“How long have you been out here?”
Eli folded his arms and leaned against the trailer. “Out here on the beach?”
“No. This…place.” Daisy gave an exaggerated shudder. Guess she wasn’t one to care about first impressions, because Eli wasn’t forming a very high one of her. And to think he was going to have to kiss her. He tried to not think about it too long.
“A few weeks.”
Daisy scrunched up her nose and wrapped her arms around her stomach, like she was trying to stave off the cold. Eli knew the polite thing would be to invite her in, but he didn’t really want to be in a small, enclosed space with her. He could smell her strong perfume from several feet away. But it didn’t matter what he wanted. Nowadays the question was always, What would Benjamin do?
Eli didn’t invite her in.
“The price of being a fancy producer, I suppose,” she said, dropping her arms and straightening, as if coldness were unbecoming of someone like her. She glanced at her phone. “Looks like it’s showtime. Our meeting starts in twenty minutes, and we wouldn’t want the great Eli Hunt to be late to his own party.”
Eli picked up his mug from the sand. “It’s Benjamin.”
Daisy gave him a blank stare. “I know, but—” Realization dawned. “Oh, so you’re that type of method actor, eh? I’ve heard stories, but I didn’t realize it went as far as all that. Should have known with the accent.” She lifted one shoulder, like she didn’t care either way. “Fine, Benjamin, I’ll see you in twenty.” And then she walked away, back toward the boardwalk, though it would be better described as floating, her gait was so smooth. It must have taken months of training to be able to walk like that.
Eli had never felt sick to his stomach at the beginning of a new movie. But he felt it now. It wasn’t like he was even directing the dang thing. Christopher and his assistant director would be taking care of all that.
Maybe it had to do with the fact that he was still struggling with his lines. Usually when he slipped into character, he had very little trouble. But he hadn’t been able to stay in character long enough to feel like he had a handle on Benjamin. He didn’t like to point fingers and say it was anyone’s fault but his, except his thoughts always landed him back at one place.
Adeline Baker.
Eli kept coming up with excuses for why he needed to visit the chocolate shop, and then he’d have to talk himself out of it, because he had more important matters to attend to. It didn’t help that he’d gone and challenged Adeline to the bake off. What had he been thinking?
He already knew the answer to that. He’d seen a challenge, and he’d gone for it. Eli had been intrigued when he’d heard of Adeline’s propensity for bets. He didn’t enjoy casinos or gambling, but he did enjoy a good old-fashioned wager from time to time, and he hadn’t been able to back down from the opportunity. Especially because it had been attached to an attractive, quick-witted woman. Of course, there had been no need to suggest something as extreme as a baking challenge. He hadn’t had time for that. Or for dancing through the streets as a chicken.
Or for kissing her.
He shook his head, frustrated with himself. He needed to get the chocolate-shop owner out of his head. It needed to be all Benjamin all the time, twenty-four hours a day. And at nine o’clock, when he walked into the bed and breakfast where they were having their first meeting, he somehow managed it. For the first fifteen minutes.
“Eli,” Christopher called to him as he walked into the large dining room where the guests could eat their meals. “Good of you to join us.”
With a quick glance, Eli noted that he was the last to arrive. To be fair, most of the crew was actually staying at the bed and breakfast, whereas Eli had had a ten-minute walk. “It’s Benjamin, but I can see how you could get us confused,” he said with a small smile and his accent in place. “And thank you. I’m glad to be here.”
Christopher held his gaze for a moment, and it seemed he didn’t love the choice Eli had made. But that was the thing. It was Eli’s choice to become his character, not anyone else’s. And Christopher knew better than anyone why Eli made the choices he did. The director gave a small nod. “All right, then. Benjamin. Let’s do some introductions, and then we’ll move on to what the schedule will look like through the end of the year.”
