“Deal.” Zeke gave her a two-finger salute and walked toward the hot-dog cart just as Chase saw a curvy brunette wearing a tight sweater and hoop earrings coming her way. She had a bead on the ticket booth, so Chase was nearly certain the attractive woman was Zeke’s ex and her replacement.

Yep. Chase hated her.

“Hey,” Annalisa said, giving Chase a smile. “You sure look different. I mean, I’ve seen your movies and stuff. I like your hair, though.”

That was her greeting. Figures.

“Thanks. Do you want to step around back so I can tally up the money? Laverne somebody is supposed to come pick up the large bills in a few minutes.”

“Sure.” Annalisa gave her a wide smile. “I hear you’re dating Zeke Kittridge.”

“No, we’re not dating, per se. We’re friends.”

“Oh, well, that’s good, then. I mean, I can’t see him with you. He’s just not made that way.”

“What does that mean?”

Annalisa blinked a few times and looked sheepish. “Well, you’re a movie star, and he’s . . . well, he’s a bit rustic.”

“I like rustic. And on second thought, yeah, we’re dating.”

Annalisa’s face went from fake cheerful to thundercloud. Chase opened the back door of the ticket booth and stepped aside so Annalisa could squeeze inside. The woman wore too much perfume. Perfume that smelled like gardenia. Bluh.

Chase could tell that Annalisa didn’t like her, either. Or maybe the woman felt weird around famous people. Not that Chase was famous anymore. Well, kind of. She was fodder for gossip rags and celebrity news programs. Wait, that was infamous, wasn’t it?

Five minutes and two complete countings of the ten-dollar-bill stack later, Chase made her way to Zeke. People noticed her now that she was out from behind the etched and smudged glass. Even with her hair a different color, the festival goers seemed to know she was there. Carol had done her job of spreading the news about pop-up surprise celebrities.

“Ready?” she asked, just as Zeke dunked his hot dog into a container of cheese. “Gross.”

“Have you tried it?” he asked, swiping a finger under his lip where the cheese dripped. She noted for the twenty-third time that he had really nice lips.

“No. I’ve never been to a small-town festival. And I’m saving room for candy apples.”

He dunked the hot dog into the cheese dip and held it to her mouth.

Such an intimate act in front of so many people, but then again, it was just a hot dog in cheese. She opened her mouth and took a bite. Way better than those horrible pizza rolls with the nacho cheese. “Mmm. Not bad.”

“Right?” he said, his green eyes dancing, reflecting the orange bulbs crisscrossing overhead. “Let’s bounce and get that candy apple. Oh, and I saw Olivia heading to the midway with some weird-looking dude.”