“Nope,” I replied. “He left without a word.”
“That’s so strange,” Candace said as she chewed absently on a cheese straw.
We were gathered around the central island in Will and Becca’s kitchen. Becca was hosting book club, like she did most months, at the Clark homestead halfway up the mountainside.
It was a small group this month, just me, Candace, Mac, Bonnie, and Becca.
Becca had started the book club after moving to Kirby Falls last year. She’d been visiting on an extended working vacation and happened to meet Will Clark, and fell in love. She’d shifted her life from Michigan to North Carolina and hadn’t looked back. The town loved her, and she was a genuinely nice person. She’d been good for Will, too. Since we were neighbors, I’d known the Clarks most of my life. With both of our families being in the apple business, our circles overlapped quite a bit.
“Can you imagine? Dorian Masters, a single father,” Bonnie said dreamily, like the prospect of having a child made the movie star even more desirable.
“Maybe the mother is an actress,” Candace offered.
“Maybe she died tragically, and Dorian is just doing his best to keep it all together,” Mac said dramatically.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, maybe Ian saved George from a burning building along with two dozen kittens. Y’all have been reading too many romance novels.”
Mac booed and threw a cube of cheese at me. I caught it and popped it into my mouth.
“And he never mentioned having a kid?” Candace asked at the same moment Becca said, “What do you mean ‘Ian’?”
My chewing slowed as I realized what I’d inadvertently admitted. I swallowed the glob of cheddar, and all eyes turned toward me, the romance-addicted book junkies suddenly very curious.
“Why would he have mentioned anything to you, Joanie?” Mac said, gaze narrowing. “Are y’all friends?”
Candace made a whoops face and put another cheese straw in her mouth.
Sighing, I reminded myself that these were my friends. My closest friends. And they didn’t mean any harm. They were just nosy. And Ian wasn’t simply some goofy, smiling bozo to them. He was Dorian Masters, international celebrity and mega movie star. They’d been buzzing with questions about the production as soon as Candace had told them about it at our previous book club meeting.
“We’ve been running together,” I admitted, and then reached for more broccoli like it was no big deal. It wasn’t a big deal, but I knew they wouldn’t see it that way.
Rapid-fire questions exploded from Bonnie, Mac, and Becca. Candace shoveled more cheese straws into her big mouth.
I held up a hand, and they quieted immediately. “We met when he first came to town, by chance. He was roaming around the property, checking out where they’d be filming. I didn’t recognize him because he introduced himself as Ian—his real name—and he was wearing sunglasses and a hat.”
Becca choked.
Mac groaned. “God, only you, Joan. He pulled a damn Clark Kent, and you fell for it.”
I glared, feeling my cheeks heat. But she merely clapped her hands impatiently and gestured for me to keep going.
“Then I ran into him again,” I explained. “And he asked if we could run together. So, we have been. A few days a week. I realized who he was”—Candace carefully avoided eye contact—“and that’s it. The kid has been over a handful of times, too. I had no idea they were connected until Ian showed up and carted him off.”
I thought about the way Ian had looked earlier that afternoon. The complete one-eighty from the cheerful, easygoing guy I’d gotten used to. When he’d driven over the hill and spotted George, the relief on his face had been obvious. Maybe I hadn’t registered it at the time, but Ian had been scared—worried about the kid—possiblyhiskid.
Then after, still unsmiling, he’d avoided my gaze, unwilling to address the elephant in the apple orchard. And it hadn’t been embarrassment at being found out. It had been something else. More than secretive. He’d looked at me like he didn’t trust me.
I didn’t know how I felt about that. I was private, too, so I understood. But the twinge of discomfort in my belly wasn’t anything I could explain.
The women surrounding me looked thoughtful. Well, Becca looked entirely too pleased. Her blue eyes were bright and manic with the possibility of a love story unfolding right across the highway. She was so obvious, bless her heart. I didn’t have it in me to tell herthatwas the last thing that would ever happen between Ian and me, for a variety of reasons.
“Are you going to see him again?” Bonnie asked.
“Are you going to talk to him about the kid?” Mac spoke over her sister.
“Are you going to ask him out?” Becca added, and we all turned to look at her.
“What?” she said. “You’re all thinking it.”
