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Chapter 8
“Oh, Troy! It’s so good to see you!”
The hostess greeted Troy with a wide smile that lit up her whole face the instant he followed Alison through the doors of the restaurant. She didn’t even have a second glance for Alison.
She smiled a little to herself. That was a game she recognized. Between the hostess’ reaction and Ella’s, it told her that Troy was a hot property in town. Valentine Bay’s most eligible bachelor.
In other words, the ladies of VB loved them some Troy Valentine, and it wasn’t just because of his last name.
When they were seated, Alison gave Troy a little mischievous smile. “She’s hot for you,” she teased.
He looked back over his shoulder, confusion clouding his features. “Who, Ellery? No. That’s ridiculous, we’ve known each other forever.”
Wow. Looking at his face, Alison could see that he really didn’t recognize the girl’s feelings, and they’d been pretty blatantly on her sleeve.
She filed that observation away for future reference and decided that she liked the fact that he was clueless to his own effect on women. Most of the guys she came in contact with pretty much assumed they were the center of the universe. Such was a performer’s life. That was her social circle—people who believed they had something to give the world by performing in it.
Most of the time they were right—they were, in fact, incredibly handsome and brilliant—but that didn’t change the fact that it was refreshing to have dinner with a man who was every bit as handsome and brilliant as they were, if not more so, and didn’t seem to be aware of it at all.
Alison opened the menu, her eyes flicking up one side and down the other as she perused the selections. After only a few seconds, she noticed that she was the only one who seemed interested in the food. Troy hadn’t even opened his menu.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
A slow, smoldering grouped behind his eyes. “Yes,” he answered, his voice low and intense, and it was clear that he wasn’t talking about being hungry for anything that the chef prepared back in the kitchen.
Her stomach fluttered and jiggled inside like it was full of Jell-O. A heat wave passed hard down the length of her, starting at her head and traveling with lightning speed all the way to her toes. She made a mental note to remember the sensations. They’d come in handy the next time she had to inhabit the role of someone in the first flushes of infatuation.
She shook her head, trying to clear it. Even in a situation as heady and head-spinning as having dinner with Troy, she couldn’t entirely set her craft aside. Her mind was always going a million miles an hour. That was what she had come to Valentine Bay to get away from.
Escaping herself was proving to be more difficult than she’d hoped it would be. It was going to take more than just a geographic relocation, although that was definitely helping. It was going to take a major mind and spirit shift.
In an effort to clear at least a little bit of the tension from the air before every inch of skin was enveloped in a full-body blush, she switched up the topic of conversation. “So, tell me, Mr. Valentine. Are you named after the town, or is it the other way around?”
“My insert-a-bunch-of-greats grandfather founded Valentine Bay. So, I guess you’d say it’s the second one.”
“So, I guess you’re a pretty big deal here. The de facto mayor? That type of thing?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “More like the town mascot.”
She cocked her head to the side and gave a flirty little smile. “Oh, I don’t know. From what I’ve seen you’re very well respected.” She cut her eyes significantly toward Ellery. “And definitely very well-liked.”
He shook his head, and she noted with deep satisfaction that it was his turn to blush.
God, how could he be even more handsome? She wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but that little bit of color splashed across his cheeks emphasized the scruffy expanse of his five o’clock shadow in a way that made her lady parts come alive and made his face look even stronger and more square jawed than it had before, if that was possible.
“They just think I’m a good guy. The way I came back here after my parents’ accident to take care of my little sister and everything.”
She tilted her head. “What happened?”
He looked up and met her eyes. “Oh. Right. You’re not from here. That’s kind of refreshing, actually. I’m so used to everybody knowing my whole life story.”
She moved her hand over his and squeezed. “I’m really sorry about your parents.”
He grasped her fingers and gave her a small, sad smile. “So am I. They were great people. You would’ve liked them.”
“I’m sure I would’ve.”
His smile broadened. “And they would’ve loved you.”