Eli made it through the intros—Benjamin was a three-time Oscar winner, as opposed to Eli’s one Oscar, and Benjamin wanted everyone to know where he was on that totem pole—but halfway through Christopher’s detailed description of the schedule, Eli got distracted by movement outside the large window to his left. He had a perfect view of the ocean below them, as the bed and breakfast sat on a small hill. It hadn’t been the view that had caught his attention, though, and he watched for a moment longer. He didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, and he tuned back into what Christopher was saying. That was when a latecomer walked into the room.
Christopher paused, his face bursting into a grin. “And here we have our actual chocolate-shop owner, who I can only imagine Leanne based the character, Katrina, on.”
Eli didn’t want to turn. His whole body ached to. But Adeline had already been messing with his head enough as it was. Instead, he forced his gaze to fall on Leanne, who sat in front of a laptop computer at a side table. She was typing furiously, presumably making changes to the script based on side comments Christopher had made at the beginning of the meeting. At Christopher’s words, her fingers paused, and she glanced up with a smile.
“I can’t admit to anything because I’ve already assured my friends that I did not in fact base my characters on them, no matter how many similarities there may be.”
Christopher laughed at that. “I thought having chocolates delivered to our first meeting was only fitting,” he said, then gestured to a long counter behind him, where a variety of tarts, pastries, and fruit already sat. “Why don’t you place them right here?”
Adeline tossed a quick smile Eli’s way as she brushed past him, making his heart skitter. She carried a tall stack of chocolate boxes and worked her way past all the people who sat between her and the food counter.
“Why so far?” Daisy asked, seemingly pointing her question at Adeline. The actress nodded to a spot in front of her on the table, like she wanted her own personal stash of chocolates.
Based on their initial meeting on the beach that morning, and the fact that Daisy owned her own weight loss company, Eli had assumed Daisy was the type to skip breakfast, have a healthy serving of celery for lunch, and maybe some broth for dinner. But the way the actress was eyeing those chocolates, he realized he couldn’t have been more wrong. Daisy had merely been blessed with good genes, and then used her fame to sell her weight loss program. He wondered if she even knew what it took to shed a few pounds, or if Daisy just had a good team of experts behind the scenes, running the show.
“No need to worry, we’ll get to them shortly,” Christopher said distractedly, his mind now far from the chocolates as Linda, his assistant director, spoke to him quietly, drawing his attention back to the schedule in front of them.
Adeline tried to step past Daisy on her way to deposit the chocolates on the counter that Christopher had originally instructed, but the actress stuck out an arm.
“I don’t believe you understood me,” Daisy said, her tone conveying how little she thought of the real chocolate-shop owner. Eli would have thought Daisy would want to befriend the woman and ask questions so she could fully embrace her role. It was clear, however, that Daisy had no such intentions. She held out a hand, like she expected Adeline to hand the chocolates over.
Adeline glanced at Christopher, like she wasn’t sure who she should listen to, but the director wasn’t aware of Adeline’s predicament. They were just chocolates, and it probably didn’t matter either way, but she seemed intent on following through with what Christopher had instructed, like any good businesswoman would.
Eli wondered if he should step in and tell Daisy to leave the poor woman
alone so she could do her job, but it turned out that there had been no need.
“I did understand,” Adeline said, her voice quiet. “But your director is the one who bought and paid for them, and it is his instructions I am following.”
Daisy looked like someone had slapped her. Eli knew that, if her acting career had been anything like his, she really wasn’t used to people telling her no. And he could tell from the glint in Daisy’s eyes that she was not going to let it go that easily.
A buzz settled over the room, and even Christopher noticed it, breaking away from his conversation with Linda. When his gaze settled on Daisy, who looked like she was going to push up her sleeves and challenge Adeline to a round in a boxing ring, Christopher released a long sigh. “Fine,” he said, waving a hand through the air. “I was hoping to get through the schedule with minimal distractions, but if it means that much to you, go at it.”
