Heroes (Hollywood Heartthrobs #1) (17 page)

Seated
around the comfortable dinner table enjoying Samantha’s delicious cornbread and
chili, Jane had to wonder what she had been nervous about. Samantha and Nathan
were wonderful, and the boys were adorably sweet. Even little Alec opened up a
little following his big brother’s example. Jane asked Samantha about her
bakery, Nathan about stories Dean had told her. Thankfully, they both possessed
the tact and good judgment not to question Jane about her memory loss.

At
one point, Tucker started talking about a traveling carnival that was setting
up in a nearby large parking lot. “But their Ferris Wheel is tiny! It’s not
like the big one we were on. I told the other kids at Miss Kelly’s that we rode
on the big one at Navy Pier the other day and we could see the whole city
because it goes all the way up to the sky!” He threw his arms up in
demonstration.

Jane
laughed at his exuberance. As if suddenly realizing she was there, Tucker
looked wide-eyed at first Jane, then his mother, who gave a little nod and smile
with an edge of sternness. Beneath the table, Dean put a hand reassuringly on
Jane’s thigh and asked her a question out of the corner of his eye. Jane could
connect the dots. She’d seen the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel walking yesterday with
Dean. That must have been where Dean and the boys were before her accident.
Clearly, Samantha had instructed the boys not to bring it up, and Tucker was
afraid he had accidentally transgressed. She almost wanted to roll her eyes.
She might not have her memory, but she wasn’t that fragile. Deliberately
ignoring Dean, she looked right at Tucker with a smile. “That’s a big Ferris
Wheel, you weren’t scared to be so high up? You must be very brave.”

Tucker
beamed, and Jane could feel the tension that had passed through the adults like
static electricity melt in an instant. Jane 1, Accident 0. When she finally
turned to Dean, he was hiding a grin behind a piece of cornbread.

After
dinner and an impressive dessert of key lime pie, Samantha took the boys
upstairs to change into pajamas while Nate loaded the dishwasher. Jane and Dean
sat on the living room couch, Jane’s offer to help with the dishes having been
refused.

“Dean,
thank you so much for bringing me here. Tonight has been really great.”

Dean
put an arm around her shoulders. “It means a lot to me, too, Jane.” He didn’t
want to spoil the moment, but he had to ask. “You didn’t notice anything about
the boys, did you?”

Jane
looked quizzically up at him. “Like what? I’m assuming you’re not asking about
the obvious. They’re a pair of great kids and they clearly look up to you a
great deal. But, again, that’s obvious.” She tousled his hair affectionately.

Dean
took her hand away from his hair and held it close near his chest. “No, I mean,
I thought maybe, well, I hoped, it’s just that…” Jane waited for him to make
his point. “They were there at the accident. Did you remember anything when you
saw them?”

Jane
smiled softly at him and shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I’m sorry Dean.”

Dean
hated that apologetic look. He held her a little tighter. “Don’t be sorry,
Jane. Not at all. I just hoped maybe meeting them would help.”

“Meeting
your family helps me in other ways,” Jane whispered.

Heart
full to bursting, Dean leaned down and kissed her.

Standing
at the doorway to the kitchen, Nathan decided to count to thirty before he
interrupted Dean and Jane’s kiss. When those thirty seconds had passed with no
sign of them coming up for air, he turned back to the kitchen and whistled a
tuneless note as he emerged into the living room as if for the first time.
Thankfully the lovebirds broke apart, Jane turning scarlet and Dean grinning
like an idiot.

“Can
I get anyone a drink?”

Nathan
handed out a round of after-dinner drinks, followed shortly by Samantha’s
return downstairs. Nate and Sam gleefully provided several hilarious and
humiliating adults-only anecdotes about Dean’s younger and wilder days in
Hollywood. Jane thought Dean bore the assault with grace and humor, and she
didn’t hold back her laughter. By the time Nate got to the part about wiring
Dean bail money in Tijuana, tears were streaming down her face.

