Page 9 of Her Supermodel Stalker
“I promise you it won’t happen again.” Jeez, it was such a long time ago. I was an ignorant fool, confused with my sudden fame. I retreated to Italy, my uncle’s vineyard, only to hook up with a model in Milan, and got into a distasteful relationship triangle when the model’s boyfriend found out. They broke up because of it, and Amanda had a hell of a time to patch up my tattered reputation.
I hang up the phone and steps out of the house. It’s about noon. My stomach is rumbling. I want to invite Lexi over for lunch. I’m thinking of good reason when I hear the voice of a child speaking to my gardener, Jose. I look out of the window and see the golden curly head among the flowers and plants in my yard, chasing a squirrel.
My heart leaps up. He’s Lexi’s son, Jimmy. I’ve seen his pictures online. The boy surely grows up fast, and he’s much cuter than in the pictures! I head for my backyard, which is separated from the vineyard’s botanic garden by a gate. Jose is watering the plants in the garden, leaving the gate open. Jimmy is standing a few from me, eyeing a squirrel that’s munching on something in his hands.
He’s about to pet the squirrel when I stop him. “Hey, kid!” I call to him.
He gasps as he looks at me. The squirrel immediately darts away.
“You scared it away!” the child’s face falls.
“I’m…sorry,” I say. “But you’re not supposed to pet it.”
“Why not?”
“It’s dangerous. It might carry diseases, and it could bite.”
He stares at me like I’m nuts. “My mom pets them all the time. They never bite her.”
“She does?” No wonder. “Well, she shouldn’t.”
He looks upset. “She feeds them and lets them eat out of her hand.”
“Wow, that’s…brave,” I say.And irresponsible.“But that’s because she’s an adult.”
“Can you do it too? You’re an adult.”
“Me? No,” I say without a thought.
“Why? Are you afraid of their claws?”
“Of course not, I’m just…don’t like germs.”
“Oh,” he says. The lights in his eyes dim, and he pouts as if I’ve disappointed him. He must think I’m a coward, and I can’t stand the thought.
Without hesitation, I return to the house and find a bag of almonds in my pantry. I grab a handful as soon as I’m out in my yard and put out my hand, and the squirrel approaches me gingerly. My heart races, but I don’t flinch. The little animal takes a piece quickly in its mouth, and then another.
Jimmy giggles, and I’m flattered. I reach out to pet the little animal, but it turns out to be a mistake because it bits my finger instantly. “Ouch!” I take my hand back and scare the animal away.
“Does it hurt?” the child asks, touch my finger with his little thumb.
“No, it doesn’t,” I say. “Don’t worry.”
Suddenly his eyes widen, and he smiles. “I know who you are!”
I’m flattered. I mean. I’m a famous model, but I don’t expect little kids to know me, too. But what Jimmy says next further surprises me.
“You look like the man in Mommy’s bedroom!”
“What?” I don’t like what I hear. “Your mommy has a man in her bedroom?”
“Uh-huh,” Jimmy nods innocently. “On the wall and the ceiling.”
I take a moment to register what he’s talking about. “You mean she has my posters in her room?”
Jimmy smiles. “Yeah!”
I’m so thrilled I don’t know what to say except inhaling deeply and letting joy expand in my chest. I’m about to speak again when I hear rapid footsteps approaching.
