He nodded, still smiling at me, looking at me as if I was a miracle worker.
"They should have some tape and ice at one of the medic stands. Come with me," I said. "We'll stop by one and I'll finish fixing you up."
He nodded again. "Dylan. Jeremy. One of you needs to join Cam. The other needs to go wait for Jamie. I'll get this taped up and join whoever at the Jamie panel."
"First let's see if you can stand," Dylan said. "The doctor, er—"
"Blair," I filled in for him. "Blair Edwards."
"Blair doesn't look big enough to carry you if you pass out," Dylan said.
"I'm not going to pass out," Austin said as I helped him slowly to his feet. "See?"
The two men shrugged.
"We'll walk you as far as the medic station just to be sure," Dylan said.
With that, we were off, the men joking and teasing each other, discussing their Comicon plans, and generally enjoying themselves. True to their word, Dylan and Jeremy left us at the medic booth. I explained who I was to the medics on duty there and borrowed some tape and a pack of instant ice.
I was running late, very late to be getting in line. And in danger of not making it in to Jamie at all. Despite all that, I was reluctant to rush—I'd never do shoddy work. But that wasn't the whole reason. I wasn't ready to depart from Austin.
But, finally, I finished taping his fingers. I broke the instant ice and gently laid it over his hand. "Ten minutes on. Ten off for the first twenty-four hours. Then ten minutes an hour for the next seventy-two hours or until needed." I paused. "Well. That's that, then. I should be going—"
"Thank you," he said as sincerely as I'd ever heard a patient utter those words. His gaze traveled down my gown. "You're Elinor, right?"
His voice was deep and soft, without a hint of any brogue at all. Very American. And somehow still just as hot as Jamie's Scottish brogue.
"Yes," I whispered, breathless and surprised. "I'm surprised you know. Not many men are Jamie fans."
"I've watched every episode," he said. "So have the guys. But they'll deny it. Or, if pressed, tell you I made them watch it. Because I had a hair up my butt to cosplay Jamie. There's a story behind being Jamie, too. But it's long and complicated."
"Is that so?" I said, lingering.
"I've delayed you too long." He glanced at his watch. "We'd better get going. Do you have someone saving you a place in line?"
I shook my head.
He looked almost relieved. "Then you won't think it's too forward of me to ask you to join us," he said. "It's the least I can do to repay your kindness for relocating my finger so expertly."
"I—"
He looked at me with an expectant expression.
"Thank you," I said. "Yes, I'd love to accompany you. I'd be very grateful to skip ahead in line with you."
He grinned broadly. "Excellent. This way." He held his arm out to let me pass in front of him. "But there will be no skipping of lines. No cutting."
"Oh," I said. "I thought you meant…" I sighed. "We might not get in."
"We'll get in," he said. "We have VIP passes from Connor himself."
I clutched my chest and my eyes flew wide open. "You know Connor Reid?" Be still my beating heart!
"Sure. We're old drinking buddies." He winked. "As of last night." He took my arm to guide me. "And don't worry. You won't be intruding. Connor told us to feel free to each bring a guest, and issued us each an extra pass. You can be my mine." His gaze ran over my gown again. "Connor is going to love your costume. You're a gorgeous Elinor."
"Do you know Sam, too?" I couldn't help asking.
"No," he said. "But Connor promised to introduce us."
"Oh." I would surely pale in comparison to the beautiful actress and former model. But I was determined to enjoy the moment nonetheless.
Chapter 5
Blair
It was raining out again. I looked dubiously out the windows as we hurried down the hallway.
"Don't worry," Austin said to me as he led the way through throngs of comic book characters.
The crowds were growing larger as the day progressed. The convention center was beginning to feel crowded.
"We're not going outside," Austin said. "The VIP waiting area is just outside the doors to the main stage. We get to bypass the line and go through the building.
"The only reason they route the general crowd outside is to control it. The length of the line is too long to be contained inside, and would mess with the general crowd going to the show floor just across from the main stage area."
