Coming Home

by Kimberly McKay

  Anne noticed the same item on the menu. “I think I’ll try theirs, and I’ll get some of that sorbet you were mentioning.”

  Ned nodded. Before he could wave to their server, he saw Chad and Timberly walk in. Ned immediately looked to Anne to see her reaction, but she was too involved in studying the menu to notice.

  Chad pulled out Timberly’s chair and rounded the table to sit across from her, which put his back to Ned’s table.

  Timberly smiled at the gallant effort. Not many people took time for chivalry in life; even if they were just friends she savored the gesture.

  Now if only she could get him to come around to her view of their relationship. Then maybe he wouldn’t be taking part in his new show. She did her best to shove her jealously aside, as she didn’t want to lose him as a friend.

  Ned groaned when Chad sat on the wrong side of the table, without a clear sight of Anne. Now he would have to get creative to bring their attention to one another. He made eye contact and smiled at Timberly, who raised her hand in greeting.

  “Who is it?” Chad craned his neck, and saw Ned from the corner of his eye. “Oh, I didn’t see him when we came in.”

  As he turned in his chair to wave, his gaze fell on the pretty brunette who was sitting near him, and his interest immediately peaked.

  “Who’s that? I’ve not seen her around before.” He cocked his head, letting his curious eyes linger on Anne.

  Timberly frowned in response. “Who knows? Who cares?”

  Chad laughed and turned back to Timberly. “You don’t even know her and you’re acting jealous?”

  Anne’s head popped up at the sound of Chad’s laughter. As a fan a Hope’s Miracle, she’d heard that laugh before. Could it be?

  She scanned the tables around them in haste, and saw what could be the back of his head, but without a look at his face she couldn’t be sure.

  Keep cool LaSal, she coached herself, drawing in a short breath.

  She fumbled in her purse and reached for her mirror, pretending to check her reflection. Casually, she lifted her eyes and peered across the walkway. If it was the Chad Chambers, the last thing she wanted do was make a scene.

  Ned saw her peaked interest and was trying hard to read her thoughts. He could tell her demeanor had changed, but couldn’t pin it on anything.

  Let the games begin, he thought and smiled to himself.

  Ned turned in his chair in efforts to call Chad over, but their waiter arrived delaying his efforts. He grimaced, thinking the introductions would have to wait.

  The arrival of their food was a perfect diversion for Anne, as fine cuisine was her first love. She quickly dropped her compact back into her purse and smiled down at her plate, in anticipation.

  Ned watched as she eagerly reached for her chopsticks, and paused before gently picking up a single shrimp, almost sighing in adoration.

  “I think you’re more excited about your food than who may be sitting around us? Don’t you know this place is known for A-listers?” He chuckled.

  Anne groaned with delight, as she shoved a tender shrimp in her mouth. It almost melted, as it was cooked to perfection.

  “I think I’m in heaven.” She mumbled through her food.

  From across the aisle, Chad watched Timberly, as she continued to glare over his shoulder.

  “Would you cut it out? You don’t even know her.” He rolled his eyes at Timberly’s face. “What has you in such a mood?”

  He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the ecstasy in the young woman’s eyes, as she expertly picked up a shrimp with her chopsticks.

  Chad’s mouth twitched. Something about the joy she held for her shrimp made his insides smile. Women in L.A. didn’t delight in their food like this. They barely ate at all. But this girl was not only happy about eating she was taking care to savor every bite.

  He watched her lift each morsel, like it were a prize, and close her eyes with delight. Not once in his whole life could he say that watching a woman eat was moving or a turn on, but as he sat only a few feet away, he felt jilted and would have given anything to switch places with Ned, to find out more about this girl.

  With every second that passed, he was more inclined to walk across the restaurant and introduce himself. Chad knew the thought of approaching a stranger was ridiculous, but he’d never experienced anything like this before. He shook his head to clear the fog that was clouding his judgment.

  Timberly cleared her throat. “Hey, I’m over here.” Chad blinked and as her words broke the spell that had wound around him. He slowly turned back to Timberly, and came back to reality with a thud.