“Tissue?”
Dean asked, holding out a box of Kleenex like a weapon. “I’m just going to say
one thing: I had no way of knowing she was the police chief’s daughter.” Jane
cracked up again.

Samantha
finally eased up off the couch. “This has been so much fun, but I’m afraid I’ve
got to call it a night. Two of my staff wanted the weekend off, so I’ve got to
help open the shop tomorrow. Jane, it was absolutely great meeting you. I know
it’s a long drive back to the city, you’re most welcome to stay the night if
you like. The guest room is all yours if you want it. Dean could always bunk on
the pull-out sofa in Nate’s office.” The last sentence was clearly an
afterthought, a nod to formality and the prying eyes of two small boys who
might have questions. “Totally up to you.”

Samantha
had to suppress a smile at the instant, silent conversation that passed between
Jane and Dean in a look.

“That’s
really sweet of you to offer, Sam, but I think I’d prefer to head home. That
is, if you don’t mind the drive again,” Jane answered, the last part directed
at Dean.

“Not
at all,” Dean answered, smiling.

“Well,
then you two probably want to hit the road,” Nate said. “I’m actually pretty
tired myself. Jane, great to have you, I’m sure we’ll see you again soon.”

“Thanks
again, guys. It’s been a wonderful evening. I’m just going to use the ladies’
room before we get going.” Jane excused herself to the restroom.

Nate
walked over to the hallway closet and took out a small overnight bag. “This is
yours,” he said, handing it to Dean.

“What’s
this?” Dean asked, not opening it.

“Change
of clothes and a toothbrush,” Nate said with a smile.

Dean
patted his brother on the shoulder affectionately. “Thanks, man.”

Nate’s
face took on a slightly serious edge. “About what you asked me last night.”
Dean’s eyes narrowed. “Dean, what you two have, the way you look at each other.
That’s not something you see every day. A woman like that comes along once if
you’re lucky.”

“Nate,
I know. I think I’m in love with her.” It was the first time he’d said it out
loud.

“Yeah,
obviously, but have you told her that?”

“Under
the circumstances? I just… I can’t. Not yet.”

“Dean,
you’re always going to be my big brother, but trust me on this one. Tell her.
Tell her everything. The accident, the whole story. You hold back from a woman
like that, you’ll regret it. You let her in, your world will change. I would
know.”

Dean
gave a small smile. “It’s just damn scary, little brother.”

Nate
snorted. “It’s supposed to be.”

It
was late when they arrived back home. No, not home, Jane told herself, Shiloh’s
apartment. It’s okay to be comfortable, but not too comfortable. She couldn’t
let her love (yes, love, no point denying it to herself) for Dean cloud the
fact that she was still without her memories, without her identity. But, a
small, innocent, terribly romantic part of her didn’t mind being without those
things. That part of her wanted to stay here in this apartment with Dean
forever. That part didn’t need to look back, but only forward to a future as
Jane Doe, or better yet, Jane Everett. The larger part of her, however, thought
that part was an idiot. Yes, she loved Dean, and she hoped to have him in her
life indefinitely, but in order to do that, at least to do it right, she needed
a life to invite him into. It was fine to wait out the storm in the safe harbor
he offered her, but she knew to really be his, first she had to be her own.

“I
just can’t say it enough, Dean. Tonight meant a lot to me,” she said, closing
the door behind her.

“Me
too,” he replied.

“But,
it was best we came back here for the night? I got the sense that was what you
wanted.”

The
smile spread across Dean’s face. “Oh yeah. I like having you all to myself.” He
pushed her against the wall and kissed her fiercely. Damn, Jane thought. All
that resolve and will is so much easier to maintain when my knees can still
support me.

Some
while later, they lay comfortably together in the large bed. Cradled in his
arms, Jane drifted off to sleep wondering idly if in the life she couldn’t
remember she could have ever had a day as wonderful as this one.

