Chapter Five

Adeline stood in front of her shop, her arms folded across her chest. A breeze picked up, whipping her hair around her face, and she retrieved a hair elastic from her front pocket. As she pulled her hair up into a ponytail, she watched as large white trucks rolled in. They had already parked several trailers at the edge of town, next to the beach. She frowned and went back inside. It was just as she had feared. Hollywood was taking over.

Apparently Eli was going to be living in one of those white trailers, having somehow negotiated permission to park on what was now Eli Hunt’s own personal beachside property. It was amazing what a lot of money could do.

And the town was thrilled about it.

Even with the dropping temperatures—it was the first week of November and already colder than it should be—the beach and boardwalk were filled with people, all hoping to get a glimpse of Eli Hunt. He’d been in town for nearly a month, but the novelty hadn’t managed to wear off yet. Maybe once they started shooting the movie.

Not expecting any more customers for the day—people were too busy watching Hollywood’s invasion—Adeline settled in behind the counter and absently flipped through a magazine, its pages spread over the counter in front of her. A large picture of Eli Hunt stared up at her. Everyone in town who had met him said he was as wonderful as the magazines made him sound, but she had her doubts. The one she was currently reading was an old copy from Patty’s medical clinic that the doctor had insisted Adeline borrow. Said it was very educational. It was all about how Eli Hunt juggled life as a method actor with his family life.

According to the article, he was able to separate the two with very little problem. But Adeline had heard about the man’s recent divorce, so she doubted the article was very reliable. According to his wife, he’d be gone for months at a time with no contact, no phone calls, nothing. His wife had tired of only being married a third of the year and finally left him.

It was a story that Adeline was all too familiar with, and she didn’t blame the woman one bit.

The door to Adeline’s shop opened abruptly, and Leanne held the door for Isaac, who clumsily rolled in. They were arguing, their voices raised.

“I read your script, and there was not a single mime in it.”

Leanne released an exasperated sigh. “And like I told you, it went through multiple revisions while I was in LA. You read an old version.”

“But why mimes?” Isaac asked. “Were you mad at me at the time?”

Leanne shook her head and glanced at Adeline with a look that said, Men, am I right? “I’m going to need a double shot of chile chocolate, Addie. Things around the bed and breakfast have been…stressful.”

“Enough said. Two boxes of chile chocolate coming right up.”

“It was to add a humorous element,” Leanne said, turning back to Isaac. “The mime interrupts a very serious moment, and Benjamin just can’t get the mime to leave them alone.”

“I understand. And that sounds delightful. It does,” Isaac said. “But that means there is going to be a mime somewhere in Starlight Ridge. I won’t know when, or where, but I will run into him. And then I’ll have to start driving to the city to see my therapist again.”

Leanne looked like she was trying to be sympathetic, but when she approached the counter to pay for the chocolate, Adeline could tell she was trying not to laugh. “Thanks. Oh, I better buy a third box. Sorry.”

“A third box?” Adeline asked as she grabbed another from below the counter. “Who’s that one for? Or have I created a chile chocolate addiction for you two?”

“I wish, but sadly, no. It’s for Eli. He’ll be here in a moment. He was just finishing up with Caleb at the scuba shop.”

Adeline nearly dropped the box she was placing in the bag with the others. “What?”

Leanne took the box from Adeline. “Yeah, I thought I told you. The heroine in my script owns a chocolate shop.”

Oh. She hadn’t known that, and it contradicted her friend’s claims that she hadn’t based any of her characters on the good people of Starlight Ridge.

“So…Eli Hunt wants to film in front of my store?” Adeline asked, and immediately wished she could take it back. She didn’t want to know the answer and started straightening boxes that didn’t need straightening, just to give herself something to do.

“No, he wants to film inside your store. This is where he meets his love interest. The movie is named after the chocolate shop.” Leanne acted like it was just another day in Starlight Ridge, though it was anything but. Eli Hunt was already taking over the town. The last thing Adeline needed was the hotshot movie star taking over her store.

