Famous in a Small Town

“I kind of fell apart after that. I didn’t feel safe in the apartment, but I didn’t want to go out, either. Living with that kind of fear hanging over you all the time, it . . . it’s awful.” I took a deep breath and calmed myself. “Coming home to Wildwood made the most sense. I could control my surroundings a bit better than I could in the city. Most of the faces were familiar to me, and my family and friends were here. Things didn’t seem to set me off as often. It was just easier all around.”

He nodded. “You slept here last night.”

“Yeah. I, um, I fell asleep in the chair. I was watching you, actually.”

His smile was gentle.

“Are you saying I was a big, brave girl for staying at my boyfriend’s overnight?”

“Don’t belittle it,” he said. “It’s not something you were able to do a few years ago.”

“True.”

For a moment, he just stared at me. With his blank face in place, it was impossible to tell how he was feeling. “You just called me your boyfriend.”

“Yeah, ah . . . whatever. We don’t have to put labels on things at this stage.”

The corner of his mouth edged up a little. “Got to admit, mace is a new one, first-date wise,” he said. “But I’m sorry to say it doesn’t beat the time a Hollywood actress drove her Maserati into me and my hedge.”

“She hit you and your garden with her expensive car?”

“She only bruised me. That section of the hedge was destroyed, though. It was an accident. She was reversing out of a tight spot and wasn’t used to the vehicle,” he said. “We were probably lucky that’s the worst thing that happened.”

“Huh.”

“Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?”

I shook my head emphatically.

“Can I touch you now?” he asked.

I nodded. And that’s how I found myself wrapped up in his arms. No place could be better. I pressed my face against his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. Everything was okay. Everything was going to be fine.

Smith rushed back into the kitchen with a barking Gene hot on his heels, all het up. “Come on now. Good dog.”

“What set him off?” asked Garrett with a frown.

Smith closed the door. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, man. But you’ve got lurkers up the top of the driveway. Looks like media with a long-range camera and a dozen or so fans. Lucky you put the big fence and gate in, huh?”

“Landing a chopper in my backyard was hardly subtle,” growled Garrett.

“How are you going to get rid of them?” I asked with dawning horror.

“It’s okay,” said Garrett. “I’ll sort it out. We knew this was going to happen sooner or later.”

“Yeah, but . . . shit. I am not doing the walk of shame in front of paparazzi and your fans, Garrett. That is not happening.”

Smith bit back a smile.

“This isn’t funny,” I said sharply.

“I know, I know.” He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m just so happy to see you two getting along.”

“You’re not staying,” repeated Garrett.

“Oh, relax, man. I’m the least of your problems right now.”

Sadly for all of us, he was right.

Garrett the neighbor might now be mine. But Garrett the rock star remained an unknown quantity. This became obvious when he picked up his cell and started making calls.

Smith sat opposite me at the table, eating a doughnut and sipping coffee. “I love it when he goes all diva.”

“Do you?”

The gentle giant just smiled.

“This is the strangest way to spend a Sunday.”

“Hang in there, babe,” he said.

“I heard that,” said Garrett, giving his friend a death glare.

Smith kept on smiling. “Ani, if they don’t know about you now, they will soon. Be ready. They’ll have people sniffing around asking all sorts of questions. And someone will talk. Someone always talks.”

I nodded.

“You lock down your social media?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good. They’re going to say all sorts of shit. But remember, none of them actually know you. Their job is to turn you into clickbait to make a buck or two. Nothing more and nothing less.”

Garrett put down his cell, leaning his jeans-clad ass against the edge of the kitchen counter. “Stop scaring her.”

“I’m not scaring her. I’m telling her the truth,” said Smith in the same calm voice. “You want to keep her, you better prepare her for the shit storm that’s about to hit. She’s not like the girls you used to date down in L.A., man. If they weren’t actually part of the industry, they were living on its edges. They knew. She doesn’t.”

I frowned. “I’m not an idiot.”

“I never said that, darling.” Smith took a sip of coffee. “The fact that you’re not part of all that is a good thing. Believe me. But you still need to know what’s coming at you.”