“Thanks.” Dayne laughed, and the others at the table did too. He touched Katy’s face and gave her a quick kiss. “Actually, thanks for making me try it.” He gave Luke a wary look. “I could see this becoming a circus.”
The conversation turned to Luke and Reagan’s kids. Luke slipped his arm around Reagan. “The class we’re taking at church is amazing.”
“It’s like we have another way to teach our kids.” Reagan held up her hands as if to say, Who knew? “Everything’s better because of it.”
Beneath the table, Dayne put his hand on Katy’s knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. His look said that he couldn’t wait until the conversation about children involved them, too. They had so much ahead, so many years of learning and growing and falling deeper in love. Katy smiled at him. Maybe someday she’d believe she wasn’t dreaming. That after everything they’d been through, this really was her life, the sunrise of all that was to come.
Their meals arrived, and they talked and laughed like old friends. Once in a while Katy would spot Dayne looking at Luke, drawn to him. Each time she breathed a silent prayer of thanks that God had allowed them to find this friendship, this relationship. It was more than she had dreamed. Especially after Luke found out he and Dayne were brothers and the aftermath that followed. His comments to the paparazzi had hurt Dayne to his core. But the pain was behind them now.
When they were finished eating, they hurried out to their cars and headed to the campus. Ten minutes later they were in line with the other fans, standing close together to keep warm.
Dayne whispered near Katy’s ear, “This is my favorite part.”
Katy was standing in front of him, the two of them facing the same direction. Dayne had his hands around her waist, and when the line inched forward, they moved as one. She leaned her head back against his chest. “Mine too.”
The closer they came to the entrance, the more the atmosphere around them seemed to buzz with excitement. Indiana was ranked sixth in the nation, and as with other seasons, they had a shot at the title. Even Katy’s CKT kids followed the Hoosiers. The town was crazy for their basketball team.
When they finally found their seats, Katy smiled. “We did it. Three victories and the game hasn’t even started. How about that?”
Dayne grinned, but he slumped lower in his seat than usual and kept the hat in place. “Pretty sure the Hoosiers will notch another win.”
“Definitely.” Luke leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees so he could see Dayne. The two brothers were sitting beside each other, with Katy and Reagan on the outside seats. “This could be the year.” He looked out at the floor. “The team’s clicking in every area.”
“You played, didn’t you?” Again Dayne had that look in his eyes, the look that said he loved having a brother. He’d told Katy as much. He wanted to know everything about Luke, all that he’d missed by not being part of the Baxter family.
“I played in high school and on Indiana’s intramural team. Too busy with schoolwork for this sort of commitment.” Luke grinned and glanced at the players in red and white stretching on the floor. “It would’ve been fun, though.”
“They didn’t have basketball at the boarding school.” Dayne didn’t sound upset by the fact. “Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if they did.” He rubbed his chin. “I think I could’ve been pretty good.”
“Well then . . . I’ll take that as a challenge.” Luke nudged him in the ribs with his elbow. “Dad has a hoop near the garage, you know.”
“I noticed that.” He winked at Luke. “Name the time. A little one-on-one ought to show me where I stand.”
The game was a blowout from the first quarter, but Katy loved everything about it—the band, the cheerleaders, the dance team, the way the student body—decked out entirely in red—jumped to its feet every time the Hoosiers had a breakaway, and the thundering noise when Indiana pulled off a slam dunk or an alley-oop. Katy loved basketball, but since she’d been in Bloomington, she’d been so involved with theater that she’d made it to only a handful of games. Usually with Rhonda.
Katy settled back into her seat. Thoughts of Rhonda reminded her that she needed to call her friend, maybe have lunch with her. Last time they were together, Rhonda had seemed down. Short, almost. As if she assumed Katy was too busy for her, so she wasn’t going to take up too much of her time. If Rhonda was feeling insecure or frustrated, Katy wanted to know. Rhonda’s friendship meant too much to lose.
