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“Nope. I told you all he wasn’t going to stick around.” I tried not to let my disappointment show, and I tried not to self-analyze why I was disappointed. What did I think? We’d have a magical summer on the sand, me with my broken ankle and him with his millions of fans? I’d spent way too much time at the hospital scrolling entertainment news, looking at girlfriend after model girlfriend gracing the pages with Leo. I read articles about his fancy cars and the mansion he bought for his entire family. He was from a different world. I didn’t know why he ended up in mine for a blip, but that was it. A blip. He was gone, off to tour the world and sing top songs and forget about the mousey girl he tripped down the stairs.
Which was fine with me. I readjusted on the couch, trying to get comfortable.
Dorothy made a grunt. The commercials were over, and her stories were back. I quieted up, watching the main character’s shock as she realized her husband had an evil twin. But before the dramatic cliffhanger happened, there was a knock at the door. Pickles jumped down from the sofa to run and see who it was.
Dorothy leaped into action, also crossing the room to see who was there. I leaned back, trying to eye the front door and see if Grace had popped over, although I knew Tino would be working her to the bone thanks to my six weeks off. I felt guilty about that.
“Is this a bad time?” a deep, British voice asked, and my heart stopped. Suddenly, I wished I’d listened to Mom and let her help me wash my hair or put on better clothes. I was in my baggy sweatpants from college, a shirt with popcorn butter stains, and hair that was certainly all over the place. I tried to smooth it out and then act like I wasn’t primping as Dorothy animatedly led him through the door.
“Tillie, look who I found,” she said, clapping a little. I turned to eye him, hoping my face wasn’t flaming red but sure it was.
He carried a dozen pink roses, and my heart melted at the gesture. I’d never, ever, in my thirty years had a man buy me roses. How sad was that?
“These are for you. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there this morning. Last night, that vile nurse kicked me out and refused to let me say goodbye. And this morning, I had to finalize some details on my summer living arrangements, and it took longer than I thought. I hope you didn’t think I flaked.” His voice was smooth, and in the brightness of day, I could see he was stunning. Just stunning. Pickles rubbed against his leg, and he smiled, reaching down to scratch my cat with his free hand.
And now that I had a good look at him without the stress of hospital machines and tests, I could see he really was Leo Turner, perhaps because of my intense studying of every news article I could read since last night. The beard was doing a respectable job at masking him, making him look like a rugged, regular guy. But those eyes, an ocean blue that was too pretty to be real, gave him away when you knew to look for them.
He was here. He was real. And I was wearing a popcorn-stained shirt.
Not like it mattered. It wasn’t like I was a super fan. Heck, I could barely name two songs by the guy. His music wasn’t really my thing. But as Dorothy rushed to put the roses in a vase and Leo Turner grabbed a seat on the couch in my parents’ condo, leaving forward with his hands clasped as if I were the most interesting person in the world, my mind settled on something he said.
His living arrangements. So, he wasn’t flaking or fleeing. He really was staying for the summer. And I’d promised to show him around.
When I thought about living arrangements, another thought hit me. My crime show paranoia started to settle back in.
“How did you know I lived here?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Grace was more than happy to oblige when I asked for your address,” he said, shrugging.
Note to self that if there ever was a serial killer stalking me in Ocean City, Grace would lead him right to me. Apparently, she’d never had a lesson on stranger danger—although arguably, a UK pop sensation with millions of fans wasn’t necessarily a stranger. Yet, he was, too. It was all so overwhelming, and my head already hurt.
“Tillie, honey, I forgot to see if I turned my tea kettle off. So, I’m going to head downstairs for a little while. But you’ll just ring me if you need something that your young man can’t help with, right?” she said, interrupting my anxiety-riddled inner monologue.
The way she said “young man” sounded both antiquated and intimate. I could feel myself blushing again.
“Okay, Dorothy, thank you.” I wanted to beg her not to leave me with a celebrity in my current state of post-hospital grossness. I wanted to tell her I had no idea how to act or say or do. But I just watched as she walked out the door. And suddenly, I was alone with Leo Turner. Even though I wasn’t a super fan, it was hard not to be a little starstruck.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, still leaning forward so I had a front-row seat to his gorgeous blue eyes. I looked down at my hands, telling myself not to get lost in them like some bad romantic cliché.
“Better. Although it’s going to be a long six weeks. My mother is already making my recovery her personal mission.”
He laughed at that. “I can tell your family cares about you, though.”
“She made me eat a kale salad for breakfast. I don’t know,” I said, but I was smiling. “So, you said you were working on your living arrangements? I thought you were staying at the hotel?” I kept the conversation on him and neutral. Friendly acquaintances. That was the perfect plan.
“That was just for a few days until the place I’m renting was ready. I’ve got a tiny beach house set back from everything. It’s got some privacy, which is what I need. Staying at the hotel is just asking to get caught.”
“Get caught?” I asked.
“No one knows I’m here, and I want to keep it that way.” His eyes looked down at the ground, and I could sense some tension.
“Oh. So why did you come to Ocean City?” I asked. “It’s a far cry from London.”
He leaned back then. I did, too, exhaling.
“A lot of reasons I guess.” He readjusted his hat. “It’s complicated, really. But I picked Ocean City because once, when I was five, my grandparents brought me here on vacation. Grandma was from the states, and this was her favorite family vacation. I just remember how fun it was here. Pretty, exciting, and chaotic, but there was also the peaceful serenity of the beach. I guess a part of me just wanted to relieve that simple happiness again. I wanted to just be free, no one depending on me or making my schedule or any of that.”
I could see in his eyes a pain and hurt you wouldn’t expect to detect in someone on top of the world. We were from two different lives and two vastly different circumstances. He had everything going in his career, and mine was in shambles. Still, I recognized in Leo something I felt in myself. Discontentment. I could sense we were both just a little bit lost.
