27
OLIVER
“Thank you again for passing Abigail’s name on to me,” I told Emery one afternoon as we drove to the grocery store in town. Normally, I hated shopping due to the paparazzi, but any chance I got to spend with Emery, I took.
As far as the weather went, it was a perfect California dream. The sun beamed overhead, the sky clear of clouds and a nice shade of blue. It was days like today that made me happy to live in California.
“She’s really special, isn’t she? I’ve never met someone as special as she is. She genuinely cares about the well-being of others. She’s saved me during some of the hardest times over the past five years.”
“I’m hoping she can help do the same for me. The other day, she asked me what I wanted to do for that day. Not what I wanted to do in the next five years, or what I wanted to do in the future, but she asked me right then and there what I wanted to do, and I didn’t have the answer. But if she asked me what I wanted now, I’d know what to say.”
“What do you want to do today, Oliver?”
“Be around you.”
She smiled the warmest grin my way, and I wished I had enough nerve to tell her how much I wanted to kiss her too. How much she stayed on my mind. How much I loved being around her.
We stopped at a farmers’ market to pick up some fresh vegetables and fruits—per Emery’s request—and my stomach knotted up the moment I saw a paparazzo tailing us a bit. I looked over to him and frowned, but I realized he was lowering his camera the minute he saw me.
Emery didn’t even notice that we were being followed. She was too excited about being in fresh fruit and vegetable heaven.
“I’ll be right back, all right?” I said. “Just going to go check out that stand over there.”
Emery agreed and squeezed my hand before she turned back to the sweet potatoes in front of her. “I’ll be here, feeling up the eggplants,” she joked.
I walked around the corner, noting the guy following me like the snake he was, and when he grew close enough to me, I finally snapped.
“Can we not today, man?” I asked, almost in a begging tone. For a few seconds with Emery, I’d almost forgotten that I was famous.
He grimaced and nodded. A flash of embarrassment filled his cheeks. “Yeah. I’m sorry, man. I was just trying to help.”
“Help?” I huffed. “How so? How is this helping me?”
“I wanted to show you in a good light, you know? In good spirits. I’ve seen all the bullshit that Cam has been putting out about you, and I know it’s all lies.”
I arched an eyebrow at him, confused by his confession. I never engaged with the paparazzi, because for the most part I saw them as annoying vultures, but something about him seemed . . . genuine?
He shifted in his shoes and cleared his throat. “I lost my brother earlier this year too. Cancer,” he muttered.
In that moment my distaste for him lessened.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “It’s not easy.”
“No. Not at all.” He scratched at his wild blond hair and shrugged. “Listen, I know what we do for a living is shit, but honestly I’m just trying to feed my family. We took in my brother’s kids, and things have been tight. I’m not proud of this, so I was trying to do something good, you know? Maybe help you. I was hoping to use these pictures to spin your story into a good light. I’m a fan, after all.”
I didn’t know what to say, because I never looked at people like him as being human. With families. With struggles. With pain. “What’s your name?”
“Charlie,” he said, nodding slightly. “Charlie Parks.”
I held my hand out toward him. “Nice to meet you. But don’t worry about me. I’m good. Just take care of your family. If selling these pictures helps you, go for it.”
He grimaced and shook my hand. “I know it might not seem that way, but a lot of us are rooting for you, Oliver. You got a team of silent supporters.”
He headed off, leaving me a bit in disbelief at what had unfolded.
“Is everything okay?” Emery asked, walking closer to me after seeing the interaction that had taken place.
I took her hand into mine and kissed her palm. “Yeah. Let’s head to our next stops.”
As we walked into the grocery store, I tossed on my cap and sunglasses. I knew it was a terrible disguise, but the more I could avoid people spotting me, the better. Emery pulled out her shopping list, and I gladly added as much junk food to the cart as possible when she wasn’t looking.