Page 30 of A Spot of Tea
Russell kissed her, then took her coat and hung it in the closet. Sheila took a seat at the kitchen island, breathing in the smell of fresh coffee.
As much as she loved living in the cottage with Patty, nothing quite beat Russell’s house. It was big, but still cozy. Updated, but not overdone. He kept it so neat, and he always had something to offer – local coffee, freshly baked bread, or extra-sweet fruit he couldn’t wait to share.
If she thought too much about it – abouthim –reality unraveled around her, like how saying a word too many times made it seem unreal.
She had a boyfriend and he wasRussell Westwood.He was gracious, and funny, and distractingly handsome, and, of all things, a famous movie star.
There were still times she’d wake from sleep with a start and it hit her all over again. She was datingRussell Westwood.He was a real person. A real-life dream.
He washers.
“Unfortunately, I’ve got some bad news, too,” he said, creases forming at his eyes. “Coffee or tea? I just got a new black pumpkin tea. I’ve been meaning to give some to Patty.”
“I’ll stick with coffee for now, thank you.” Sheila stood to get plates for the danishes. “I’ll take the good news first – pairs better with the sugar.”
His face brightened with a smile and she caught herself staring. He’d had to shave his beard for his upcoming movie, and Sheila was still getting used to this new handsome version of him. It made his smiles even more boyish, the mischief always dancing in his eyes.
“I talked to the music supervisor for the movie. She’s made all her selections, and guess whose song they picked for the song when the couple breaks up?”
“Regina Spektor?”
“No.”
“Brandi Carlile?”
“No, it’s not—”
She cut him off with a gasp. “Adele!”
He narrowed his eyes, a playful smile on his lips. “You can’t just keep naming people you like.”
Sheila took a bite of danish. “No, I can. I could go on for hours.”
“Fine, then I’ll just tell you. It was you, Sheila Wilde!”
She shut her eyes. “Russell. You can’t be excited about this. I didn’t earn it.”
He took a seat next to her with a mug of tea for himself and one of coffee for her. “I knew you were going to be prickly about it, so I didn’t mention who you were when I submitted the song.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious. I added your song and a bunch of other ideas for consideration all at once. I didn’t say a word. They had no idea who you were, let alone that you’re my girlfriend.”
Sheila smiled. “But still, you passed it along. That’s cheating.”
“It isn’t, because you could just have easily submitted it yourself, except you kept refusing so I had to do it for you.”
He wastechnicallyright. She hadn’t wanted to throw her name in because she thought it was so unlikely they’d pick her. If what he was saying was true…
“Your song is going to be in the movie.” He put his arms out for a hug. “Fangs of Waterloo,here you come!”
She wasn’t going to turn down a hug. She pulled him in and rested her head on his chest. “Yay.”
“I’m going to pretend you said that with some enthusiasm.” Russell pulled back to look at her. “You’d better get to work on finishing the rest of this album, because people are going to come looking for more Sheila Wilde hits and you need to be ready.”
“It’ll be done when it’s done,” she said simply. “I’m not trying to become famous here. You’ve warned me against that.”
“Fine, keep being yourself.” He grinned at her. “I’m so proud of you.”
