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“Well, this puts a dent in your waitressing plans,” my dad said. “Don’t worry, though. We’ll get things squared away. I think with this time off, you could ...”
“Allen,” my mother interrupted. “You’re not seriously pushing your law school agenda on our incapacitated, hospitalized daughter, are you? Come on. I know you have high expectations, but just come on.” The glare she shot him made his hands go up in the air. Dad might be a hotshot lawyer, but he didn’t call any shots in our household. Not really.
“There’s no need to worry, anyway,” a British voice announced from outside the room. And then he appeared, the tall, handsome stranger who had both caused the accident and somehow been somewhat of a rescuer, staying by my side during the ordeal. He had sunglasses, a hat, and his hood up. Weird.
I watched as my family turned to eye him. Tucked behind the divider curtaining my room, he took off his hat, hood, and sunglasses. I watched my parents and Dorothy ogle the stranger with sheer fascination. It was like I no longer existed. Dorothy immediately turned back to me, gave a huge thumbs up with her jaw open, and then turned back to take in the tall, gorgeous stranger.
“I’ll be taking care of everything. This is all my fault.”
My mother was speechless. My father cleared his throat, hands in his pockets, as if he should decide to show this stranger not to mess with his daughter or to be thankful that he was giving me the time of day at all. The mystery man knew how to command a room.
“You. You’re the one from the hotel,” my mom said. We turned to look at her. “The one with the first name only that everyone’s being all secretive about. I saw you this morning with that same sweatshirt, hood, and sunglasses, but I didn’t get a good look. It makes sense now.”
“Hi, nice to meet you. I’m...Leo.” He hesitated to say his name, almost whispering it. Was this guy in witness protection or something? What had I gotten myself into? The hairs on the back of my neck raised. He must have been someone important the way the whole family was acting, but I could not place him.
Dorothy clearly did, though. She let out a little squeal and then covered her mouth with her hands. I turned to her for an explanation, but my head was killing me. And my mother jumped in before I could get a word out.
“Leo. Not Michael. I knew it. I know who you are. I told everyone that you were probably a celebrity. I was right.” She beamed at her own intelligence and at being right. She continued. “So, what’s this about you being at fault for all of this?”
“Yes. My sincerest apologies. Your daughter and I had a run in at Tino’s on the stairs. I thought someone had recognized me, so I opened the basement door to try to make an escape. At that moment, she was coming through and, well, this happened. I take full responsibility and plan on helping your daughter through recovery financially.”
My dad coughed a little. I turned to eye him.
“That won’t be necessary. I can take care of myself. Besides, you didn’t push me. I lost my balance,” I butted in, and everyone glanced at me as if just remembering my existence.
“Nonsense. My clumsy ways led to this mess, and I’m an honorable man, despite what everyone says.” Again, he said it with a tone that instilled doubt. Who had I entangled myself with?
“Allen? Do you have anything to say about this?” my mother asked, for once giving the floor to him.
“Sounds like he wants to do the right thing. Honorable,” he said, walking over to shake the guy’s hand. “Allen Ashby. Nice to meet you.”
I raised an eyebrow at my dad, the man who had given every single boyfriend I’d had in high school a courtroom-level interrogation. But he was fine with this mystery celebrity man named Leo? Was my family really this desperate to get me out of the house again that they’d toss me into the arms of a potential maniac?
“I don’t need him to be honorable. I can take care of myself.”
“Well, I think it’s lovely that you stayed to take care of her, Leo. And if you need anything during your stay at the hotel, you just ask for Connie,” my mother said. What was up with the red-carpet roll out for him? My brain was still trying to place him. Was he an actor? Some hot-shot movie star?
“Hi, everyone. It’s me, Tillie. You know, your daughter? Anyone worried about me?”
Dorothy patted my hand. “I knew things would turn around for you here,” she whispered.
Maybe my head condition was worse than they expected because I didn’t understand a thing that was happening. Admittedly, keeping up with celebrity gossip and tabloids wasn’t my specialty. At all. Serena and Brad used to make fun of me and say that Tom Cruise or Justin Bieber could walk into the coffee shop, and I’d have made them stand in line with everyone else just because I didn’t know who they were. I was never the one who recognized actors or actresses in movies or on the news.
“Well, listen, it’s nice to meet you all. I’m going to step out and give you all some privacy. But, well, if you could, I’d like to keep some privacy of my own, you know? To keep things simple. I’m sure I don’t need to explain what will happen if word gets out.”
Word gets out about what? I wanted to ask. My dad gestured like he was sealing his lips. Mom just gave him a wink and a playful nudge. I stared at the three people in my room who were acting more like strangers than the actual stranger.
“I’ll be back later, Tillie. Get some rest,” blue eyes said to me with a wink.
So now we were on a first-name basis? I was so confused. The tall stranger stepped out of the room after putting his baseball hat and sunglasses back on. My three so-called loved ones stood in his wake, as if they’d just been in the presence of a superstar.
“Oh, dear. I mean, no mother wants to see their daughter injured. But my girl, if you’re going to get injured in an entanglement with a man, you certainly picked well.”
“Well, this will solve some of your financial issues for now,” my dad said.
“For now? Did you see the way that he looked at her? This could be the start of something special. Darling, you might have just snagged your husband,” Dorothy added, smiling hugely.
“Whoa, what? What is everyone talking about? First, I’m not looking for a husband or someone to take care of me. I’m fine on my own, and after everything, I do not want a relationship. And second, why are you all okay with this guy? We don’t even know him. At least I don’t.”
