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When the senior turned to look, his face brightened. “Arlo! Good to see you again. Did you bring me a bran muffin?”
“I sure did, Abe. I promise nobody’s going to fight you for that one,” I teased.
“Are you kidding? Fiber is more precious than gold in this place.” Abe was the grandfather of one of my old coworkers at the garage. He was also the one who’d recommended Golden Years for my gran after her stroke.
Once they were halfway down the hall, I turned back to Max, only to find him wearing a confused and slightly dazed expression. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
He shrugged and tried to wave it off. “It’s nothing, just… they barely looked at me.”
“Well, to be fair, I’m pretty sure Abe is legally blind, and Tanner’s attention was on making sure Abe didn’t fall, so…”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure that’s it.” He gave me a pained smile, then said, “Onward! My fans await.”
Sure enough, when we made our way into the multipurpose room, all eyes turned our way, and as a collective, the group began to converge on us—well, not so much on us as the donuts. “Hand over the treats!” a man named Davis growled, edging out his friend Roger and blocking his path. The two of them scuffled a little, and while they were distracted, Betty, a deceptively sweet-looking woman with her white hair tightly curled, rolled up and ran over my toes with her wheelchair.
“Ouch!” I yelped, hopping back, straight into Max’s arms as he caught me.
“Quick!” Betty gestured for me to hand over the donuts. “While everyone’s distracted by the fight.”
A tall woman wearing scrubs came in and clapped her hands. “That’s enough! If you guys can’t act in an appropriate manner, I’m going to tell Arlo not to bring anything at all next week. Then we’ll see how you like it.” This was why they called Noelle “Nurse Ballbuster.”
“Drat,” Betty grumbled, wheeling herself back.
Everyone quickly settled down and waited somewhat patiently for me to set the box down on the table, and Noelle supervised as the treats were passed out.
“Oh, Arlo,” she said as we passed her. “Just wanted to let you know the check cleared and your account is all caught up.”
“Thanks,” I muttered quickly, not wanting Max to overhear.
Thankfully, he was too busy frowning at the scene as I took his hand and dragged him over to my gran. “It’s like I’m not even here,” he muttered.
Even after the stroke, there was nothing wrong with my gran’s hearing. She smirked at Max. “Don’t feel too bad. We’re no strangers to fame around here. One of the staff is married to Jordan Kepler. You know, the author? The residents do love their smut.”
That seemed to make him feel a little better, and I pressed him down into a chair beside Gran. “This is my grandmother, Sarah,” I said. “And Gran, this is Max. My fiancé.” The lie writhed inside me, and I quickly looked down and busied myself with grabbing another chair so she wouldn’t see the guilt written plainly across my face.
Gran reached out and took Max’s hand, and the tension left his shoulders. “It’s so nice to meet you, Max. And not because you’re a famous actor, but because you are important to my grandson. Anyone who makes Arlo smile has earned my respect.”
“I hope I do—make him smile, I mean,” he said with surprising softness as he peeked over at me.
Gran patted his hand. “Of course you do. He wouldn’t have agreed to marry you otherwise. My grandson is a very good judge of character, so he must see something amazing in you. I look forward to getting to know you.”
This wasn’t quite what I expected for our date. Most of our time so far had been spent either posing for cameras or getting naked in the bedroom. This… this was something more genuine than we’d experienced together. Little by little, Max let his guard down, and I watched with a growing sense of awe as he just let himself be—not rich celebrity or famous actor, and not the clean-cut boy next door he tried so hard to display for the public. He was just Max, and he was perfect just the way he was. He might not have been my real fiancé, but he was certainly more than either of us were willing to admit. Yet.
And he really did make me smile…
14
Max
At some point over the weeks, my hotel room had become somewhat of a haven for us. We never had to pretend to be anything but ourselves here, but for the first time, it didn’t feel like I had anything to shrug off. I hadn’t had to fake anything when I’d been at the retirement center. Nobody had any expectations of me there. Hell, they’d barely noticed me.
It was… nice.
Arlo laughed, dropping himself down on the couch. “That drove you nuts, didn’t it?” he asked, teasing, his eyes lit with mischief. “You’re so used to everyone fawning over you that you didn’t know how to handle being ignored. Well, now you know how I feel—or used to feel, anyway.”
I prowled closer, slowly unbuttoning my shirt, and I took great pleasure in the way his eyes followed the movement. “I’m not saying I loved it, but it was a nice reminder of who I used to be. It’s too easy to forget sometimes.”
He shook his head, his smile dimming. “I don’t get why you like it so much, being the center of attention. Ever since that article came out, people have gawked at me like I was some kind of circus sideshow. But I’m just a man, I’m nothing special.”