  “Sorry, I was just trying to see why you were staring at her. We’ll need to say hi before we leave.”

  Timberly saw the glaze that temporarily set in his eyes, and didn’t like it one bit. It was like Cupid had picked up an arrow and hit his mark. The thought was infuriating.

  “Why wait?” She smirked, and stood up.

  Oblivious to it all, Anne looked up from her plate, mid bite, to see a very determined and beautiful Timberly Monet, making her way to their table.

  “Um, you’re about to have company. She doesn’t look very happy.” Anne nervously whispered to Ned.

  Ned dropped his chopsticks to his plate and quickly stood and opened his arms for a loose hug.

  “Timberly, how are you darling?” He asked, excited to see how this was going to play out. He stepped back from their short embrace to see Chad hesitantly trailing her from behind.

  Ned knew of the dynamics between the two, and understood that he was giving Timberly room to get rid of whatever mood she was in.

  “Nice to see you.” She gave him a flat smile and pulled out a chair next to him. “May we join you for a few minutes until our food arrives?”

  She promptly sat without waiting for an answer, and glared at Chad to do the same.

  Timberly sent Ned another fake smile and continued, “I was just saying it’s been so long since I’ve seen you. When was it? When Chad and I were at the Oscars?” She sent Anne a look posthaste, in efforts to intimidate her.

  Chad took the only seat left, next to Anne. As soon as he sat, he noticed her long legs under the table and tried to imagine how tall she’d be when she stood. He liked height on a woman. Within seconds, he berated himself for such thoughts. He focused intently on the tablecloth in front of him.

  You don’t even know her, he told himself. Not sure why he was contemplating anything about a woman, he’d never met – he tried changing the subject from Timberly and her droning on about any award ceremonies.

  “Timberly, you’re being rude. Ned, you’ve not introduced us to your guest.” He smiled warmly toward Anne, who felt like she might throw up.

  As Anne’s heart lodged in her throat, she attempted to keep her emotions in check. She wasn’t star struck very often. Other than Mark Harmon, he was the only other actor she followed on television, and now he was only a few inches away. She’d always wondered what Chad would be like in real life, and true to form he seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

  Ned sensed Chad’s peaked interest and reveled in the moment. He assumed this was the reason Timberly was acting like a brat.

  “Chad, Timberly … Meet Anne LaSal. My friend who came … to visit for while and see what it is I do here.”

  Anne raised an eyebrow to Ned, noticing that he didn’t tell them the exact reason she was here, but she decided to roll with it.

  She turned to Timberly, choosing to ignore Chad. Not because she wasn’t interested, but because she couldn’t look at him without making a fool of herself. And if she continued looking or thinking about how close his legs were to hers, she just might jump out of her chair.

  “Nice to meet you both, Timberly.”

  “So you’re not an actress, then?” Timberly softened her tone. If she wasn’t a local, then chances were she wouldn’t be around long.

  Anne laughed, keeping her attention on Timberly. “The furthest thing from it.
You could say I’m in-between jobs right now.”

  Ned watched as Anne literally angled her body away from Chad.

  She’s not even trying to talk to him! His mind was on overdrive. Ned, who was mistaking Anne’s nerves for non-interest, was already thinking about how this would affect the show. He couldn’t wait!

  This girl intrigued Chad. He wasn’t used to someone of the opposite sex blatantly ignoring him. Not that he had a big ego, he just wasn’t used to this from most women he met. Most flirted, but Anne acted like he wasn’t even there.

  “So, you’re friends? How do you know each other?” He interjected, trying to capture her attention.

  Anne clamped her lips and breathed in slow. Talk slow – don’t stutter Anne. He’s just a guy.

  Anne let out a half laugh. “Well, I wouldn’t say we were friends. Not really … right, Ned?”

  Ned laughed at Chad’s face. He was utterly confused. Anne was playing it beautifully. She even blushed a bit.

  “So you two are ... ?” Chad pointed back and forth, between both Ned and Anne. He jumped to the only conclusion he could, not really clear on her answer.