I nodded. "That's a relief."
He grinned at me.
Beth was not going to believe this. I heard her voice telling me to shoot for the impossible. She was so going to playfully throw this in my face and use it as an example to encourage me for the rest of my life.
The general Comicon crowd leaned heavily male. I attracted a fair amount of attention, based almost completely on my plunging neckline. But few of them seemed impressed by Austin's costume as we waded our way through them. It was obvious from their puzzled looks they had little to no idea who he, or I, was supposed to be. Although there was a graphic novel version of the first book in the Jamie series, it wasn't really a comic book.
From the beginning I'd wondered how Jamie fit into the Comicon world. It seemed an odd choice. But I wasn't looking my good fortune in the mouth, so to speak. Whatever the motive of the Comicon organizers, whether it was to try to broaden their reach, reach a new demographic, or bring in more women, I really didn't care. I was pleased the stars were coming to Seattle and grateful to Comicon for the opportunity. Otherwise there was little chance of ever seeing Connor and Sam in person. And now here I was with a hot guy who'd actually met Connor.
I quickly grew used to being relatively anonymous. And happy to take in the sights. Austin was attentive, warm, and witty. And knowledgeable about Comicon, a veteran of them.
I was enjoying myself so much that I lost track of where we were. As we turned the final corner into the atrium lobby of the convention center and walked toward the queue hall, the VIP waiting area came into view. And the line being held back by staff behind it.
The waiting crowd, which was ninety-five percent female, at a conservative guess, let out a collective gasp as they spotted Austin.
"Connor! Connor!" "Jamie! Here, Jamie!" "Can we have your autograph?" "How about a selfie?"
The crowd pushed forward, straining the resources of the security staff. Several film crews from the news and local magazine and entertainment shows trained their cameras on us.
From the VIP area, Dylan waved to us. Head and shoulders above the rest of the VIPers, he was easy to spot.
"Wow," I whispered to Austin. "They think you're Connor. Get too close to them, and they'll have you for lunch when they realize you're an imposter." I tried maneuver slightly in front of him. "You'd better put me between you and them. For your own safety. This dress is wide enough to create a good barrier."
"Hide behind a woman's skirts?" He shook his head and held me protectively behind him. "No way, doc. A good Highlander always protects his woman. Jamie would do the same. We can't damage his reputation. Follow my lead."
He pulled me along past the VIP waiting area toward the front of the general admission crowd. He seemed invigorated. Energized by the crowd. "We'd better clear up this case of mistaken identity ASAP if we want to get out of here in one piece."
The women in the crowd ranged from very young to quite old, and were actually polite and well mannered for a mob. Jamie had fans of every age. Several fan clubs had gathered together at the front of the line. You could tell them by their banners and the buttons they wore. They held up signs, vying for Austin's attention.
Many in the throngs wore Jamie T-shirts or scarves. Some carried Jamie tote bags or wore Jamie buttons. A fair number of them held up glossy photos of Jamie, ready to be signed. Or books. A few had dressed as Elinor, though none of them in the red dress I wore. Most wore her
everyday Scottish clothes, a much more sensible choice, actually. And one fan wore a facsimile of Elinor's wedding dress that was really quite good.
Austin whispered to me as we approached, "Seems I'm underdressed to be accompanying you. I should have worn my dress kilt or my breeches. Hang in there."
He approached the cordoned-off throng and blew them kisses. "Lovely ladies!" Suddenly, Austin was Jamie, as played by Connor, right down to the convincing, and sexy, Scottish accent.
The cheering crowd felt his charisma and did a collective swoon. I was so close to him, I was nearly bowled over by the switch and power of personality.
"Beautiful lasses, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Especially as you're so enthusiastic. But I'm no Connor Reid. I'm his long-lost American cousin." He winked. "Or so we decided when I was tipping back Scotch with him last night."
The crowd quieted, enthralled.
