Page 86 of Get A Fix

“What kind of sandwich, Mr. Lennox?” she asked hesitantly.

“Do you have a favorite?”

“The one I like has head cheese and blood sausage. I’m thinking that’s not for you.”

He turned to me.

“Roast beef?” I asked her, and she nodded. “Great. Would you make that for me, and please bring a French dip for him.”

“Yes,” she said happily, turning back to Ash. “I will have that right out, Mr. Lennox.”

“Thank you.”

Tori was beaming at him. “We have hand-cut fries too. I’ll add those as well.”

“You’re a very good person,” he declared. “I think we should take a picture.”

The way her face lit up, I couldn’t help but smile as well. I loved that he could instantly bring that much joy. He was one of those celebrities you felt like you knew from his movies and socials, and you hoped like crazy that if you ever met him in real life, he would not disappoint and actually be warm, engaging, and kind. I knew from looking at Tori that he had exceeded all her expectations.

Once she left, he met Bentley, who offered him sangria, Jackie, who immediately showed him what Campbell Covington had bought her, and finally he got reacquainted with Sienna.

“Nice to see you again,” he greeted her.

“I’m thrilled to tell you that I have been a fan since the beginning. You had me with Blood Tracks.”

“That’s very kind.”

“I know you probably hate taking pictures with⁠—”

“No, I love it,” he said with a grin. “Let me come over there.”

He took several with Sienna, Bentley, and Jackie, and when Jennifer returned with her fiancé in tow, he took pictures with them as well. Cunningly, when we all retook our seats, Ash somehow ended up next to me. He sat with his knee pressing against mine, and was gracious, and charming, and everyone was spellbound. His stories had all of us riveted because he was talking about other celebrities, huge stars who were his friends, like it was all so normal. Like they were our friends as well as his. I listened to him talk about Daniella Russo and Evan Brandt—whom I’d had very unclean thoughts about when I saw him for the first time on the weekly show Cape Cod, then all the way through his newest movie, Amalfi, which had gone completely over my head.

“Two years ago, Ev and I are in the diamond district in New York City, learning, watching, memorizing what the brokers say and how they present things, when all of a sudden, I turn around and Ev is showing a customer an antique ring that was worth around two hundred thousand dollars.”

I smiled, listening.

“Oh,” Sienna gasped, “you guys were doing research for⁠—”

“Glass Diamond,” Damien said, taking a seat across from Ash at the table, where people were now gathering. “That was a great movie.”

Ash nodded. “Thank you.”

“Finish the story,” I urged him, sliding my hand over his thigh under the table.

“Well, the jeweler, he thinks it’s only fair to give Ev the commission on the sale of the ring, and Ev, he turns around and tells the jeweler to give the money to his favorite charity,” Ash said, chuckling. “I mean, it was great to see that sale happen in real time because it perfectly illustrated that a charming, handsome man, using all the right words, can sell anything.”

Everyone around us clapped, and were even more excited when the food started coming out. Lots of servers delivering plate after plate, having to call out orders as so many people had played musical chairs on them.

“We didn’t really get a chance to talk yesterday,” Damien told Ash as they both got their food. “Sorry about that.”

“No worries,” Ash replied kindly.

“So how are you two related?” Sienna asked.

“I certainly have no idea,” Ash told her. “Perhaps your fiancé knows.”

It was kind of Ash to remember to call Damien that. Thoughtful. And whether he remembered it from the night before, or he’d overheard the earlier conversation at our table—it was good of him. I did wonder why Damien had yet to bestow a ring on the winsome Sienna Donahue. I had no idea what he was waiting for. She was perfect for him.