Adam
got up on Friday morning feeling decidedly un-rested, but comforted by the fact
that he had at least reached a decision. He checked his email and left yet
another voicemail on Jessie’s number. He had just one discussion session today
at 10am. Before he left his apartment, he packed his car with a few changes of
clothes. He also packed his copy of
Paradise Lost
, in case she needed to
borrow it.

He
tried mostly unsuccessfully to focus on his class, but at 11am he was off like
a shot. 250 miles to Chicago would give him time to figure out a plan, for now
the plan was Chicago. It’s what Jessie would do for him.

          He arrived in
Chicago a little after three to drizzling rain. His first stop was Jessie’s
hotel. Sure enough, as soon as he pulled into the parking ramp he noticed
Jessie’s beat-up but much beloved green sedan. That made sense, he knew Jessie
avoided driving in heavy traffic, and would be more likely to use public
transportation in downtown Chicago.

          His attempts
to extract information from the hotel staff only confirmed what he already
knew. Yes, Ms. Brooke had checked in on Monday, and was scheduled for check-out
tomorrow. He showed a picture of Jessie to some of the staff, but no one
recognized her face. After chatting up a member of the cleaning staff, Adam
heard that Jessie’s room continued to go undisturbed. It didn’t appear she’d
slept there since her first night. He left heavy-hearted.

          The next stop
was the restaurant where Cilla had claimed to see her just yesterday. He
attempted to explain his problem at the hostess stand. Fortunately, the hostess
on duty that day, a blonde named Eileen, was a major mystery junkie and only
too eager to help him track down a vanished ingénue. “Yesterday, outside tables
for a late lunch, around 2pm? That would have either been Martin or Sandra
waiting on them then. Sandra doesn’t work until tonight, but Martin’s here,
I’ll get him. This is so exciting!” She bustled off, a regular Miss Marple on
the case. She quickly produced the aforementioned Martin, who eyed Adam
suspiciously. He was clearly less enthused about the investigation.

          “Can I help
you with something?” He asked, formally if not politely. Eileen elbowed him,
hard. Adam and Martin both ignored her.

          “Hi, yes. My
name is Adam and I’m looking for a friend of mine. She’s sort of, gone missing
and I’m just really worried about her. Someone said they thought they saw her
here yesterday, around 2pm having lunch with a guy. I was wondering if you
might recognize her. Her name is Jessie Brooke.” He held out a picture of him
and Jessie at a faculty cocktail party last semester. He had deliberately
chosen a picture of them both, hoping it would help strengthen the concerned
friend vibe he was trying to project. (The only alternative being creepy stalker
man.) The waiter considered the picture for a minute, then looked back at Adam.

          “She might
have been in here. Why do you want to know?”

          “Like I said,
I’m just a friend and I’m worried about her. She’s in town for a conference and
she hasn’t shown up to the scheduled events. I just want to make sure she’s
alright.”

          “And you say
you’re just friends? She’s not your girlfriend or anything?”

“Yes,
just friends. I’m gay, actually.” Adam wasn’t sure where Martin was going with
this, but he’d offer up any info on himself in exchange for intel on Jessie.

To
Adam’s enormous relief, Martin smiled. “Okay, then. I was worried for a second
this was some crazy ex-boyfriend move. Girl in the picture was in here
yesterday afternoon with a guy, and they looked pretty cozy. Laughing a lot,
touching each other. If she’s gone awol from a work thing, I wouldn’t be too
worried. She looked like she was exactly where she wanted to be.”

Adam’s
relief was obvious to Martin, so he continued. “She did have a cast on her arm,
though. Pink one.”

          “Do you have
any idea who the guy she was with was? Or where Jessie might have gone after
lunch?”

          “Sorry, man,
can’t help you. The guy was tall, blonde, whole Prince Charming package going
on. But I wouldn’t know where they are now. All I can say for sure is she
seemed perfectly happy. I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you.”

