Chapter 21
21
Keith flew back to North Carolina a few days early. He never enjoyed working the day after flying, so he always arrived on site a day or two before everyone else.
“How many more location sites do we need to scope out?” Keith asked Chip as they parked their vehicle in the hotel’s underground parking garage.
“Even though the Biltmore House isn’t part of the movie, they’ve arranged the use of their horses for the picnic scene by the river. We’d need to talk with the director to get you in early unless we purchase tickets. Then, there’s a chance someone would recognize you on the way to the barn.” Chip lifted a shoulder. “I can try to schedule it tomorrow if you want. With it being a Sunday, we may be out of luck, but we’re checking out of here tomorrow, so it may be doable.”
“Let me think about it. Right now, I’m ready for a shower and a drink.”
“Second that,” said Chip.
“I’m game,” Max agreed.
They took the back elevators to the top floor, where Keith had a suite across from Chip and Max. Keith’s room overlooked the grassy knoll with the mountains as a backdrop. Chip and Max’s view saw parts of Asheville and the golf course. Neither landscape was bad.
A half hour later, they sat in the corner of the bar. Keith wore his traditional collared shirt, jeans with a big, buckled belt, and cowboy boots. He looked every bit a mid-westerner from off an oil field or ranch. The other men dressed similarly, sans the belt buckle.
They watched people coming and going through the grand lobby. The small jazz ensemble set up beside the bar, blocking one set of French doors. Keith didn’t miss people taking covert pictures of him. He never stopped them as long as they were respectful, and Max always kept a watchful eye on anyone getting too close. Keith gave the bartender his credit card, and they ordered drinks.
Chip noticed Keith sit straighter in his chair. He turned around, following his gaze. “Keith?”
“That’s her, isn’t it?”
“Sure looks like her.”
“Who?” Max asked.
“You wouldn’t remember. Your ass was asleep when we stopped for coffee on our last trip here,” Chip said.
Keith watched two women, one blond and the other a redhead, as they sashayed through the room and cozied up to the bar. He scanned the blond from head to toe. She was dressed in casual elegance with flowing dress pants, a sweater, and his favorite—cowboy boots. The women ordered drinks, and the redhead sat captivated by something the blond was saying. Would she remember the morning they met?
Chip slowly turned and bowed his head so no one could see them talking. “I haven’t gotten a good look at her face. It’s been what, a month? I can’t swear it’s her even though she looks like I remember her. But seriously, Keith, what are the odds?”
“I’m not a betting man, Chip, but I’ll bet you a thousand-dollar bonus that it’s her.” He continued to watch the women from the corner of his eye. The blond swirled her ruby red drink and brought it to her lips, causing Keith to lick his. Without diverting his gaze, he motioned the bartender over.
“Compliments of the gentleman,” the bartender said as he set drinks down in front of the ladies and signaled in the direction of the gentleman .
Michelle and Jackie spun their barstools and held up the drinks in the direction of the man as a thank you. When Michelle’s gaze locked with the man against the wall in the corner, her stomach dropped. It couldn’t be. She swallowed and quickly turned back to Jackie. “That’s him.”
“Who?”
“The man from Coffee Café. Remember I told you.” She stared directly into her eyes, imploring her to remember. “The doppelganger from the morning of the softball game.”
“Oh.” Jackie tried to look over Michelle’s shoulder. “Are you sure?”
“I told you I wouldn’t forget those eyes.”
“One of them is coming over here,” Jackie said as she rotated toward the bar.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” a male voice said from behind them.
Michelle faced the man standing between her and Jackie. Thankfully her back was to the man with the whiskey eyes. “Yes?”
“My boss asked if by chance he could get your phone number.” He held his hands up. “I know in this day and time, it’s not safe to do that, but I give you my word, it’s secure.”
“Your word? And who are you? And who is he, for that matter?” Michelle canted her head in question.
“I’m Chip Felder. I’m the personal assistant to Keith Mason.” He raised his eyebrows expecting her to know the name. “And that’s my boss.” He indicated the man in the corner.
Michelle laughed. “Right, and I’m the Queen of England.”
