Chapter 5
Anna
I was hiding in the walk-in freezer when Betsy barged in, looking flushed and excited. "Oh, my God," she breathed. "You'll never guess who's out there."
I didn't need to guess.
I knew.I'd seen him walk in. And then, I'd made a quick break for the freezer, where I'd hoped to be spared the sight or sound of him.And vice-versa.
"Well?" Betsy said. "Aren't you gonna guess who it is?"
I tried look suitably clueless. "I, um…who?"
She smiled like it was Christmas morning. "Flynn Archer."
"Oh?" I tried to smile back. "Wow."
"Not just wow," she said. "Double wow. He said you're friends. How come you never told me?"
The answer tothatwas easy.
Weweren't.
But I didn't say it. Flynn was Betsy's favorite actor, and I hated the thought of crushing her excitement.
She had three kids, no husband, and two crappy jobs. If anyone needed a fantasy, it was her. Still, it would've been so much nicer if only she'd picked a different actor to drool over.
During the ten depressing months that I'd been working here, I'd had to listen to Betsy night after night, talking about how much she loved not only Flynn, but also the series of movies that had made him famous.
Generous to a fault, Betsy also loved Flynn's co-star, Felicity Saint Cloud, who was indisputably one of the most beautiful women in the world.
Together, Flynn and Felicity comprised one of the most famous couples on the planet, and not just in the movies. Rumor had it, they were like two minutes away from announcing their engagement.
I was glad for them, truly I was – Flynn in particular.
But every time I heard his name or saw his face, even on a stupid movie poster, my stomach clenched with the certain knowledge that he'd probably justloveto give me a good lopping if our paths ever crossed.
Sword meet neck.
His sword.
My neck.
Yikes.
Luckily for me, he confined his lopping to the movies, which meant that my neck was probably safe. Still, I was under no illusion that I'd be spared his lingering wrath.
When I shivered in the freezer, it wasn't because of the cold.
Still, I gave Betsy what I hoped was a smile. "Well, I guess it's your lucky day, huh? You get to wait on a bigtime movie star." I tried to laugh. "I hope he's a good tipper."
She leaned forward. "Oh, he is. Get this, he already gave me a huge tip, just for seating him."
I felt my eyebrows furrow.That was strange.
Nice but definitely strange.
Still, I summoned up another smile. "Well, who knows, maybe he'll tip you again."