"That's right." He nodded and cocked his head in the same way Connor did. "You heard me correctly. Get a good look at me up close." He stepped around one of the security guards and leaned close to one of the women nearest the cords holding the crowd back. A woman who must have been well into her sixties.
"Well? What's the verdict?" Austin asked in his newly acquired brogue. "Do I do him justice?"
She stared at him, scrutinizing him with breath held. "You may not be Connor, but you're gorgeous and every bit the Jamie I imagined from reading the books."
Austin took both of her hands in his. "Aye, you're sweet to say so." He lifted her right hand to his lips and brushed it with a kiss.
I stood by, ready to revive her.
She played it up and fanned herself. To be honest, it was hot in the queue hall. Many of the women were flushed and fanning themselves with conference programs anyway. They'd been on their feet for hours. As a doctor, I hoped they were hydrating.
As Austin dropped her hand, the woman pulled her phone out. "Can I take a selfie with you? I'll post it to our local branch of the Jamie fan club. They'll love this."
"Oh, aye." Austin nodded. "Pictures with me are free for the asking. Not so with the real Jamie, though. A word of caution on that. Comicon is verra strict about enforcing their photo policies. A picture with the real Jamie will cost you fifty bucks." He leaned into her and smiled while she snapped the shot.
She turned the phone and showed him the final result for his approval. He nodded.
Austin stepped away from her and pulled me forward. "I'd like to introduce you to my Elinor. Even though she's a southron, a sassenach, isn't she beautiful? Well, she's my little southron, that's the main thing."
The crowd clapped and cheered, but their eyes remained on Austin as he pushed me to the forefront. I suddenly realized how Sam must feel. She, and I, were clearly just window dressing. One of those cutouts at the fair or a carnival where you stuck your head through and suddenly became a tightrope walker or a beach beauty. We provided the body and costume and were the space where the reader or viewer placed herself to be Jamie's love.
The audience continued clapping, but they were clapping for him, not me.
"Take a bow," he whispered to me, grabbing my hand and bowing with me. "This is Blair Edwards." He gestured to my gown. "Look at this meticulous re-creation of Elinor's dress she made!"
"Actually, Aunt Beth technically—"
He ignored my correction. "We're both cosplayers—"
"I'm not, actually," I whispered to him.
He continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Amateur cosplayers, not professionals like will be competing tomorrow night." He leaned toward me and spoke out of the side of his mouth to me in a low voice in his American accent. "Right?"
"Uh. Sure. I'm not a pro, that's true."
He spoke to the crowd again, dropping his Scottish accent for the crowd, too. "We do this for the fun of it. And because we love Jamie!"
Huge round of applause.
He had to wait for it to settle down. "As you know, you can vote for your favorite amateur cosplay costumes of the conference. I'm Austin MacDougall. I'm an American of Scottish ancestry. Like a lot of you, I imagine." He gestured to the crowd.
They broke into applause again.
He smiled and nodded, clapping back at them. "My name's on the ballot. Again, MacDougall, the only one on it. Blair, here, missed getting her name in on time. She's a write-in candidate. We'd both appreciate your votes.
"You may have noticed there's a bias out there among the general conference goers against Jamie. Many of them have no idea who or what Jamie is."
The crowd booed.
"Exactly." Austin did a fist pump. "Let's show them. Vote for Blair and me. It's right there on your conference app. Who's on team Jamie?"
The crowd roared. Thousands of phones were whipped out of purses, bags, and pockets.
"Pass it down the line to those who can't hear!" he said.
I actually watched the word ripple through the line. Amazing. You could see more phones being pulled out and votes cast as the word got around. Kind of like watching the wave in a stadium.
"You're cheating," I whispered to him.
"Not cheating. Playing the game to win. All those amateur superheroes out there will be doing the same, if not worse. You're obviously a novice at this. It's a cutthroat competition."
"Is there a prize?" I whispered to him. "Or are we only in it for the glory?"
His eyes went wide with surprise. "You don't know much about Comicon, do you?" He made an exaggerated sigh. "You get a four-day pass with all the VIP packages thrown in to next year's Comicon. The guys and I have been trying to win for years."
