by Jill Snow
“Sorry ma’am. I didn’t see you there.”
“I noticed. Now why don’t you ask me to dance and you can tell me why you look so forlorn?”
Declan couldn’t believe the woman wanted to dance with him. Normally he would have, but he had to find the girl he’d been dancing with. “I’m sorry, I have to find someone. But thank you.”
“Come on, young man. It’s rude to say no to your elders. Didn’t your mother ever teach you respect?”
Despite himself Declan laughed. “You can only be Mrs. Williams, Emily’s gran.”
The old lady’s blue eyes twinkled and for a second he could see the beauty she’d been when she was as young as Emily.
“I am, but it’s Mrs. Johnston now. I got married a few months ago.”
“Oh yeah, sorry. Conor mentioned that.” At least he thought he had. Where could the girl have gone? Zoe. He wasn’t sure if that was even her name.
“Come on dance with me. What’s the worst that could happen? Your toes are safe I promise.”
He didn’t want to be rude. Declan took her hand and led her onto the dance floor. Well, to be more precise, she led him but who cared. She danced like a dream.
“You’re a very good dancer, Mrs. Johnston.”
“Gertie, dear. I took lessons when I was younger.”
“You could have been in the movies.” He wasn’t flirting with her. He could see her in a role Ginger Rogers used to play.
“Yes, I guess I could have, but breaking up with Osborne kind of ruined that option.”
“John Osborne?” he said, stunned. The film star was one of his idols.
“The one and only. Now young man, tell me why you looked so lost.”
“I don't think I can.” He was being honest. He didn’t understand why a woman he had only met had him so fascinated. It wasn’t just a physical attraction, he had enjoyed laughing with her. She’d been funny and entertaining and, unlike the women who hung around Hollywood, she didn’t seem to take herself too seriously.
“Why? I’m a good listener and I won’t tell anyone. Is it about the girl you were dancing with?”
“You saw?”
“Half the room saw, ducky. You don’t get left standing in the middle of a crowded dance floor and not get noticed.”
Inside he groaned. So much for trying to keep a low profile. “I guess that’s true.”
“What did you do to upset her?”
“Who says I did anything?” he protested.
“Well, you are a man and she is a woman. She walked off, so chances are you messed up.”
He stopped dancing to look at her before he burst out into laughter, although part of him felt he should be insulted. “Gertie are you always this direct?”
“I reckon they will put that on my gravestone. Here lies the one who was always direct.”
He laughed again, despite his bad mood. “Conor was right, you are a tonic.”
“So what did you do?”
“It’s like you said, I messed up.” He smiled at her nod. “I didn’t mean to insult anyone, but I guess, well, they say the Irish are too direct.”
“Stop yakking and tell me what you said.”
He didn’t want to say what he had done out loud. At the time he hadn’t thought anything of it, but after seeing how she reacted, he knew he had behaved badly.
“I asked her if she had a date and she said no. So I asked if I could take her home.”
Gertie gave him a look similar to the one his ma had given him when she caught him lying or doing something wrong.
“You got off lightly, young man.”
“What?”
“In my day that would have earned you a slapped face. You were lucky.”
“But I didn’t mean it like that,” he protested. Yet he could understand why Zoe had gotten that impression.
“Pull the other one, it’s got bells on it.”
“No, Gertie, I swear. I mean she was gorgeous and I wouldn’t have said no, but I only wanted to offer her a lift home. I hoped she might give me her number, let me get to know her better.”
“Then why didn’t you go after her? Explain to her.”
“Well I tried, but she just vanished.”
“Next thing you’ll tell me you found a glass slipper.”
“This isn’t funny, Gertie. I liked her.” She had made him laugh and, for the time he was with her, he forgot about everything else.
“You don’t know her. From what you said you just had one dance.”
“I know enough to know I want to get to know her better. She had this look on her face, it wasn’t just anger but, oh blast it, I don’t know. I think I hurt her.”
Gertie eyed him, a thoughtful expression on her face.
“You hurt her just by asking her to go home with you?”
Chapter 9
Had he? No, there was something more to it than that. “No, I didn’t—oh I don’t know what I am saying. Maybe I’ve lived in the land of make-believe for too long I’ve forgotten what the real world is like. That’s what Mam says anyway.” She had told him over and over that Hollywood wasn’t like real life.
“Your mother?” Gertie’s voice got his attention. “Well, mothers tend to be right. Not because they want to be critical but because they can get away with saying things that need to be said. What is it you do?”
This time he stared at her. She didn’t recognize him? How was that possible?
“You’re teasing me again, aren’t you?”
Gertie looked puzzled. “No. I mean I don’t know you and Conor mentioned you were his best friend but I don’t think he told me what you worked at. My memory isn’t as good as it was but…”
“I’m an actor.”
“Oh, that explains the make believe. Are you any good?”
Declan hide a grin this time as he knew she wasn’t being nasty. She was being nice to him without even knowing about his money or his status as an A-list actor. She was being nice to plain old Declan. It made for a pleasant change.
“I guess they like me a bit. Who knows though? Hollywood is fickle. Tastes change.”
