A Captivating Conundrum (10 page)

I sighed. "Maybe after hearing her story I just feel protective…like a bodyguard who would keep the stalkers away if people found out who she was."

"I think that Bobby guy is her bodyguard."

I saw the small fidget come from Chris's now slightly uncomfortable figure.

I smiled to myself. "Yeah. I liked the guy. I got a chance to talk to him when that lady pulled me to lunch." 

"Sooo, what was he like?"

I sat back against the porch column and stared at my friend. Chris had always been way too trusting. But this one, Bobby Morrison, I had a really good feeling about. "Well, the chicks in Bryant Park seemed to think he was good looking." I smiled at him 

He snorted. "They were probably staring at you."

"Not all of them." I grew serious. "He seems really nice, friendly; he deals with that agent pretty well and I liked what he said when he went to get his lunch."

"What was that?" The interest grew in Chris's eyes.

"I asked him to come with me because I would probably need a bodyguard to keep me safe from Nicole. Bobby told me he
was
there in the capacity of bodyguard, but not mine. I think he knew Beth was going to spill the fact that she's this beloved, Lily Stone, and he wanted to make sure I wasn't going to run out the doors and shout it to the world. I think they're very close."

"A good friend then," Chris commented.

I nodded. "Certainly loyal."

Chris looked up at the sky. "I liked Star. I mean Lily…Beth. She's got a lot of names to remember."

"It's just Beth."

"She's my kind of lady." Chris grinned. "For a woman who took a tumble in that fab outfit, she didn't even worry about stains, scuffs, or anything. She was way more worried that she hurt you. That's a sign of a fashionista mixed with a good, old-fashioned girl. A nice combination." 

I felt the tingle inside me. "Yeah…unique."

The small noises coming from the wooded area, the lapping of a brook somewhere out there in the darkness—everything seemed to draw to a whisper when the noise of a car came barreling up the driveway. As it crested the hill, the headlights beamed on Chris and me. 

Watching Beth straighten in her seat, I inhaled a breath, wishing I could somehow find a way to exhale before I again ended up looking like a total geek.

As Beth stepped from the car looking completely confused my heart started beating fast, wondering if this surprise visit would turn out to be the worst idea I'd ever had.

~ Hers ~

Bobby turned off the ignition.  "Ahhh…what do we do now?"

The beer buzz was still with me and the laugh came out before I could stop it. "Get out of the car, stupid."

I'm really not sure what Hops does to hormones. I mean, I'm not really a drinker; I've always been way too afraid that I'd get lost in all these story ideas bouncing around in my head and end up forgetting my own name.

Standing up straight and tall, I walked toward the strange duo standing on my lawn.

"Hey there," I said, nodding at the men and offering a smile. "What are you doing here?"

Matt stepped forward, more handsome than I remembered him; his emerald eyes seemed to sparkle under the light coming from the porch.

Walking toward me, he stopped for a brief moment and took a deep breath. I suddenly wondered if he was allergic to the massive trees. A lot of people suffered from that up here.

But he finally exhaled and took another few steps. "Sorry to surprise you like this. I thought that I would need your help with the material. You know…to make it as good as possible. Now that I've taken it on I don't want to screw it up."

"So you drove here? How did you get here so fast?"

"We stopped at the bar," Bobby answered from behind me. "Hey Chris," he added, sending a slightly nervous wave to our other unexpected guest.

I looked over at Chris who seemed to be gravitating toward my best friend, as they teamed up and walked back to the porch steps. The breeze drifted across the back of my neck and woke me a bit from my trance. "Um…well, I'll certainly help, but I'm not sure how. I mean, you're a professional actor, I have no idea what I would be useful for."

I felt the soft hand on mine before I saw it, yet another move I should have seen coming. Damn beer! Taking a quick step back, I circled around him and headed for the porch. "So, how did you find the house?"

I looked down at the key in my hand and shook my head. "Forget it. Nicole, I would assume?"

Matthew offered that deep, low laugh. "Yeah."

"She thought you needed my help?"

He shrugged.

Opening the door, I immediately smelled the lavender scent that always reminded me of where I was and that I was completely safe. Praising myself for having cleaned it before we'd left for the city last week, I invited them inside. 

Bobby grabbed the bags, and escorted Chris into my lair.

Throwing the keys on the table, I turned to face the actor who'd granted me a favor. "Sorry about her. Nicole's a little overbearing at times, but you really didn't have to come all the way out here. I mean, you're probably exhausted after the day you guys had."

As if on cue, a small yawn came from Chris. "Just a little." He smiled at me. "It's peaceful here, I have to say. Very quiet."

"It's called boring." I smiled back.

"No," his small voice was suddenly filled with the power of truth. "No. It's serene."

Matt agreed, "Compared to L.A. and New York, this place is like Paradise."