          “Thanks,
you’ve been very helpful,” Adam said.

          “No problem.”
Martin turned and headed back to the kitchen.

          “Well, what’s
next?” Eileen asked eagerly.

          Adam bit his
lip. Hearing everything Cilla had told him confirmed, something was definitely
not right. He knew he should be glad Jessie had been seen happy and healthy
just the day before and he was, but still. This was all so unlike her. Could it
really be as simple as Jessie had met some guy and decided to blow off the
conference to spend the week with him? Prince Charming or not, that was
absolutely not like Jessie. He didn’t want to get Eileen in trouble, but he had
to play any hand he was dealt.

          “Eileen, it
wouldn’t be possible to find out if Jessie paid with a credit card, would it?”

          Eileen’s eyes
got wide. “Well, actually, it is possible, but super against the rules unless
you’re a cop.”

          Adam tried to
look as crestfallen as possible. “I understand, I guess I’ll just have to solve
the mystery myself. Thanks for all your help, Eileen.” He started to move to
turn away. If he turned any slower, he’d have to stop moving entirely.

          “Wait,”
Eileen said quietly. Now Adam turned like lightning.

          “What’s
that?”

          “As long as
it is totally our secret, because if you told anyone I would be toast.”

          “Eileen,
you’re a hero!”

          Eileen beamed
as she scanned through the computer receipts. “There’s no receipt for a Jessie
Brooke, but the only table for two she could have been at was charged to a card
for a Dean Everett.” She wrote the name down on a slip of paper. “Don’t tell
anyone!” She shrieked.

          “Thank you so
much!” Adam said, hurrying out of the restaurant. Dammit Jessie, he thought to
himself, you better be happy to see me when I find you. Eileen might find
sleuthing titillating, Adam just felt guilty.

***

The
next morning found Adam wandering aimlessly around Chicago. Adam had risen at
dawn and gone for a walk to try to formulate a plan. Yesterday had mostly been
a bust. After the restaurant, he had returned to the hotel Jessie had booked
and gotten himself a room for the night. He had made a second sweep showing her
photo around to the night staff, but to no avail. Other than her trip to the
restaurant, it seemed Jessie had vanished off the planet. His best lead, the
name Dean Everett, had been a dead-end as well. Annoyingly, some small-time TV
actor apparently bore the same name as Jessie’s mystery date, so googling “Dean
Everett” last night left Adam with nothing but an impressive results list of
celebrity gossip websites, information on some vampire show called
Once
Bitten
, and a fount of some highly graphic fanfic. He’d even tried “Dean
Everett Chicago” but the actor had apparently been born and raised in Chicago,
so that was somewhat less than helpful.

          The only
thing he could think to do next was head to the conference and hope for the
best. He’d touched base with Cilla again last night, who confirmed that Jessie
was MIA for all of Friday’s events. At his request, she’d emailed him a copy of
the conference schedule. Today was the last day, and Jessie’s panel would be
this afternoon. If she no-showed, the damage to her professional reputation
would be serious. Adam absently checked his watch. It was a few minutes before
8am. The first event on the schedule today would be a breakfast at 9:15. No
hope of sneaking in there, free food meant they’d have someone checking names
at the door. No, his best chance to catch anything would be the start of the panels
at 10. There were two early sessions, a break for lunch, then three afternoon
sessions and the keynote address. Jessie’s panel was the first session after
the lunch break. 

          The smell of
brewing tea caught Adam’s attention. He looked around, not entirely sure where
he was now, somewhere on the northern part of Michigan Avenue. Flagship stores
and boutiques lined the streets, all in the shadow of the various high-rise
condos and office buildings. At this early hour, the streets were relatively
quiet. Stores didn’t open until 9 at the earliest, and most not until 10. Adam
turned his attention to the smell. It was coming from a small boutique cafe
tucked between two major clothing stores. Adam inspected the sign. “Shakespeare
& Company” it read. Beneath that, “Books, Coffee, & Tea. Open Every Day
8 – 6.”

