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Chapter One
Most people complained when theyhad to drive in downtown San Francisco. The chaotic traffic, one-way streets, and stop signs on steep, dangerously graded hills gave the majority of adults reason to avoid driving into the city if they could. Thanks to ferries and public transportation, most of my friends didn’t have to driveintothe city unless they wanted to.
Me? I looked for excuses to drive in San Francisco. Mostly for my absolute favorite Indian restaurant, but secondly, because taking my Mini Cooper over those hills—the ones where you crest the top and can’t even see the road below the hood of your car—I lived for them. Those streets gave me a thrill, and the chaos in the city never bothered me. My mom used to say I thrived in tumultuous situations. I liked to think I was just flexibly minded. It sounded healthier.
Really, I would drive in any conditions for the opportunity presented to me now. Thanks to my best friend’s husband, Liam, and his crazy celebrity connections, I was going to San Francisco to meet the man I had fangirled over since middle school: Rhett Myers.
Okay, so I was actually going because I’d been hired to style his costar’s hair for an early morning talk show tomorrow, but Rhett would be there. He would be in the building. And Liam already told me I wouldn’t have any trouble meeting him.
That was tomorrow, though. Tonight, I was checking into my hotel, getting my favorite Indian food, and planning how our meet-cute would go. You know, the initial meeting of the lead man and woman in a romantic movie. Rhett had filmed his share of them, so I already knew he’d pull off his part. I just needed to find a way to make myself irresistible to him.
This was my one shot, and I wasn’t going to waste it.
Neon signs glared through my windshield from the diners, clubs, and mini-marts dotting the busy road. It was fully dark now, but San Francisco’s night life was just getting started. I checked each street sign I passed for the right one. It was coming up soon, and anticipation built in my stomach. I voice-commanded my phone to call my best friend.
“Calling Charlie Connell,” the robotic voice replied over my car speakers, effectively shutting off my music.
It rang twice before she picked up. “Hey. Did you make it to your hotel?”
“Almost,” I said, turning off Van Ness Avenue. “I just have a quick detour first.”
“Don’t tell me you’re trying to find the highest street in San Francisco again.”
“Not the highest, Charlie. Thesteepest.” I grinned, imagining my best friend’s eye roll. “If there aren’t stairs instead of a sidewalk on the side of the road, it’s not really worth the climb.”
“I don’t know how you can stomach that.” She was silent for a minute before adding, “Aren’t you freaking out a little?”
No, I was freaking outa lot. I knew she wasn’t asking about the incline of the streets, but about the reason I was in the city to begin with. It wasn’t every day you got the chance to meet your lifelong celebrity crush.
I tried to sound breezy. “Meh. Ain’t no biggie.” That could not have sounded any more forced. I was definitely not fooling her. “Speaking of the hottest man in America, tell your husband he’s getting free haircuts for a year.”
“He’ll be flattered that you find him so attractive,” Charlie deadpanned, “but he doesn’t need free haircuts.”
“You know I wasn’t talking about Liam.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I know. Rhett Myers: hottest man in America. I did see thePeoplecover you texted me yesterday.”
“Proof I’m not crazy for being so in love with the man. The entire country thinks he’s divine. Which is why I owe Liam my left kidney for hooking me up with this gig.”
“My husband doesn’t want your left kidney or free haircuts, Beth. He’s happy to pay you,” Charlie said. “You know that.”
“This is my way of thanking him for getting me this opportunity. So just pass it on.”
She hummed. “I guess you do owe this whole situation to him.”
“You guess? At the rate I was going, I’d probably be one hundred and forty-two years old by the time I found a way to meet Rhett Myers.”
“No one lives that long.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, I have to be at the gallery soon, but be safe, okay? Text me when you’re checked in to the hotel.”
“You got it.”
“And, Beth?” Charlie said, hesitating.
“Yeah?”
