Celeb Crush (7 page)

Ignoring me, he follows after Ellen, no doubt on a fact-finding mission.  I am so annoyed and flustered that I can’t follow what they’re saying at all.  I think Ellen’s complimenting him on his very first role that launched him into superstardom, but I can’t comprehend much of it due to my current panic attack.  I can’t even remember how to breathe right now!

“So, um, Lucas,” Ellen begins, shyly using his first name after he insists.  “What exactly are your intentions towards my granddaughter, here?”

Luke flicks a glance at me, smiling evilly.  “Well, I’m glad you asked that, Ellen,” he drawls.

I jump into action.  I grab a brownie from a tray on the counter and practically smash a whole square into Luke’s mouth.  “Try these.  They’re delicious.”

While Luke is choking on that piece of food poisoning, I turn to Ellen with a calm smile.  “Hey, Ellen?  Do you mind if I show Luke the rest of the house before he has to go?  He’d really love to see it.  Right, Luke?”

Luke coughs hoarsely, thumping his chest with a fist as if trying to dislodge something.  “Yeah, definitely,” he mumbles.

Ellen takes a small sip of her coffee.  “You two go on,” she says with a wave of her hand.  “I’m still trying to wake up all the way.”

I grab Luke’s hand and swiftly lead him to the stairs.  He lets me drag him along, complaining under his breath.

“What the hell did you just shove in my mouth?” he growls.  “It tastes like dirt.”

“It was just a brownie,” I hiss back at him over my shoulder.  When we get to my room, I push him in and shut the door behind us.

Luke takes in my room with a quick glance, and then makes himself comfortable on my bed.  “So, we’re in love now?” he prompts me.

I let my head fall back to smack against the wall behind me.  “Obviously, I lied to some people about us being in a relationship,” I say through gritted teeth.  “I was trying to save face, okay?  End of story.  Sorry about that.  I’ll make sure they keep their mouths shut.  Good bye.”

I paste on my most diplomatic smile, but Luke isn’t buying it.  He shakes his head at me.  “Oh, you’re not getting off that easy.  Talk to me, Andi.  You’re the most brutally honest and straightforward person I know.  Why would you feel like you had to save face?”

I cross my arms and glare at him mutinously.  Maybe he’ll take the hint, and just leave.

Yeah, right.

I watch with trepidation as a sly gleam brightens his eyes.  “So you’re grandma probably thinks we’re in here having a quickie,” he says casually.  “Is your room right above the kitchen, do you think?”

To my horror, he starts bouncing up and down on my bed, making the springs in my mattress squeak rhythmically, and the bed frame loudly slides around on the floor.  It totally sounds like we’re having sex up in here.

“Alright!” I shout when Luke starts with the sexy groaning and the “oh, yeahs!” He stops mid-bounce, and looks at me expectantly. 

I scowl back at him.  “My ex-boyfriend is marrying my pregnant cousin—and I haven’t even been on a date in two years.  Why do you think I lied?  If they knew the truth, they’d think I still want him, or something.”

Luke’s eyes seem to search mine.  “And do you?  Still want him?”

“No!  I want to him.  All the time.”

That earns me an approving look.  “That’s my girl,” he murmurs, satisfaction evident in his voice.  “So…I have an idea.”

“So do I.”  I stomp over to him, and try to pull him off my bed.  “You go back to Lemage and pretend like this never happened.”

“
Or
…”  Luke laughs at my pathetic attempts to move him.  “I could stay, and back up your story.”

“That’s a terrible idea.  Hideous.  Please go.”

“Come on—it’s brilliant!  You show up with me on your arm, and you’ll upstage your cousin and your dick of an ex at their own wedding.”  Luke looks so pleased with himself that I want to smash another dirt brownie in his face.  “What’s not to like about this plan, huh?  You earn a million bragging points…
and
you get to spend more time with me.”

Oh, joy.  I try another tactic with a smile.  “I can’t ask you to miss out on your vacation getaway.  You’ve been working so hard lately.  You deserve a break.”

