Chapter Three
Bethany drove the familiar route down Caroline Street to the library in the heart of the old town of Fredericksburg. Holiday decorations were popping up throughout the historic shopping area, but Halloween hadn’t arrived! Bethany frowned. Even though she loved the holidays, she also adored Halloween, and it irritated her at how early Santa began to make his appearance.
As she revisited her strange night in her mind, it occurred to her that the Actors Guild nominations were due out in a week or so. She hoped Aidan would be nominated for his role in Come Sunday, where he played a returning soldier who had experienced trauma in Iraq. He was in the process of trying to get to know his two young children, one whom he had never met, and the other who had been only a year old when he left for Iraq. Aidan had played the part beautifully and with such conviction that he deserved many accolades for the role. Plus, it would be cool to cheer him on now that she had met him.
After parking her car, Bethany ran into the historic building that housed the library. She smiled at two little boys in the young readers’ area who were captivated by the magic of books. It made her heart happy to see young children engrossed in books like she had been all of her life. Her best friend and assistant librarian, Michelle, glanced at her as she walked toward her small office. Bethany looked around quickly and motioned for Michelle to follow.
“What is it?” Michelle asked with excitement in her eyes. “You have really good gossip, I can tell.”
Bethany grinned. “You got that right. Guess who I ran into last night?”
“Please tell me it wasn’t Tom. I am so pissed at him right now. Wait until I tell you what he did this time.”
Bethany sighed. Oh, brother. Michelle and Tom had been together for the last three years. While it was obvious they were made for each other, they had been fighting lately, and it was making everyone close to them crazy. “No, it wasn’t dreadful, horrible Tom.”
“Well, he isn’t dreadful—” Michelle started.
“I met Aidan Shannon!” Bethany interrupted, thrusting her phone at Michelle before she could start to wax eloquent about Tom.
“Oh my God, Bethany! Tell me everything!”
Bethany went into detail describing the events of the previous night, including the celebrity sleepover.
Michelle’s eyes widened. “Seriously? He was in your house? He slept in your bed?”
“My guest bed,” Bethany corrected.
“That is amazing! There have been so many sightings around town; I was hoping one of us would see him.” Michelle gave her a sly look. “But you actually slept with him!”
“I did not!” Bethany’s face flamed in embarrassment and possible excitement. She’d figure that out later.
“Near him, then,” Michelle said.
“That’s true,” Bethany said, beaming.
Michelle sighed. “Was he as yummy as he looks in the movies?”
Aidan Shannon was the quintessential tall, dark, and handsome man, with black hair, wide green eyes, and a generous mouth that was both seductive and masculine. And then there was his body. Dear God in heaven. He was muscular and solid, unlike many of the weed-thin actors popular today. He had a beautifully sculpted frame that seemed to radiate potent sexuality. Aidan embodied all that was attractive in a fantasy man, and he was a bad boy, all tough, bold, and devil-may-care.
Leaning in, Bethany said slyly, “As good as he looks in the movies, he is even better looking in person.”
“That is not possible,” Michelle said.
“I’m not lying. When he woke up, he realized he was naked and thought I had undressed him.”
“Did you?” Michelle asked, eyes widening.
“Of course not. He sat up in bed and, oh my God, Michelle, his chest. His abs were drool-worthy.”
“I’m going to faint right here, Bethany.” Michelle plopped into one of the office chairs with a sigh.
“Oh, and get this, he even offered to give me a tour of the set.”
“Do you think I could go with you?” Michelle asked, bouncing on the chair like a schoolgirl waiting for a chance to sit on Santa’s lap.
Bethany frowned. “I’m not sure I’m going to take him up on that yet, honey.”
“Why not?”
Because! Bethany internally wailed. He might think I want to ride the ‘Aidan Train.’ To Michelle, she said, “Well, it seems rude. He is here to make a movie, after all.”
“Don’t be silly,” Michelle admonished with a wave of her hand. “He wouldn’t have said anything if he didn’t want it.”
Bethany paused. That was true, and it would be fantastic to see the set. Perhaps she would give Aidan’s assistant a call.
Michelle gave a little dance of joy.
“Okay, Michelle, okay. I will ask him, but can I get this first?” Bethany said, laughing as she grabbed the ringing phone.
“Rappahannock Library, this is Bethany, how may I help you?”
“Beth? Grand, just who I wanted to speak to.”
Bethany glanced over at Michelle in shock, pointing at the phone, mouthing. It’s him!
“Hello? Beth?”
“Oh, sorry, Aidan. How may I help you?” Bethany ignored her friend who was waving a magazine over her face as if she were burning up.
“I would love to read some more about the Battle of Fredericksburg. I assume you would have some recommendations for me?” His voice was so beautiful, the Irish accent giving his deep voice a musical touch she found intoxicating.
“Of course,” she said, struggling not to stutter. “You can barely move around here without bumping into a book on the Civil War. Did you want to come to the library and pick them up?”
“I would.”
A booming sound came from the other end of the phone. Bethany blinked. “Aidan, did I just hear a cannon?”
