“I haven’t wanted a part so much in a long time,” she confessed, laughing a little in a way that was almost shy. “I’m afraid of the disappointment that I’ll feel if I don’t land the part. I feel as though I need to prepare extremely well for this so that I do get the role.”
Tom found himself blurting out his next words before he’d gotten a chance to really think about them. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
She chuckled. “Thanks for asking. The only thing anyone can do is run lines with me.”
“I’ll do that,” he said, even though he wasn’t entirely positive what “running lines” meant. “I’d run lines with you.”
“Would you really?” She looked at him with surprise, smiling. “You’d actually be willing to do that?”
Tom could hardly believe that he’d just offered to help a famous movie star prepare for an audition, but he nodded. “Yes, definitely.”
Delilah’s smile widened into a dazzling grin. “I might just take you up on that,” she said. She smiled at him for a moment and then looked down at her plate of food. “This looks very fancy,” she said, laughing again. “I didn’t expect such a well-dressed assortment of options.”
Tom grinned. “I hope you’ll like it.”
Her lips parted for a moment as if she was about to say something, but then she just grinned again. “It looks very nice,” she said after another pause.
Tom knew he needed to get back to work—and besides, he didn’t want to take up too much of her time. He was well-awarethat she was a movie star, and she clearly had things that she needed to do. He still felt shocked at himself for offering to read lines with her. He didn’t know the first thing about whatever that was. He made a mental note that he would have to look it up on Google in case she did take him up on his offer.
“Enjoy your meal,” he said, taking a step back and getting ready to return to the kitchen. He would be at least four orders behind by now.
“Thank you so much,” Delilah said.
They shared another smile and then Tom turned around and hurried back inside the kitchen. He felt flushed and a little off balance, the same way he’d felt when he was a middle school boy trying to talk to a pretty girl without sounding like a total fool.
Once he was back at his workstation, he immediately went to work whipping up more orders. He moved at lightning speed, and his brain moved at lightning speed too. While his hands made the orders, his mind mulled over the conversation he’d just had with Delilah.
She won’t take me up on my offer,he thought, shaking his head a little.She was just being polite. I’m sure she’s got plenty of people on her movie team who can help her. I’m just a country bumpkin to her, and she probably knows I don’t really know how to help her.
He glanced over his shoulder as he worked. He could just see half of Delilah’s face past the side of her booth. She was staring at her computer screen, chewing and smiling.
He grinned, delighted that she seemed to like her food. He’d cooked for her, and he would have to be content with that. Doing anything more than that for a movie star was definitely not in his wheelhouse.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Thank you, Stacey,” Julia said, grinning at the owner of Seaside Sweets Bakery. “We appreciate you doing this for us.”
“Oh, no problem.” Stacey looked up from the notebook where she’d just finished jotting down a final note. “I love the idea of a surprise party for Faith. She’s one of my favorite customers, always so sweet. I’m delighted to provide the desserts for the party. Do you want to add any more to the list?”
Julia considered for a moment, and her eyes traced over the display case, where various delectable pastries were arranged neatly. “No, I think that should be it. Cream puffs, chocolate croissants, and raspberry cupcakes are her favorites. I guess—could you dye the cupcake frosting pink and purple? Like, pastel shades of both? Those are the color schemes for the party.”
“Oh, sure, sounds fun.” Stacey smiled and made another note.
After Julia and Stacey had decided on a price, Julia said goodbye and stepped back out into the spring sunshine. She’d purchased a latte at the bakery, and she sipped it as she strolled along the sidewalk.
She still had some time before she needed to be anywhere, and she decided to stop by Main Street Auto to tell Dean abouteverything she and Cooper had planned for the surprise party. There were still a lot of elements of the celebration that they weren’t sure about yet, and she wanted to get Dean’s opinion on those.
The walk to the auto repair shop was short and pleasant. Julia took a route along the water, and the wind blowing in from the ocean smelled salty and invigorating. When she arrived at Main Street Auto, the front lobby was empty, but she saw that the door to Dean’s office was ajar.
She hurried over to it and knocked. “Hey! Guess who?”
There was a pause, and then Dean called out, “Come in.”
Julia slipped inside his office, which was fairly plain but tidy. There were pictures hanging on the wall of Dean and their family, and of Dean and Noelle. Julia had always liked her brother’s office, and she felt proud of how well he had done for himself as a businessman.
“Hi, Dean.” She sat down in the chair across from his, feeling caffeinated and energized about the party. “I wanted to stop by and talk with you about the plans for Faith’s surprise party. I just stopped by Seaside Sweets Bakery and ordered all of Faith’s favorite desserts. We’re going to have raspberry cupcakes with light pink and purple frosting, chocolate croissants, and cream puffs.”
“Sounds delicious,” Dean said, smiling.
