Page 65 of The Backup Bride Proposal

So far he’d been lucky here. He knew some people had recognized him, and it was a well-known fact that he was in the area filming, but the production had done an excellent job keeping the paparazzi away from the shoot. No one got on the production site without passing through security.

He got in his car and drove back to his trailer, took a shower, then searched online for a fun place to have dinner tonight. He found a few and texted Mae to ask which one she’d like best.She replied right away and told him to choose, that all of them were good. He picked one that sounded the best to him and made a reservation, let Mae know what time he’d pick her up, then settled in to answer a few emails. There was one from his agent, who had a few prospective projects lined up for him and wanted him to look over some scripts.

Normally the idea of a new project would excite him, but for some reason he didn’t feel that spark and wondered why.

Maybe it was because he’d done the last three films back to back to back, and he needed some downtime. That had to be it. After this film wrapped he’d take a nice, long vacation, decompress, and then he’d be ready to take on a new project. He replied to his agent that they’d talk after the holiday season. That would give him time to decide if that was what he really wanted to do.

By the time he put away his work for the day, it was time to get ready for dinner. His pulse quickened at the thought of seeing Mae again. He changed into dark jeans and a white button-down shirt, slid into his boots, then grabbed a jacket and got into his car to drive over to the main house.

He walked up to the porch and rang the doorbell, surprised when the door was answered by Johnny Bellini. He’d met the Bellinis his first day on set, when Johnny and Maureen had greeted the cast and crew with some homemade pasta and bottles of wine. They’d made everyone feel welcome.

“Kane. It’s good to see you again.”

“You, too, Johnny.”

They shook hands and Johnny invited him inside.

“Mae, she’s not ready yet. Come inside, I have basketball on the TV.”

“Sounds good, thanks.”

He followed Johnny back to the main living room. It felt like home here, warm and comfortable.

“Where’s Maureen?” he asked.

“She went to dinner and out shopping with some friends. I get a nice quiet evening by myself to watch my sports and no arguing over the TV shows.”

He laughed. “Sounds ideal.”

“You want a beer? Some wine?”

Kane shook his head. “I’m good, thanks.”

“So,” Johnny said, keeping his attention on the game. “You’re dating our Mae, huh?”

Uh-oh. “Yeah. She’s an amazing woman and I enjoy spending time with her.”

“Hmm.” Johnny ate a chip.

“You have concerns?”

Johnny leveled a look at him. “She had her heart broken before. Real bad. I don’t want that to happen to her again.”

Whoa. Okay, that was definitely fatherly protectiveness. And even though Johnny wasn’t Mae’s dad, he’d obviously taken it upon himself to be her protector. Kane liked that. “I have no intention of hurting her.”

Johnny nodded. “Good.”

“Hey, did I lose my dinner date to the basketball game?”

He got up and turned around. Mae stood in the doorway dressed in a wow, knock-him-on-his-ass black dress that showed off a lot of her gorgeous legs.

“Wow. You look beautiful.”

She graced him with a stunning smile. “Thanks. So do you.”

“Kane’s right,” Johnny said. “You look pretty. Now, go. Have fun.”

“Thanks,” Kane said. “You have a good night, too.”

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