When You're Ready (Ready #1)(39)

“See, you should have just taken my advice when you called home that night of your date. You would be sitting here a much, much happier woman,” Leah scolded.

I rolled my eyes recalling the conversation I had with Leah that night in the Bed and Breakfast. It took a full five minutes to convince her that there really was a downed tree in the road that was preventing us from getting home. She thought I was making some lame excuse for not coming home in order to stay the night with Logan. Finally, after she believed I was telling the truth, it took another five minutes for her to stop trying to convince me to sneak into his bedroom late that night, completely nude, telling him I was cold, and needed help getting warm. I had no idea where Leah thought this shit up. She must sit around, daydreaming  p**n ographic scenes all day.

“No, I definitely shouldn’t have. I think it’s sweet. And I fully support him,” I said defensively.

“Uh huh, and how many times have you masturbated in the last two weeks?” she asked.

“Leah! I can’t believe you would ask such a question!” I snapped, feigning innocence.

She just looked at me, waiting for my answer.

“Fine. Every day, happy?”

“Not as happy as you, apparently.” We both laughed and raised our glasses, toasting to the countless times we’d spent together laughing and sharing our lives.

Our waitress continued to bring us rounds as we emptied our glasses. I think we were about three drinks in, and my head was starting to feel fuzzy, when she saw him.

“Oh my God. I think I just saw Declan James walk in. What the f**k would he be doing here, in Richmond?” she shrieked in excitement, hitting me on the arm to get my attention.

Oh shit.

Not good. So not good. She was gonna be pissed when she saw who he was with.

“And, what the hell? He just walked in with your boyfriend! Something you forgot to tell me, Clare?”

Crap.

~Logan~

So far, so good. We made it through dinner and no one seemed to notice Declan. Or me. Not that I was usually recognized outside of bars and clubs. It did help that he had a baseball cap pulled tightly around his head and dark glasses. The bar we just walked into, after dropping Colin off at home, was one he picked and I wasn’t too confident in his choice. It was packed, bodies pressed together, filling every square inch. But it’s what the guy wanted and I was letting him run the show.

Even though he hadn’t reached true fame yet, Declan was on his way. He played a supporting role in a movie last year that had created a lot of Oscar buzz, and now he was suddenly on the radar of every major director in Hollywood. But Declan was choosy. He refused to do a movie based on how much money or fame he could gain, and instead chose roles based on the script, producers and director. I don’t know much about Hollywood, but I don’t think there were many actors left like Declan, which made him a nightmare for agents and a godsend for the screen.

I had known Declan since we were kids. His father and mine were friends, which meant Declan and I spent a lot of time together when we were still too young to be shipped off to boarding school. We were not the best of friends until later on in life. Even as toddlers, our Nannies would find us wrestling over toys. I was stuck up and snobby, constantly worrying over what my father might think. Declan was the opposite; constantly getting into trouble and causing fights every chance he had. By the time we reached high school; he had been kicked out of every boarding school his Dad could find, until he finally resorted to private tutors. He had always been a bit of a wild horse, not easily tamed. Acting has calmed him down a bit, but I still wondered if he would ever be fully domesticated. It was one of the reasons I didn’t want to be around him. He reminded me of my past. A past I wanted to forget. A past I was desperately trying not to remind Clare of, and I wanted him gone before he had the chance to show her.

As we made our way through the bar, I could see his eyes scan the room, looking for exits or surveying the crowd, I couldn’t be sure. It was one the things I had noticed that changed about him, he was constantly alert. A bit of his carefree attitude was gone and I feared what real fame might do to him if he was already this intense.

As his eyes continued to analyze the crown, he narrowed in on a leggy blonde seated at a table in a corner. Her eyes were filled with laughter as she held her drink in one hand and made excessive hand gestures with the other. Declan looked mesmerized and hungry. It appeared he’d found what he was looking for. Maybe I could go home.

Wait a second! I knew that blonde.

Leah’s eyes locked with Declan’s and widened. She leaned across the table and whispered something to Clare, who was seated with her back to us, and she visibly stiffened. Was she upset that I was here? I wasn’t exactly happy about Clare and Declan being in the same room, but I wasn’t leaving now. Not now that I was so close to her.

Oh God, she thought I was a stalker.

Leah looked back up at the two of us, eyes still full of excitement. It wasn’t until she saw me standing next to him that her expression suddenly went from confused to pissed. Putting the puzzle pieces together, I finally relaxed. Guessing from the obvious scolding Clare was getting, I wagered that she left out the part about Declan being a close friend of mine and his visit to Richmond. It didn’t appear to be going over well.

Leah composed herself rather quickly and whispered something in Clare’s ear. Clare nodded before turning in herself toward us to wave. She plastered a smile on her face that I knew was fake, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Poor Clare. I knew she was probably just raked over the coals and was in need of some serious saving.