Signing out of the computer, I took a step back from the counter. It was break time. As soon as Van got up here to relieve me, I was going to hunt down a cup of coffee and some kind of pastry. I loved this job, but it was definitely a sugar and chocolate type of day.
This was only my third day on the job, but Van trusted me enough to run the whole check-in desk by myself. She said I was a natural at it and I had to agree. It was all becoming second nature to me, but it still kept me on my toes.
Especially with Ryan Everheart in the building.
Word had spread that the new Zand Taylor flick starring Ryan was filming at the DenMark, and let me tell you, everyone and their mother’s cousin’s neighbor were trying to rent a room here. It was slowly becoming a nightmare. At least we were pretty much booked until the end of the week.
“How’s the Ryan frenzy treating you?” Van asked, stepping behind the counter.
“Okay, I guess. I can’t believe how relentless some of these people are, though.”
She chuckled softly. “Some of the people? Try all of them. Even you can’t take your eyes off of him when he’s around.”
I glanced at her, indignantly. “I told you. That first day was a silly case of being star struck. I’m over it now. Ryan’s not even a blip on my radar.”
“Sure. Whatever you say,” she said, giving me a knowing smile.
I grabbed my purse with a grunt. Who cared what she thought. I knew I meant it and that’s all that mattered. I wasn’t going to let thoughts of Hollywood’s Golden Boy distract me from my new life. “I’ll see you in 15 minutes,” I called quickly.
Van turned around and smiled sweetly at me. “You can have 20 minutes if you promise to stay away from Ryan.”
Giving her a dirty look, I opened my mouth to send some kind of witty retort in her direction, when I heard someone clear their throat behind me.
“Who’s having trouble staying away from me?” a silky smooth voice asked from that direction.
Oh, no. I looked at Van in shock, mortified beyond belief. Did he really just hear that? She gave me a sympathetic look as I turned around to face him. I tried to put on my most professional look. “Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Everheart?”
He flashed a killer smile. “Yes, matter-of-fact, there is. I was hoping I would see you here today. I needed to ask you something.”
I stood there, amazed by his words. What could he possibly have to ask me? Unless…Zand told him about my audition. No doubt, he was here to torment me about my lack of acting skills. “What?” I asked, the word barely more than a whisper.
He looked at me for a moment, his blue eyes twinkling with mesmerizing mirth. “I’ve noticed you. I’ve seen you notice me, too. There was something that passed between us that first day. I know you felt it as much as I did. I was hoping we could figure out what it was.”
“Uh,” was all I could manage to get out. He couldn’t have really said that, could he? I must have been daydreaming again.
I heard Van fidget around behind me. Good. I wasn’t the only one who had heard that. But why did he seem just as nervous as I did? “Uh,” I said again. This was going well.
“Maxie,” he said, stepping closer to the counter. “Would you please allow me the honor of taking you out to dinner tonight?”
“Uh,” I said again. Was I breathing? I couldn’t tell; my mind had shut down on me. Ryan Everheart just asked me out? I was sure this was all a hallucination or something. I knew my body must have been laying dead somewhere, my mind playing tricks on me as the oxygen slowly faded from it. It had to be. That made a whole lot more sense than what was happening.
Van stepped up next to me. “Sorry, Ryan. Maxie already has plans this evening,” she informed him.
He glanced at her, and then let his eyes come to rest on me once again. “Oh, I’m sure she can change her plans. Can’t you, Maxie?”
Say no, my mind screamed. Remember Jensen. He was real, not some phony Hollywood actor just waiting to break my heart. But I couldn’t seem to focus. Being this close to Ryan was intoxicating. The smell of him washed over me, filling me with curiosity. If he smelled this good, I wondered how he’d taste.
No. This wasn’t a good idea. Not at all. Going down this road would only lead to another heartbreak. I needed to stay on the path I was on.
I opened my mouth to gently turn him down. “Sure, I’d love to,” I said and immediately snapped my mouth closed. What was I thinking?
“Great,” Ryan said with a grin. “I’ll pick you up here at eight.” He turned around and sauntered out of the lobby.
“Are you crazy?” Van said as soon as he was gone. “You can’t go out with him.”
I turned and looked at her, my shock momentarily forgotten. How dare she tell me what I could and couldn’t do. “Why not?” I snapped.
She looked at me, suddenly at a loss for words. “Because…”
“I’m waiting.”
“Because you can’t. That’s why.”
I shook my head, anger seeping into my veins. No one was going to stop me from doing something. Even if it was something I didn’t want to do in the first place. “I can…and I will.”
She looked around her as if hoping for some sort of backup with this. “What about Jensen?” she asked suddenly.
“What about him? It’s not like anything is going on between us,” I told her, feeling guilty even as I said the words. But they were technically true. One little cuddle on the couch didn’t mean the guy owned me or anything. “Besides, it’s just one date. With Ryan Everheart. Ryan-freaking-Everheart. How many chances does a girl get to do something like this? I have to do it.”
Van looked like she wanted to say more, but shook her head instead. “Fine. I’m not your mother. You do whatever you want,” she said, turning her back on me.
I turned quickly, too, putting distance between me and the lobby. I couldn’t believe how Van was acting. It wasn’t like this was a marriage proposal or anything. It was just one little date. Okay, maybe a date of a lifetime, but still…she had no right to act this way. Wow, jealousy was so not becoming on some people.
Twelve
Bell, Book, and Sandals Page 15