Page 12 of Never Date a Celebrity

Steve kindly grabbed all their papers and put them in the nearest trash can.

“Well, you can sit back now and enjoy the ride back. Doze if you want. I’ll see where else we can stop along the way,” Christopher said, walking to the car to open the rear door for her.

Which is exactly what Amelia did. Apart from the dozing part. Tired or not, there were too many good things to look at to waste her time sleeping. Amelia watched as the car passed by copious green fields. Sometimes when the car turned around a corner, she got those brilliant views of the sea again. The wind had picked up as the day went on, so the sea was a lot choppier now. Amelia loved watching the waves rising up and crashing back down again.

A signpost caught her eye. “What’s that Ballyluck place like?”

“It’s just a village, I think.” Christopher scratched the stubble on his chin while he thought about it. “If I remember right, there’s a rocky old road with hairpin bends that leads down the cliff to a beach. And a couple of shops maybe. But that’s about it. Not much to see.”

“Can we go anyway?” Amelia asked. The name had piqued her interest. Any place with the word luck in its name had to be good.

“Sure,” Christopher said easily. He flicked the turn signal on and turned left onto a much narrower road. “Don’t be expecting much though.”

Amelia tended to find some good in every place she visited. The world was so full of beauty, it was important to open your eyes and look for it. Most places had something.

After about five minutes on the windy little road, they passed a sign that said Welcome to Ballyluck.

There were no cars behind them, so Christopher drove slowly to allow Amelia to look around. She wouldn’t say there wasn’t much to see. It was pretty, for one thing. Tall trees and benches lined the main street. Hanging baskets with seasonal flowers hung from the lampposts. Each building was a different colour. At one side of the road, there was a blue convenience store, a pink salon, and a place that looked like it only sold fruit and vegetables, aptly green. At the other side there was a yellow bakery, a small orange pharmacy, a B&B, and, unsurprisingly, a chippy which was purple. There were several roads leading off into different housing developments, and Amelia guessed that although it wasn’t huge, there were a good few people living there. At the top of the main street there was a circle with a few more buildings. A couple of offices. And there was a bar. That wasn’t surprising either. Amelia had noticed that most places in Ireland had a bar, no matter how small or remote they were. Its sign read The Wishing Well in faded letters.

“Do you think we could stop for a drink?” Amelia asked. She wasn’t a big drinker, but she enjoyed one every now and again. “Look, there’s a sign outside the bar saying that it serves the best Guinness in Ireland. I’ve never tried a Guinness before. If I’m going to try some, it might as well be the best, right?”

“I can’t join you while I’m driving,” Christopher said. “Even if I’m photographed drinking a glass of water in a pub while I’m on the job I could get the sack. But I’m happy to park up and wait in the car for you.”

Amelia hadn’t thought of that. “As long as you don’t mind, Christopher. Steve, do you fancy a drink?”

“Can’t drink on the job either.”

“That’s okay. I can go on my own.”

Steve shook his head. “We don’t know what kind of people will be in there. I’ll come with you and keep an eye on things. I can order a Coke without getting into trouble.”

“Well, the Coke’s on me,” Amelia said. “I insist,” she added when Steve frowned.

She stuck on her shades as they hopped out of the car, and they headed along the path toward the Wishing Well. Amelia took a minute to stop at the real-life well that was outside it. When she leaned over to glance into it, she could see a few coins gleaming under the water at the bottom. Amelia wasn’t sure if she believed in wishes coming true or anything like that, but she didn’t not believe either. She liked to think of herself as open-minded. She pulled a handful of coins out of her jean pocket, a mixture of sterling and euro. Amelia hadn’t known how far her adventure would take her today, and she had read somewhere that the currency depended on which side of the Ireland/Northern Ireland border you were on, so she was prepared for both. Since she was still in the north, she grabbed a pound coin—though she doubted that wishing wells had currency preferences. Amelia leaned over and threw it in, closing her eyes as she silently made her wish, like you were supposed to.

When she was done Amelia turned and joined Steve who was waiting for her near the entrance of the bar. If he thought she was ridiculous, he managed to hide it well—though he didn’t partake in any wishes himself. When Steve went to pull the door open for them, his phone started ringing and stopped him in his tracks. He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and frowned down at the screen. He tapped it and put it back in his pocket. It rang again a second later.

“Is everything okay?” Amelia asked.

“Yeah. Fine,” Steve said as he took the phone out and silenced it again.

But his face told a different story. “You can take that call, you know.”

Steve shook his head. “It’s my wife. I can call her back later, after my shift.” It rang again and he winced.

“Honestly, Steve. You should answer it. It might be important.”

“She just worries when I’m out on a job. I can fire off a quick text. My wife’s idea of a quick call is thirty minutes.”

“I’m sure I can survive on my own for a half hour,” Amelia assured him with a smile. “I go out alone all the time when I’m home in LA. And there’s a lot more people around than there is here. I’ll be fine. Go talk to your wife.”

Steve looked conflicted but he eventually exhaled. “Fine. But I’m going to go inside and check the place out first.”

Amelia wouldn’t have expected any different. Steve had proved to be very conscientious about his job. “No problem.”

“Wait right here.” Steve disappeared into the bar and reappeared less than a minute later. “Okay. I think you’re good.” He shuffled from one foot to the other like he still wasn’t comfortable about leaving her alone. “I’ll be standing right outside at that well thing. If anyone dodgy-looking comes in, I’ll be back. Right away. Okay?”

Amelia doubted that would happen. Ballyluck didn’t strike her as a “dodgy” kind of place. But she nodded that she understood anyway to keep Steve happy. “Got it.”