Unscripted (5 page)

“
Oh that’s lovely. What are you going to order?”

“
I’m getting hot cakes and Leah’s going to have a cinnamon roll,” Jade said as she twirled my ponytail with her fingers. Leah climbed into the chair beside me, making herself quite comfortable.

“
That sounds delicious.” Smiling I took a final sip of my coffee. “Well you have fun at breakfast.”

“
Holliday you should have breakfast with us. Please, please, please,” Leah said loudly while shaking my arm.

Jade rocked back and forth on her heels, holding on to the armrest of my chair and saying, “Yeah! Holliday, come to breakfast with us.”

Ronan gave me a sweet half-smile. His eyes were bluer today, looking somber and not nearly as bright as they had last night. He seemed pretty tired.

“
Girls, I can’t. I’m sorry. I just ate my breakfast. See,” I said as I pointed to my coffee and empty bowl.

Jade huffed and folded her arms in displeasure while Leah slumped down in the chair. They both looked at me sadly. I felt like I had broken their little hearts. I quickly changed the subject in hopes to brighten their spirits.

“
What plans do you girls have today?” I asked excitedly with a big smile.

Leah shot right up and said, “We’re going to see the big Christmas tree and the ice skating rink.”

Of course. I remembered that was Ronan’s reason for bringing them to the city— Rockefeller Plaza.

“
Can you come see the tree with us, Holliday? Please oh please say you can,” Leah asked so sweetly.

Crap.
I already turned them down for breakfast. How could I say no to this request? I glanced at Ronan who I caught grinning and then raising an eyebrow, waiting for my response.

“
Okay. I will be happy to go with you to see the big Christmas tree,” I said, smiling outwardly but with reluctance on the inside. I looked at Ronan and asked firmly, “When are you leaving?”

“
Does eleven o’clock work for you?” he asked softly.

“
Yes.” I felt my heart begin to beat rapidly. “I’ll meet you over there by the fireplace.”

“
Dress warmly, Holliday. It’s cold outside.” His posture shifted to a more relaxed state, and I noticed his eyes were a bit brighter. Was I actually having some kind of effect on Ronan?

The waitress at the café came over and asked if they were ready for their table, and Ronan said yes. He asked if she could take the girls to the table, saying he would be right there. I started to walk away when he gently touched my arm. Again, electricity twirled up my spine and back down. I was standing so close to him that I could feel the heat radiating off his skin.

“
Holliday a moment, please?”

I nodded, speaking tightly, “What can I do for you Mr. Connolly?”

It felt like minutes before he spoke. He stood there looking at me, gripping my arm as if he was unable to formulate the words. I needed anything to ease this obvious fiery tension between us. I considered pressing my body against his and letting him know it was okay for him to kiss me and all would be forgiven.

“
Ronan, please,” he said and then cleared his throat. “Did you get the flowers I sent?”

“
Oh, those were from you?”

He pulled back slightly, letting go of the grip he had on my arm. “I asked them to attach a card.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

“
I know. I didn’t read it.”

Ronan took a step closer to me, whispering in my ear, “Read the card, Holliday.” When he leaned into me, I closed my eyes and felt my heart leap into my throat. I felt his warm minty breath on my ear. Ronan walked away, and I let out a deep sigh. I watched him all the way until he took a seat with his daughters. They looked so happy. Maybe he was a good guy after all. It was quite clear he was a terrific dad.

The card Ronan sent with the flowers didn’t say what I’d expected. It simply said: SOME PEOPLE COME IN YOUR LIFE AS BLESSINGS, AND OTHERS COME IN YOUR LIFE AS LESSONS.

An Irish proverb I assumed.

I flipped it over to find he had written: YOU ARE BOTH FOR ME.

Just when I thought I had Ronan Connolly all figured out, he managed to surprise me.

I walked across the lobby, double checking my outfit in the mirror as I waited for Ronan and the girls. I’d layered up with a navy blue sweater and a long sleeve cotton t-shirt paired with red denim jeans. I was wearing my favorite grey All Saints cashmere beanie, which I pulled down slightly over my bangs, and then I fluffed my loose curls that wrapped around my shoulders. I was ready to brace an afternoon outside in the frosty air.

I saw the girls running towards me, and I smiled. Ruth and Dean were both following Ronan.

“
The car should be around any moment Mr. Connolly,” Dean announced.

Ruth helped the girls with their jackets, and Ronan officially introduced the two of us. She was pleasant enough and looked much better than she had yesterday. A large silver Infiniti SUV pulled up to the curb and Ronan led us out the door.

We travelled through the somewhat snowy streets with ease. Dean was an excellent navigator of Manhattan traffic. The girls could hardly wait to get out once the tree came into view. I hadn’t been to Rockefeller Center since I first moved to the city two years ago. I usually avoided the typical tourist places in the city, preferring the cozy coffee shops and posh eateries of my neighborhood.

Ronan bought all of us hot chocolate and we watched the ice skaters pass by, some learning how to skate for the first time, others trying to impress by doing tricks and skating around the rink at high rates of speed.