Dayne managed to go unnoticed even through halftime. While Luke and Reagan went for popcorn, Dayne kept his hat low and stayed in deep conversation with Katy about the strategy of the Indiana coach and the reasons he liked driving the ball downcourt over a methodical four-corners offense.
At one point when he was talking about a full-court press versus a zone defense, Katy laughed. “You think I’m actually following any of this?”
He touched his nose to hers. His eyes danced, the way they had so much during the past few weeks. “Does it matter?” He breathed his answer near the side of her face. “You’re helping us get through this game.”
Katy giggled and kept listening. She understood the real reason for his attention. Halftime was when a roaming camera could catch a glimpse of him, the time when someone might recognize him and start a buzz of attention.
When the third quarter started, Dayne breathed out long and slow. “Another victory.”
“Yep. And an education on basketball.” She grinned across the guys at Reagan. “You missed a fascinating conversation about points and point guards. Guarding and forwards. Reverse dunks. That sort of thing.”
“Hmmm. We should’ve stuck around.”
The good mood carried through the game, and as Dayne and Luke had guessed, the Hoosiers beat Kentucky by twenty points. Even so the crowd stayed on its feet for the final minute, cheering and waving towels and pom-poms as though March Madness had somehow found its way to December.
On the way out, as they were walking on the concourse toward the main doors, Katy noticed Dayne being less careful about keeping his face low. She was catching Reagan up on the wedding and the latest information from Wilma Waters.
Meanwhile, the guys were in front of them talking about how Indiana had a shot at the title. “I thought that assistant coach was going to come onto the court after that third quarter call.”
“Traveling doesn’t get any more obvious than that.” Dayne laughed and tipped his head back.
Katy saw it coming before Dayne did. As he lifted his head, a group of college-age girls was walking toward them. Two of them stopped at the same time, and one of them pointed at him. “Dayne Matthews!” she shrieked. “Hey, that’s Dayne Matthews.”
Katy checked behind them and farther down the way. They were trapped, but at least there were no photographers anywhere. The camera crews were on the court.
Dayne turned to Luke and tried to ignore the girls, but they weren’t about to be denied. The entire group was bouncing up and down now, clustering in toward Dayne. He stopped and fiddled with the bill of his hat.
“Dayne . . . Dayne, can we get your picture?” One of the girls ran up and took hold of his arm. She handed her miniature camera to her friend. Her entire body was shaking. “Take it. Quick, take the picture.”
Dayne looked over his shoulder and cast a helpless look at Katy.
She smiled as if to say it didn’t matter. They could handle this distraction. Katy led Reagan a few feet away and waited.
The girl was still bouncing. She steadied herself long enough to put her arm around Dayne’s waist and smile while her friend snapped the photo. This started a round of picture taking and finally a group photo. As they were finishing, one of the girls took a notebook from her bag. Another found a pen in her purse.
“Can we have your autograph, Dayne?” A brunette moved in as close as she could. “You’re better-looking in person. But you hear that all the time, right?”
One of the girls ran her hands over his arms. “I
didn’t think you’d be so built.”
Dayne kept taking steps back, creating space between him and the girls. Katy noticed, and she was silently grateful. She trusted Dayne, but it was nice to see he didn’t enjoy this kind of attention. It came with the territory, but that was all. He would always do his part to keep his distance.
One of the girls took hold of Luke’s arm. “Hey, you’re his brother! The one in the magazines.” She squealed. “Girls, this is his brother!”
Luke looked uncomfortable. He glanced at Reagan, but he seemed to realize that it wouldn’t be smart to break away from Dayne and join the two of them. This way at least Katy could avoid getting attention. Her face would definitely be familiar to girls like these, girls who probably read the tabloids.
Reagan chuckled. “Easy, girls. They’re both taken.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Katy laughed quietly. It made her realize how much she was already used to the strange life of being in love with Dayne Matthews. “They’ll be gone in a minute.”
“I know.” Reagan’s tone dripped with disbelief. “I mean, I can’t believe you have to deal with this all the time.”
