I swallowed a lump of fear and regret, wondering if I should go with my standard party line—I always wanted to be a star and I’m a career woman—or the actual truth. “Wouldn’t you rather eat?”
He looked me dead-on, raised an eyebrow, and it was caring and demanding all the same.
Clearing my throat, I half turned to see if Frank was watching—of course he knew the truth, but if he heard me share it with someone else his hackles would go up. Luckily, Frank was busy on his phone, one eye trained on the door, if I knew him.
I’d never been more desperate for a bite of my gem salad, but I decided Callum would hold my truths delicately. “I never wanted to be a part of the political world, except my mom was forever grooming me to be a society woman. The debutante balls, coming-out parties, Little Miss Manners stuff…it never ended. When I went to college it was a whole new world. I loved my classes, the wild boys, the parties. And it became even clearer I wanted no part of society stuff. I wanted to be free and fun.”
He sat patiently, looking at me, allowing me my pause and not pressuring me, confirming my feelings on how he would hold my secrets.
I took more than a slug of my drink and allowed the heat to fuel me. “Some nights I’d imagine myself becoming a screenwriter. My secret persona wore thick black eyeglass frames and burned the midnight oil over a tumbler of scotch. Then one time I mentioned it to my mother, and poof, she scowled and glowered at me. The idea didn’t sit well with her. She said I was meant for notoriety and not to be behind the scenes, wearing glasses and dirty button-down shirts. I countered with my dislike for all the society BS. And yes, I said BS, not the actual word because I was still dealing with Beatrice Conway. Either way, she gasped before saying I sure acted as if I liked being in society. And that was when it hit me. I was a phenomenal actress. I’d even fooled my mother. I went back to school and signed up for some modeling gigs and acting classes, which ended up with me going abroad for a semester. Yeah…”
I felt my voice get a bit wistful with the last word. Swallowing my emotions, I continued.
“I went a bit wild overseas but ended up solidifying myself as Hollywood’s next royalty when I came back.” Switching to sparkling water, I added, “Well, I became famous when Ford brought me back. He’d come to babysit me in Europe when I ended up in the tabloids a few times. Which is kind of funny because he was wilder than me, but he was smarter in how he misbehaved.”
This had Cal raising an eyebrow. “My Ford? The one who cannot dote on his wife enough?”
“One and the same. I think he was trying to exorcise Jamie out of his system, but it never worked. Anyway, he moved back to California when I went back to school, and he burned through a ton of money on a few films, eventually becoming who he is today. And I became an actress, and together we pulled one another out of DC. Not totally, but mostly. Ford more than me.”
“It’s not what you originally wanted to do, but I can say you’re an amazing actress, and hopefully living a life that pleases you and not your mother.”
“My picture is in the public eye, so she’s happy… Go, eat your soup.” I motioned toward the bowl and he obliged. I was happy to fill my mouth with a forkful of lettuce, taking my time to chew.
He took a few sips from his spoon, swallowing quickly and saying, “I can see why you’re so devoted to your brother.”
This made me laugh out loud. “We’ve had our moments, most of them not this tender or nice. I was out for me for a long time, and was mad a few times he didn’t cast me. But he’s softer now. Since he’s in love…”
“What about you? Have you softened? Been in love?”
With another forkful of lettuce in my mouth, I couldn’t answer. Except Cal waited. I decided this was the type of man he was: patient in his demands. He would drag the truth out of me, but I would give it willingly.
“I thought I was a few times,” I heard myself say. “But when you earn more than they do, have to take care of your body and face like they’re your moneymakers because they are, and you tote Frank everywhere, it doesn’t lend itself to longevity.”
“Wow, that’s a lot of reasons. But I’m sure there is someone out there who can put up with all that…I’m not even sure what I would call it. You’re an actress. That’s all part of your gig. You deserve to be loved for you, not judged on your livelihood.”
For the second time in one night I laughed out loud, and it felt so good. There was no paparazzi, no Hollywood reporters, and no asshole actors to ruin my evening. “I’m sorry I’m laughing. It’s the tension running out of me. You seem to get me more than I understand myself.”
“Nah, I am just a whole-picture kind of guy.”
In one quick statement, he summed it all up—my whole picture, for lack of better words.
“How about you?” I figured why not ask the handsome and kind doctor if he was in love…
“Once. She hated my hours, the call schedule, and the emergencies on the weekend. It was destined to fail, so we called it quits.”
The server came by with our next course which included a much heartier salad for Cal and a lukewarm bone broth for me. I appreciated Callum not asking; he went with the flow of my menu. And if he was bothered by it, he didn’t flinch.
“Now that we got the heavy stuff out of the way,” he said, “tell me what you do when you’re not filming or having your photos taken.”
Cal took a bite of his salad. It was a deconstructed wedge with turkey bacon and slices of apple. It looked delicious, and I made a note to splurge on some turkey sausage next week. I loved it in a chickpea pasta dish my chef made at home.
“Promise not to laugh?” I was about to reveal another truth to a man I barely knew.
“I swear.” He held his hand in the air.
“I’ve been taking golf lessons. But that was before I heard you were a big-time golfer.”
“Not anymore. Have you played here?” He cocked his head toward the window and the sprawling course.
