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“I agree,” I said with a grin. “It’s crazy and foolish, and everyone will probably think I’m insane, but you’re right. I can’t give up, not even now.”
“Really?” he asked.
I nodded. “I have a lot to figure out. But I will. I know I will.”
He wrapped me in a hug then, taking me by surprise. “I know you will, too.”
I lingered in his arms for a little while and then pulled back.
“So, breakfast then?” he asked.
I should have said no way. I should have buried my head in research, legal documents, and business plans. I wanted to be the strong, independent woman I was deep down and stick to my resolve to focus only on my business. Plus, I’d just had pancakes. But those eyes. How did anyone say no to those eyes? If I hadn’t heard him sing, I’d be convinced that was why the stadiums were filled.
“I really shouldn’t,” I said.
“But you want to?” he asked.
I nodded. “Just breakfast, though. Then I have to work.” I mean, a little breakfast—or a second breakfast—wouldn’t hurt, right? It was harmless enough.
“Just brekkie, as we say.”
“You really say that?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes. And you really don’t think beans are a breakfast food. So here we are.” I made a Mr. Yuk sticker face but let Leo usher me out the door.
***
I TOLD MYSELF I’D JUST get coffee at the Starfish Diner, a tiny little breakfast restaurant a block back from the boardwalk. But then I got there and remembered how good the waffles were. And then the waitress asked if I wanted an upgrade with bacon, and how could I say no?
I leaned back in my chair, staring at my half empty plate thinking that coming with Leo had, in fact, been a bad idea.
“When you go back to the UK, you’re going to starve,” I said. “The portions will feel small.” Leo had joked about the enormous portions everywhere in America.
“I think my stomach’s stretched,” he said.
“You look familiar,” the waitress said, walking back over with the coffee pot in hand. She was staring straight at Leo. “I think I know who you are.”
I froze, staring at Leo, whose eyes widened. A few of the full tables nearby stopped to turn and look at us. It was terrible. We’d been so lucky so far; his beard and hats had worked. By some miracle, even with tabloids everywhere proclaiming the news of the lost star, no one had put it together. Because if the paparazzi got word, if anyone got word really, there went our peace and quiet—and there went my fun summer with Leo. The bodyguards would be showing up along with his family to whisk him back to his hectic schedule and life that was so distant. I swallowed.
“I get that a lot. I just have an average face,” Leo said, staying cool. I wondered if he’d ever taken up acting.
“No, you’re definitely familiar. Darlene? Darlene, come here. Do you know who this is?” Another older waitress stopped what she was doing and wandered over from across the room.
“Oh, my. I do,” she said.
Leo eyed me in a panic from across the table. He gripped the edge of the table as if he were ready to do a stunt-double move out of there, flipping over the table or something.
“That’s the guy who was on the news for saving the choking lifeguard last summer. A hero, a true hero!” Darlene proclaimed. The restaurant broke into an uproar, clapping. Someone offered to buy our breakfast.
“I’m sorry, ladies. It wasn’t me. Although that bloke sounds like a wonderful guy,” he said.
“Bloke? Oh dear, don’t tell me you’re all fancy British or something,” Darlene said with a southern accent. She rolled her eyes.
“Afraid so,” Leo said. “But don’t hold it against me.”
“Oh, bummer,” our waitress said, turning to Darlene. “I thought I was finally getting to wait on someone famous.” She walked away then, waving away Leo like she was batting away a fly.
We both smirked, shaking our heads. He’d flown under the radar.