“You haven’t been caught up in the recent scandals, have you?” She leaned closer to look at his face. “I don’t recognize you, so I guess that’s a good thing. I don’t watch modern television. The old movies were the best.”
Declan didn’t argue. He doubted Gertie would like the type of films he made anyway. They were geared toward a younger market.
“Excuse me young man but do you mind if I take my wife away?” an older man butted in.
“No, of course not. It was nice to meet you, Gertie.” Well it was certainly interesting. He wasn’t sure her making him realize he had really messed up with Zoe was a good thing.
“You too, Declan.”
Conor watched for a moment as the old couple danced away. The love between them was obvious. Yet again he wondered if he would ever find true love. He had no idea what he was doing now. He felt drawn to the girl in the red dress. He had to find her and make sure she was okay.
Chapter 10
Zoe didn’t wait around to find her aunt, but decided to head home instead. Her aunt was staying at the hotel for the night anyway and wouldn’t need a ride home until the morning.
She had a mountain of paperwork to do for the accountant. She risked being late with her taxes if she didn’t get on top of it. So she hailed a cab and headed home.
Closing her eyes, she reviewed every minute of the time she had spent with the Irish man. He didn’t look a bit like Noah, he was older for a start. He was Irish and his arms and shoulders were defined like those of a football player. Noah had been the thin wiry type. But yet, Declan reminded her so much of him. Noah used to make her laugh and give her stomach butterflies when he held her in his arms.
“You all right ma’am, you don’t look too happy,” her cab driver asked.
“I’m fine. I just have a headache,” she replied, trying to be polite. She didn’t want to chat. Not to a
nyone.
Thinking of Noah brought her thoughts to Dominic. Her sweet little brother’s face popped into her head. When the fight to keep the business going on top of the mortgage payments and everything else got too much, he was what kept her going. He was the one she was doing this for. Her dad wanted Dominic to inherit the family business. It had been passed from her granddaddy’s daddy right down the generations to her dad. She couldn’t be the one to break the legacy.
Thankfully, the cab driver didn’t make another attempt to speak to her. They arrived at her home, she paid the fare and was soon safely inside. She wanted to go to bed, but instead put the coffee on. Her table was littered with papers.
Zoe fell asleep over the paperwork, her dreams filled with the handsome stranger she had danced with. Why couldn’t she get him out of her head?
She awoke to her cell phone ringing.
“Can you come collect Dominic please Zoe, I can’t get away.”
“Sure thing, Kathy. Say thanks to Lisa for sitting with him last night. Can you give me a couple of hours? I have a few things I need to do.”
“Sure girl, you take your time. Will you eat with us? I’m baking.”
“You know nothing tastes better than your apple pie. I’ll definitely be there.” Zoe hung up, thinking how lucky she was. She would get the paperwork done and drop it off at the accountant on her way to Kathy’s.
She gave herself a mental shake. Thinking about food and men wouldn’t get her chores done.
Chapter 11
No matter how she tried, she couldn’t get the books to balance. There was over ten thousand dollars missing. How could it be that much?
She must have made a mistake. Sighing, she gathered everything together in one file. She would have to pay the accountant even more money now to figure out where the hole was. She doubted the tax man would accept ‘Sorry, but I can’t find ten thousand dollars,’ as an excuse.
She scratched her hands. Her dry skin seemed to play up under stress. And this was stress with a capital S. If she didn’t come up with the money to pay her taxes, all her hard work would be in vain. She would not only lose the business, but she risked being imprisoned. If that happened, they would put Dominic into foster care.
She’d considered asking her aunt to adopt him. Kathy could provide a better, more stable home now that she was living in the house Conor Dunne had given her. The option had never been there before when Kathy worked at the old place. Back then she had to work a double shift just to keep her own head above water, but things were different now.
Her cell rang again, her aunt’s number flashing.
“Kathy, I’m coming.”
“You better be. I can’t eat all this pie. I’m in trouble with the doc over my weight already. But can you stop at the store and get me a few items? It would save me a trip to the store.”
“Course I can. What do you need?”
She scribbled the list her aunt gave her. Then, running upstairs, she dismissed the shower she’d wanted and just changed her sweater. Her aunt was easy going about a lot of things, except for lateness. Zoe didn’t need one of Kathy’s lectures, not today.
She dumped the file with her purse in the car, locked the garage and drove off in the direction of her accountant’s office before heading to Kathy’s home.
Chapter 12
Declan spent the morning after the wedding looking for Zoe but she was nowhere to be seen. Most of the wedding guests had stayed at the hotel, but it seemed she hadn’t. He’d signed a couple of autographs for the reception and other staff but otherwise managed to keep a low profile. Which was something he enjoyed. The bride and groom had already left for their honeymoon so he couldn’t ask Conor for his help.
“You still here? I thought you would have gone back to La La Land by now?” the voice interrupted him as he walked down toward the beach. Gertie was sitting alone at one of the tables.
“Afternoon to you too, Gertie, anyone would think you were trying to get rid of me.”
“Not a chance. I could close my eyes and listen to you all day. I’d pretend you were Sean Connery.”
