Page 90 of Declan
“Speaking of your co-star, you were on location filming your upcoming movieLove and Coffee Beans,” Tracy said, crossing her long legs. “Can you tell us about that?”
Declan gave a brief summary of the movie, saying it was a romance between a man who was a workaholic and a woman who had been hurt in the past by men and so she’d sworn them off. He said it had some comedy, small angst, and a romance that wouldn’t work unless the characters took charge of their lives.
The answer sounded very generic, so I assumed it was a speech given to him by the P.R. team. He was only allowed to say a few things about the movie before the release.
“I think the question everyone wants to know is,” Perry responded, holding up his hand as he looked at the audience, “will there be the notorious Declan Price butt shot?”
Laughter erupted again, as well as more hollers and claps.
Declan grinned, and I noticed the hint of color on his cheeks.
There he is, I thought as I watched his sparkling green eyes look away from the camera. Beneath the confidence and charm lived a man who was a little shy and sensitive.
The show went on a commercial break, and I turned the channel. I’d seen enough.
“You okay?” Brysen asked, slipping his arms around me and resting his chin on my shoulder.
“Yeah.” I patted his side before unwinding from him and getting off the couch. “I’m going to go ahead and leave for work. Get some rest.”
“I can drive you.” He started to sit up.
“Nah, I’ll ride my bike,” I said, stopping him. “It’s a nice day and I could use the fresh air.”
Brysen nodded and settled back in place. I grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around him. He gave a weak smile before focusing on the TV.
I hated seeing him so tired. He needed to go see a doctor about his insomnia, but every time I mentioned it, he waved it off.
I turned it to the History Channel, and he perked up when he sawAncient Alienswas on. Hopefully, he’d eventually fall asleep.
Once outside, I unlocked my bike from where I kept it and wheeled it out to the street. The sun beat down on my back and the air was thick and muggy. Damn humidity had a way of ruining an otherwise beautiful day. It was perfect swimming weather, though. Maybe me and the boys could go to the lake tomorrow.
After riding across town, I parked my bike in the lot behind the bookstore and checked my phone. I still had twenty minutes before I had to be at work, so I decided to stop at the coffee shop for a latte.
On the wall beside the main counter was a signed picture of Declan. Since it was the coffee shop the movie had been filmed in, the owners were sure to make a huge deal about it to get more business.
I tried not to look at Declan’s too handsome face as I approached the counter to make my order.
“Hey! You’re that guy,” the girl behind the register said, pointing at me. “You’re in the movie, yeah? I saw you in here filming that day.”
I nodded. “Only as an extra, it was nothin—”
“Coffee’s on the house today,” she said with a bright smile. Then, she leaned forward. “You were also seen with him at the airport a few months ago. I saw it in my favorite gossip magazine. Is Declan as hot in person as he is on TV?”
Yeah…there was no getting away from him.
“Thanks for the latte.” I grabbed it and turned away from the counter. I was in no mood to answer her.
Back outside, I took a drink and tried to push Declan out of my head. The hard part was pushing him out of my heart. The guy was freaking stuck there.
Work was slow that day. Not many people wandered into the bookstore, and so I had time to myself.
I’d written a nice chunk of the story about the Greek god and the farm boy. There were a few plot points I was struggling with and had hit a wall with it. It was close to the end, though. So, I pulled up one of the other stories I was working on—because I usually had about five books going at once—and picked up where I’d left off.
The two main characters had worked out their problems and were making up from their time apart. I felt like a clique writer for doing thebig misunderstandingplot point, but that shit happened in real life, too.
In real life, people were stubborn and had shitty communication skills. Why should a character be any different? But in fiction, I could give the men a happily ever after. No matter how fucked up one of them was, they’d find a way to make it work and be happy.
I sighed and paused in my typing before reading over the bit I’d just written. I started backspacing, deleting it all. Too cheesy. Too sappy. Or maybe I was just sick of love. It brought nothing but pain.
