It’s occurs to me, this man used to make me forget my lines when he was just a kid. And that was before he had forearms the size of whiffle bats and smelled like autumn.

I come back to myself and slap the menu shut. “A bacon cheeseburger sounds fantastic,” I tell Kevin.

“French fries?”

“Please.”

Lyle huffs cynically.

“What?” I ask, tersely.

“You’re about to be on television after years living as a civilian. You might want to watch the french fries and bacon cheeseburgers.”

Behind me, I hear Cameron growl under his breath, and I elbow him, catching him in the stomach. He coughs.

I take a long sip of my lemonade and pop a cherry in my mouth, chewing carefully before saying, “If you want me on television after years of not, then you will take me however you get me. I’ll be sober, healthy, and boring, or I won’t be on at all. Your choice.” This is bold considering a month ago I told Lorelai I would say yes to anything L.A. offered. Lyle doesn’t need to know that, though.

Lyle holds up his hands as if I pointed a gun at him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy. I’m not trying to start something.” He smiles at Lorelai and quickly rethinks it when she slurps her drink while fixing him with a glare. After all, there’s no I in Team Shelby.

“When are you not trying to start something?” I ask, conversationally. “What are you here about, anyway?”

“The usual, Shelb, I swear. I’m checking on my project and that includes my stars.”

“All right,” I concede. “Well, we’re here and we’re in good shape. Cam told you he’s apprenticing under my dad, I’m sure. We’re going out on Monday morning with a Realtor to eye up some potential projects.”

“I want a camera crew on that,” Lyle interjects. “And in the future, I’ll need you to run any viewings by my assistant, Caleb.”

I stop short. “Really? The viewings? Why?”

“Yes, really,” he says in that patronizing tone. Or maybe it’s not patronizing. Maybe it’s only him. Is this how he’s always talked to me? And I just used to think it was attractive?

To be fair, I was an oft-overserved teenager. My attraction meter was woozy at best.

“We’ll want to roll footage,” he continues, “on all the prep work and acquisitions so we can bring the audience up to speed on the property after the fact. I realize these things can take some time in real life. It’d be a waste of money to pay a crew for months of searching and deal-making and closings. I’ll send a crew down to get some B-roll footage of you two and the properties. Then we’ll use whichever you choose for the pilot.”