“Still... I’ll be here a week, and I’d just rather have it out there if it’s all the same to you. My fiancé and I broke off our engagement months ago, and I decided I needed to get away for a while. So here I am.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you, but it was for the best.” It had taken her some time and distance to believe that. When she mourned now it was only for what she’d thought they’d had, not what had actually been. An important distinction.
“Well, I hope you’ll feel at home at the Bluebell Inn. If you need any suggestions for things to do, let me know. There’s not much by way of nightlife even in the summer, but there’s always Asheville.”
Mia had no interest in “nightlife.” And she didn’t want to talk about herself anymore. “How long have you owned the inn?”
He navigated a curve as they started through the mountain pass. “It was actually my childhood home. My sisters and I inherited it almost two years ago when our parents passed.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. They’d dreamed of making it into an inn and running it in their retirement—it used to be an inn years ago. Are you cool enough? I can turn up the air.”
“I’m fine, thank you.” She wondered if he was always so attentive. He seemed like a nice guy. But in her experience good-looking men usually came with big egos. Heaven knew she’d worked with enough of them. But Levi seemed refreshingly unaware of his appeal.
“There are some nice boutiques in Asheville,” Levi said. “Nothing like—well, I’m sure you’ll find some clothes to your liking at one of them.”
His eyes tightened at the corners, and she realized he’d been avoiding eye contact since she’d come downstairs this morning. She thought of the way he’d ushered her into the back seat like she was some kind of diva. The way he’d assumed she was interested in the area’s nightlife and would prefer boutiques to a department store.
All of these facts added up to only one thing. He’d recognized her. Her breaths grew shallow at the thought.
She stared at him in the rearview mirror and decided to face it head on. “You know, don’t you?”
“Excuse me?” Still no eye contact.
“You know who I am.”
He cleared his throat. “Of course I do. I checked you in.”
She didn’t know if it was his reticence to admit the truth or the fact that she’d been recognized that frustrated her more. If he knew who she was he might also know of the brewing scandal. What must he think of her—a woman who’d been recently jilted and was now trying to steal another woman’s husband?
Worse than that, what if he outed her to the media? Had she come all this way for nothing? Why had she presumed she’d be safe on the backside of nowhere?
She wiped her sweaty palms down her yoga pants. “I know you know, so you might as well admit it.”
Finally he met her gaze in the mirror. Something in his eyes softened in the instant before they turned back to the road. “All right. Yes, I do know who you are.”
She closed her eyes. “Great. Just great.”
“I thought you’d feel more comfortable if you were incognito.”
No wonder he’d been so accommodating. A social media post from a celebrity like her could tank his business. Or put it on the map.
People only gave to get. You’d think she’d have learned this lesson long ago. Maybe she wasn’t in Hollywood anymore, but even people in quaint little towns had agendas of their own.
“You don’t have to worry about a thing,” Levi said. “Discretion is a part of my job.”
So he said. She shook the negative thoughts from her head and tried to be conversational. “So, I guess you sawInto the Deep?”
“Um... only the original version.”
“From 1974? How did you recognize me then?”
He paused long enough to let her know he was reluctant to answer.
Oh no. He knew about the scandal somehow. Why had she thought she could fly under the radar out here? She had to do something to keep him from selling her out.