Luke snorts.  “Are you kidding me?  I was having a shitty time.  Eyan and Rob don’t wanna do anything but sit on their drunk asses on the beach; Nate’s chasing after some reality show princess.  I was so fucking bored.”  He gives me the puppy dog eyes.  “Please don’t make me go back there.”

My shoulders slump as I retreat back to my wall.  “You’re supposed to be relaxing and keeping a low profile.  Ivan said—”

“I can do that here,” he interrupts me.  “Think about it—who’s gonna think to look for me in Sea Horse, Oregon?”

“Sea Wind.”

“Isn’t that what I said?”

“But you’ll be so bored
here
,” I argue, pushing a lock of damp hair behind my ear.  “There’s nothing to do, no risks to take.  It’s safe—really safe.  I’m talking zero thrills.  Oh, and did I mention this is, like, a retirement community?  You won’t be finding any nubile young co-eds to bed.”

Now Luke is annoyed.  He yanks off his cap, and runs a hand through his hat head hair.  “I don’t want to bed anyone.  I wanna flirt with your grandma, eat homemade meals—and beat the shit out of your douche-y ex if he so much as twitches in your direction,” he says earnestly, his eyes widening.  “I want you to make me pie.  The kind with the lattice top.  You know what I’m talking about.”

I stare at him like he’s grown a second head.  “You’re saying you want to waste your vacation time playing the role of boyfriend and average citizen of Sea Horse, Oregon?”

“Sea Wind,” he corrects me with a sudden blinding grin.

I nod slowly, contemplating my predicament.  Luke has that stubborn look on his face.  When he gets like that, you can’t talk him out of anything, no matter how stupid or dangerous the idea.  Plus, he’ll eventually remember that he’s the boss and he can pretty much do whatever the hell he wants. So he stays here for a few days—how bad could it be?  I’ll introduce him to the others; then I’ll lock him in the bathroom for a couple of days.  He’ll be climbing the walls by the time I let him out—and he’ll leave this town so fast there will be jet trails in his wake.

It’s a solid plan.  It just might work.  I look at Luke.  “Fine,” I say finally.  “You can stay.  But you need to try to stay out of sight as much as possible.  And don’t do anything crazy.  This is a small town, and you’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Please.”  Luke snorts.  “I’m an actor.  I know how to play this part.”

“Okay, well…whatever.  Oh, and the whole thing about us being together—”

“Andi.”  He holds his hand up to stop me.  “I got this.  And I have a couple of conditions of my own.  Number one.”

He clears his throat and looks me up and down.  I frown down at myself.  “What?” I say.

“You have got to do something about the way you dress.  No girlfriend of mine would be seen in some of the outfits you’ve sported,” he tells me bluntly. “I don’t think I’ve seen you in any color other than gray or brown since we met.  I can have an awesome stylist be here in a couple of hours to…you know…help you out.”

I know he’s joking—Luke is the last person to care about clothes.  But I sense a glint of curiosity behind the teasing, so I decide to explain myself.  “Jessica told me on the first day we met that if I don’t want to be gossiped about, or caught in any of the pictures when I’m with you—that I should never walk right next to you, and I should always look like a slob.  So far, her advice has worked.  I’ve checked.  Maybe there’ll be part of my elbow or something in a picture once in a while—but so far, so good.  Once, they even Photoshopped me completely out of the scene.”

Luke looks amazed at my revelation.  He sits in silence for a few moments.  “Is that why you never wear a swimsuit?” he asks, like he’s wondered about this a lot.

“Yeah.”  I give him a dark look. 

“Why?” he asks, cocking his head to the side in puzzlement.  “I bet you have a great body hidden under…that.”  He gestures vaguely to my limp gray sweats.

“Thanks,” I say sarcastically.  “And I know how to dress myself.  It’s just so much easier this way.”

Luke holds up both hands as if in surrender.  “Just making sure it’s not some kind of serious low self-esteem issue.  You know you’re incredibly beautiful, right?”

My jaw drops at his out of the blue compliment.  “Um…riiight,” I mumble, glaring suspiciously at him.  “Anyway.   What’s condition number two?”

“Huh?  Oh, yeah.  You follow my lead.  I’m the award-winning actor here, so—just—just go with it.”  He points at me.  “I think I can really sell us as a couple.”

