22
Paul
“Good morning,” I said, planting a quick kiss on Shelby’s lips before slipping into the booth across from her.
“Morning,” she replied. She beamed at me, her hands folded on the table in front of her.
Before I could ask her why she looked so excited, Lisa bustled over with water for Shelby and her coffee carafe. I flipped my mug upright so she could pour my cup, and she smiled down at me. “How are we today, lovebirds?”
Shelby chuckled. “Great, thanks. You?”
“I’m hangin’ in there. Had lunch with your mama yesterday, so that was nice,” she told Shelby.
“She told me,” Shelby said. “Sounds like you guys had a good time. I was jealous, though. I’ve been wanting to try that new Italian place.”
“I’ll take you,” I offered, sipping my coffee and flinching when it scorched my tongue. “Maybe we can go next weekend.”
Shelby wrinkled her nose and made a face like that wouldn’t work for her, and Lisa gestured between us. “You want me to come back to take your order?”
“No, sorry,” Shelby said. “I’ll have oatmeal and a fruit cup, please.”
“Western omelet,” I told her with a smile. “Thanks.”
“Sure thing. I’ll be back.”
When she was gone, I turned back to Shelby. “Do you have plans next weekend?”
“Sort of. Well, actually I don’t know what I’ll be doing on the weekend, but I do know I won’t be in town. And hopefully, you won’t be either.”
I blinked at her. “Wait, what?”
“Okay, this is going to sound crazy, but I swear it really happened.”
“Oh, wow. This is gonna be good.”
“It really is.” Shelby adjusted in her seat and sat up straighter, holding her hands out in front of her. “Last night, during girls’ night, I got a message on Instagram from Paige Walker.”
I tilted my head at her. “As in the movie star?”
“Yes, as in the movie star.”
“Why was Paige Walker messaging you on Instagram?” The question came out slowly since I was trying to keep my voice even. I wasn’t sure if I believed that whoever was on the other end of that conversation was the real Paige Walker, but I didn’t want Shelby to think I was calling her naive or anything.
“Well, at first, she said she’d seen your video and wanted to chat with me about it, and she gave me her number.”
“What? No way. So you called her?”
She nodded wildly. “Yes. And trust me, I’ve seen enough of her on TV to know it was her voice. She has a very distinct voice, you know?”
“Sure. So what did she say?”
“She said your video inspired her to create a plotline in her show where a guy gets rejected after a flash mob proposal. Only in her version, a cute girl in the crowd rides in to save the day on a Vespa, and they fall in love.”
I quirked a brow. “On a Vespa? Does this story take place in Italy?”
“No, LA.”
Blinking I sipped my coffee. “Uh-huh.”