Colin and I looked at each other skeptically, and when we turned back to Gabe, he was gone. It was the strangest thing. “He hurried off rather quickly,” I pointed out.
Agreeing with a nod, Colin searched around, but Gabe was nowhere to be seen. “That he did.”
He was, but I had no explanation. “What does he mean by you taking a chance?” I asked.
Colin shrugged, and I could see the uncertainty on his face. “Not sure.”
Tom came around the corner, catching our attention. He waved toward the tree. “It’s a beauty.”
Before Colin could pull out his wallet, I already had my money in hand. “Yes, it is,” I said. “We’ll take it.” Tom took my cash, and I grinned wide at Colin. “Too slow.”
He burst out laughing and stood back. “You’re too much. I have to say, you surprise me every day I’m with you. I bet you have the paparazzi following you around everywhere, don’t you?”
For the longest time in New York, I did. That was why I moved back to Charleston, to hopefully enjoy a somewhat normal life. I thought being back in my hometown would help, but it didn’t. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” I confessed truthfully. “I never knew who genuinely liked me or if they wanted to be around me because of who I was.”
With a heavy sigh, he closed the distance between us, brushing his fingers against my cheek as he pushed a strand of hair away from my face. “Hopefully, you don’t feel that way here.”
I shook my head. “I don’t.”
The corner of his lips lifted slightly. “What if …”
Heart racing, I waited for him to finish his sentence, but Tom cleared his throat. “Your tree is all ready for you.”
I looked back at him and smiled. “Thank you.” When I turned back to Colin, I raised my brows. “What were you going to say?”
Colin brushed it off. “Nothing.” He picked up one end of the tree, and Tom took the other end. “It’s time to decorate.”
Chapter Eleven
Colin
“You seriously haven’t made a move on her?” Brianna asked incredulously. “You’ve been around her all week.”
I brushed off the snow that’d accumulated on the new house heater. Everything looked good with it, but it still wasn’t working. I had no clue what to do to fix it. “I don’t know, Bri. She’s not like any other woman I’ve been around. She …”
Brianna giggled. “Makes you n
ervous? Intimidates you? I get it. She’s famous, and you’re not.”
I got to my feet. “That’s not it.” Then it hit me, maybe the latter part was it. What would Layla want with a guy like me? I wasn’t an A-list celebrity who had a mansion and a ton of money.
Brianna’s smile faded when she saw my face. “You’re worried you’re not good enough for her, aren’t you?”
She followed me around to the front of the house. “I don’t know. What’s going to happen when her new line takes off? There’s no way she’ll stay if it does.” We walked inside, and it was still an icebox. “She’s definitely not going to stay if I can’t get her heater fixed.”
“Or she could just stay where she’s at,” Brianna said, grinning wide.
“Yeah, right.”
“You’d be surprised. I know she likes you, Colin. Anybody can see it. I don’t know how you haven’t.”
Sighing, I locked the door behind us. “I’m not the kind of guy she’s going to want on the red carpet with her. I mean, come on,” he said, turning to me, “can you see me in a suit and smiling at all the cameras?”
Brianna stared up at me, her expression serious. “Actually, I can. You’re amazingly handsome, more so than ninety-nine percent of the actors on TV. You have a cuter smile than anyone I know, and you’re a great guy. The complete package. People will be seeking you out once they see you.”
I scoffed. “Whatever, Bri,” I said, not believing her for a second. “Come on. Let’s get back. We have to get ready for the Christmas party.”
She hopped in my truck, and we started on our way. “Is Layla going with you?”