Chip blinked. “I’m serious.”
“Look, Chip. Is it all right for me to call you Chip?”
“Yes.”
“Your boss over there looks like Keith Mason. Yes, it’s been all over the news that he’s coming to town in a few weeks. But if he were here and that were him, people would be all in his business. The news hasn’t reported anything about him being here, so if your boss wants to speak with me...” Michelle looked at Jackie, whose face was flushed. “He can reach out to me on the dating app I use. Then we’ll see if he is who you say he is.”
Chip smiled. “And what dating app is that?”
“ MyPrivacy .”
Chip’s eyes widened. “Exclusive site.”
“Yes, because I like?—”
“Your privacy. Got it. I’ll let him know.”
“Thank you, and please tell him thank you for the drinks.”
“His pleasure,” Chip said as he walked away.
Michelle tilted her head to watch Chip out of the corner of her eye. The man pulled out his phone, and Chip typed on the screen. Michelle looked at Jackie. “Can you believe that?”
Jackie leaned close and whispered, “I think it may really be him.”
“C’mon, Jackie. It would be all over Asheville if he were here. I know he looks like Keith Mason. I told you that, so maybe he’s the stunt double or something. I don’t know, but that is not Keith Mason.”
Michelle’s phone pinged just as the words left her mouth. She picked up her phone and saw a notification beside her MyPrivacy icon. She swallowed and opened the app. There was Keith Mason’s picture waving at her. She looked at the profile and saw that the account was verified as the real Keith Mason. She twisted her phone toward Jackie as she turned in the direction of the man, who was sauntering toward her.
“Hello, I’m Keith Mason, it’s nice to officially meet you.”
She closed her eyes and faced him. “H-Hi, um, hello K-Keith M-Mason, I’m Michelle Conroy.”
“May I have this dance?” He held out his hand expectantly.
She quickly nodded as she placed her hand in his. He led her to the small, make-shift dance floor and pulled her close. The jazz band played an instrumental version of “It Had to Be You.” Her hand trembled in his, as did the one resting on his shoulder.
“It was really you at the coffee shop that day, wasn’t it?”
“Guilty as charged.” He used the same words she had. “I never thought I’d see you again, and then here you are.”
“How did you find me so fast on the app?”
“I’ve had an account for years. It was disabled when I got married.” They slowly rotated. “I searched for your name in the Asheville area.”
“How did you know my name?”
“The barista called you Michelle.”
“And you remembered that?”
“Your name was all I knew... and how blue your eyes were.”
She leaned her head back to look him in the eyes. “You can look up names and locations on the app?”
He chuckled. “Yeah.”
She made the mistake of looking over his shoulder to see several people with their phones pointed at them. She closed her eyes and tucked her head closer to his neck. She felt the chuckle in his throat before she heard it.
“You’re going to be famous tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to be famous.”
As they continued to dance, his hand spread wide against her back. “I glanced at your profile. You’re widowed.”
“Yes.”
“Will you tell me about that?”
“No.” She swallowed. “At least not now. I don’t know you well enough.”
“I’d like to change that.”
She sighed. “Aren’t you married?”
“I guess you don’t follow celebrity gossip.” He pressed his cheek against the top of her head. “After a long-drawn-out affair, my now ex-wife decided she could sign the papers. So, I’m officially divorced, even though we were separated for a year.”
“And you’re ready to move on so quickly?”
“I wasn’t until I saw you. I haven’t been able to get your eyes out of my head. Do you know how that feels?”
She nodded, afraid to speak.
“I always thought the prince in Cinderella was an idiot. Who goes running after someone with just a shoe?”
“But . . .”
“At least I had your name and a barista who knows an awful lot about you. I was prepared to go to that coffee shop every day while I was here until you came back.”
She giggled. “Gretchen knows everybody.” She leaned back to look at him again. “And I don’t believe you’d do that for a single second.”
He grinned. “Like you said, you don’t know me very well.”
She smiled. “Maybe I’d like to change that.”
“Maybe?”
“Hmm, you live in the spotlight, and I prefer the shadows.”
