Unfortunately, unless she took action fast, he was going to show up at her door in thirty minutes.
So as soon as she psyched herself up for the call she didn’t want to make, she’d key in his number and break the news.
27
Smiling, Zach picked up the loaf of French bread he’d asked Sweet Dreams bakery to put aside for him, tucked it into the antique picnic hamper Frank had loaned him, and set the basket on the floor next to the two throws he’d retrieved from the linen closet.
“Now that’s a picnic.” Stephanie wandered into the kitchen and surveyed his gear.
“I hope my neighbor agrees.”
“You can’t go wrong with a wicker picnic hamper. It appeals to the romantic in every woman.”
“So Frank told me. He said it’s the one he used the day he asked his wife to marry him.”
Stephanie’s eyebrows rose. “Is there more to this date than you’ve told me?”
“No.” He’d filled her in on Katherine’s decision about the movie, since it would soon be public knowledge anyway. “But I thought I’d launch this courtship in style—and give her some sweet memories to think about while she’s busy being a movie star.”
“That ought to do the trick.” She waved a hand over the accoutrements he’d assembled.
“Frank said the two of you were having dinner together too.”
“We are. He wants to take me to a fancy restaurant up in Coos Bay. I tried to talk him out of it, told him we should save that for a special occasion, but he said any date with me qualifies for that designation.”
Zach grinned. “I didn’t know my assistant barista was such a smooth talker.” He leaned back against the counter and folded his arms. “He must really be sweet on—” His phone began to vibrate and he pulled it out. “Speaking of sweet . . .” He held up the cell.
“My cue to exit. Besides, I have to finish primping.” She patted her hair and sashayed out.
Zach let the phone ring again as he waited for his aunt to disappear. After the door to her room clicked shut, he put it to his ear. “Couldn’t wait another twenty minutes to see me, huh?”
“I’ve been ready for the past half hour—and looking forward to a whole evening on the beach in your company.”
Her reply should have stoked his libido.
Instead, an underlying thread of wistfulness—and a touch of emotion that could be regret—put him on alert.
“Why do I hear a but in there?”
One second ticked by.
Two.
Three.
She sighed.
He braced.
“Under the circumstances, I don’t think getting together with you would be wise.”
Suspicion confirmed. She had bad news to share.
“What circumstances?” He wrapped his fingers around the edge of the counter and held on.
As she filled him in on Simon’s leak to the media, he struggled to tamp down his anger.
Didn’t work.
If her agent was standing in this room, he’d be tempted to flatten the man for ruining his remaining days with Katherine.
A strong reaction from a man who abhorred violence—and a telling measure of the depth of his feelings for his neighbor.
“So rather than subject you to that sort of scrutiny and turf invasion, I think we should cancel the picnic. I’m sorry, Zach.” Katherine’s voice was shaky—as if she was on the cusp of tears. “I bet you went to a lot of trouble.”
He surveyed the hamper packed with all the gourmet goodies he’d rounded up during a whirlwind trip to a specialty food store in Coos Bay.
This picnic was happening.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll wait until after dark and sneak over with our food. You can shut all the drapes and we’ll have complete privacy.”
“I’d like to believe that would work, but you don’t know how dogged these photographers can be. For all I know, there are a couple camped out in my bushes—or hanging from trees outside my property line, cameras pointed at the house. Not to mention the guy on the boat. They could be equipped with night vision cameras.”
He jammed a fist on his hip. “Would they honestly go to such extremes just because you signed a movie deal?”
“Depends on what Simon ‘leaked.’ He wasn’t all that forthcoming with details. But in light of what happened in LA a few weeks ago at that party—yeah, they might. And if they see you sneaking over and manage to get a picture, I can imagine the headline now: ‘Jason Grey’s grieving girlfriend finds solace in Oregon coast love nest.’”
A muscle spasmed in his jaw. “How can people read that type of garbage?”
“I have no idea—but I don’t want to put you in the position of having to deal with the fallout if any of those rag reporters find out about us and decide to make a nuisance of themselves after I’m gone.”
“I can handle them.”
“I don’t want you to have to.”
“It’s worth it to have a couple more days with you.”
A moment of silence ticked by.
“I’ll tell you what. Let’s put the picnic on hold for today. I’ll touch base with you first thing in the morning. For tonight, it’s safer if you keep your distance.”
“I can find a way to get over to your place without being detected, Katherine.” At least he was 99 percent certain he could.
“Zach—do this for me. Please. I don’t want our relationship tainted by being splashed all over the scandal sheets that pass for magazines in the show business world.”
Her impassioned plea was impossible to refuse—and much as he wanted to see her, her peace of mind took priority.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll stay on this side of the property line tonight—as long as you call me in the morning.”
“I will.”
“Early.”
“I promise.” Her voice caught. Like she was trying to hold back a sob.
“Hey.” He gentled his tone. “We’ll work this out. Everything will be fine.”
“I hope so. Talk to you soon.”
She ended the call before he could respond.
After a few moments of silence, he lowered the cell.
Down the hall, Stephanie’s door clicked, and less than half a minute later she poked her head into the kitchen. “Is the coast clear?”
“Yeah.”
She joined him. “You don’t look happy.”
“Change in plans.”
He recounted his conversation with Katherine.
Stephanie wrinkled her nose. “Bummer.”
“Tell me about it.”
She tucked her purse under her arm and regarded him. “For what it’s worth, I have a feeling she’s in tears as we speak—and battling more than a few regrets about taking that movie role.”
“It was the right choice, much as I would have preferred her to turn it down.”
“In that case—if I may offer one piece of advice—follow her lead on how to handle this development. She already has more than her share of pressure and stress in Hollywood. She doesn’t need any more here. And she knows the nasty side of that business better than you do.”