“Amaretto,” Adeline mumbled, remembering how lovely Jessie had thought the movie title was. She should have known it had something to do with chocolate. The Italian liqueur was used in desserts, including truffles, because of the nice almond flavor it had. “And so, Eli Hunt will only be spending like, what, one day filming here?” Adeline knew she probably sounded like an idiot, but she was still having a hard time wrapping her head around all this. She’d thought they’d mostly be filming outside, like beach scenes and that kind of thing. Maybe she’d have to see Eli Hunt in passing, but she’d never thought he’d have any use for her store.

Leanne laughed. “A day? More like a couple of weeks.”

Fourteen days.

Adeline felt the blood drain from her face, but no one else seemed to notice.

Leanne placed the third box of chocolates onto the counter. “Will you give this one to Eli? We have to run, wedding plans and all that.” She took the bag that held the other two boxes.

“How are those coming?” Adeline asked.

Neither Isaac nor Leanne answered, both sharing a look that was difficult to interpret. Adeline suddenly feared for the couple.

“You are still getting married, right?”

“Oh, we are definitely getting married,” they said simultaneously. And from the secret smiles they both shared at that moment, there was no doubt that the two were madly in love.

“The thing is,” Isaac said, “I was hoping for something a little smaller—just close family and friends, you know.”

“So, the entire town,” Adeline said with a smirk.

“Yeah. Exactly. But Leanne wants to get married…like actually married…as they are shooting a wedding scene for the movie.”

Adeline glanced between the two. “Whoa. Seriously?”

Isaac continued. “Apparently, the main dude crashes a wedding of people he doesn’t even know. And that would be us. After we say ‘I do,’ Eli Hunt would come barreling in, looking for his girlfriend. And then instead of us making out up there and making everyone uncomfortable, everyone’s attention, including ours, would have to be on Eli, because we’re still shooting for the movie, right?”

“I keep telling him that we can cut right after Eli comes in, do the rest of our wedding, and then continue with the filming the next day,” Leanne said. “I mean, we’re going to have to do multiple takes anyway; just the first one would be our real wedding. And Eli already said he’s cool with it. In fact, he said that one of the crew members is an ordained minister and can officiate.”

They both looked to Adeline, their gazes pressing her to choose a side. She didn’t want to; this should be something they worked out between themselves. “That’s…” She meant to say that it was a cool idea, but that they should figure out all the details before deciding on either choice. Doing the small wedding would probably mean having to wait until shooting was complete. But the movie wedding wouldn’t be as intimate.

Instead, it came out as, “That’s…interesting.” Adeline usually tried to hide her disdain for anything Hollywood, but this time she didn’t quite manage it.

“You don’t like the idea?” Leanne asked, looking stunned, and maybe even a little hurt.

Isaac sported a wide grin.

“No, I love it. It’s very unique,” Adeline hurriedly said, trying to backpedal. “It just caught me off guard, that’s all.”

“Oh, come on,” Isaac said, throwing his arms in the air, though he was laughing at the same time. “What is with all you women being starstruck? You’d even go so far as wanting Eli Hunt to crash your wedding.”

“It’s not that, and you know it,” Leanne said, wrapping her arms around Isaac’s neck and planting a long kiss on his lips. It was good to see those two back together again. “But how cool would it be that whenever we watch the movie, we see ourselves get married all over again? For real. It will be immortalized.”

“Okay, I guess that’s kind of cool,” Isaac said. He gave Adeline a small wave as he rolled toward the door.

Leanne mouthed “thank you” as she hurried in front to open the door for him. It hadn’t even had time to close before someone else caught it. It stayed open for a moment while whoever it was talked with Leanne and Isaac, and then a man entered, a briefcase in one hand.

He was tall and very good looking. His face was rugged, yet it also had a boyish look to it—it was a face that said, You can trust me.

Eli Hunt. It had to be.

