I paused and blinked at her a few times. “Well shit, Scar, I hadn’t thought to worry about that, but now that you mention it…”
“Leah Mae will help you with that,” she said. “Or Devlin knows all about dressin’ up. You can ask him.”
“Thanks.”
She took off her gloves and tossed them on the dusty counter. “So are you going to keep making me pry this out of you? Because I have a lot more work to do today.”
I put my hands on my hips and looked down. “It’s just that… I’m not sure how this is going to go. I’ll face the cameras or whatever I have to do. That’s fine. But this is her world I’m steppin’ into. A man’s supposed to lead in a dance, not follow.”
“Good thing it’s not really a dance,” she said.
“It’s a metaphor.”
She laughed. “I know, and I hear what you’re saying. Look, I can’t speak to being the man in this scenario. But I can tell you I’ve been in your shoes. I had to go to that charity barbecue with Dev and it was like being on an alien planet—one where the natives were hostile toward visitors.”
“I’d imagine that wasn’t easy,” I said.
“Actually, it was pretty great,” she said. “I understood Devlin a lot better after seeing that side of things for myself. It helped me see where he’d come from. I think it did a lot for our relationship.”
“So, you mean, getting out of your element and into his was a good thing.”
“Absolutely,” she said. “It’ll be good for you and Leah Mae, too. Think of it as a chance to show her off to the world. She’ll be perched on your arm, lookin’ all sexy in a fancy dress. You’ll be there to make sure she can hold her head high and look all those assholes in the eye.”
“That’s exactly why I’m going.”
“Then what are you so worried about?” she asked. “You’ve got this.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I reckon.”
“God, Jameson, I don’t think you realize just how adorable you actually are,” she said. “All those Hollywood people are going to eat you up with a spoon.”
I wasn’t sure about all that. But supporting Leah Mae—backing her up so she could face a tough situation—that I knew I could do. And maybe Scarlett was right. Maybe it would be good for us, like it had been good for them. I certainly hoped so. As strong as my feelings were for Leah Mae, there were still a lot of unknowns. And I wasn’t sure how much more pressure the two of us could take.
29
LEAH MAE
T here was something about a man with manners.
Jameson Bodine left a trail of melted panties from the mountains of West Virginia all the way to sunny California. From the ticketing agents, to the waitress in the airport restaurant, to the flight attendants on our cross-country flight, to the hotel staff in L.A. He said pardon me, and please, and thank you ma’am in that adorable Appalachian drawl. Tipped his hat. Gave them his boyish grin. Didn’t want to trouble anyone for anything, but sure was grateful for it all, even when they were just doing their jobs.
I caught at least half a dozen women watching him with dreamy eyes. The flight attendants fawned over him. The waitress at the airport looked like she would have slipped him her number if I hadn’t been there.
The farther we got from Bootleg Springs, the more pronounced the Jameson effect became. The woman who checked us in at the hotel fanned herself—actually fanned herself—as soon as he started talking.
Maybe some women would be jealous of their boyfriend getting so much attention from other women. Not me. I loved it. It wasn’t that I needed other women noticing him to realize what I had. It was just so adorable. He clearly had no idea the effect he had on women. I was sure that to him, he was just being polite. He didn’t seem to notice their reactions at all.
And yes, I did indulge in a little satisfaction over knowing he was mine. Besides, I could hardly blame them. I found him irresistible, too. I was just the lucky girl who got to keep him.
“The hotel’s nice, at least.” He put our bags down and surveyed the room, his hands on his hips, a battered ball cap on his head. “I reckon we’ll be comfortable.”