Obviously sensing my loss for intelligent words, as I continued to stare at the man who I was finding it impossible to turn away from, Bobby spoke, "I'm really sorry, guys. There's a huge Inn down the road but check-in is before seven. We really are small up here."  

"Then why such a big Inn?" Chris asked.

"A lot of New Yorkers come our way for the weekend. They give big parties and invite their friends."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Really?

Bobby shrugged. "Something about having a Connecticut home. I suppose we took over after the Hampton's kind of lost cool points." 

Matt looked around the room. "This is a beautiful property."

"It was my grandparent's house, actually. I just added on after they went up," I replied.

"Went up where?" Chris asked, rubbing his hand softly over the antique wood of my grandmother's table.

"Paradise," I replied.

Chris offered a truly sweet smile. "Sorry, dumb question. I
love
this table."

"My grandfather made that. It was his wedding present to her."

Matt's eyes moved over the hand-carved ornaments. "How long were they married?"

"Sixty-five years."

Matt took a step back. "Wow! And your parents?"

"Less, unfortunately." I turned away, suddenly feeling very odd about spilling my life to a complete stranger. "Anyway, as Bobby was saying, there's one Inn but it's most likely booked seeing as its Thursday night and the weekenders will be heading in." I swallowed hard, feeling extremely uncomfortable. "You'll probably want to go back to the city."

"Ha!" Chris snorted. "No room at the Inn. That's funny."

I giggled.

"Sorry," he said, "I'm a tad tired."

"They can stay here."

My gaze flew to Bobby. "What?"

"They could stay here. You have two extra bedrooms—with baths. It's not a problem."

My heart seemed to climb into my throat, as the wail of a warning siren went off in my head. I was trapped. "Of course you can stay the night." I turned back to Matt with what I hoped was a convincing smile. "You shouldn't drive these back country roads in the dark if you're not used to them."

I immediately turned to my so-called friend, and said sweetly, "I meant, they'll want to go back to the city tomorrow."

Bobby stared at Chris. "But you can stay longer, if you want."

Matt immediately put up his hand and stepped forward. "Look, Beth, we didn't come up here to beg a room, I swear. And we would certainly never presume to invite ourselves into your home."

"You didn't man, I invited you," Bobby said. Without another word, my friend lifted their bags and marched up the stairs, with Chris following behind.

Matt shrugged. "Sorry about this."

I shook my head slowly. "Don't be silly. You're certainly…welcome. Umm…but, just so you know, it is really boring here. There's not a lot to do for fun."

His smile grew. "I'm not here for fun, just work."

Being just a step away, I could actually feel the heat coming from his skin as he took my hand. "Your words about Amber and those kids meant a lot to me. You're taking a leap of faith by not keeping the other guy who's got a whole lot more job credits than I do. I want to make you and Amber proud."

The voice inside was screaming at me to say something,
anything
. The upside was I knew Matt was all about Amber, and any 'heat' or hormones I felt could simply be blamed on the beer, and would be gone tomorrow.

"Well…I'll show you to your room." 

He bowed at the waist. "After you."

As I marched up the stairs with absolutely no idea of what to say next, I should've known it was a terrible idea for them to stay. You see, when a writer is out of words, they are seriously screwed.

Seven

~ His ~

I know. It was awful to invite ourselves. And what made it even worse was the fact that Chris and I had made it to Beth's hometown well before seven and
had
found the Inn. But, no, I'm not going to say I regretted my choice one little bit.

When I walked into the house and was hit full in the face with the light lavender scent, I almost felt like I was home. Really. I expected my loving parents to come around the corner of the kitchen I spied at the other end of the hall. I expected Mom to run into my arms and give me a big hug, and I expected Dad to appear on the couch, watch the game with me, and tell me everything that was going on with his job—a job I seriously admired because he really helped people. In fact, he was a lot like Beth. They both had a penchant for 'home, hearth and family.' I knew he'd like her.

When we followed Beth into the dining room the table was the first thing I saw. I heard the small gasp come from Chris and he was right, it was stunning. Her grandfather must've been a master carpenter to create that—yet another skill I would love to learn. In fact, I always wanted to make a rocking chair for my Mom; one of those hand-tooled items that are so stunning even a nine-month pregnant lady who's about to burst could sit in it and feel comfortable.

Sixty-five years
? Beth certainly came from a solid family. But the slight sadness that passed through her eyes when I mentioned her parents made me feel guilty. It certainly wasn't something I should be privileged to know—at least not yet.

I did give myself points. I gave Beth a chance to overrule her best friend, so it's not all my fault. Maybe in the morning she'd change her mind and throw us out. But for now I was in Beth's world and somehow—out of the blue—it was exactly where I wanted to be. This woman was a puzzle, and I needed to figure her out.