Daisy shot Adeline a victorious smile as she placed the boxes on the table. Adeline didn’t feed into the actress’s goading, simply ignoring her and walking away, her posture straight and her head high. But it was too straight—too stiff. Eli had enough training to know that Adeline was using every ounce of self-restraint to not react to Daisy. And her self-discipline was impressive.
Eli’s first inclination was to jump from the table and follow Adeline outside—tell her that it wasn’t anything personal, and that Daisy was like that with everyone. Eli wanted to make sure Adeline was okay.
But Christopher began speaking again, making certain they all knew where they were expected to be the following day, and at what time.
Eli was now listening intently, all intentions of avoiding Adeline having disintegrated. He wanted to know every moment he’d be able to film in her store, every moment he’d film near her store, and every day he’d have off.
Anything to be able to see Adeline Baker.
16
Adeline picked up her phone from the nightstand. Four-thirty. It was much too early to be awake, but there was no way she was going to be able to go back to sleep. Today would be the first day Amaretto would be filmed inside her store. Which would mean seeing Eli Hunt. She hadn’t seen him over the past week but had known they’d been filming out on the road by the diner, because they’d blocked it all off and she couldn’t get through to buy her dinner. And then she’d been grumpy about it, so Caleb and Bree had invited her to eat dinner at their place instead.
But as much as she tried being annoyed about the fact that, like the road to the diner, her store would be shut down for the next couple of weeks, she was having a hard time managing it. It was partly because she knew she was being compensated more than fairly for the inconvenience. And the other part?
Adeline wouldn’t admit it had anything to do with Eli. So what, he was good looking. And he was surprisingly down to earth, unlike his costar. Just thinking about Daisy made Adeline’s skin crawl.
And on that happy note, rather than looking forward to the full day of filming, she now dreaded it. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Adeline clicked on her lamp. The day’s filming schedule sat next to it, and she glanced at the time she needed to be “on set.” AKA at the same place she went every morning. Her shop.
Hmm. Seven-thirty.
She supposed it wouldn’t hurt to be early. Three hours was a bit excessive, but she should probably whip up a batch of truffles. Judging from what she’d seen over the past few days, she’d still be selling plenty, she just wouldn’t have any time to make them.
As she slipped into a pair of jeans and a navy-blue blouse, her phone chimed with a new text. Adeline glanced at the screen, wondering who would be crazy enough to be up so early.
It was Leanne. Of course. Adeline wondered if her friend ever slept nowadays with all the bed and breakfast’s rooms filled, plus juggling her screenwriting. Thank goodness her sister Jules was around to help their parents, but even she’d been busy with waitressing part time at a high-end burger joint on the edge of town. In the off season, she usually didn’t work the second job, but with the presence of Eli Hunt and his movie, everything had been turned on its head.
There are rumors on the set. Are they true?
Uh, oh. It didn’t take much speculation to figure out what types of rumors Leanne was referring to. Not if they were happening on the set of Amaretto and about Adeline. Especially because she hadn’t even been on set yet. Adeline decided to feign innocence.
What rumors?
Leanne didn’t reply right away, and Adeline busied herself with getting ready for the day.
How about the one where you and Eli are dating? Or at least snogging.
Since when did Leanne use words like snogging? Since Eli Hunt had gone full British, that was when. She wondered how people had found out. Had Eli told them? She doubted it, considering it seemed to have been a one-night thing. A moment of weakness for both of them. But now the status quo had been restored, and they were back where they belonged—Eli as the famous method actor, and Adeline as chocolate shop assistant #2.
No, we’re not dating. I haven’t even seen the bloke since the day we had to wear the chicken costumes.
Oh, great. Now she was going British. Eli had been a bad influence on their little community.
Too bad. I think he’d be perfect for you.
A second passed before Leanne added, Mostly.
