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than once to stop her from falling over the plant holders and running into customers. I really hoped she would stay quiet, wanting nothing more than to reach the little woman who I had a feeling would get seriously angry if I took too much longer to reach the table.
    As I looked into the corner, though, it was suddenly my stability that seemed to go out the window. 
    Star raised her beautiful gaze and stood up to greet me. I sucked in my breath. Again, I tried to exhale but I wavered just a bit, hoping that she wouldn't notice the geeky teenage boy that seemed to appear whenever I was in her presence. 
    Her lovely hand reached out to shake mine, as the scent of lavender radiated off her skin. "Thank you for coming," she said. "I figured Nicole would scare you so much you'd have thrown yourself under the subway by now just to get out of this."
    Releasing the air in my lungs slowly, I gently squeezed her hand until she pulled away. I pointed to her seat, waiting for her to get comfortable before the gentleman that I knew I was, sat down.
    I nodded at Nicole. "I actually thought of suicide but I was afraid she could bring me back to life and torture me to death."
    "Damn straight," Nicole mumbled. She stared up at the waitress who was still standing idly by staring down at me. "Sweetheart? Stop staring at the hunk and bring me a tall iced tea and a handmade Mozzarella salad."
    As if Nicole's words flipped a switch back on in her brain, the girl immediately wrote down the order. 
    Nicole looked at Matt. "Those fresh herbs always get the heart a pumpin'. What'll you have?"
    My gaze immediately went to Star. She didn't look away, and my mind began to race, searching for the appropriate thing to say. Clearing my throat, I forced myself to turn back to the waitress. "Do you still serve the East Coast Fish and Chips?"
    A soft, seductive voice erupted from the teenager that screamed 'crush' from a mile away. "Oh, yes. They're the best thing we have."
    "Well, I've been away from home for a while so I'll take that." I turned to the ladies before me and tried to get my balance back. "California's good, but New York is the absolute best when it comes to dining."
    Star stared up at the girl. "Hello?"
    "Uh, huh," she replied, never taking her eyes off me for a second. I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable; I usually had other cast members with me to take the brunt of this kind of blatant attraction. 
    "Coffee, please?" Star laughed.
    "Uh, huh," the girl said, remaining frozen in place.
    Trying to help, I looked up at her and smiled wide. "Could you bring us some coffee?"
    She beamed. "Absolutely!"
    I stared back at the stunner before me. "Anything else?"
    Laughing, she shook her head. "Actually, I think you could ask for a horse-drawn carriage and the Hope Diamond right now and this poor girl would go rob a bank to get them for you."
    The sweet sarcasm that melded with her soft tone was endearing. I looked back up at the waitress. "Could we have these items soon ?"
    She nodded quickly. "Oh, yes! Anything for you, Bryce."
    Nicole wrinkled up her forehead. "Who's Bryce?"
    I shook my head. "Bryce is just the character I play."
    "Sounds like something from a romance novel."
    I couldn't stop glancing at the woman who wouldn't turn away. I didn't want her to, of course, but there's a point—maybe you men out there know it—when you look at a stunning piece of art for so long that you need to take a moment to get your balance back so you can sound intelligent again. But she barely blinked. In fact, she took in her surroundings like a spy on a mission, as if registering each movement, each color, into her brain to be able to call upon it at a later date. Her eyes were like a camera, not missing a single second of the life happening around her.
    And the hair…I know it's a childish thing to think about, but hers was a dark auburn. There was no ginger or red, just a deep auburn that in the shadows looked like rich chocolate brown that