“Fingers crossed,” Faith said. “Delilah isn’t one for flings based on what I’ve read about her, and Tom definitely isn’t. I hope things work out for the two of them.”
Julia nodded, cutting another bite-sized piece from her waffles. “If it does, it’ll be a fairytale romance for sure.”
Both cousins smiled at each other before continuing to eat their delicious breakfasts.One thing was for sure,Julia thought,Tom and Delilah both deserved happiness. She crossed her fingers as she ate, hoping that somehow they could find it with each other.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Tom held a white paper bag in his left hand tightly. In his right hand was a card, which he held as if it was made out of rose petals. He was on his way to Delilah’s trailer to drop off her favorite pastry—a lemon glazed strawberry scone—and a love note that he’d written her.
He felt excited and nervous as he approached the site where the movie team was stationed. He could see a few trailers parked in the corner of a parking lot, and he guessed that Delilah was in one of them, getting ready to film her scene for the day.
“Excuse me,” he said to a woman who was hurrying past with a clipboard. “Which trailer is Delilah’s?”
The woman lifted her eyebrows for a second, as if surprised that he would use Delilah’s first name only. “It’s that light blue one on the end,” she told him. “I’m not sure if she’s in there or not, but you can drop that stuff off.” She glanced at the items in his hands curiously.
“Sure.” He smiled. “Thank you.”
Feeling a spring in his step, he started toward the light blue trailer. He hoped that Delilah was inside and he could give her a hug, but he also liked the idea of dropping off the note andthe pastry. That way she would have a lovely surprise when she returned.
He walked around the trailer until he found the front door, which had a set of white steps leading up to it. He was just starting up the steps, about to knock on the door, when he heard voices coming from inside the trailer.
“Did you hear about Delilah and that local guy?”
It was a woman’s voice, a voice he didn’t recognize. He guessed that Delilah must share the trailer with at least one other actress, since the conversation sounded as though it was happening without Delilah there in the room.
“I did.” Another woman’s voice. “Are you sure it’s true, though, and not just a rumor?”
Tom glanced through the window and saw a brunette actress sitting in front of a vanity mirror, getting her makeup done by a makeup artist. Both women looked a little smug as they continued to gossip.
“No, it’s definitely true, I saw them together, holding hands.” The brunette actress shook her head. “The nerve of that guy blows my mind. I mean, he must be charming, or Delilah wouldn’t have said yes, but honestly. She’s completely out of his league.”
“She’s out of everyone’s league,” said the makeup artist with a laugh.
The actress shrugged. “I mean, true, but this guy is just like a cook or something. Their worlds would never align, not in a million years. I don’t know why he’s even trying.”
Tom took a few steps away, feeling deeply troubled. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, and he wished he hadn’t heard any of the conversation, which seemed to burn in his ears.
She is out of my league, he thought, his heart feeling as heavy as it had felt light just moments before.
He noticed that a name plate was attached to the door in front of him, and that the name wasn’t Delilah’s. Had he been sent to the wrong trailer by mistake? He looked around, confused, until he saw that there was a second door a little farther down on the side of the trailer.
He walked down to it and saw Delilah’s name on the door. This was her part of the trailer, then. He hurried up the steps and knocked softly on the door, despite feeling suddenly as though he had absolutely no right to be there.
No one answered, and after a moment he pushed the door open cautiously. Delilah wasn’t there, but he could smell her scent lingering in the air. Her makeup counter was tidy and organized, and a scarf he’d seen her wearing once was hanging up on a peg near the door.
He stepped forward and set down the note and the pastry on her makeup counter. His hand lingered in the air for a moment as he considered taking them back. Did he have any right to be doing this? Romantically pursuing a movie star who was completely out of his league?
He shook his head. He’d wished her good luck on her audition in the card, and he wanted to make sure she got it. And the pastry was her favorite, and he wouldn’t want it to go to waste. Out of his league or not, he was going to treat her well while he had the chance.
Swallowing, he left her trailer and made his way back to Main Street. The words of the makeup artist and the actress rolled around in his head like bowling balls, crashing into his emotions and knocking them down like ninepins.
Delilah stepped into her trailer, feeling full of energy. She’d gone for a brisk walk along the ocean that morning, and the salty air had invigorated her a great deal. She was just hanging up her purse on a peg by the door when she noticed something on her makeup counter.
At first, she assumed the white paper bag contained something from her makeup designer, perhaps a new bottle of foundation or tube of lipstick. But then she noticed the card lying next to it, and in a flash of intuition, she knew that both items were from Tom.
She scampered forward and snatched them up, then opened the bag and inhaled the sweet, sugary aroma of the lemon-glazed strawberry scone.
My favorite,she thought, thrilled.I can’t believe he remembered. What a sweetheart.