Fabulous. Just what I wanted.
As the women voted, they began calling out to him.
Austin blew them kisses. "We'll see you inside."
He grabbed my hand and led me to the VIP reception area, past a bomb-sniffing dog and over to Dylan. "Jeremy must be in Stan's line."
Dylan nodded. He was standing next to a guy in camo who looked military, or maybe like he'd stepped out of an action/adventure video game.
Austin introduced him as Cam.
"I can't believe you found an Elinor," Cam said, studying me with wonder.
"I didn't find her. She found me. This is my doctor, Blair." Austin held up his bandaged fingers.
Cam grinned. "Wimp. Getting hurt in a mock battle."
"Oh, this is nothing," Austin said. "You should see the orc."
"Right," Cam said. "You're full of it." He turned to me. "Nice to meet you. Thanks for helping us out."
"It was nothing," I said.
"Looks like something to me," Cam said. "How bad was it?"
"Dislocated finger," I said. "He'll feel it for a few days."
I pulled out my phone. "Will you take a picture of Austin and me? My aunt made this dress for me. She couldn't make it here today, but she's living vicariously through me. She'll want to see what I look like with Jamie."
Cam put a hand to the side of his mouth. "You know he's not the real Jamie."
"Got it." I handed him the phone.
He snapped the picture. Then I called Dylan over and snapped a selfie of the four of us and texted both pictures to Beth.
Her response was immediate and enthusiastic. Is that Connor Reid? And two other hot men! Lucky you. I want details.
Not Connor, I texted back. A very convincing cosplay version. I'm with these guys waiting to get into the VIP section at the Jamie panel. I'll you the whole story later.
!!!!!!!? Can't wait to hear how that happened, she responded. And sent an emoji with its eyes popping out.
The VIP area was roped off from the rest of the atrium. There were probably fifty to a hundred VIPs. I would have loved to get to know Austin better. But he and I were immediately mobbed by reporters for the local news and morning and evening entertainment shows. They asked us about our costumes. How excited were we to be here? And dozens of other questions.
I gave a shout-out to Beth for making my dress. She was going to be so thrilled. I had ju
st fulfilled her fantasy.
When the camera crews were finished with us, we were grabbed by other VIPers and requested to be part of an endless stream of selfies. After a while, my smile felt frozen on my face.
Just when I thought another camera flash would make me insane, they ran the dog past each of us again and gave us instructions not to run when they opened the doors.
A staff member poked his head out of the door to the main stage auditorium. "Austin MacDougall? Cam? Jeremy? Dylan?"
"Jeremy had to go to the men's room," Dylan said. "He'll be right back."
Right.
Austin brought me up next to him. "This is our guest, Blair."
The staffer nodded. "Follow me. Connor asked us to seat you right up front. Should we wait for your friend?"
"Nah. He's a big boy. He'll find us. We'll save him a seat and text him where we are," Cam said.
The staffer led us to seats in the front row, center stage. Be still my heart. This day just got better and better.
The men insisted I sit in the middle of them, two of them on each side of me, Austin to my immediate right.
I looked at the narrow folding chairs and bit my lip. I only required one chair. The question was, how many did my dress need?
Austin saw my dilemma and laughed. "Take two chairs. Take three. One of us will be absent at all times."
I shot him a relieved look. "This dress! How did women endure them?"
He held my hand while I sat and arranged my dress around me before taking the seat next to me, sitting in the kilt like he'd been wearing one for years.
I texted a picture of our position to Beth. I can't believe this. I'm living a fantasy.
Get me good pictures! she texted back. From your vantage point, you might be able to see up Connor's kilt.
Bad aunt! I texted back a disapproving face followed by a laughing emoji. First she pimps me out…
The room was dimmed like a movie theater. There were large screens hung on either side of the stage. But we wouldn't need them here in the first row.
Almost Jamie (The Jet City Kilt Series) (Volume 1) Page 6
