I knew what he was referring to – kissing the… Suzanne.
“First time was very difficult but the second, um, take? That was slightly easier. She seemed to put more effort into it though, probably because I’m here.”
“I have to agree. Her performance was definitely for your benefit,” he said. “Maybe you should be here every day? Did you see how nice she was to me?”
We took a walk around the area and Ryan showed us his trailer. It was really nice inside; like a mini apartment on wheels. He made sure to show me the large bed in the back where he naps sometimes when he isn’t needed on set. The bedroom in his trailer had a large television built into the wall and his refrigerator was stocked with his favorite soda.
I was in Ryan’s trailer when Tammy called.
“Taryn, my brother called me. He has some information on that girl. You may want to go to the police. Taryn, she’s not well.”
Ryan was watching me; his eyebrows were pulled together in confusion, trying to figure out my conversation.
“Can you be more specific,” I asked her.
“You have to realize that Tony isn’t supposed to do this kind of stuff. You can’t tell anyone, especially when you talk to the police, okay?”
I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask her, but since I had an audience I had to be cryptic. I was instantly concerned when she said that.
“I understand. Please… go on.”
“I’m going to read you the report he gave me. Angelica Staunton, age 31, former addresses are Bridgeport, NJ, Brooklyn, NY, and there’s one address on her in Los Angeles. She’s been arrested three times; once for prostitution in New York and twice for other offenses in California. Taryn, ten years ago she had a restraining order put out on her. When she was in L.A. she was accused of stalking another celebrity. Her second was for a violation of a court order. Her third arrest was for breaking and entering – she was found at three in the morning, bathing naked in the swimming pool at the celebrity’s home. I can’t tell you the celebrity’s name because Tony wouldn’t give that to me.”
I took a deep breath through my nose and squeezed my eyes shut. This girl was now stalking my boyfriend.
I stepped into the bedroom area of Ryan’s trailer. “Has she ever done physical harm?” I whispered.
“There’s nothing in the report other than her making threats, but she’s definitely a stalker. I wouldn’t take my chances.”
“Thanks, Tammy. I owe you one.”
“What’s going on?” Ryan asked inquisitively.
“Nothing.” I half-heartily smiled. “I’ll tell you later.” I ran my finger down my nose so he would know I was lying.
After lunch we drove to another location offsite. Ryan had his face touched up; more purple pigment was added under his eye. He told me that the entire movie was shot out of sequence. He explained to me why they did that. I never knew that movies were filmed that way. I always thought that they were filmed as the movie progressed, just like a stage play.
We drove to an ordinary house by the beach, which would be his next location for filming. As we drove down the street, we were inundated with scores of female fans of all ages, shapes, and sizes, all screaming for their favorite actor.
We were ushered inside quickly. Ryan waited behind. The minute he stepped out of the car, the fans screamed. I watched him from the doorway; his bodyguards shielded him as they moved him from the car to the house. Ryan barely acknowledged the crowd. Somehow the paparazzi knew where to find him and we were all photographed exiting the limo, but the cameras clicked double-time when he was in view. My love was constantly under the microscope.
Ryan had some pretty intense lines that he had to say in the scenes that were filmed in the house. Each of his lines was expertly delivered. For the first time since I met him, he was different. He wasn’t Ryan - he was Charles. He truly amazed me. I could see why his fans adored him. But despite his professional demeanor and his superb acting skills, I adored him for different reasons.
I was actually tired from spending an entire day in his world. I think it was all the standing around and doing nothing but watching that tired me out. I was used to running around and keeping active to do my job; his work was more mentally tiring than anything. I grinned at him as he joked with the crew. Even though it was serious business to film, everyone was having fun and being very supportive.
On our way home down Mulberry Street I spotted her, Angelica, sitting in her blue Plymouth across the street from the parking lot where I park my car.
I unconsciously gripped Ryan’s arm and gasped.
“What?” He looked to see my expression of terror. “Tar, Honey?”
“Nothing. I’ll tell you later.” Instinctively I slumped down in the seat to get my head below window level.
Pete was still inside the pub kitchen, hammering away. The old counter was gone and he had the new wall partially built already. I was shocked to see how far he had gotten.
Ryan and his parents started talking with Pete about construction stuff; I was a little distraught so I headed upstairs. It didn’t take me long to crawl onto the bed.
“Tar, are you tired?” Ryan asked, finding me in the bedroom. He shoved his pillow under his arm. “So what was that all about in the car earlier? Why did you grab my arm like that?”
She was sitting in her freaking car again,” I muttered into my pillow.
“Who? What are you talking about?”
“Angel. Or Angelica Staunton as she’s really known.” I looked at him with fear in my eyes. “Curly-haired, gap-toothed girl? I think she’s been following you… and me. She followed me to CostMart the other day. She was in the bar that day you signed autographs, and now once again she’s just sitting in her car on Mulberry Street. Honey, she scares the hell out of me.”
Two seconds later he pulled his phone out and made a call. “My manager says we should go to the police and file a complaint.”