“Correct. I am on the set as we speak.”
“I don’t know much about moviemaking, but won’t you get into trouble for using a cell phone on the set?”
She could almost sense him grinning on his end. “No, luv, I won’t get into trouble. I’m in my trailer.”
“Well, I would be delighted to collect some material for you that will prove useful,” Bethany said.
“That would be great. Thanks, luv. I’ll see you tomorrow. Around five o’clock?”
Bethany paused. Of all days! It was the anniversary, and she needed to be with her family. If she gave up this time, to be with a movie star, she would never forgive herself.
“I hate to be a pain, Aidan, but I have an appointment and cannot be here at five o’clock. I’ll leave them with my assistant.”
“Oh.” He sounded disappointed.
“I’m sad that I’ll miss seeing you again,” Bethany said, attempting to ignore the huge note Michelle had written and was waving in her face.
What is more important than seeing Aidan again?
Bethany scribbled, FAMILY.
Michelle paled and went quiet.
“If you could wait until six o’clock, you could collect the books from my apartment. Would that be okay?”
“That would be fine. I would be delighted to visit you again. Could you give me directions? I have no idea how I got to your place last night.”
Bethany carefully described the easiest route from his hotel to her condo.
“Will Declan drive you here?” she asked.
“No. I’ll drive over on my hog, luv. Give me your phone number in case I get lost.”
Bethany rattled off her number, then said goodbye.
Michelle still sat at her desk. “Great God almighty, Bethany. He is coming back to your house! What are you going to wear?”
“I have no idea. Is that important? He’s just coming over to pick up some books.”
“You can’t be that naïve,” Michelle said.
****
The unexpected snow started around four the following morning. Bethany, a Wisconsin native, ignored it, got dressed and valiantly drove to work. Finally arriving after three near misses due to ice and crazy drivers, she made the decision to call her staff and tell them she was closing the library. After all, schools were already closed. She quickly made her calls to the staff, grabbed the research books for Aidan, and carefully made her way to the small church where a memorial to her family stood. The church was closed, but she stood by the beautiful statue of an angel that she’d had erected in their memory and chatted with her beloved family for a while.
Brushing snow from her face, she began to tell her story about meeting Aidan Shannon. She was about to tell them about his upcoming visit when she imagined she heard the giggle of a young girl.
“I hear you, Alice,” Bethany said to her dead sister. “I miss you so much.” She knew that the days leading up to the anniversary were a magical touchstone for her and her family. When she fell asleep on the nights leading up to that anniversary night, she always had the most amazing dreams. And they all started the same. They were all together in their home in Wisconsin, laughing and making dinner together in the kitchen. Then one of them, often her father, would look at her as if to say, “I know this isn’t real. I know I’m dead.”
She would wake up alone and heartbroken. And yet somehow, being a glutton for punishment she supposed, she looked forward to those vivid dreams every year. It was the one time she was part of a family again.
This sad day was always painful for her, but typically she had her work to keep her occupied. Now she would be alone all day, and she wasn’t quite sure how she was going to deal with that. At least, she didn’t have to worry about hiding her emotions. There was no way Aidan would chance an accident to come by later, and that was fine. On this long, lonely day she was often too fragile to be around new people.
She frequently found solace in the anniversary by allowing her creative juices to flow in the kitchen. Writing, her favorite form of artistic expression, was too hard on her emotions so she would look for other ways to keep herself distracted. Her love of cooking had blossomed only after the passing of her mother. Before that, it often amused Bethany to find her mom looking at twelve recipes and trying to figure out which would be the perfect pairing with the ham. Now she knew how her mother felt, as she often found herself surrounded by cookbooks and magazines, looking for the perfect fit for her meal—even if it was just a meal for one. It made her immeasurably proud to be like her mother in the kitchen.
As she carefully walked back to her car, she mentally ran through a list of all the items she would need to bake away the pain. She hoped one of the grocery stores would be open so she could get more supplies, and luck was on her side. One fearless grocer on Sofia Street was open and ready to sell her anything she wanted.
Once she was safely home, Bethany spent the day watching the true crime channel—or, as she liked to call it, “the little did she know” channel—and baking. At day’s end, she was paranoid from crime and murder, and full from eating several cookies and a couple of scones. She jumped at every noise as if a possible rapist or killer was trying to break into her home. Damn, the entire network should be outlawed—the fear factor was too high.
When the doorbell rang she jumped up, spatula in hand, prepared to attack—or, more truthfully, to frost someone to death—when it occurred to her that it might be Aidan, who was crazy enough to venture out on a night like this. The peephole proved her theory correct, and she opened the door to find Aidan grinning at her. He was stunning in jeans, a green turtleneck, and a soft brown leather jacket that gave his rebellious look an added depth of bad boy-ness. A sage-green knit hat over his ears spotlighted his already gorgeous eyes. As she opened the door, her heart leaped with joy. She wondered if she could be in serious trouble with her fantasy man, who really was standing at her front door.