Adeline didn’t respond to that one. Because she had kind of thought so too. For a hormone-induced moment. And then it had passed and reality had settled in, and life had returned to how it should have been all along. Except, she was currently on her way to her store, where Eli would be, filming a movie. Which wasn’t at all how it was supposed to be.
Guilt settled in her stomach. Adeline hadn’t kept her promise to her mom. But then again, neither had her mom. Her mom had only managed to stay away from the Hollywood life until Adeline left for college. Whether she had been impatiently waiting for the right moment was anyone’s guess, but Adeline suspected that once her mom had gotten over Adeline’s father, she’d begun missing the fame and money that Hollywood brought with her marriage. Adeline had lost track of which husband her mom was now on. Number four. Maybe five. No, definitely four. Her mom had broken off the engagement to the last one a few months earlier.
She didn’t understand how her mom could give up everything Starlight Ridge had to offer and go running back to that insanity. Hollywood men weren’t stable, they weren’t husband material. Her mom always insisted she’d found one who was different. And then she’d always ended up heartbroken. And searching for the next one.
That wasn’t the life for Adeline.
She steeled herself for what the day would bring. The lights. The cameras. Eli.
Just four months. She could do this.
* * *
The lights flickered on in Adeline’s shop, and she breathed in the scent of chocolate. When she’d first opened the store, she’d thought she’d get used to it after a while, or even sick of it, but neither had happened. It smelled like home. After placing her purse behind the counter, she went into the back and began prepping to make a batch of mint truffles. She’d made them so often, she didn’t have to look at the recipe anymore, and Adeline fell into the familiar rhythm.
Adeline’s fingers itched to turn on some music, but there would be no reggae music this morning. Not at 5:00 a.m. Even she had standards.
She had just begun adding the cream to a giant saucepan when a faint knocking caught her attention, like someone was at the front door. She glanced at the clock that hung on the opposite side of the room. 5:20. Frowning, she grabbed a large spoon that was as long as her arm, as if that could protect her from whoever was outside her store so early.
Adeline crept toward the doorway that led to the front of the store, then poked her head around the corner. A large shadowy figure stood on the other side of the door. Yeah, that wasn’t creepy. She raised the large spoon higher.
But then the figure shifted, and the light from her shop
illuminated his face.
Eli Hunt.
Adeline released a long sigh and lowered the spoon. It took a moment for her pulse to slow, but once it did, she realized how silly she probably looked. If someone had really posed a threat to her or her store, they wouldn’t have knocked. And they wouldn’t have felt threatened by a spoon.
She unlocked the front door. “You couldn’t wait a couple of hours for your early morning chocolate fix?” she asked Eli as she opened the door wide while motioning for him to come in. He looked just as good as she remembered. Better, even. It took her a second to realize why. Eli was in full-on Benjamin mode. Everything from the leather jacket to his shoes was perfectly coordinated. Even his hair had been meticulously designed to emulate bedhead, seemingly held in place by a strong gel.
Eli grinned and stepped past her. “Couldn’t sleep, and I saw the light on. I thought maybe the crew had come early to get set up, and I thought I’d help.”
“Sorry, no crew here. Just me.”
She wished she could come up with a reason for Eli to stay but came up blank. He didn’t seem in a hurry to leave, though, instead shifting his weight, his gaze bouncing around the store, like he too was trying to find a reason to spend more time with Adeline.
Of course, that was her own wishful thinking. In actuality, he was probably trying to think of a tactful way to excuse himself and leave.
Adeline inwardly groaned, frustrated with herself. Why did she have to go and make out with Eli Hunt? They couldn’t even look at each other now.
After another moment of awkward silence, Adeline said, “So…you’re more than welcome to wait around for the crew, but I actually have a batch of truffles that I need to finish in the back.”
She expected Eli to say that he’d leave and come back a couple of hours later when they were expected on set. True to her expectations, he adjusted his weight, like he was about to take a step toward the door, but then surprised her by turning to face her fully.
Starlight Love Page 12
