The image of Sean O’Brien seated at his desk, stark white with his fists clenched, remained etched in her mind as she drove toward Masterson’s. Even before she’d gone downstairs in search of him, he’d been on her mind. From the moment he’d greeted her in the office, he intrigued her, although she couldn’t pinpoint why. While handsome in a rugged, masculine sort of way, he wasn’t drop-dead movie star gorgeous. In fact, if not for his height, she imagined he could walk through a crowd and not draw any attention to himself. But there was something about him.
Maybe her interest stemmed from how he’d reacted to her. He hadn’t blinked an eye when he saw her. As he helped her with her bags, he treated her like any other guest. Not once did he try to impress her or ask for an autograph. Come to think of it, neither had his mother. She appreciated that more than either of them would ever know. Some days she couldn’t even grab a coffee without being followed by either an overzealous photographer or a fan wanting to say hello. Granted, that went with the territory, but sometimes she just wanted to fly under the radar and go about her business like everyone else. Perhaps even worse than the people who treated her special were those who pretended to treat her like everyone else, then, the minute she turned her back, they bragged about how they’d met her on some social networking site.
Mia turned onto Lyman Road, and her thoughts went back to how she had found Sean. For anyone to have a reaction like that, it had to be quite a message. She hoped it wasn’t bad news. An email message was a cold way to share bad news.
Halfway down the road, she hit the center of town, which looked as if someone had just plucked it off a movie set. A large grassy common with a bandstand sat at the center of the horseshoe-shaped road. A well-maintained clapboard building painted bright white stood at the top of the horseshoe. It had a clock mounted at its highest point and the words Town Hall hung over a set of double doors. To the left of the town hall was a much smaller building with the words North Salem Public Library attached to it. Several feet to the right was a sprawling joint fire and police station with a few police cars parked in front.
As she drove by the area, a sign announcing performances that would be held on the common over the coming weeks caught her eye. Already four young men were at work, probably preparing for this weekend’s performance. In addition to the musicians, a few families enjoyed early picnic dinners while several children played on the small playground at the far corner of the common.
The entire setting was far removed from what she saw at home, and a sense of peace came over her. At one time she loved the excitement and everything else that went along with living in Beverly Hills, but lately it had been too much. In many ways she remained the small town girl she’d been before she landed her first television role at the age of ten. Back then her family had lived in a town similar to this one. After a talent agent noticed her at the beach one day and invited her to audition for a role in a new family sitcom, her entire family relocated to California. Since that day she’d considered California her home. The only time she’d lived in Massachusetts after that had been during the two years she spent at Harvard before returning to her acting career.
Following the arrow that pointed toward the schools, she turned again and drove another two miles before the family restaurant appeared. Thanks to the early hour, the parking lot remained relatively empty. Hopefully, that meant she could get in and out quickly tonight. Despite the short nap she’d taken on the plane, she was tired and eager to call it a day.