Chapter 12

Bailey

Wednesday was here before I knew it and I was a nervous wreck.

Not only was I unsure what to wear as far as clothes went, I had to decide on shoes with lifts—which I thought were hideous—or crutches. I refused to use a cane. I just couldn’t bring myself to use it outside the house. So now I had to make decisions.

In addition, I had to figure out makeup.

If I wore real makeup, which meant wearing more than just mascara and a little lip gloss, I would look like Bailey Walker, the Oscar-winning movie star. And I wasn’t sure that was who I wanted Jensen to meet right off the bat.

By today’s standards, I was a beautiful woman, especially from the chest up. That wasn’t what I saw when I looked in the mirror, but that didn’t mean I didn’t understand what other people saw.

And I didn’t want Jensen to meet movie star Bailey right out of the box.

He had to see the real me, at least in the beginning, because movie star Bailey was an illusion.

So bare-minimum makeup and lifts?

Jeans and a T-shirt?

Ugh.

This was so hard.

I used moisturizer and a tinted primer since that was part of my normal skincare routine and added a little bronzer to my cheeks and eyes. Mascara and lip gloss rounded out my look, and then I walked over to the closet. I stood at the entrance staring at the rows of clothes I almost never wore, almost wishing I could get away with a floor-length gown. That would hide everything.

But jeans would too.

I pulled on a pair of bootcut black ones, a long-sleeved, white button-up shirt, and a black leather vest that laced up the front. I left the shirt untucked and laced the vest up tight, accenting my figure. It was a little funkier than I normally wore these days, but tonight wasn’t about the norm. Tonight, I needed to step out of my comfort zone, and wearing something from the back of my closet felt right.

Now for shoes.

I grimaced as I pulled out the black boots with the lift on the right one.

They weren’t as ugly as I remembered, but they weren’t pretty.

The left boot was pretty basic, and then the right one just looked weird since it had the extra two inches on the heel. They’d been custom made for me by a place recommended by my orthopedic surgeon, and in retrospect, I probably should have taken a pair of my own shoes and had them altered.

I had a pair of customized sneakers as well, but those were too basic for this outfit.

Taking slow, careful steps, I walked out of the bedroom, down the hall, and into the living room. Manny and Lucia would be here any minute to pick me up, and there was nothing else for me to do except to breathe and try to calm my nerves.

I downed a couple of ibuprofen, hoping to stave off the inevitable pain and soreness for at least a few hours.

“Ready to go?” Lucia stuck her head in the front door.

“I’m ready.” I walked slowly in her direction and caught her smiling at me. “What?”

“You look lovely. And when you walk slow, I can barely see the limp.”

“I’m wearing the lifts,” I muttered. “Don’t want to scare him off on the first date.”

“Your male best friend and your date’s mother are chaperoning you,” she said dryly, her dark eyes twinkling. “If the two of you survive tonight, I think you’re good.”

“I feel like a teenager,” I said as I got into the back seat of Manny’s Escalade.

“Mom and Pop Collette are on the job!” he said, laughing.

“I really appreciate you guys tagging along,” I said quietly. “It means a lot to me.”

“Of course,” Manny said soberly. “Online dating is weird no matter what, and adding your celebrity status to the mix makes you a potential target. We’ll check this guy out and see if he’s legit.”

“He’d better be,” Lucia said in a gruff tone. “Or I’ll have to hurt him.”

I chuckled. “Easy, there. If he isn’t who he says he is, we leave.”

“And I’ll take the long way home in case he tries to follow us!” Manny said.

Their overprotectiveness was adorable, but for some reason, I wasn’t worried that Jensen was catfishing me or anything. My only concerns were whether or not we would get along as well in person as we did online, and whether or not he would be okay with my limitations.

“You ready?” Lucia asked as we pulled up to the restaurant.

“Yup.” I waited until Manny parked before slowly getting out.

I was already stiff, dammit.

But I was going to push through.

I had to.

Even if Jensen wasn’t interested in anything beyond friendship, or if we didn’t have the chemistry we thought we had, I needed to force myself to get out of the house for more than just Sundays at Manny and Lucia’s.

“Ten bucks says he’s already here,” Manny said as we walked toward the entrance.

“You’re on,” his wife said, nodding. “I bet he’s going to be late.”

“He’s here,” I said, although it was mostly to myself.

It was just a gut feeling, but I saw him the moment we walked through the door.

He was hard to miss, all six feet five inches of him.

Jesus, he was even hotter than I remembered, and the moment he spotted me, our eyes locked.

Just like last time.

For a few seconds, it was like there was no one else in the room.

A gentle nudge from Lucia brought me out of it and I took a step toward him.

“Hi.” He approached cautiously, his hand extended. “I’m Jensen.”

“Bailey.” When he closed his fingers around mine, the warmth of his hand sent shivers down my spine.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I wasn’t some teenage virgin on her first date.

“Er, these are my friends, Manny and Lucia.”

The guys shook hands and Lucia smiled politely.

“This is my mother, Stella.” Jensen motioned to the attractive middle-aged woman standing next to him.

Stella smiled and shook my hand but when she turned to Manny she froze.

Uh oh.

Her hands flew to her mouth and she blinked a few times.