Ruth took the girls to get a closer look at the skaters. I started to walk with them, but Ronan gripped my arm holding me back. Dean was in eyesight of all of us, carefully scanning the crowd from behind his black Ray-Bans. No one seemed to have recognized Ronan yet, but he was bundled up wearing a knit hat and dark Aviator sunglasses.
Clever disguise.

“
Did you read the card?”

“
Yes. It was quite lovely.”

“
Holliday, I wasn’t trying to offend you last night. It’s just… I just… romance is hard. I usually don’t have to work so hard to get women to sleep with me.”

I shot him a serious look. “I’m sure a handsome movie star such as you has no problem coming in contact with ready and willing women, all of whom are eager to flop on their backs with their legs spread open.”

His mouth dropped open. “That’s only partly true,” he chuckled. “What I mean is that I’m out of practice when it comes to romance and courting a woman. I’m insanely attracted to you. There’s something about you, Holliday Prescott. I guess I just lost my head and my manners.”

“
Are you saying that I should take pity on you because you live in Hollyweird and it’s not really conducive to the real world?”

“
Maybe a little,” he smirked. “At least give me a second chance to prove to you that I’m not just looking for a piece of ass. I
am
quite fond of yours, though.”

“
I’ll consider it,” I said, nudging his arm playfully. “I’m not looking for someone to court me Ronan. I’m all for casual sex, but I refuse to be one night stand— I
don’t
do one night stands.”

“
Well, that’s a start, because I don’t date.” The words poured smoothly from his lips. I studied those lips.
God I want to seal my mouth around his delicious lips.

I had to admit it was refreshing to have a man be direct with me. Ronan didn’t make a contrived excuse. At least he admitted he acted poorly but still made it clear he was attracted to me. I was feeling a deep attraction to him as we continued our conversation. Ronan charmed me, and we both laughed a lot over the course of the afternoon. Across the way I noticed some photographers taking photos of the people on the ice. I worried it was only a matter of time before someone recognized Ronan and swarmed us. I felt my cell phone vibrating, and as I pulled it from my pocket, I noticed my sister was calling.

“
Hey Charlotte. What’s up?”

“
Hey. You doing okay? How are things at the hotel?”

My sister was especially chipper today. I heard my niece and nephew in the background singing a garbled version of “Jingle Bells” at the top of their lungs.

“
Things at the hotel are fine… just like they are every other time I stay at The York,” I replied. “What are you doing today?”

“
Well the twins and I are making cookies and Lucan is doing some work in the study. Later we’re taking them to see a movie.”

“
Oh, that sounds nice,” I said while looking back at Ronan, who was talking with one of the other onlookers. I gathered this person had no idea he was talking to a movie star, then again maybe he did. I was snapped out of my admiring gaze on Ronan when my sister asked me, “So are you going to tell me why there’s a photo of you and Ronan Connolly on Tinsel And HollyWood dot com?”

Tinsel And HollyWood dot com was run by two women who called themselves Tinsel and Holly, but really their real names were Nina Whitehall and Taryn Dennison. Taryn, a former magazine editor, and Nina, a publicist, founded the website about seven years ago. It’s easily the most popular celebrity gossip site. I had actually found some things on it the other day during my search for information on Ronan.

“
What are you talking about?”

“
There’s a picture of you chatting with Ronan Connolly in the lobby of The York Hotel. It’s been up since late last night.”

I walked farther away from Ronan. “It’s no big deal. I was… I was just giving him directions,” I said quickly, trying to avoid a lengthy conversation with Charlotte.

“
Oh yeah? Then why wasn’t he wearing a coat?”

Dammit!
I should have known better than to try and pull one over on Charlotte. My sister had a keen eye for details, but then again she more than likely had studied the pictures at length, making note of everything. Charlotte probably could even determine the time of day it was taken among other things, just another one of her many talents. Charlotte could have been a spy or something in another life, but in this one she was a former fashion model turned designer.

“
Charlotte, he stopped me and asked which way to the… oh never mind. It was a brief conversation. He complimented my sweater. I was wearing one of
your
designs.”

That should divert her attention and give her something to think about rather than asking me a ton of questions.

“
Yes, I noticed that, and flattery won’t get you out of this conversation, sis.”

Damn! I was hoping she’d drop the inquisition about Ronan.

“
So, is he nice? Is he as dreamy in person as he is on screen?”

“
Charlotte, I… I have to go… I’m going to work out.”

“
Wait, Holl.”

I ended the call and quickly pulled up the website on my phone. I gawked at the photos of Ronan and me. The headline read: RONAN’S RANDOM RUN IN WITH MYSTERY GIRL. There were tons of comments saying things like:

WHAT A LUCKY GIRL.

WHY HER? SHE’S UGLY, PICK ME INSTEAD.

RONAN CONNOLLY IS DREAMY.

“
Everything okay Holliday?” Ronan asked.

I shoved my phone in the pocket of my coat quickly, replying, “Yeah, that was my sister. She was just checking in.”

The girls came running towards us and Jade jumped into Ronan’s arms. She went on and on about the lights and the skaters on the ice. Leah grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the ice rink. I debated on whether or not to say anything to Ronan about the pictures. I would bet a million dollars that he already knows. I’m sure his PR team informed him. I suddenly became fascinated by the inner workings of the world of Hollyweird.