“Who’s that?” Sarah asked over the roar of the rotor.
I tried to speak, but couldn’t make myself heard. I tried again, and this time managed something between a croak and a squeal.
“His name’s…Carl.”
“Um…he’s…he’s a little…old for you, isn’t he?” Kate asked.
I drew a long breath of fresh air. Everyone was staring at me as Carl crossed the clearing, one hand firmly on his chauffeur’s hat to keep it from being blown off by the draft from the chopper blades. I turned to Kate, my eyes still on Carl – as though he might vanish if I looked away.
I cleared my throat and managed to explain, although I could scarcely believe it.
“It’s Jared’s driver.”
Chapter 14
Carl helped me aboard the helicopter, and moments later it lifted into the air, the sensation like being in an elevator that was also moving sideways. I buckled myself in with some help from him, and he took the seat opposite me, his face as unreadable as a block of stone. The noise level from the turbine made speaking difficult, but I still tried.
“What’s going on, Carl?” I yelled.
He cupped a hand the size of a ham hock to his ear and leaned forward. I tried again, and he sat back.
“Sorry, little lady, can’t make out what you’re saying,” he shouted, but strangely enough I heard him just fine even above the din.
I fingered the jacket and sat on the edge of my seat.
I tried again. “Where are we going?”
“Yeah, it’s a nice night all right,” he said, and I gave up. Either he was acting or he really couldn’t hear; in either case the likelihood of getting a coherent response was the same.
I watched the darkened treetops whizz by beneath me, the moon bright as we soared over the hills. After about fifteen minutes I could make out a river emptying into a bay, with the ocean a glistening mirror beyond. The helicopter dropped down a bit and slowed, and then we were descending to an open patch in front of a long building at the river’s edge.
We touched down and I unbuckled my seatbelt while Carl moved to the door and slid it wide. He hopped out and then helped me down while the pilot shut off the engine.
“In there,” Carl said, indicating the structure. “He’s waiting for you.”
I made my way to the building along a cobblestone path lined with tiki torches flickering in the gloom. At the entrance, a gray-haired man in a black silk vest, tuxedo shirt, and bow tie held the door open for me and motioned for me to enter. “May I take your coat?” he asked.
I shrugged off Jared’s jacket and adjusted the straps of my blouse. The man disappeared into an alcove, and I paused before taking a step down into a nearly empty dining room, with just a few couples scattered about the room, talking intimately. A figure at a grand piano in the corner tickled the keys, and the strains of the Moonlight Sonata drifted through the restaurant. It was completely lovely, and I felt completely out of place.
The man motioned for me to follow him past the tables toward a pair of open French doors. Just beyond was a long deck, also illuminated with torches. Jared was sitting at the only table there, gazing out over the river. He looked up when he heard my boots on the wood, and stood, smiling as I neared. If anything, he looked more handsome than at any other time I’d seen him, his hair in stylish disarray, his eyes blazing blue in the torchlight. He was wearing a cream dress shirt with an open collar and black pants, fortunately not a full tuxedo or something. I didn’t look as mismatched as I’d feared.
“I heard the helicopter,” he said, his voice a velvet croon. “Thanks for coming, Lacey.” He motioned to the chair across from him. “Please.”
I took the offered seat, which fortunately placed my birthmarked side towards the river and angled just out of his view. I fluffed my hair and let it fall in a protective curtain over my neck and shoulders. Jared lowered himself onto his chair and gestured at the moon silvering the river. “Gorgeous, isn’t it?”
It really was. I nodded. He looked deep into my eyes and the world tilted – for a moment I felt like I was on the deck of a ship pitching through a rough sea. I steadied myself and hoped I wasn’t drooling or that my tongue wasn’t hanging out of my mouth. He smiled as though reading my thoughts, and turned to look back at the restaurant.
“Maybe a little over the top?” he asked.
Ya think? “Maybe just a little,” I agreed.
“I’m glad you took me up on it, in spite of that.”
So am I, I thought, but didn’t say so. Instead I sat back and eyed him. “What’s going on, Jared?”
He smiled. “We’re going to have a nice dinner, I hope. You hungry?”
He’d successfully thrown me off guard. “I could eat.”
“The poached salmon is amazing here. So’s the lobster.”
I glanced back into the dining area. “You, uh, you come here often?”
“I know the people who own it. It’s exclusive enough that it doesn’t get overcrowded. I need my privacy. It’s a major pain when people are gawking at you from every table. One of the pitfalls of show business.”
“Well, you’re pretty hard to miss.”
He shrugged. “I’d wear a fake mustache and nose if I thought it would stay on.”
I laughed at the mental image. He signaled to the man who’d taken my jacket, and in seconds a younger server appeared at the door and stood expectantly.
“What can I bring you to drink?” he asked.
I looked at Jared. “What are you having?”
He held up a wineglass. “Mineral water. I’m on a special diet for the movie.”
My brow crinkled. If anyone