“He’s Scottish not Irish,” Declan protested before realizing she was teasing him again.
“Young man you take yourself altogether too seriously.” Gertie sat up straighter and fixed him with a penetrating stare. “Why are you so down in the dumps? It’s not just because of Zoe walking off on you last night is it?”
“No of course not. I barely know her name.” He lied smoothly not wanting to tell anyone how long he had spent looking for a girl he had danced with once.
“Are you staying at the hotel for long?” he asked hoping to change the subject.
“Just a couple of days. Conor insisted we stay and enjoy ourselves but it will be nice to get home to Flower Meadows. I had a chat with Conor this morning before they left on their honeymoon. Conor and Emily are worried about you. They told me to have a talk with you.”
“Seriously? Conor told you to talk to me. I’m sorry Gertie but I don’t even know you.” He smiled trying to take the sting from his words. What on earth had Conor told the old lady?
“Well now my granddaughter has married your best friend, we are practically related. Come sit down and have a chat with me. I am a good listener.”
She patted the seat beside her. He was tempted but what if he sounded ridiculous.
“Come on, sit down. You don’t have anything to lose do you?”
He shook his head. So what if he did sound stupid. She was seventy odd years old and not going to go running to the press to tell them Declan Malone, Hollywood mega star, had lost his marbles.
He sat down on the chair beside her. “What did Conor say about me?”
“He said you were feeling a bit down in the dumps. He may have mentioned you had achieved A list ratings for your movies but being a movie star didn’t live up to expectations.”
“I sound like a shallow spoilt brat, don’t I?”
“Maybe if someone else was listening but having spent some time in Hollywood when I was young, I understand. You work so hard for something but when you achieve it, it doesn’t make you feel as good as you thought it would. Right?”
“I guess it sounds a bit silly. But I don’t know who I am. I mean who is the real Declan Malone? I started acting when I was a kid and haven’t stopped. Now my life revolves around Hollywood and it is so artificial. I just don’t recognize myself. If you read the papers, Declan Malone is a woman crazy guy who has a new girlfriend every week. The reality is that the closest thing to a loving relationship is one I have with my cat. That’s only because my housekeeper, Maria keeps her fed.”
Gertie laughed, making a magically twinkling sound. He didn’t mind as she wasn’t laughing at him. He could sense that.
“So why don’t you take a break? Go discover yourself or whatever it is the guru’s tell you people to do.”
“I can’t suddenly quit Hollywood. I would never secure a decent script again.” He protested but despite his protests, he was tempted. Why couldn’t he take a break? He hated filming his last movie.
“Don’t you have enough money to last a lifetime?” she asked.
“I guess.” He did. A few lifetimes’ worth, if he were honest.
“I thought you were a billionaire?”
Declan grinned before ordering two drinks from the waiter who was hovering nearby.
“I thought you didn’t recognize me, Gertie.”
“I didn’t last night but I can use Google. It was quite interesting reading about you and your brothers.”
He stared into the distance. He could only imagine what she had read.
“Don’t worry dear, I don’t believe half of what I read online.”
He shrugged his shoulders. Most of the story about Adam was rubbish. But he didn’t know enough to make comment one way or another.
“But you can act. And you’re pretty good from what I read.”
“Thanks.” He smiled at her. “I think…”
>
“Listen to me, ducky. I’ve been around a long time.What are you planning on doing next?”
“Me? I wasn’t planning on doing anything special. Just chilling for a few days and then who knows. I don’t start shooting my next movie for a month or so.”
“So you have four weeks and then some to make some serious changes?”
What was she? A therapist? He was about to say something, but she spoke again.
“It’s obvious that you’re not happy. We already ruled out all the usual problems like money and health issues, so that leaves one option. You’re lonely.”
Lonely? How could he be lonely when he was surrounded by people all the time? He couldn’t even go out for a coffee without being stopped and asked for his autograph or picture. He could ring a number of women for a date on any given night. But then, why did he come alone to a wedding? He didn’t want to answer that.
“Gertie, I know you mean well. But I spent my life working to get where I am. I’m not going to throw that all aside.”
“Why not? You set a goal and you achieved it. Now find another goal.”
Chapter 13
Declan stared at her. She returned his stare. It was almost as if her eyes could see into his soul. Was she serious? Life wasn’t that simple. He couldn’t go anywhere without being recognized. If he were honest, he had grown more than used to his lifestyle of big houses and fancy cars. He couldn’t go back and just be, well, ordinary again. He was Declan Malone, film star.
“Your money won’t keep you happy. You know that already. Seems to me, the life you wanted hasn’t quite lived up to what you expected.”
Declan stared at his hands. Was she some sort of witch? How did she know what he was thinking? He hadn’t admitted it to anyone, apart from telling Conor he was bored. Instead of being irritated she seemed to understand him, he was relieved.
“I thought it would be different somehow. My parents, they didn’t have much when we were growing up but they’re happy. They’ve been together for nearly forty years and are still in love. You don’t see that very often in Hollywood.” He couldn’t actually believe he had said those things out loud. But when he looked at Gertie, she was looking at him with approval.
