When he got to Millie's, he opened the screen door to the kitchen. It wasn't an entrance for customers.
“Sorry,” Colin announced with a big smile as he hurried through the heat and the clanging and the bustling. “Sorry.”
No explanation as he high-tailed it to the door into the dining room. He paused for a micro-second in front of it, just long enough to peer through the small square window and spot Ray. It was him. And with no hair product in his hair. Ray was definitely undercover.
Colin walked into the dining room and took a seat at Ray's table.
Ray looked up from his menu.
“Ah!” he yelped. “Aaaaah!” he screeched more loudly as he spilled his tea all over his lap. “Hot hot hot hot!” He jumped up from his chair and hopped around for a minute.
And while Ray was dancing his troubles away, Colin took the opportunity to snag Ray's phone and keys off the table.
“Hey,” he said, sitting back down and leaning forward to take back his stuff.
“You can have them back when I'm done with you.”
Ray pulled back and winked. “Whatever you say.”
“Ray.”
“Colin.”
“What are you doing here? Who sent you? Don't for one second tell me you came to Rocheforte of your own accord.”
Ray sighed. “I did, actually. No one knows I'm here or that I look like this, so please, don't tell anyone.”
“Anyone?”
“Especially Lola. Or Wendy. I'll talk to Wendy myself.”
“Talk to her yourself? Ray, what's going on?”
“I'm a total chicken, that's what's going on. A bona fide Grade A chicken.
“You're afraid of Wendy? Then why did you chase her across the country?”
Ray didn't say anything.
Colin sat across from him, waiting.
Ray still didn't say anything.
Then Colin's eyes got wide. He sat up straighter. “You're the leak. You leaked the story.”
“Not on purpose!” Ray said this in a harsh whisper.
“What happened?”
Ray looked like he was holding his breath. Then the words tumbled out. “Tom finally dumped me once and for all. And I finally dumped him. So, I went into Hollywood and got drunk.”
“My God. What did you end up spilling, Ray?”
“Not much. But enough to generate speculation. I was going on and on about how Tom was not a nice person. Lola was nice. Arlen was nice. Wendy was nice. I don't think I actually said anything about the kids or the adoption. But I mentioned Jon Robin when I was calling Tom a bastard and listing other general bastards in the world. I think I might have also mentioned Leona Helmsley.”
“I'm sorry, Ray.”
Ray was nodding, as if the breakup were no big deal. “Hell. I knew it was coming. But it hit me harder than I expected when it actually happened.”
“Do you still have your job?”
“Yeah. That was never in danger. I'm so damn good at what I do. Plus Lola would go to the mat for me. And if Tom tries to mess with my career, I'll sue his ass for sexual harassment.”
“So why are you here? To confess and apologize?”
“Colin, you're up to your neck in this because I opened my big mouth. I came to admit what I've done, yes. But I've also come to offer you my fealty.”
“Like in Lord of the Rings?”
“Exactly.”
“But Ray, even Pippin knows, almost as soon as he does it, that it's a mistake. He shouldn't have done it.”
“I owe you.”
“No, you don't. Sometimes, life just happens. And you have to go with it. Blame. Payback. It doesn't really get you anywhere.”
Ray nodded. “Still, I'm here if you need me.”
“Are you okay, though? You and Tom ...”
“It's over,” Ray said. “As it should be. And you know what? It's cool. I don't have any regrets.”
“No?”
“Tom and I didn't work out. I wish we did. Sometimes I wish we did. But Colin, I went all in. All in. It didn't end in happily ever after, but at least I know I loved Tom with all my heart, with everything I had to give. If it ended, and I knew I'd been holding back? Then I might feel a lot different. I might have a lot more regrets.”
Colin nodded. “So Wendy doesn't know you're here?”
“Not yet. It's her secret I gave away. And I have to tell her.”
Colin stood up. “Well, enjoy Rocheforte while you're here. It looks good on you.”