  “Dating? That’s funny!” Anne laughed loudly.

  Timberly saw a slight flash of intrigue cross Chad’s face, and fumed once more. Not once had he ever shown that much interest in her, and now not only was she jealous but resentful of his interest in Anne.

  Ned jumped to her rescue. “One of her best friends is also one of mine. That’s how we met.” He didn’t want Chad to get too much info. He needed them both ignorant to the fact that she was out here for the show.

  Timberly watched Chad’s body language, as he leaned in toward Anne, and felt like tossing a spring roll at his head. It was as if he were hanging on her ever word, and Timberly couldn’t figure out why. She scrutinized her from head to toe, thinking Anne was plain as they come … if you liked that natural beauty kind of thing she had going on.

  Timberly, on the other hand, took so much effort to be the opposite of plain, and thought maybe one day Chad would realize how much she did to get his attention. But now, here he was practically salivating over this nobody across from her.

  Disgusting. She held back from wrapping her hands around his neck, and choking the life from him.

  “Our food is finally here, lover boy.” Timberly abruptly stood, waiting for Chad to leave for their table. He didn’t.

  “Nice seeing you again.” Ned stood to kiss her on the cheek, before Timberly sulked back to her table. He watched her leave with a wistful smile. He saw how hard she worked to be what she thought Chad wanted, and thought she deserved better than that.

  Loverboy… That word set like a rock in Anne’s stomach. It was obvious that Timberly and Chad were together. She smiled softly at Timberly from across the tables. Timberly did not smile back.

  “Nice meeting you.” Anne said to Chad. “If you gentlemen will excuse me?”

  Anne leaned toward Ned and whispered softly in his ear. “Where’s the ladies room?”

  Ned pointed toward the bar, while watching Chad’s eyes trail her through the restaurant.

  “Looker, huh?” Ned asked triumphantly.

  Chad mistook his tone for pride. “You’re a lucky guy.

  “She’s not mine. She’s just a friend, sort of.” Ned raised his eyebrow at Chad’s confused look. This couldn’t have gone any better if he planned it.

  “Whatever you say man.” Chad half laughed it off. “But, while I have you here … you got my message, right? My agent said you were aiming to get me more girls, like her, for the show? Real women – that have substance? I don’t want any that have aspirations to act. I get enough of that already.” Chad sighed and leaned back in his chair.

  “Yup, and I can promise you that you’ll be pleasantly surprised.” Ned was almost bursting at the seams with joy.

  “You also understand our agreement? I want some control over how the show is constructed, so thank you for agreeing with that up front.”

  “I understand. It’s not Carte blanch mind you. But you’ll have some freedom on how you want the show to operate … where you want to take the girls … how the dates are set up. I get it.”

  Ned lifted his glass and drained his Perrier.

  Chad gave a sigh of relief. “Thanks. It was important that if I do this show, I had some say in it. My agent insisted I do this, because he thought it would open my career up to other avenues.”

  “Understood.” Ned let him continue.

  “And since I’ve not been dating lately - if in fact you have someone at the end of it that is a fit for me… it would be bonus. And I’d like to make sure everything is … well, perfect.”

  Ned smiled. Chad was such a romantic.

  “Of course. Do you mind me asking you something? As it may come up with the show, so you’ll need to be thinking of an answer.”

  “Sure.” Chad sat back.

  “Why haven’t you been dating? You’re Chad Chambers! You can have any girl you want.”

  “It’s harder than it looks, man. Either they want you for your money, or to use your status to improve their career. To find someone real in this zoo … it’s just hard.”

  Ned knew this all too well. He had plenty of women trying to seduce him for what he could do for their careers. Not that he was complaining, but to have a quality relationship someday was something he looked forward to.

  “Speaking of those that use you for your career. I better get back to my table.” Chad lifted an eyebrow toward Timberly, who ignored them.

  “Alright man. See you next Monday - bright and early. We’ll start prepping you for the show.” Ned stood to shake his hand.

  Chad stood to face the glare of his friend, who’d already eaten most of her meal. He waived over his waiter. “Box mine up please.”