“I don’t. Dayne’s usually pretty careful.” She watched him, the way he signed his autograph, keeping room between him and the closest girl. Katy looked at Reagan. “Guys can’t stand girls like that. They like the ones that are hard to get.” She grinned. “Like us.”
“True.”
The trouble was, the girls had created a level of excitement, and now other groups of people were walking by, noticing that Hollywood’s Dayne Matthews was in their midst. Couples and groups of guys stopped only for a moment, then went on their way.
But just as Dayne was finishing, another group of girls approached. They squealed and laughed and bounced and pulled out their camera phones. One girl fell to her knees and covered her mouth, too shocked to take another step. She kept shouting, “Dayne Matthews! . . . I can’t believe it’s Dayne Matthews.”
“Oh, brother.” Reagan laughed again and rolled her eyes in Katy’s direction. “I’m not sure I could take it.”
“It isn’t his fault.” Katy folded her arms. Her heart went out to Dayne. He had almost been killed by the paparazzi, by the public’s fascination with celebrity. Even so, he wouldn’t turn away a fan the way some actors would. He could very easily hold up his hand, look away, and keep walking. People would think he was a jerk, but he could do it if he wanted to. Lots of celebrities did.
But not Dayne. He understood the fascination, and though he didn’t want to feed it, he respected and cared about his fans enough to give them this time.
“These are his fans. They’re the ones who buy the tickets to the movies.” Katy leaned against the cool brick wall. “He wouldn’t have a job without them.”
Reagan nodded. “I never thought about it that way.”
Katy looked at Dayne just as he gave her another helpless look. She waved, wanting him to know she was fine. He could do what he needed to do and then they could leave.
Finally, after signing maybe thirty autographs and taking at least that many pictures, Dayne ducked close to Katy and took her hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
The thing with Dayne’s celebrity was that he was ridiculously famous. So though the crowd of girls had passed, they were moving on to tell their friends about him, and if he wasn’t careful, there could be a crowd looking for him.
Dayne pulled his baseball cap low and walked as fast as he could while allowing Katy and Reagan to keep up. He still had Katy’s hand in his, but he turned his attention to Luke. “If a mob shows up, I’ll make a dash for it. You stay with Katy and Reagan.”
Luke didn’t look surprised. After all, he’d been with Dayne during the trial in LA. He’d seen the tricks Dayne had to pull to make a getaway. He saluted Dayne. “Got it, Bro.”
They managed to get to the parking lot without attracting any other fans, and when they reached their cars, everyone agreed it had been a great night.
Before they left, Dayne hugged Luke. “Let’s do it again soon, okay?”
Their conversation was quiet, and Reagan was already in the car, so she heard none of it. But Katy was still standing near the passenger door.
“I’d like that.” Luke held Dayne’s gaze. “Hey . . . I’m glad we found each other. If I don’t say it often enough, I’m thinking it.”
Dayne smiled. “I know, Luke.” He pressed his fist to his chest. “I can feel it.” He waved and walked around to open Katy’s door.
Never mind the inconvenience of an occasional outburst of fan adoration. Katy would’ve stood there all night if it meant being with Dayne Matthews. His fans only knew what he was capable of on the screen—the bigger-than-life persona. The tough guy and tender lover that he could become on film. They knew his look and his walk and his voice. They knew the heartthrob Dayne Matthews.
But they didn’t know the sound of his laugh as he watched Cole chase a frog down the driveway or how he teared up when he talked about Elizabeth Baxter, the birth mother he’d known for only an hour before she died. They didn’t know his dream of living in the lake house and having family barbecues and raising a houseful of children. And they certainly didn’t know how much he loved his family. His new family. The fans didn’t really know Dayne, and they didn’t know his heart.
Only Katy knew that. And she would keep knowing him a little better—the way she had tonight, watching him with Luke—as long as she lived.
Dayne couldn’t wait to be alone with Katy. Not in the car driving and not distracted by talk of the game and the good time they’d had with Luke and Reagan. All that was wonderful. But he had an idea, and all night he’d forced himself to wait until they were alone so he could tell her about it.