She glanced down at the magazine that still lay out in front of her. Her gaze flitted between it and the man several times before she could say for certain that the man standing in front of her was Eli Hunt. His sandy brown hair had grown out a bit over his ears, but everything else matched the picture.

“Adeline Baker, you are a very difficult woman to get ahold of,” he said.

She clamped her lips shut, forcing herself to not freak out. So what, one of the hottest guys in Hollywood knew her name. First and last. She would not go all fangirl on him. Because, no matter how attractive he was, Eli Hunt was nothing more than another product of the film industry—just like her father. Except, Eli Hunt was worse. Because he was a method actor—a man who sacrificed everything for the art of filmmaking. Apparently even to the detriment of his marriage.

“Am I?” In her defense, Adeline hadn’t known he’d been trying to get ahold of her, but she couldn’t deny making herself as scarce as possible whenever he was in the vicinity of her shop.

Eli flashed her one of his world-famous smiles, then walked up to the counter and leaned on it. His gaze found the magazine she had been reading. “Don’t believe everything you read,” he said, his eyes bright, almost as if they were laughing at her.

“I don’t,” Adeline said, feeling heat rush into her cheeks at being caught reading about him in a gossip magazine. She shut the magazine and shoved it aside.

Eli looked into the display case. “I hear you sell the best chocolates in town.”

“It’s the only place you can buy homemade chocolates in Starlight Ridge, so yes, they are definitely the best,” she said.

Eli raised his gaze to meet hers. “What do you recommend?”

“Probably the box that has already been bought and paid for. Courtesy of Leanne.” Adeline dropped her gaze and picked up the box from the counter. She didn’t like how looking into his eyes made her feel. Adeline held the box out to him. “Chile truffles. You won’t find anything like it in LA.”

He straightened up, looking intrigued. “Do I dare try one here, or should I wait until I won’t completely embarrass myself?”

Adeline grabbed one of the small water bottles she kept on hand for such occasions. “Go ahead. I won’t judge. I promise. I’ve seen reactions range from people who couldn’t even taste the chile to people who were full-on sobbing. Out of happiness,” she quickly added. Couldn’t have Eli Hunt thinking her chocolates made people cry.

Except, he now looked wary, like maybe he’d be one of the sobbing people. “I…might save them for later.” He placed his briefcase on the counter and then the box of chocolates next to it. “Can’t have me crying all over the paperwork that my lawyer was nice enough to put together for me.” He paused. “Of course, I paid him plenty to do it.” He laughed, like he’d just made a joke.

“Is all that so you can film in my shop?” Adeline nodded toward the large stack of papers he’d placed on the display case in front of her.

“I see that Leanne has done her job to forewarn you about what I’m hoping to do here.” His gaze once again found hers. ‘What do you say?” he asked. “Will you be Chocolate Store Assistant number two in our little production?”

Adeline doubted anything with Eli Hunt could be classified as little. Then her brain caught up. “What do you mean by that last bit? You don’t mean that you want me to…” She trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence. There was no way he could mean what she thought he did.

Eli chuckled. “Leanne obviously left out the best part. Not only will we need to film in your store, but we’d like you to be a part of it. It is your place, after all, and I don’t want to kick you out. I’m not sure if Leanne has written in your part yet. It probably won’t be more than a couple of lines, if any. But you’ll see that on page—” Eli flipped through the pages of the very large contract. “Oh, I have no idea which page. But you’ll be paid both for the ability to shoot the film here as well as your time as an extra.”

“I’d actually be in the movie,” Adeline said slowly. “As an extra. In my own shop.”

The way she said it probably made Eli think she wasn’t excited about the prospect. And he’d be right. Because when Adeline’s father had left for greener pastures, she’d promised her mother that she’d stay far away from Hollywood and the people in it. And this was the exact opposite of that.

But she was also a businesswoman, and if this movie was as successful as she thought it would be, it would do wonders for her little chocolate shop.

Adeline doubted she’d have much to do with Eli anyway. Making an exception this one time couldn’t hurt.