I didn’t know what I was looking for in particular. All I knew was that I had to know everything about him as fast as possible.
Scanning through articles speedily, I learned the basics about him pretty quickly — he studied film in college, made it big after some play he did and landed the lead part in The Black Castle. But the thing that stuck out the most to me was that he was from the midwest like me. That explained the lack of an arrogant attitude.
Like I was infected with obsession, I scanned through everything I could find about him, looking for hints of a girlfriend or wife. So I typed that into my Google search, and was disappointed when the search box auto-completed my query to “Leo Knight girlfriend.”
My heart sank. Every picture I came across, he had his hand on the shoulder of some beautiful brunette. It looked like she was also an actress, and co-starred with him in that play that made him famous.
He was straight.
I felt like I’d been shot. If me and Leo were fated or whatever, what a cruel twist for him to end up being straight.
Did the universe care about gender when it paired people together? What if my heartmate was Alina?
I shook my head, unwilling to entertain the thought. There was no way I could feel so much chemistry with someone and for them to be completely straight.
The waiter brought up my chocolate cupcake thing, but I’d lost my appetite. There was no hope for me. I picked at the confection sadly.
But then… that didn’t explain how Reese had touched his shoulder like that. No, it was more than a touch.
He’d caressed it.
The afternoon began to draw to a close, and I could no longer procrastinate going to dinner. With heavy feet, I nearly dragged myself down the street toward the fancy restaurant in the middle of the village.
Even though I was in a bad mood, the soothing sound of the ocean caressed my ears. The streets were nearly deserted, so I could enjoy the gentle noise as I strolled through the picturesque little town. Like turning down a noise dial, the sound drowned out the negative thoughts that had been bubbling up in my mind like a fungus.
As I drew closer to the restaurant, my reverie was interrupted by the sound of a voice drifting out from a nearby alleyway.
With a dawning realization, I recognized the voice as Oliver’s.
I drew closer out of curiosity, longing to delay the time I’d have to sit around all of these stars.
“No baby,” he said into the receiver.
I was careful to remain out of sight at the mouth of the alleyway, eavesdropping. There was an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that compelled me to leave this place; to give Oliver some privacy. But something stronger kept me rooted to the spot.
For some reason, Mason’s face came to mind: Shit is about to hit. The. Fan.
And whatever conversation Oliver was having with whoever he was talking to on the phone sounded like a thread that was going to unravel something.
I had to know.
“No, no it’s nothing,” Oliver said, his voice filled with a gentle soothing tone. It was as if he was trying to comfort someone on the other end. “Babe, no, you know that’s not true…”
There was silence, and I guessed that someone was talking on the other line. After a long pause, Oliver finally said, “You know it doesn’t work like that. Everything is where it’s supposed to be; no one knows.”
This sounded like a random boring lovers’ quarrel. I was just about to turn on my heel and leave when Oliver said, “No, they don’t know about Reese.”
I stopped in my tracks, a magnet freezing me to the spot.
He could only mean Reese Riley, right?
I pictured the beautiful older guy, the silver swirling at his temples in the morning sun. The way he looked at me in the entrance hall when he pushed that apple around earlier. I had my suspicions about him, but after getting to know him a little more today, there didn’t seem to be anything nefarious about his intentions.
Except the way he touched Leo’s shoulder.
I narrowed my eyes.
“No babe, there’s no need to make a big deal about this,” Oliver said. “No, he hasn’t come onto me. Yes, I’ve heard the rumors.”
More silence. I was straining to hear, willing my ears to grow.
“No, you’re getting all worked up over nothing! Come on, I get to see you in two weeks, it’s no big deal.”
There was more silence, then I could hear as Oliver shifted his posture.
“Look, if you feel that way, maybe we should take a break,” he snapped. “It’s not like I could ever measure up to you anyway.”
There was a shuffling noise, and I knew that Oliver hung up his phone.
He sighed.
My eyes darted around for somewhere I could hide. It was only a matter of seconds before he came out of the alley and saw me.
There was a dumpster nearby, some trash cans, and what looked like a pile of tarps sitting near the mouth of the alley. It only took a second to decide that I’d rather get caught by Oliver than dirty my clothes or mess up my hair by hiding near any of those options.
“What are you doing here?!” Oliver said, his eyes wide with panic. There was a slight redness to the whites of his eyes, which made the green of his irises shine even more brightly. Combined with the tan color of his skin, he was stunning.
I stood up straight. “I was just on my way to the dinner,” I said, trying to seem like I hadn’t just been eavesdropping.
Oliver’s eyebrows knitted together as he regarded me carefully. “How much did you hear, farm boy?”
I scowled. “Enough to know you’re hurt.”
His face turned into a scowl that matched mine. He was about to spit something back at