“Shut up.”
Chapter 27
ELLA
Tonight's the concert! Katie's been working for Stronger Than Scars for a few months and helps on stuff like this all the time, but tonight is different. Way different! Wendy'll be there with Uncle Colin. She has to be. They're together now. It'll be their first superstar date. I just hope Uncle Colin is still Uncle Colin and not wearing stupid tight L.A. clothes.
Chapter 28
THE STORY OF WENDY AND COLIN
“You look good.”
Colin glanced up from his phone as he stood in the hall, and there was Wendy. He watched her come down the stairs. “So do you.”
“I told you jeans and a plain white T couldn't miss.”
Colin shrugged. “I have a feeling everyone will be watching you.” Wendy was wearing a little black dress and Colin couldn't take his eyes off her. Not that he really tried to take his eyes off her. He didn't try at all, actually. Not one little bit.
She reached the bottom step and met his eyes as he gazed up at her. Then she smiled. “Like my shoes?”
She kicked out a foot and Colin looked down. Black strappy high-heels with little red roses all over them. “Midnight with roses,” he said. “Nice.”
She preened. “Ready?”
Colin nodded. “The car is here and waiting.”
“Shall we?” Wendy put out her hand for Colin to take.
Colin looked at her hand then stepped back. “I think we should just go.”
He turned toward the door but Wendy caught him by the arm. “We can't go through this whole date without you touching me. We have to at least hold hands.”
Colin turned back to her. “In public. I'll touch you in public. But not behind closed doors. Not here, in my house. Deal?”
Wendy nodded. “Deal.”
When they stepped out onto the front porch, Colin took her hand and they both smiled for the cameras. They headed to the car and when they climbed in, Colin dropped her hand as if it were ice-cold kryptonite. And finally he could breathe. “Hey, Ray.”
“Hey.” Ray waved from the front seat.
“Thanks for doing this,” Colin said, all business.
“Not a problem.”
“Ray,” Wendy said. “Cut it out. Okay?”
“I'm not doing anything!”
“You're being weird,” Wendy said, lifting her chin a fraction to get a better look at him. “Your posture is all weird. You're acting like you're in the dog house. Like one false step and I'll take your recesses away for a month. Chill, will you?”
“Right. Sure. Chill.”
“You don't owe me anything,” she insisted. “It's okay. I am rich and I am a much nicer person than Tom or Jon Robin.”
“But I almost—”
“Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” she quipped, cutting him off.
“It's 'close' only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, dumbass.”
“There's the Ray I know and love!” Wendy sat back in the seat, not even trying to hide her smug smile. “So, do you know where you're going?”
“Of course.”
“Great. And be back to get us at midnight.”
“Will do. Want me to put up the window in between? Give you guys some privacy?”
“No!” they both shouted.
Ray glanced back at them in the rearview mirror. “Okay, then.”
And the three of them were pretty quiet for the rest of the ride to the airport.
Chapter 29
RAY
Oh my God, are those two ever jonesing to jump each other's bones. Holy Batman, this must be what it's like when parents have to drive their horny pre-sixteen kids around on dates.
Chapter 30
ELLA
“It's on!”
I hit pause as everyone filters into the room except Mom. Mom crashes in like a rhino and takes the best seat on the couch, totally pushing past Dad and stepping on Matteo in her rush.
“Turn it up!”
“Mom, it's on pause. Will you wait. Katie's not here yet.”
“KATIE!”
Wow. Mom is LOUD when she wants to be. Really loud.
Katie comes rushing in and I push play before Mom hyperventilates.
It's Wendy and Colin going into the concert, stopped by Britta Chance from It's On!
Britta: So Colin, what's it like to be on the arm of Wendy Hunter, officially, for the first big date?
And oh, my God, he looks so proud and so gaga over Wendy!
Uncle Colin: I'm really happy to be here with Wendy, at an event that she's worked so hard on. It's so near and dear to her heart.
