Page 10 of Wish You Were Her
“Oh, really?”
He threw her a cursory look. She was taking off her shiny, purple baseball cap and had started to unpin her hair.
“She’s probably stuck-up too, that’s how she looks in her pictures. Spoiled and snooty,” Jonah said, more to himself than to the customer. “Hollywood type. She’ll hate it here.”
“I can’t imagine why, you’re all so welcoming.”
Something in her tone made Jonah glance down and his expression went from curious to horrified. The young woman fluffed out her long, wavy hair and removed her oversized sunglasses to look up at him with amused sea-green eyes.
“Oh, God,” Jonah croaked.
“Nice to meet you,” the beautiful young woman said. “I’m Allegra. Do you need help up there? I think the dust may have affected your manners.”
Chapter Four
Allegra felt a little stab of satisfaction at the bookseller’s mortification, and then several things happened at once. The affable blonde boy in the window leaped to his feet and rushed at Allegra, as if she were a long-lost love, and the shop door burst open to reveal her father, George Brooks, holding a brand-new fan still in its box.
“Ally,” he yelled. He darted toward her, as though wanting to scoop her up, and then composed himself. He dropped the fan by the door and quickly kissed her mother on the cheek, before turning to Allegra.
“Great to see you, kid,” he settled on. “You’re so… tall.”
“Well,” said Allegra, who felt suddenly awkward and unsure, “I was thirteen when I last saw you in person.”
Her career had meant family and friends falling by the wayside and the guilt, while always present, was suddenly loud and stifling. The years had sped by while she flew all over the world and spent months on location in Ireland or Croatia or New Zealand. Their video chats were always harried and rushed, usually from cars or airport lounges.
“Well, I see you on the small screen every Monday,” he reminded her. “I watch all of them. Reruns, too.”
Allegra smiled shyly. “Thanks.”
She wanted to say that people never looked like they did ontelevision but she was highly aware of the two boys her own age standing close by.
“So, these are my two trusty booksellers. That’s Simon,” George said, gesturing to the blond by the window, and then to the one on the ladder, who had dark eyes, dark curls and a dark mood, “and this surly one is Jonah.”
“Thanks, fearless leader,” said Simon, and Allegra’s eyes shot to his face.
Hadn’t she heard that expression in one of the emails?
“Welcome to Lake Pristine,” Simon said warmly.
So here he was.
Allegra gave him the smile she reserved for red carpets and thanked him. She wondered if he knew, too. If he had worked it out. His enthusiastic greeting had been such a blast of warmth, it made her feel like they shared a delicious secret. He was good-looking, too. Especially as he wore such a sun-filled smile. The other bookseller wore a face full of thunder.
“Right!” Her father clapped his hands. “I think we should close up for an hour and have lunch out the back on the terrace.”
The five of them—two parents, two booksellers and one global superstar—sat around the outdoor dining table with a huge salad and a couple of takeaway pizzas. Allegra felt like a little girl again as she watched her parents. She chewed on a slice of chicken pizza and analyzed every move they made. Her mother had remarked on the town being almost exactly the same and George had shrugged and quietly stated that it was better and brighter now that Roxanne was back.
Allegra held her breath but Roxanne merely smiled at the compliment and then looked away.
“How was the journey in?” her father asked her mother, quickly masking any disappointment he felt.
Allegra knew they would occasionally meet up while she was on location but she had never been able to fully analyze or label their relationship.
“Pretty good,” said Roxanne. “How’s the festival coming along? Surely it’s not just the three of you running things?”
“Not anymore. George caved and hired a PR firm two years ago and that’s what we do each summer,” Simon said.
Allegra had to admire how at home Simon felt with two complete strangers.