Ryan sat back down on the bed. “Taryn, I’m not mad, but you have to promise me that you’ll tell me immediately if anyone is following you or scaring you. You know that these girls are… well - you know. Just promise you’ll tell me right away,” he insisted.
I nodded. “I promise.”
Ryan looked handsome in his black pants and white button down shirt. I put on my new black cocktail dress and adjusted the empire waist satin sash.
He took the little black box off of my dresser and held it open, reminding me of the diamond earrings I’d been avoiding.
“Please. Humor me,” he insisted.
I hesitated and took a deep breath. I was holding the twined hearts pendant in my fingers as it rested on my neck.
“I’m not taking them back, so you might as well wear them!” He put the box in my hand. “Listen, they are a gift, from my heart to you. You do nice and thoughtful things for me; I do nice and thoughtful things for you. Equal partners,” he stressed.
I couldn’t argue, even though I felt awkward for accepting them.
The restaurant was very accommodating, even blocking off an entire room for us to dine in private. Several customers gasped when Ryan walked through the main dining area, and I noticed it was the ladies who immediately recognized him. Mike and our driver, who was also a bodyguard, blocked the entrance to our section of the restaurant so no one would bother us during our dinner.
“Mom.” Ryan raised his glass to offer a toast. “To the best mother in the world! Happy Birthday!” He leaned over to her and gave her a hug and kiss. “We have gifts for you, but I thought it best to save those until later when you can open them in private.” He looked around the restaurant.
I knew that people were watching; any of them capable of reporting the details of our evening to the tabloids. I was catching on to Ryan’s hesitations and reasons behind each of his actions. We could not help but be paranoid.
“Taryn made you a birthday cake. After dinner we’ll go back to our place.”
A wave of elation surged through me
when he said ‘our place’ to his parents.
“I hope you like chocolate,” I said in happy response.
We were about an hour into our dinner when a new wave of female patrons entered the restaurant. We could hear their giggling and commotion in our private room.
“Guess the word’s out.” Ryan smirked. I couldn’t tell if he was bothered by it or in some way liked the attention.
“That’s something your mother and I wanted to talk to you about, Son. We’re very concerned about all these fans and their behavior.”
Ryan opened his mouth to speak but his father cut him off.
“Now before you start reassuring me that you have it all under control, I saw some of those letters that these girls are leaving for you in Taryn’s door and I must say that their forward behavior is alarming.” Bill rubbed his forehead, just like Ryan does when he’s stressed.
“You know your mother and I will support you in your decisions but when your decisions put you and your family in danger, well I have to speak my mind about that.”
“Anyone who is in the public eye has fans, Dad.” Ryan tried to dismiss his father’s concern. “I don’t think you and mom are in any danger.”
“I realize that, Son, but these fans of yours are leaving their perverted notes for you in this young lady’s front door.” Bill motioned his hand in my direction. “I see how much you care for her so I’m including her in our family when I speak.”
“I know.” Ryan rubbed his forehead now. “I’m having extra alarms put on her apartment and I’m thinking about hiring personal security to watch over her when I can’t.” He looked at me; his expression waited for my reaction. I sighed and held my tongue.
“Son, this is exactly what I’m talking about! Your brother, your mother and me, we don’t need bodyguards to go to work every day. There’s a reason why you have these men surrounding you, protecting you. If there was no danger, then you wouldn’t need protection! You know we are proud of you and we want you to be successful but not if it’s going to put you in harms way.” Bill shook his head fiercely.
My mind immediately flashed to Angelica sitting in her car, watching our every move. Waiting for… what? An opportunity? To find a weak spot in our armor?
“Dad, no one is going to hurt us,” Ryan said quite confidently. Funny how two hours ago he made phone calls about our gap-toothed stalker. I squeezed his thigh with my hand. I didn’t care for him lying like that to his parents either.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.” He patted my hand to reassure me.
“I just wish you would give some thought to what else you could do with your life that doesn’t affect your safety. We’d be just as proud of you if you did something else,” Bill informed.
“I know. I’ve been thinking about it, actually. Taryn’s been giving me some good ideas.” He winked at me.
I had no idea what he was referring to.
“But that will have to wait. You know I’ve signed a few contracts to do other movies. I can’t back out now.”
I wasn’t so sure that Ryan wanted to back out of anything even if he could. He really loved being an actor and he was really good at it! He was able to slip into a completely different persona and actually convince the outside world that he was someone else.
“And what are your thoughts on of all of this, Taryn?” his father asked.
I took a moment to gather my thoughts. “I think that Ryan is truly passionate about being an actor, and it’s what he wants to do for a career. I’ve seen today with my own eyes that he is a brilliant actor. If, one day, he doesn’t want to do this anymore, well then, it will have to be his decision. I’ll support him with whatever choices he makes.”
My eyes shifted from addressing his father to looking at Ryan. There were too many people roaming around the restaurant so I kept my voice low. “You know how I feel about you. I want you to be happy no matter what you do for a living. We’ll deal with whatever life throws our way.”
He smiled, squeezing my hand privately under the table.
Leaving the restaurant reminded me of seeing the red carpet interviews on television.
