Page 26 of Claim to Fame

“Nope.” The tips of his ears grew hot, and he flung open the refrigerator door. She hadn’t had much to drink at the bar, so he was confident she wasn’t drunk, but she seemed far more relaxed than she’d been since she arrived in Aster Bay. “I’ve got hard cider, beer—”

“No more alcohol for me,” she said, sliding onto a bar stool at his kitchen island. “I get cut off after two glasses.”

“What happens after two glasses?”

“Uh uh,” she said, shaking her head. “You can’t trick me. My lips are sealed.” She mimed zipping her lips, turning the lock, and throwing away the key, her hand knocking her tiara off in the process.

Okay, maybe she’s a little drunk.

Now that he thought of it, he’d never seen her have more than one glass of wine, and she hadn’t had much to eat at the bar either.

“How about something to eat? I think I have some leftover lasagna that’s still good.”

She leaned her chin on her hand and sighed dreamily. “We should have stopped for milkshakes. Small towns like this always have good milkshakes.”

“What do you know about small towns, city girl?” he asked.

“I love small towns!” She wobbled on her stool, catching the end of the bar to steady herself. “When I was touring withThe Little Mermaid, the girls and I would always find some small town not too far from the theater for our day off. There’s always quirky shops and diners with the best milkshakes.”

He reached for the milk and a jar of Tessa’s homemade chocolate sauce, letting the refrigerator door close behind him. “Closest I’ve got is chocolate milk,” he said, retrieving two glasses from the cabinet.

“I can’t remember the last time I had chocolate milk.”

“Do you like it?”

“Who doesn’t like chocolate milk?” she scoffed. “If anything, I like it too much.”

“No such thing.” Something like disbelief flickered across her face. “I make a mean glass of chocolate milk.”

“Oh yeah? What makes it so special?”

He repeated her lip-zipping gesture and she laughed, her head thrown back, hair dancing about her face. She was beautiful, and he liked her there, in his kitchen, with his friends.

She’s not here for you. She’s here to hide. She lied to you.

Did she? Or did she just not tell you everything?

He poured them each a glass of milk, spooning in the chocolate and stirring, the tinkling of the spoon against the glass the only sound in the room.

“When were you inLittle Mermaid?” he asked.

“A few years ago. That’s what I was doing in Boston the first time we…”

He watched her, waiting to see how she’d finish that sentence, and tried not to be disappointed when it became clear she wasn’t going to. “What part did you play? The whiny one who collects forks?”

She threw her head back and laughed. “Ariel? No. They don’t cast women who look like me to play Ariel.”

“Why not?”

She shook her head, still chuckling to herself. “I was Ursula. The sea witch. They put this purple makeup on my—”

“Collar bone,” he said as her fingers traced the spot in question. “I remember.”

Her eyes went wide, fingers falling away from her clavicle to rest on the countertop. At the time Ethan had wondered about the deep purple contouring. But it was another one of those things they hadn’t talked about.

“If I remember correctly, there were purple streaks across the sheets in the morning.”

What was he doing?

---