I frown thunderously at him.  “Really, there’s no need.  Just nod and smile, and hang out next to me.  Everyone knows I’m not the PDA type.”

Luke gives an exaggerated sigh.  “Oh, Andi,” he says sadly.  “You really have no imagination.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about it,” I growl. “Is that all?”

“Also, you owe me a favor.  But we’ll talk about that another day.”  He sits up straight, and smirks playfully.  “So, Anderson Kelly, do you agree to these conditions?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Awesome,” Luke says, and nods his head like I said yes.  He claps his hands together excitedly.  “Alright!  Let’s do this.”

He looks around my room as if searching for a place to start.  I ignore him and walk over to my dresser to get a change of clothes.  Maybe I should just lock him in the bathroom now.  But how would I get him in there?  I would have to drug him, I guess.

“So, what’s next?” he asks.  “What are we doing now?”

“I’m taking a shower.  Then we’re finding you a place to stay.”

Luke puts on his best smoldering look, the one that makes girls across the internet swoon and wet themselves. “What, I’m not staying in here with you?”

“I was actually about to suggest a nice motel, but I bet Ellen would let you stay in the mother-in-law house in the back,” I say, pointing out my window.  “No one’s lived there since her mom died in her sleep in that house.  We could air it out, give you some new sheets—it will be good as new.  There’s a bathroom and a kitchen.”

Luke gets up to look out the window at the little house sitting in corner of the backyard. While he’s preoccupied, I absently run my gaze over his broad shoulders and lean muscled torso, clad in his favorite blue T&C shirt.  The one he never managed to get my blood out of.  Yes, that’s my blood—that little rusty-looking stain right between his shoulder blades.  I secretly love when he wears that shirt.  It reminds me of that day he carried me over his shoulder, half-unconscious, all the way down the mountain.  It was almost romantic.  Well, no, it wasn’t really.  Not after I threw up all down his back from the head injury.

Luke turns back to me, pulling me out of my reverie.  “It’s perfect,” he announces.  “You think she’ll let me stay there?”

It’s adorable how unsure he is about himself sometimes.  “Of course,” I reply instantly.  “You’re ‘Sam Langelier’.  Who’s gonna tell you no?”

“Don’t call me that.  You tell me no all the time.  Even though you get paid to kiss my ass.”  He tilts his head to the side, considering.  “How does that work again?”

“Wrong.  I get paid to save you from yourself.”  I grab my clothes, giving him an enigmatic smile before I open my bedroom door.  “I’m going to get ready.  Try not to get in any trouble while I’m gone.”

“Hold up a sec.”  Another smirk lights up his face.  “I think I should be the one to break the news to Nate about our new relationship status.”

“What?  No!”  I whip around.  “We don’t have to tell anyone about this, right?  Right, Luke?”

In response, he takes out his phone and starts swiping and tapping at the screen.  “Get over here, Andi.  I wanna send him our very first couple selfie.  That’s a thing, right?”

“Don’t you dare, Greyson!”  I launch myself at him.

He easily avoids my lunge, laughing.  “Kidding!  I’m just kidding, Tiger.  Go take your shower, I’ll behave myself.  I swear.”

“Dick,” I mutter while Luke continues to chuckle.  I start to stomp away.

“Oh, and Andi?”

“What?” I growl.

Luke slingshots the black thong I thought I was still holding along with my other clothes at me.  I catch it with my face.  Motherfu—ugh!  I yank it off and glare at him.

He grins at me.  “Wear something pretty.”

Yeah, I’m definitely going to drug his ass.

Chapter 7

I don’t have any low self-esteem issues.  In fact, when I was little people used to tell me how beautiful I was—and I just ate it up.  I would tell all my friends that they had to do what I said because I was prettier than them, and I would be rich and famous one day so they better be nice to me.  My mom finally had to sit me down and lecture me about my attitude.  She said something about how pretty is as pretty does, and how if you’re rotten inside it will eventually show through on the outside no matter how good looking you are.  I asked if that’s what happened to Aunt Rosa, and all the other ugly people walking around.  Then she told me I need to get my ego under control or someone’s gonna come along one day and slap the pretty off my face.