Mike flanked Ryan; Ryan had his hand in the small of my back, guiding me along.
Word had obviously gotten out that Ryan was in the restaurant. His fans were lined up on both sides of the walkway outside. A few young girls who looked like they had yet to reach puberty were mixed in with all the other teenagers and women who were there to get a glimpse of Ryan Christensen. Oh how they screamed for him.
Fear struck me once again as our car turned the final corner to deliver us home. Angelica’s car was still parked on the side street, just a short distance from my car. I squeezed Ryan’s hand tightly several times to get his attention. When he looked at me I nodded in the direction of the old blue Plymouth. His lips curled, ready to utter the “F” word. He held his anger inside.
“When we come back from the cabin, I’ll take care of that,” he muttered privately in my ear so his parents wouldn’t hear.
“I think she’s sleeping in her car,” I whispered back to him.
The paparazzi were lined up in the alley behind my bar; I guess they realized by now that this was his main entry/exit point. I stepped out of the car first with Mike and immediately the cameras started to flash. It was hard to get the key in the door while being blinded by the flashes.
Once we were upstairs, we gave his mom her birthday gifts.
“This one is from Ryan.” I handed her the bag with the jewelry in it. Ryan frowned at me, apparently for saying that it was just from him.
She opened the bag and removed a small, black box. Inside were gold and diamond earrings in a channel setting. Elegant and tasteful, just as I would have expected for his mother. She too, stated that they were too much.
I looked at Ryan and smirked. Obviously I wasn’t the only one who thought his gifts to be a bit extravagant.
I handed her a larger gift bag. “This one is from both of us. Careful, it’s heavy.”
“What did you two buy?” she questioned, feeling the weight of the bag.
“We didn’t buy anything, Mom. We made that!”
I smiled, remembering that day fondly. She removed the tissue paper that surrounded the frame.
“Oh my! This is absolutely beautiful!” Her face lit up, looking at the frame in the light. “You made this?”
“Ryan cut and ground all of the glass and even did most of the soldering,” I stated proudly, wrapping my arm around his waist.
He put his arm around my shoulder. “I had an excellent teacher!”
“I can’t believe you made this!” Ellen rose from the couch and hugged us both. “Thank you!” she said as she kissed us one at a time. “I love it! I absolutely love it! Now maybe I could get you two to pose so I can take a picture of you while you’re all dressed up. That way I’ll have the perfect picture to put in this beautiful frame.”
This was one photo I didn’t mind posing for.
The next morning, I hurried down the alley to get my car, much to Ryan’s dislike, but I wanted to move the car closer to the back door. I didn’t want to haul all our bags down the street and give the photographers even more fuel for their tabloid lies. It was bad enough that the paparazzi followed me down the alley.
We packed the trunk and Ryan smiled briefly when I handed him the keys. I knew that gripping the steering wheel and pressing the gas pedal in my car would make him happy. He got some sort of elation from driving; whether it was fleeing the photographers and fans or if it was simply the exhilaration of speed, I wasn’t sure.
“White van just pulled behind us,” I informed Ryan while we waited at a red traffic light two blocks away from the pub.
“Don’t worry, I’ll lose them.” He thoroughly enjoyed testing the limits of my car on the open highway.
Ryan’s driving got us to the cabin in an hour and a half. We had lost the pursuing photographers within the first ten minutes of our trip.
His
parents were pleasantly shocked to see our final destination. His father kept patting him on the back and smiling although neither of us owned the property he was being congratulated for.
After everyone was situated, Ryan and I took the boat out of the garage so he and his father could go fishing. I rode on the back of the four-wheeler with him, nestling my nose into his neck that was no longer unfamiliar territory. This time our relationship was completely different from the last time we were here. I remembered wondering if we would ever be a couple and here we were, a couple.
“Taryn, this place is magnificent!” Ellen said, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. We stood on the embankment overlooking the lake. The weather was chilly but sunny with perfect blue skies.
“One day,” Ryan said happily. “Right, Honey?”
I shrugged my reply, hoping, but still not banking on anything. Not this soon, anyway. I wondered why Ryan felt so sure so soon. Is there really such a thing as love at first sight, or was he trying to convince himself that this was what he wanted? I didn’t want to second-guess my feelings though, for I was truly, madly in love with him.
“One day what?” his mom asked.
“Have a place like this.” Ryan beamed. “Bigger house, but on a lake.”
“What bigger house?” Bill inquired, placing his hand on Ryan’s shoulder.
“Just talking about having a house of my own one day, Dad. I can’t live in hotels forever.”
“Good. You should buy a home of your own. Don’t throw your money away renting some place. A house is a good investment. After all, you certainly can afford it now, Son.”
“I want to design it myself, though. Well, not completely on my own.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “I know this talented woman - she designed an awesome kitchen and the most amazing rooftop patio I’ve ever seen. I think I’ll ask her how big of a closet she wants. Put in a whole art studio room just for making stained glass?”
I smiled at him but inside I was freaking out. We’d only been together for a month and already I was going to be designing a house with him? Was he serious? He looked serious. He surely sounded serious.