He placed his lips next to her ear. “With you, I’d prefer the shadows too.”
She grinned. “Do you always flirt this much?”
“I haven’t recently, no.”
The song came to an end, and as they walked back to the bar, applause broke out in the room. Michelle ducked her head, causing her hair to fall and obscure her face. Keith held his head high, not caring who saw him or took his picture. When they stopped beside Jackie, Michelle smiled at her.
“Jackie Collins, I’d like to introduce you to Keith Mason.”
Jackie blinked several times. “It’s a pleasure.”
“The pleasure’s all mine.” He looked from Jackie to Michelle. “Ladies, I don’t want this night to end, but let me suggest you leave now before the media show up or someone decides to follow you. We’ll walk you out. Max is great at keeping people at bay.”
Jackie waved over the bartender as they agreed. When he turned, Jackie said, “Check, please.”
“Put it on my tab,” Keith said, then looked at Michelle. “Ready?”
Chip was closing out the tab by the time they walked to the end of the bar. “Are we going upstairs?”
Michelle’s eyes widened. “No, I need to drop Jackie at a friend’s house.”
“We’ll walk you out then. Where did you park?” Keith kept his hand at the small of Michelle’s back as they ambled out of the lounge.
“We valeted.”
“Give Chip your ticket, and we’ll wait out of the way. Max will cover.”
As they walked outdoors to the large, covered entryway, Chip handled the valet while the others huddled in the corner.
Keith held Michelle’s hands in his. “I want to see you again. I want to get to know you.”
Michelle’s heart pounded. Not in her wildest dreams would she have ever thought she’d meet Keith Mason, much less dance with him and have him ask to spend time with her. “I’d like that too.”
“I don’t want to talk through the app. Can I please have your phone number?”
Michelle rolled her lips inward as crazy thoughts ran through her head. Was she going to do this? Oh, jeez, yes, she was. She didn’t want him to think she was running after him because he was some big star. “Unlock your phone, and I’ll type a text message. I won’t use your number unless you reach out first.”
Keith handed over his phone, and Michelle typed in her number and her name. As she handed his phone back, he wrapped his hand around hers and her phone dinged. “When will you be home?”
“By the time I drop off Jackie, about an hour.”
Keith looked at Jackie. “Is she the friend you go to the gym with, or do you have another man in your life?”
Michelle and Jackie looked at each other. “How do you know that?”
“The girl at the coffee shop. Gretchen, right?”
“Yes, on both questions.”
“Are you seeing someone?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve been on a few dates, but I’m not seeing anyone special.” She swallowed. “I don’t cheat, not even for someone like you.”
Relief ran through him. “Can I call when you get home? I’d like to know that you arrived safely.”
“Sure.”
Chip walked over. “Your Jeep is here.”
Chip opened Jackie’s door as Keith walked Michelle to the driver’s side. He opened her door, but before she could get in, he kissed her cheek. “Drive carefully.”
Drive? How could she think about driving when she couldn’t breathe? She stared into his eyes and swallowed. “I will.”
Jackie gave her long enough to drive up the hill and out of sight of the hotel. “What? Michelle, that was Keith Mason! Your movie crush! I told you that you could meet him.”
“I think I might vomit.”
“You’ve got to be flying right now.”
“Oh, Jackie, he was gorgeous and nice, and when he whispered into my ear, goose bumps erupted all over my body.” She held her arm toward Jackie. “Pinch me. I don’t believe this is real.”
Jackie giggled and obliged her friend. “It’s real, and I’m sure the two of you dancing will be all over the internet by the time you get home.”
“I saw people with their phones, and I couldn’t look. That made me even more nervous. Could people see my face? My whole face?”
“Just from the eyes up. You were tucked in close. Your face was partially hidden.”
“But the valet. He saw me.” Her hand flew to her cheek. “He saw Keith kiss my cheek.”
“It was a friendly kiss, Michelle. For all any of those people know, y’all are old friends.”
Michelle glanced at Jackie. “Do you think so?”
Jackie burst out laughing. “Hell no! They saw the sparks just like I did.”
“You’re not helping.”