“You’re… oh shit. You’re Manny Collette!” Her voice was a whisper, but her eyes were huge.

“Who?” Jensen looked confused.

“And you’re…” Stella was staring at me now.

Oh no.

Fuck-fuck-fuck.

She recognized me.

Dammit.

We hadn’t even made it as far as the table and Jensen was going to find out who I was.

“Table for five?” The hostess approached us, cutting off the conversation and I quickly averted my gaze.

“Yes, thank you.” Manny nodded.

We were seated at a big booth in the back, with Jensen and his mom on one side and Manny, Lucia, and me on the other. I was on the end because I needed to able to move my leg around if it got stiff, so Jensen sat across from me, his eyes never leaving mine as we got settled and perused the menus.

“Margarita,” Stella said when the waitress approached us. “With salt.”

“Make that two,” Lucia said.

“What do you have on tap?” Manny asked. He chose a beer from the list the waitress recited, and Jensen asked for the same thing.

“Malibu and cranberry,” I told the waitress.

It had been ages since I’d drank anything other than the occasional glass of wine, but I didn’t want to be the only one drinking water.

“So let’s get the awkwardness out of the way,” Lucia said once the waitress left. “I’m Lucia Collette, and this is my husband Manny, whom Stella obviously recognized.”

“You’ve been holding out on me!” Stella said to Jensen, a playful tone to her voice.

He held up his hands. “I had no idea. And I had to think for a few seconds to recognize the name. I’m not a big movie person.” He grimaced, glancing at Manny. “No offense.”

“No offense taken.” Manny cocked his head. “However, I am a big sports person.”

Jensen swallowed.

Now what?

I looked from Jensen to Manny and back again.

“What am I missing?” I asked finally.

Jensen took a breath. “My name is Jensen Bang. I’m a defenseman for the L.A. Phantoms.”

L.A. Phantoms.

Hockey.

Holy shit.

That was an NHL team.

Jensen was a professional hockey player.

Oh, my God.

And now everyone was looking at me.

Which meant it was my turn to come clean, so to speak.

“I’m Bailey—” I was cut off as Stella finished my sentence.

“Walker!” Stella immediately clapped a hand over her mouth.

“Mom…” Jensen gave her an exasperated look.

“Sorry.” She made a face. “I’m just so excited. I love ‘Every Time You Look.’ My friend Diane and I saw it at the theater three times, and I own it on DVD. It’s my go-to movie whenever I’m having a bad day. You won an Oscar for that performance.”

That was the movie Manny and I had done together, though he’d been the star and I’d been in a supporting role. I had indeed won an Oscar for it, so it was the movie that catapulted me into stardom and the one most people recognized me for.

“I’m not much of a movie buff,” Jensen said, smiling at me almost sheepishly. “So I can’t say that I’ve seen it.”

“That’s okay.” I smiled at Stella. “Looks like your mom is a big enough fan for both of you.”

“I’m sorry.” Stella chuckled. “I’ve never been starstruck before.”

“You are the reason we do what we do,” Manny said. “If it weren’t for fans like you, I’d be out of a job. Or at least a paying job.”

“Well, we appreciate the movies you make,” Stella said. “Entertainment is the best escape when you’ve had a bad day.”

“Absolutely.” Lucia nodded.

The waitress brought our drinks and took our food orders. Stella was still asking Manny questions about his career with Lucia interjecting funny anecdotes. Jensen, for the most part, was quiet, his eyes finding mine every so often, as if we were sharing a secret message. And I suddenly wished it were just the two of us.

“You’re an athlete,” I said quietly as the others talked.

“And you’re an actress.”

I shook my head. “Not anymore. Not since the accident.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m starting to come to terms with it.”

“And now you’re writing books.”

“Actually, I wasn’t completely honest with you about that. I’ve been writing screenplays. I sold a couple of scripts for episodes of the TV show ‘Past Out,’ and I’m working on some other things.”

“And the book deal we were talking about? The one where you don’t want to do a promotional tour?”

I gave a little half-shrug. “It wasn’t a book, it was a movie, and it was picked up by a new streaming app called LoveLand.”

“LoveLand!” Stella must have heard us because she joined our conversation. “We just signed up. The introductory offer was just a hundred dollars for three years, so I thought it was a good deal and the movies so far have been fun. Lighthearted and romantic, for the most part.”

“I’m really not supposed to talk about it yet,” I admitted. “So please don’t say anything. It was greenlit just last week and they’re thinking it will go into production in late summer. I don’t have any other details yet.”

“That’s so exciting,” Stella said. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you. I wrote it two-and-a-half years ago and my agent didn’t think it would get picked up. I was surprised when she called with the news.”

“Bailey’s worked so hard,” Lucia said. “It’s exciting to watch her starting to find her footing as a screenwriter.”

“It’s early days,” I said. “I’ve only sold a few things, and this is my first movie. If it flops, I probably won’t sell anything else. That’s why I’ve also written a novel.”

“Ooooh.” Stella’s eyes lit up. “What’s it about?”

“It’s steamy romance,” I replied.

“It’s good,” Lucia told her in a conspiratorial whisper. “ Lots of sex scenes.”

“You have officially sold a copy,” Stella said, chuckling. “Just tell me when I can buy it. I love me a good sex scene.”