The whole situation felt surreal. He stayed way over to the side and out of the way. The director kept giving him looks, like he expected Adam to wander over and participate in the circus. Adam didn’t look back. He was not joining this movie.
Ewan popped up at his side. “Hey, Liam wanted to ask me if you’d perhaps?—”
“Nope.”
Ewan sighed dramatically. “Come on. We want you to be a bartender tomorrow at your place.”
“I am a bartender.”
Ewan grinned. “Come on, Adam. We’ll make you famous.”
Adam slung his arm around someone he pretty much considered a friend at this point. “I don’t want to be famous, Ewan.”
Ewan’s eyes widened. “How could you not want to be famous? Everybody wants to be famous.”
Adam exhaled heavily. “One of my biggest nightmares would be people coming to this town, walking into my bar and asking for my autograph. Or worse yet, asking to have a picture taken. I would rather you shot me right here right now.”
Ewan frowned at him, his expression truly bewildered. “You’re weird.”
Adam barked out a laugh. “Yeah. Probably. How come you don’t want to be in the movie?”
“Oh, I’ve been an extra in tons of movies,” Ewan said. “It’s not as much fun as it looks. Though they do feed you really well.”
“Yeah.” Adam had to agree. “I’ve enjoyed the spreads they’ve had all day every day.”
Tables had been set up near the barn for the crew. Every time he walked past them there were trays of food. Sandwiches, fruit, pastries, things he couldn’t pronounce. For a guy who usually grabbed whatever was closest to the grill, the setup felt ridiculous.
“You can’t wait till everyone’s off your property, can you?” Ewan asked.
“Nope,” Adam agreed.
Clancy hurried up, a ledger in his hand. His forehead was creased, and he looked like he hadn’t slept much. “We’re going over budget,” he murmured. “We need to get this moving. We’re paying too many extras.”
Adam held up a hand. “You promised the town everybody could try to be extras when you signed the contract.”
“I know, but if we could hurry up filming here, at least by a day, that would really help,” Clancy said.
Adam smiled at him, slow and satisfied. “You just became one of my best friends.”
Clancy rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He glanced past Adam toward the porch where Anne Newberry stood talking to Mrs. Poppins. The two women looked deep in conversation while a makeup girl hovered nearby with a powder brush.
“What’s her story anyway?” Clancy asked. “She’s pretty.”
“That’s Anne Newberry. She works for the Lodge-Freeze Enterprise,” Adam answered.
Clancy angled his head to see better. “What does that mean?”
“It means if you break her heart, you’re probably dead.” Adam smiled and lifted a hand in a casual wave toward Anne. She noticed him and waved back, cheerful as ever.
“I just thought I’d take her to dinner,” Clancy said.
Adam looked him over slowly, taking in the flannel shirt, the careful attempt at looking relaxed, and the way Clancy suddenly straightened his shoulders. “That would probably be okay, but remember she’s loved around here.”
“Gotcha.” Clancy tugged at the hem of his shirt and smoothed it down.
Adam’s gaze caught on Bianca.
She stood near the porch where the flowerbeds curved around the steps. Her dark hair moved lightly in the breeze while she adjusted one of the flowering bushes she’d planted earlier in the week. Bright blooms framed the porch now, softening the hard lines of the house. She crouched to shift a small pot, brushing dirt from her hands as she sat back to study her work.