And then Wendy jumps in, talking about the foundation and the women she's trying to help and all the attitudes she's trying to change. And Uncle Colin looks at her with such adoration in his eyes the whole time. But you can tell Britta is getting bored with the real stuff.
Britta: So, do you guys like the same kind of music?
She asks this like she just joined the wrong conversation.
Wendy: The thing about music is the way Colin can move to it. And Midnight Rose is the best, so I doubt I'll be able to tear my eyes away from him all night.
And she gives him this cute little playful nudge. Wow. I can barely believe what I'm seeing. Uncle Colin and Wendy. IN LOVE.
Britta: So you have some signature moves, Colin?
Uncle Colin kind of rolls his eyes at Wendy before answering Britta.
Uncle Colin: I can do the Achy Breaky. And the Alley Cat.
Wendy: The Alley Cat? What, did you learn that from watching Lawrence Welk?
Uncle Colin: I don't watch Lawrence Welk.
Wendy: Then who's that guy you're always recording?
Uncle Colin: You mean Huell Howser?
Wendy: Right. Colin, you are such a geek.
But Uncle Colin just looks down at her and smiles.
Uncle Colin: And you picked me. So what does that say about you?
Wendy looks up into his eyes.
Wendy: It says I'm really smart.
Then stupid Britta jumps in a ruins the moment, because it has to be all about her her her.
Britta: So you two, speaking of dances, what's your song? The one they'll play at your wedding for the first dance.
Wendy and Uncle Colin are so into each other that they don't even break eye contact or look at stupid Britta. They keep looking at each other and then they smile.
Wendy and Uncle Colin: “'Shut Up and Dance.'”
Oh my God, they said it at the exact same time! And Britta doesn't even notice how cool that is!
Wendy and Uncle Colin drift away into the concert and leave Britta standing there. What an idiot. She just had the biggest love story EVER right in front of her, and she'd been clueless.
“'Shut Up and Dance?'” Mom is looking back and forth at all of us. “'Shut Up and Dance?'” She looks at Dad. “That's the song they danced to at our wedding.”
He laughs. “I know. I was there, too. Remember?”
Mom leans into Dad and he puts his arm around her. “I remember,” she sighs. “Colin did okay with Britta. Don't you think?”
Dad kisses her on top of her head. “He did fantastic. But why does he watch Huell Howser? He's not even from California.”
“I kind of got him hooked on it. When I first moved here, I didn't have much time at all to watch TV. But it seems like every time I got a chance to turn it on, Huell Howser was on. I only got a few channels with rabbit ears, and PBS was one of them. Anyway, it was so … hilarious. Pretty soon I was videotaping episodes and sending them to Colin. It was a corny, goofy, old-fashioned thing we shared. I think, in a way, it reminded us of when we were little and we'd go to our Gramma's house.”
“So, is it a geeky show?”
I'm pretty sure Matteo asks so he can start watching it online pronto. Matteo totally sees himself as a “cool geek.” Whatever.
“Pretty geeky,” Arlen says. “But truth be told, Wendy is a closet dork, so she and Colin are a perfect couple.”
Mom looks up at him. “You think so? Really?”
“I do.”
Chapter 31
THE STORY OF WENDY AND COLIN.
The plane ride back. The car ride back. She and Colin were both kind of sleepy, dozy, dreamy.
Wendy looked through the blinds of the front hall until Ray drove safely away. Then she turned to Colin. “I better get to bed,” she said, moving sideways toward the stairs. “And you're going to need your sleep before our run tomorrow, so maybe you'd better stay in your room tonight.”
Colin looked at her, eyebrows slightly raised, mouth dropped open a bit.
Wendy saw his surprise, but more than that, she felt it. Colin had thought they were headed to bed. Together. To the same bed.
