After a while, I’d enjoyed keeping it from him, teasing him with it. It had been dumb to act that way—juvenile even, like I was some silly teenager, flirting.
I paused with my mug halfway to my mouth as a thought struck. Had all of it been a lie? Even the running?
Sure, we hadn’t formed some everlasting bond by exercising together a few times. But he’d been friendly and eager to learn. Or so I’d thought. Jesus, was he faking being terrible at cardio?
I considered that and then shook it off. While he’d improved over the last week, he was still struggling. He’d never be able to maintain my normal pace or distance, not without a lot of training. I didn’t think he could fake his ragged gasping or visible relief when we reached a stopping point.
Although my suspicious mind whispered something I’d never admit out loud: Hewasa damn good actor.
“Maybe you should talk to him,” Candace offered, tucking a long strand of brown hair behind one ear. “He’s been nothing but polite. He helped Mom fill the birdfeeders this morning. That’s how they met. He was jogging and rushed over to hold the giant bag of seed for her. Then Mom invited him in for coffee. I got here just in time to watch him agree to be a groomsman in Brady and Mac’s future wedding and Mom’s spades partner for card night over at Lonely Mountain Winery.”
“Jesus,” I groaned.
But something about my sister’s words made me want to believe Ian wasn’t some attention-seeking manipulator. It had been nice of him to hurry over and help my mother. And part of me liked that he’d been practicing and making an effort to run on his own today.
“Obviously, I don’t know him,” Candace began gently. “But he seems so nice and friendly. Genuine, even. Anyone else would have been dying to get away at the first opportunity. But he’s been out there for nearly two hours chatting. He’s had three coffee refills, multiple slices of Brady’s banana bread, and he was devastated that he missed meeting Dad.”
My doubts didn’t go away entirely, because why would someone want to hang out with a random family they didn’t even know? Did the mega star need attention that badly that he’d let small-town strangers fawn all over him in exchange for some admittedly delicious banana bread?
“Maybe I’ll give him a chance to explain,” I agreed reluctantly. I could feel the tightness in my forehead, the way my brows were drawn together in a scowl, so I worked to soften them before I glanced up at Candace.
She beamed, and I felt like I’d said the right thing, given the correct answer on a test, or proven I was more human than robot, for once.
“But not today,” I added. “I’ll see him tomorrow for our workout.”
Her smile dimmed, but she nodded. “Are you going to be weird around him now?”
“Weird?”
“Yeah. Nervous because you know he’s a big movie star.”
I snorted a laugh. Sure, I’d watched Ian on the big screen, but I’d also watched him pant like an old Labrador when I’d made him sprint up the hill near the pond.
“No, Candace. He’s just a person. He puts his sneakers on one shoe at a time.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Actually, he probably has someone who does that for him.”
I grinned. “Yeah, I bet some poor assistant has to sort all his M&M’s out by color.”
Candace chuckled. “And then feed them to him so he doesn’t get chocolate fingers.”
Laughing, I agreed, “You’re probably right.”
It was good to keep things in perspective, to remind myself just who Ian was. My sister and I were poking fun right now, but the life of Dorian Masters was undoubtedly very different than our own. Maybe he didn’t have a designated candy sorter, but he likely led a life of wealth and privilege. He wasn’t better than me or anyone in this town, but he would be getting a lot of attention from the people who lived here. People who hero-worshipped celebrities, who thought they were something special.
I needed to remind myself that Ian was only a person. The man from my favorite movie was just a man on a screen. And before that, a character on the page. This changed nothing.
And like I’d said, it would all be over in five months. The movie would wrap, and the trailers would roll out of town. Dorian would go back to his penthouse or beach house or wherever he lived. And I would get back to my regularly scheduled programming.
Nothing about this situation was worth getting all bent out of shape over.
“Where’s Mercer?” I asked my sister. If there was one other person who’d be just as unaffected by Dorian Masters’s charm, it was Mark Mercer. There was no way he’d be outside swooning over the movie star the way my brother was right this very moment.
“Out in the Dandee Reds, pruning.”
I finished the last of my coffee. “Great. I’ll grab my gear and join him.”
“See you for lunch?” Candace asked. “Becca’s bringing chicken salad.”
