Trent didn’t know how to respond. Was she flirting?
“No girlfriend and I’d love to stay for dinner.”
“I’ll tell Karri to make an extra,” she said as she grabbed his hand and led him to the living room. “I’ll be right back. Make yourself at home.”
A minute later she was back and sat down on the couch next to him. Trent couldn’t believe how fast time flew and before he knew it, Karri was telling them dinner was ready.
“It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Trent.”
“Are you leaving?” he asked Karri, who nodded.
“I help coach a local lacrosse team. Skye and I played in college and we have practice tonight.
They said their goodbyes and he followed Skye into the kitchen. “How about we eat outside?”
“Sure.” Trent picked up the bottle of wine and his plate of food. He then followed Skye through an opened glass door to a pool patio that overlooked the cityscape.
Trent had been nervous, but he and Skye got along as if they’d known each other for years. She told him stories of growing up on a farm and he told her about the pirates of Shadows Landing. Hours went by. The sun had long since set yet they were still talking and laughing.
“When do you leave?” Skye asked as they reclined by the pool.
“Tomorrow afternoon.”
“So soon? Then we better make the most of tonight.” Skye bit her bottom lip and suddenly looked nervous. “I thought I was brave, but I’m not. I was going to kiss you.” Trent’s breath stopped and he forgot how to breathe. “But I chickened out. I’ve never been the type to make the first move. Am I crazy thinking that there’s something between us?”
“I thought I was crazy for thinking there was,” Trent admitted as he lifted his hand and brushed his fingers against her cheek before sliding his hand to cup the nape of her neck.
“Then let’s be crazy together,” Skye whispered. She tilted her face up and offered her lips to him. Trent didn’t hesitate to accept her gift.
In fact, he took everything she offered. She’d been right: there was something between them. Something that made her feel like home to him. Something that when she stood up and held out her hand, he knew he’d take it and never look back. Something that left them both calling out each other’s names multiple times that night. Something that was so strong that his heart had been irrevocably taken by Skye.
It wasn’t the morning sun that woke Trent. It was the feeling of not being alone in the giant house. Trent opened his eyes to see Skye sound asleep next to him. There was another sound and then footsteps coming toward them. Trent pulled the sheet over Skye’s nude body and jumped into his clothes as the door opened.
“Who the hell are you?” Trent asked as he put himself between the man and Skye.
“Lenny Daniels, Skye’s manager.” He was a little past middle-aged and had gotten a lot of Botox and probably some other work done over the years. He was fighting a losing battle against age, but he wasn’t waving the flag of defeat yet. “I think the better question is, where did she find you?”
Trent looked back at Skye. He didn’t like that Lenny had just walked into her room. Manager or not, he was still a man and she was still naked. Trent gestured with his chin to take it outside. Lenny made a face but moved out into the hall as Trent grabbed his shoes and met him.
“I’m Trent Faulkner, the furniture maker.”
“Figures. Skye loves her blue-collar men. Come with me.”
Trent followed the man who was in excellent shape, but even so, probably in clothes thirty years too young for him. Not that Trent was a fashionista, but the skinny jeans with loafers and no socks just wasn’t a good look.
They entered an office and Trent kept his eyes on Lenny as he pulled open a drawer and handed Trent a piece of paper. “Our standard NDA. I need your phone to make sure you didn’t take any pictures.”
Insulted wasn’t even touching what Trent felt. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“Yeah, right,” Lenny said sarcastically. “And all the men before you wouldn’t ever do that because, what? You’re in love with Skye? Get real. She’s a celebrity and you’re a nobody. She doesn’t love you. She enjoys the worship your kind gives her. Now, sign the nondisclosure and you can be on your way.”
Trent shook his head. This wasn’t right. He wasn’t just a number. They’d connected. “I want to talk to Skye.”
Lenny looked at his watch and then back up at Trent. “Your time is up. It’s sad you don’t see that. Sign it and leave before things get awkward. Enjoy the night you had with America’s Sweetheart and know I’ll sue you for every penny you have if you ever tell anyone about this night.” Lenny paused and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. You probably think what happened was real. You think you had a connection. You didn’t. This is just Skye’s way. You are just the next in a long line of normal guys who have fallen for the glitz and glamour of it all.”
“Then why should I sign it? Why shouldn’t I go out and tell everyone she pretends to be this small town girl to get laid?” Trent asked, his heart hardening with every word Lenny spoke.
Lenny looked at him sympathetically and pushed forward the paper with a pen lying on top of it. “Because deep down you care for her and don’t want her hurt. I’m sorry.”
Trent looked down at the paper. Had it all been fake?
“Did she tell you she grew up on a farm? That she sought solace at the reservation in college because there was just something about family that gave her peace? That she never does this? That she never feels this way about a man after just meeting him?”
Trent listened to Lenny’s words and his heart broke in two. He silently picked up the pen, signed the paper, and walked out. He never wanted to hear from Skye Jessamine ever again. He was a fool for falling for her. Even more a fool for thinking someone like her actually saw him for who he was and adored him for it. Trent hardened his heart. He was a fool no more.
1
The smell of fall was heavy in the air. Even in Shadows Landing, South Carolina, Trent could smell the season’s arrival. The leaves were changing, the air was less humid, and grills were fired up for tailgating before football games. He’d spent last night in his workshop, building a new piece of furniture for his new line that was about to be picked up for national production. It had been months . . . shoot, almost a year at this point, but Skye Jessamine still haunted every minute of his life.
She had a movie coming out in a month and her face was on every magazine cover, her voice on every radio talk show, and her picture on every billboard. Then there were the TV talk shows, the interviews, and the ads running for the movie. Trent felt as if he literally couldn’t escape her.
And there were her texts. Still, even after all this time. Trent received a text from Skye once or twice a week. Thinking of you. What are you up to? He’d never responded, yet she’d kept texting. Sometimes she’d tell him about her day or send a funny selfie. He hated to admit it, but he looked forward to each text she sent. He’d eagerly look at his phone only to feel the betrayal of being just one of many.