“Hardly that!” Casey didn’t meet his eyes. “I do cook for him and Jack, so of course…” She trailed off.
“Do you know anything about boats?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Only that they shouldn’t have holes in the bottom.”
“That’s the extent of my knowledge too.” He was smiling.
Casey thought what a good-looking man he was. And simple. He seemed to be open and cheerful, as though he’d smile no matter what happened in life. She could imagine him laughing while his daughter rode a pony.
Since Devlin and Tate were so closely connected, Casey couldn’t help comparing them. Devlin didn’t seem to have Tate’s way of going from darkly glowering to smiles within seconds.
He began to tell her an amusing story about the house he’d rented on the lake. There was a small wooden boat stored in the garage, and he’d taken it out to make space for his car. But he’d found that the boat was such an annoyance to mow around that he slipped it into the water.
He made Casey laugh when he said he didn’t know what was wrong with him—maybe it was the romance of a boat on the crystal-clear lake—but he’d stepped into it. That he hadn’t tied it to the shore didn’t enter his mind.
Devlin was a good storyteller, and he acted out his arm-twirling attempts to get back to land using a single oar. The other oar was lying on the lawn, and he told how he’d watched the neighbor’s dog carry it away. “All while I was standing up and cursing at it,” he said.
“You stood up in a rowboat?” Casey asked, her eyes laughing.
Devlin shook his head at his stupidity. That’s what he’d done—and that’s when he’d fallen in and found out he was in only four feet of water. He’d slogged back to the shore, pulling the rowboat behind him.
As he finished his story, Casey took the last of the pies out of the oven. Devlin said the boat was now back in the garage and his car was sitting in the driveway.
“I should be going,” he said as he stood up. “Maybe you could visit me. Come out to the lake one evening. I make a mean frittata, and I’m good at opening bottles of wine.”
Casey hesitated.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I understand. You’ve met Tate.”
He sounded as though she’d dropped him at the mere sight of another, more handsome man. “That’s not how things are. I—”
“Sorry again,” Devlin said. “Tate Landers is a great guy. Has he told you how he came into acting? About his mother’s asthma attack?”
“He did, actually.”
“Mmmm,” Devlin said as he went to the door. “The talk shows love that story, and it’s a good one. I guess Letty and Ace will be next. My silly little boat story can’t compete with Tate’s tales of childhood bliss.”
Casey was frowning, but she wasn’t sure why. Because she’d thought Tate had never told his story to anyone else? That he saw her as someone special?
Devlin had his hand on the door. “Casey, I’d never dare tell you what to think about anyone, but please, I beg of you, don’t tell Tate about my coming audition. He’s a big-deal movie star, while I’m a jobless TV actor. All he’d have to do is make one call and…” Devlin took a breath. “Not that he would, but anyway, would you please not mention my audition to him? In fact, maybe it would be better if you don’t tell him that you’ve seen me.” He stood there looking at her, his face sincere.
“I won’t,” Casey said.
Devlin smiled in relief. “Thank you for the pie, for laughing at my story, and especially for your friendship in spite of what you’ve been told about me.”
“I’ve heard no gossip about you from any source.”
Devlin’s face brightened. “Yeah? That’s great. Maybe things are changing. I better go. Thank you, and I’ll see you at rehearsals.” He gave a little grimace. “One thing I hate about playing Wickham is that I got stuck romancing a kid. How old is that girl playing Lydia?”
“She wrote on her application that she’s eighteen. I thought she was great in the audition.”
“If you like a kid playing a seductress, yeah, she was excellent. I tend to like grown-up women.” He gave Casey a look so hot that the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. “If you ever get any time of
f, I’m at the end of Barton Road. Thanks again for the pie.”
With that, he closed the door behind him.
As Devlin left Casey’s house, he was smiling. He’d found out what he needed to know and he’d planted seeds of doubt in her pretty head.