And Wendy didn't blame him for thinking that. Not one bit. The whole night had been so perfect. And the sexual pull between them was so taut you could almost reach right out and cut yourself on it.
But Wendy couldn't do it. She just couldn't.
She wanted it to be real. She wanted so badly for it to be real. Not for the engagement to be real. But for Colin's affection to be real. The way he looked at her, the way he pretended for the cameras. Wendy wanted it all to be so real so badly that it made her stomach hurt to think about it.
“Okay,” Colin said, standing his ground and making no move to get closer to Wendy. But he looked like he was breathing hard. And he swallowed a few times.
Wendy started up the stairs. “Thanks for tonight,” she said, looking back to Colin. “It went really well.”
He smiled. “You made lots of money for the foundation. I'm happy for you.”
Wendy nodded. “Thanks.”
As Colin watched her going up the stairs, he tried to remember how to breathe. She was walking away from him, again, like she did every night. And every time she did it, Colin felt like part of his life was slipping away. A part he'd never get back.
He wished he could tell her that and just let her in. But God. What if it were nothing more than a fleeting, heartfelt moment for her? It would mean everything to her, for the few days it lasted. But then what? Wendy lived according to an entirely different playbook.
* * * * *
Wendy opened her eyes and looked at the clock. An hour before she had to be up. She held herself still, and listened to the night around her. “Colin?”
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing in here?”
“It's my house.”
“But—”
“Are you comfortable?” he asked.
“Uh …” She took a second to calm down despite her racing heart. “Yes, actually. It's really nice how you leave the AC on at night.”
He laughed. “I got it so I could use it.”
“So you put in the central air? I wondered. The house is really old.”
“When I bought the place, central air was the first thing I did.”
“Oh. So that's why—” But Wendy stopped talking.
“Why the rest of the place is so old and junky?”
“No!” she rushed to say. “And it's not junky. It's comfortable. Homey.”
“Most of the stuff is from my Gramma's house.”
He didn't say anything for a few seconds. Wendy inched to the edge of the bed and looked down at his form in the dark.
“When she died,” he explained, “Lola was in a one-room apartment in Koreatown. My mom was getting her degree. Lola took a few afghans and
quilts, but I took everything else.”
“Your Gramma's stuff means a lot to you?”
He sighed. “When we were growing up, Gramma's house was our happiest home, mine and Lola's. A wonderful place with all this love and fun and no tension. No yelling. I've never wanted to let go of that.”
Wendy smiled softly in the dark. “Like Matteo and his race car bed.”
“You know about that?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, I guess it is like Matteo and his race car bed. I just want to hold on to the feeling.”
“And I thought it was because it was all you could afford.”
“I don't make a lot of money, it's true. But I'm good with my money. I majored in finance in college, you know.”
“And you became a football coach?”
“Coaches have to be good at managing resources. And anytime you want to help people in lower income brackets, it makes a huge difference to be good with money, especially to be resourceful with just a little bit. Besides, coaching isn't my only job.”
“It's not?”
“Nope. Not too many high school football coaching positions are full time.”
“Hmmm,” Wendy considered. “Don't coaches usually teach?”
“Usually,” he agreed. “But I don't. I'm the comptroller for the Rocheforte school district.”
“Really?” Wendy squeaked.
“Chill. It's a pretty small school district.”
“How did I not know this?”
“You never asked.”
“The day I met you,” Wendy accused, “you told me you were a high school football coach.”
“I am,” he laughed. “I'm also a Pisces. I didn't tell you everything about myself in Lola's yard.”
“Well,” she conceded, “tell me about this.”
“Six years ago, I read an article about a small, poor Louisiana school district that was in financial crisis and its sports program sucked. So I showed up and presented them with my proposal for what I could do for the school. I was young. And a stranger. I had no political hidden agenda. Plus, a few guys on the board knew my name from college football. So they took a gamble on me.”
Catch a Falling Star (In Love in the Limelight Book 3) Page 14