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24
Chris had been up all night thinking, worrying, planning.
His date with Bronte was supposed to be a nice little outing, but it had turned sour real quick. He hadn’t been away from Los Angeles that long, but he’d almost forgotten what it was like to be in the spotlight. Sure, it was part of his job to expose at least some of himself to the public, but he had no responsibility to them when it came to his love life or Bronte.
It was obvious she was uncomfortable last night, and the shitty part of it was, he couldn’t do anything about it. Unless he and Bronte wanted to stay hidden away, which didn’t sound so bad if it meant he could keep her locked away, naked, forever and ever. But that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, and he was tired of hiding.
If she was going to be with him, she was going to be made a part of his spectacle by proxy. It was clear from all the online articles and posts with questions about the mystery brunette he was with that he was dragging Bronte into all his bullshit. She was smart and kind and deserved to be so much more than CJ Cunningham’s mystery brunette.
After a lot of consideration, he decided it would be better to go back to LA early to prepare for the movie, give them both time to adjust to what their new life would be like, and then figure out what to do when filming ended. The longer he stayed in Allentown, the more curious they would be about her. Yes, he loved Bronte. Yes, it would suck to be away from her. But he had to let the storm blow over. Once he had a feel for the future of his career and the media moved on to someone else, he’d be able to focus on her.
It was better this way.
He only needed to explain it to Bronte…and her parents.
He knocked on his neighbors’ door the next day. It felt odd, like a formal greeting.
Pattie answered the door. “Hey, Chris, why’d you knock?”
He stepped into the house, not bothering to answer her question. “Is Steven around?”
“Steven?” she yelled out toward the steps before stepping away from him, but he gently held her arm.
“Wait. I need to talk to you too. Both of you.” He heard the uncertainty in his own voice.
“Okay?”
“Well, hello,” Steven boomed as he walked into the living room.
Pattie patted the seat next to her on the couch. “Chris needs to speak to us.”
Steven smiled and sat down. “What’s up?”
Chris flinched inwardly, knowing he was about to disappoint them. “I came over to tell you guys I’m leaving.”
“Oh. Okay.” Pattie shrugged like it was no big deal.
“I mean I’m going back to California.”
Steven’s smile dropped. “When do you leave?”
“In a few hours.” Pattie and Steven exchanged a look before facing him again, and Chris hurried to explain himself as best he could. “I haven’t told Bronte yet, but I wanted you to hear it from me because I don’t want you to think this is a spur-of-the-moment decision.”
Steven made a motion like he should continue, and Chris felt marginally better. They weren’t angry or were, at least, letting him speak before they let him have it.
“You both know I love your daughter. I love her more than anything else in my life, which is why I need to go home for a while. I don’t want Bronte or you, for that matter, to get involved with all this media bull—” he backtracked at Pattie’s eyebrow “—stuff. It won’t be long before someone discovers who she is, and I know how relentless the press can be. There’s no way I’m going to sacrifice Bronte’s life or livelihood for my own.”
Pattie nodded, and Steven scratched his head. They both looked a bit stunned, yet neither said anything.
“I want to protect Bronte, and until I know how my career is going to play out in the next couple of months, I think it’s best to keep her away from my spotlight. I wanted to let you know I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You taught me what family means, and I thank you for that.”
Pattie stood up then and hugged him tight. “Thank you for coming over here. It’s very brave of you.”
Steven followed suit. “It’s an admirable thing to do what you think is best and even more admirable that you’re looking out for our daughter, but as Bronte’s dad, you know what I’m going to say.”
“Don’t make her cry,” Chris guessed.
Steven clapped his shoulder. “Not even a famous movie star is good enough if he makes my Bean cry.”