  “Already lovesick, huh?” Timberly grimaced.

  “Stop it Timberly. Green isn’t your color.” He reprimanded her, and watched Anne weave through the restaurant to sit with Ned. She was tall, like he’d imagined.

  He turned back to Timberly and shook any other imaginations of Anne from his mind.

  Chapter 6

  Dinner at the Chamber house was always an event. Chad’s mom, Allyson, made all of his favorites any time he came home.

  As he looked to the table, his mouth was salivating in anticipation of the enchiladas and tex-mex dip, which lay on his plate.

  “You have no idea how much I’ve missed your cooking, mom.” He smiled and picked a chip to pop in his mouth.

  Allyson laughed. “Hold on there kiddo. We’ve not said grace.”

  Chad dropped his head and folded his hands, embarrassed. California had done a lot of good things for his career, but the lifestyle also stripped him of the simple things, like remembering to say grace before dinner. He squeezed his eyes shut, as his sister, Abbey, prayed.

  “Dear Lord, thank you for the food mom has prepared. Please bless it to our bodies. Thanks for Chad’s quick trip back home this weekend, because I’ve missed him. Amen.”

  Chad lifted his eyes to meet his sister’s. “I’ve missed you too Abs. I’ve missed you both.” Chad smiled to his mom. “I wish dad was still here, in moments like these.”

  “Me too, sweetheart. He would be so proud of his two super stars.” She sadly smiled, in memory of her late husband, Charlie. He always said that his kids were going to grow up and be the somebody that he never was.

  Abbey smiled sadly toward their father’s empty chair. “It’s only been five years, but in some ways it feels like yesterday, and yet, others … like forever.”

  Allyson covered her daughter’s hand with hers, and looked to her kids with pride. They were her little superstars; Chad with his acting career, and Abbey with her grades. Yes, her Charlie would be really proud.

  “So? Getting nervous yet?” Allyson teased, turning her attention to Chad.

  “Honest?” His grimaced, eyes wide.

  Allyson shot a look back at him that left no in
terpretation.

  Chad threw up his hands. “Okay. Okay. Yeah, I am.”

  Abbey laughed at her brother, and rolled her eyes.

  “If you ask me, you’re crazy. Those shows are so predictable. I mean it always gets down to a few girls, a couple likeable ones, one really good one, and the token witch, who everybody hates except the bachelor can’t see it.”

  “Abbey Raye!” Allyson laughed at her daughter.

  “What? It’s true. That’s what happens,” she said nonchalantly before shoving another bite into her mouth.

  Chad grinned. He’d missed the friendly bickering between them.

  Allyson conceded. “You’ve got a point though. Not that I can stomach most of those shows, but the few times I’ve watched … Ugh. It’s like - really? How can the guy not see how crazy the one girl is, who all the other girls hate? I mean come on! If all the other girls hate her … there is a reason for it. And if you can’t play well with others, you can’t reasonably expect that girl to be a nurturing mother to your children.”

  “Whoa, ma!” Chad choked on his food, and held his hands up. “I’m not having any kids here. I’m just trying to meet a nice girl.”

  Chad’s mind instantaneously was drawn back to Anne.

  “Like this one girl …” His voice faded.

  Abbey and Allyson’s eyes met, and both turned to him with interest. He saw their intrigue and laughed.

  “Look, it was nothing. I was out to lunch with Timberly the other day …”

  Allyson made a disgusted noise, and began cutting into her food.

  “Timberly’s not that bad mom.” Chad defended his friend.

  “She uses you to get her name in the headlines, but whatever … finish.” She urged, smiling widely.

  Chad took a sip of his water. “There was this girl, who seemed … normal. She was with Ned, the executive producer for the show.”

  Abbey gave him a look and then took the last bite of her enchilada before saying, “Well forget about that. She’s not normal if she’s having lunch with a TV producer. Sorry brother.”

  Chad took a bite, half talking with his mouth full, and said, “No really. She was just a friend in town, and had nothing to do with entertainment. And she was really pretty. Not made up pretty … just pretty … in a natural kind of way.”