          Jessie would
love this place, he thought. He could just imagine how excited she would be to
explain the name to everyone. It’s not just a reference to Shakespeare,
obviously, (she would say,) but to the famous English-language bookstore and
lending library of the same name run by Sylvia Beach in Paris in the 1920s.
Ernest Hemingway was one of her regulars. He could practically hear her now. He
stood on the corner, waiting for the store to open.

          A cheerful,
middle-aged woman in horn-rimmed glasses opened the door promptly at 8. She
ushered Adam in as she brought out a few folding chairs and tables to place in
front of the store. Adam ambled around the store, taking in the books filling
every inch of wall space. For luck, he pulled down a volume of English
Renaissance poetry and leafed through the pages. After a while he ambled to the
counter where the woman was stocking pastries in a glass display counter. There
was only the faintest trace of an aisle between the row of armchairs and the
table-cum-orders counter. He ordered English breakfast tea. She told him to
have a seat, she would bring it to him. He sat at one of the tables outside,
feeling both cheered and depressed by the sweet little bookstore cafe. A moment
later, the store woman brought out a pot of tea, complete with a small cream
and sugar set. They had books painted on the sides. Adam sat slowly sipping at
his tea, watching people walk past. The street became increasingly full as the
minutes ticked by. Staring at his now empty pot of tea, Adam wondered
desolately what the hell had happened to his best friend.

          Then
suddenly, like an answer to a prayer, he saw her.

***

          Saturday
morning dawned bright and clean, as if the city had been washed in the rain of
yesterday and emerged gleaming. Dean awoke first. Not wanting to wake Jane, he
watched her sleep, deep in thought. Could it really be only a few days ago he
had watched her sleep off the medication in that hospital room? A week ago he
had been packing a bag for his trip to Chicago, with no idea how much his life
was about to be changed. But here he was, arms around the most amazing, most
unbelievable woman he had ever known. Dean had been in love before, but this
was something different.

Maybe
it was Nathan and Samantha, he thought. Nate had met Sam freshman year at Notre
Dame, and he had come home for Thanksgiving that year already head over heels.
At the time, Dean had thought it just a passing youthful infatuation. Nate and
Dean had both had their share of that in high school. But he had been wrong.
There had been a brief break-up when Sam chose to spend her junior year
studying abroad in France, and Dean had seen what that did to Nate. Nate just
wasn’t his whole self without Sam. They had gotten back together over
Christmas, sent an uncountable number of emails and postcards across the
Atlantic over the next six months, and been nearly inseparable from the day she
came home. Nathan had proposed Christmas of their senior year, and they were
married shortly after graduation. Shamefully, Dean thought about how he’d
actually tried to talk Nate out of proposing. You’re so young, don’t be in a
hurry, he’d said. He’d barely stopped short of reciting the entire “examine
other beauties” speech from
Romeo and Juliet
. But Nate had been unmoved.
In the years following, Dean had been glad to eat his words. Nathan and
Samantha had the best relationship he had ever seen. Maybe that was part of why
his love affairs never seemed to last. He wanted what he saw they had.

Lying
here with Jane in his arms, for the first time he felt like he had it. The
terrifying thing was that he knew any moment he could lose it.

Nevertheless,
he was resolved. Today he would tell Jane everything. He would explain about
the truck, Alec, bending the truth to Nurse Freeman, all of it. He would tell
her it was his fault that she had lost who she was. Then he would tell her that
he loved her. No matter what. Even if she walked out of his life forever, he
would at least know that he had been honest. If she broke his heart, at least
he’d have that.

Tonight,
he thought. I’ll tell her tonight. He didn’t want to admit he wanted one last
day in the sunshine before he told her the truth. And he had big plans for how
to spend it.

Jane
finally stirred, breaking Dean’s reverie. “Morning, sunshine,” he said, kissing
her gently.