Not that the idea was new. But this time it was serious. Very serious. He’d spoken with his agent and the director of his next film. Now he needed to talk to Katy.
When they got to the Flanigans’, Bailey was out front talking to some guy standing near a small car. She seemed to jump when they pulled into the driveway, and by the time they reached the circular drive at the front of the house, the guy had climbed into his car and was pulling away.
“Quick good-bye.” Dayne peered through his window, trying to make out the driver. “Who’s the guy?”
“Bryan Smythe.” Katy’s tone told him she was leery of the kid. “He’s been coming on strong to Bailey, but Jenny and I don’t think he’s for real. He talks big about God and God’s will and the Bible. But he wants to spend most of his time outside talking to Bailey by his car.”
“Hmmm. Beware of guys who spend too much time outside.” He nodded for emphasis. “Up to no good. Especially around a cutie like Bailey.”
“It’s hard, too, because usually Jenny and Bailey talk about everything.” Katy frowned. “But Cody is taking up a lot of Jenny and Jim’s spare time. It’s almost like they’re forgetting about Bailey.”
“They probably think everything’s fine with her. Cody’s the one with the crisis.”
“For now.” Katy sighed. “I have a bad feeling about Bryan.”
“He’s one of the CKT kids, right?” It was coming back to Dayne.
“He’s great onstage. I guess I just worry that he’s a player. He says a lot of smooth things, but I’m not sure he’s sincere. Bailey talked to me about him the other day, and some of what he told her sounds like nothing but a bunch of lines.”
They went inside, and Dayne saw Bailey dart down the hallway, give a quick wave in their direction, and disappear up the stairs. Like Katy said, Jenny and Jim were talking with Cody in the family room. The boys must’ve been in bed already.
Dayne nudged her arm as they walked through the family room into the kitchen. “Wanna sit outside?”
She teased him with her eyes. “Didn’t you just say beware of guys who spend too much time outside?”
“Except me.” He gave her his best schoolboy smile. “You can trust me.”
“Not without
a cup of coffee.” Katy took two mugs from the cupboard and tossed a bag of instant coffee into each. She used the hot tap to fill the cups. She added cream to hers and a spoonful of sugar to Dayne’s.
They walked to the closet and grabbed an extra layer of coats and scarves and a stadium blanket. Then they went outside and sat on the porch glider. Dayne was practically bursting with his idea. He only hoped Katy would be as excited about it.
When they were side by side, Katy spread the blanket over their laps. “The snow’s so pretty. I love how it shines in the moonlight.”
“It’s pretty cold for this LA boy.” He shivered and slid closer to her. “I’m hoping I’ll get used to it. Maybe in five years.”
“Faster than that.” She giggled and turned to face him. “Like I’ve already gotten used to all the girls.”
“It isn’t just girls. It’s fans.” The line was something he’d said before, but they both knew it wasn’t true. He couldn’t keep a straight face. “Okay. You’re right.”
She made her eyes big. “Dayne . . . Dayne . . .” She was teasing him, using the high-pitched voice of the girls at the basketball game earlier. “I can’t believe it!” She put her hands over her mouth. “You’re Dayne Matthews!”
“Okay, okay.” He eased her hands down from her face and leaned in to kiss her.
“Mmmm.” She met his eyes. “Imagine their reaction if you would’ve done that to one of them.”
“Never.” Dayne kissed her again. “And you’re right. If you can get used to a scene like that one, I can get used to some snow.”
A light laugh came from Katy. “You haven’t seen anything. This puny snowfall’s just the beginning.”
Dayne pulled the blanket higher on his lap and put his arm around her. “As long as I’ve got you to keep me warm.”
“That . . . or we could have our talks inside.” She brushed her cheek against his. “Of course . . . it might not be this fun.”
He was quiet, drawn by the nearness of her. But he couldn’t let himself get distracted. He needed to talk to her. The director wanted an answer in the next day or so.