Page 11 of Dumbstruck
Karina, one of the servers, wanders up to me after I’ve been sitting here for five minutes. “Well hello there, June,” she says, her smile forced as she places a cup of water in front of me. “We wondered who got cornered by that actor, and I didn’t expect to see someone like you walking through that door.”
‘Cornered’ isn’t necessarily the word I would use. Yeah, he surprised me when he asked me out, but I was too intrigued to say no. I’m woman enough to admit that much. “How much did he pay you to keep everyone else out?” I ask and take a drink of water to give myself something to do.
Karina snickers, glancing back at the others—two cooks who man the kitchen and another server. “Thousand dollars.”
I choke on the water. “What?”
“Yep. For two hours.”
Jonah James paid them a thousand dollars for a date with me? “Why would he do that?” I ask out loud.
It’s a rhetorical question, but Karina still answers. “I’d expect because he likes you, June.”
She’d better lose that bitter edge to her voice. If she’s jealous, that’s not my fault. It’s not like IwantedJonah to ask me out. “He doesn’t even know me,” I argue.
“Well, whose fault is that?”
I can’t stop myself from glaring at her. “I’m good with water for now,” I tell her. “Thanks.”
Scoffing, Karina catches the hint and goes back behind the counter to whisper to Peg, the other server. I don’t hear much of what they say, but I do catch enough to know they’re talking about how they can’t understand why Jonah would take an interest inmeof all people.
Because I think you’re beautiful and you’re the first woman I’ve met in years who makes me feel normal.That’s what he said. While I probably can’t trust an actor, I do think he was being genuine. I watched a little bit of the scene they were filming after they got Bonnie down—Ireallyhope Jonah has no idea I was there—and he’s good at what he does. Now that he knows he’s playing the villain, he has upped the subtle creepiness of his character. Fans are going to eat him up.
I shouldn’t get a tingle of jealousy thinking about his fans, but I do. If he was telling the truth, he likes that I haven’t treated him like a celebrity, which hopefully means he isn’t as egotistical as I always imagine actors to be. Bonnie seems okay, especially because she’s the only person who has ever gotten Hank to take a step toward healing after his traumatic past. Maybe Jonah is okay too.
It would be easier to get rid of thatmaybeif he would show up…
After fifteen minutes of sitting by myself, I ask Karina to bring me a soda. Half an hour after that, I order a plate of fries and wonder if I should leave. I get that filming a movie can be unpredictable, but it’s not like the diner is far from the set. If he couldn’t make it to lunch, he could have come and told me. Or even sent his assistant. A crew member.Anyone.
After sitting by myself for an hour, I ask Karina to bring me a BLT to go so I can head back to the store and berate myself for thinking the best of Jonah James. She and Peg both give me pitying looks that have a hint of ‘I told you so’ underneath, even though neither of them told me anything, but I can guess they’re like the rest of the Laketownians who can’t wait for Jonah and the others to pack up and head back to California.
I’m right there with them. What a waste of an hour.
When I get outside, sandwich in hand, I’m ready to wash my hands of the handsome and intriguing actor and stick to my solitary single life. But I only make it halfway down the block when I run into Dexter.
“Oh hey!” he says, then frowns when he looks behind me. “Is Jonah not with you?”
I scoff. “Jonah? You mean the guy who never showed up?”
To my surprise, Dexter turns pale. “He didn’t show up?” Scrambling, he grabs a radio at his hip and says, “Does anyone have eyes on Mr. James?”
Nerves bubble up in my stomach, along with a healthy dose of guilt. “Is something wrong?”
Dexter purses his lips as he waits for a response on the radio, which never comes. “Something might be wrong,” he says weakly and pulls his phone out of his pocket, dialing a number and lifting it to his ear. After a few tense seconds, he swears and dials a different number. That call seems just as fruitless. “Richie’s went straight to voicemail,” he says with a frown.
“Richie?”
“Jonah’s bodyguard.”
“What does that mean?” And is Laketown suddenly about to get a lot more attention because something bad has happened to one of Hollywood’s hottest men? (That’s an internet superlative, not mine. Even if it’s true.) “Dexter, where is Jonah?”
Dexter moans and starts walking, and I stay hot on his heels, curiosity getting the better of me. “The last time I saw him, he was heading back to his trailer. Richie was supposed to bring him right back for his date with you. He never came?”
I roll my eyes despite the seriousness of the situation. “Does it look like he came?”
He climbs into a golf cart and gestures for me to join him. Though I hesitate, I want to know why I got stood up, so I decide to go along with him for now. As soon as I’m settled, he hits the accelerator and heads for the field where the film crew stays. “I guess we start at his trailer? It’s the stupid curse…” He mutters that last part almost too quietly for me to hear.
I frown. “Curse?” Jonah mentioned something about the set being haunted earlier, but I thought he was joking. “What curse?”
