked Sam Collins. A whole bunch. And it wasn’t just because he looked like a sex god, although he certainly did. It was because he made her laugh and he made her think. He listened too, not acting like he knew it all. He was kind and dammit, he loved his mother. How was Riley supposed to ignore a guy like that when she was walking in the moonlight with him?
He was nice, which was why he was here with her at all. This wasn’t about him being attracted to her. She had a vague memory of the last woman he’d dated. She’d seen a picture of the two of them in a magazine when she was waiting her turn at the salon to get her hair cut. That female had been tall and slender with high cheekbones, full lips, and hair down her back. Perfectly coifed and made up, that actress probably didn’t ever have to dig clay out from under her nails or get paint out of her hair.
They lived two completely different lives. Her a routine existence – not that she was complaining in the least – and Sam a jetsetting life filled with champagne, parties, and the kind of people she only saw on television. She needed to keep her head on straight and her feet on the ground. He wasn’t going to be interested in a girl like her. He was way out of her league and to get any different ideas was to set herself up for disappointment.
But she couldn’t help but enjoy walking quietly next to him. Neither of them felt the need to fill the silence with chatter, content to listen to the tide roll gently in and out, almost like a whisper in their ear. He smelled amazing, a mixture of citrus and spice and it mixed with the salt in the air, creating a heady fragrance. His large figure made her feel safe and protected even though there wasn’t even a hint of danger around. She did, after all, live in the most boring little town in Florida. Possibly all of America as well. She didn’t need a bodyguard, but it didn’t hurt either.
“Should we turn around and head back to the car?”
His deep voice jolted her out of her drifting thoughts and pulled her firmly back to the present. They’d come to a stop and he was looking down at her, waiting for her response. There was only one answer. The madness needed to end.
“That’s a good idea. It’s probably getting late.”
It was already far too late for Riley. As much as she wanted to be, she simply wasn’t immune to a good person like Sam. She could fall for him…if she let herself.
So she’d keep her distance as much as possible and not let herself get too close. She wouldn’t embarrass him or herself by letting him know how attracted she was to him. It was only for a week. One single week. Then her life could go back to normal, and Sam would go back to Hollywood.
This was only make-believe and she’d be a fool to think otherwise.
* * *
Sam was easily the dumbest man on the planet. Bar none. Sure, there were other dumb people, but he’d cornered the market on stupidity and raised it to an art form.
It was a safe bet that he’d been dropped on his head as a baby, but his mother had never admitted it. If he’d had two brain cells to rub together, he would have known that a walk along a moonlit beach with a beautiful woman was an idiotic idea.
Correction. A beautiful woman who was off limits. This was no romantic date where he might expect things to move toward the bedroom at the end of the evening. He was doing a friendly favor and he’d be wise not to get too friendly.
Neither one of them said much as they walked back to his rental car in the parking lot, nor did they speak much as he drove her home. They kept to safe topics such as the weather and the best place to get lobster but the tension he felt continued to build with every second they sat next to each other.
Sam could smell the fragrance of her skin and feel the warmth from her body, sitting only inches away. She was only riding alongside him, but his entire being was attuned to her every movement and breath. There was an anticipation building that was destined to be unfulfilled. There would be no goodnight kiss, no inviting him in for coffee and then later leading him into her private sleeping sanctum where they would finish the evening with pleasurable orgasms. Preferably several.
By the time he pulled up in front of her home, the tension was almost a palpable thing that he could see and touch. He found himself clearing his throat and sweating like a teenager on his first date. Thankfully, Riley seemed oblivious to his inner turmoil.
He hoped.
I’m supposed to be a sex symbol. I’m supposed to be legendary with the ladies.
“I’ll walk you to your door.”
“No!” Her hand had flown to her throat and even in the half-light he could see her panic. “I mean…you don’t need to. It’s only a few feet to the front door. I’ll be fine.”
He’d laugh at the situation, but it wasn’t in the least funny. Maybe in a few years he might get a chuckle out of it. Make that a few decades.
Riley wasn’t as oblivious as he’d thought. She knew what was up and she didn’t want him near her. Smart girl.
He wouldn’t press the issue. “If that’s what you want. I’ll make sure you get inside, though.”
That tension was still shimmering between them as Riley placed her purse on her lap and one hand on the door handle, ready to make a quick escape from his company. “Thank you for dinner. I had a good time.”
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed myself, too.”
He reminded himself that he’d never make a decent screenwriter because he sucked at dialogue. His tongue felt like it had swelled to twice its normal size, so words were more difficult than usual.
“Well…goodnight.”
“Goodnight. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Pushing the car door open, Riley exited the vehicle and climbed the stairs to her front porch. She quickly unlocked her door and stepped inside the house, flipping on a lamp by the entrance. Turning back, she gave him a smile and a wave.
He could leave now. His brain was telling him to put the car in reverse and drive away.
Every other part of his body – the parts he was determined to ignore – was telling him to follow her and see if her lips felt as soft and pillowy as the
y looked.
The brain won. This time. After waving back, he drove away and only then did his breathing and heart rate return to normal. It was a potent sexual attraction, but Sam wouldn’t be drawn in. It was one week. He’d be charming but keep his distance, and then after the party he’d leave. No getting involved.
They’d both be better off.
CHAPTER NINE
“That dress is perfect. Absolutely perfect,” Paula gushed when Riley stepped out of the opulent dressing room.
They’d driven into the larger city about fifty miles away so she would have more selection. Paula had dragged her to an upscale dress shop downtown that Riley would never have entered on her own, but it made sense in a cruel way. Sam Collins wouldn’t be seen with a woman on his arm that wore cheap clothes. She had savings and she could wear the dress again. When? She had no idea, but theoretically she could wear it over and over.
If I ever had any place to go.
Frowning at her reflection while the saleslady hovered in the background, Riley wasn’t as sure as Paula was. This dress was…fussy. The hem and neckline had shiny silver rhinestones sewn on and Riley wasn’t someone who enjoyed bling on her garments. It also had far too many tiers of fabric and she felt swamped in the outfit. It fit perfectly and the dark purple was lovely, but it didn’t look like something she would wear. Maybe that was the point?
“I was hoping for something simpler,” she finally said, turning to face the saleswoman named Jaclyn. Paula had taken charge when they first arrived so the changing room had been filled with beautiful dresses, but none of them felt quite right. “I look like a visual representation of Las Vegas. I was hoping for something far simpler. These dresses are gorgeous but they’re wearing me, not the other way around.”
Love in the Spotlight (The Hollywood Showmance Chronicles Book 4) Page 5