Free Guilty Pleasures by Bertrice Small

silver hair. No trace of yellow in it, so he hadn’t been a blond when he was younger. Gorgeous blue eyes. Tall, maybe just six feet or an inch under, and he looked to be in pretty good shape. He reminded her of someone, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
    They ordered. The specials tonight were filet mignon with Bordelaise sauce and a large boiled lobster with all the trimmings. In Egret Pointe that meant the crustacean would be accompanied by some steamed clams and corn amid a bed of dark seaweed on an oval platter. The men ordered the lobster. Nina ordered a Cornish game hen stuffed with wild rice and apricot. Ashley had the filet.
    “I’m not much of a fish person,” Nina said.
    Bob ordered a bottle of wine, a Pindar Winter White.
    “What did or do you do?” Nina asked the Mulcahys’ guest.
    “I worked in Hollywood,” he answered her.
    Ryan snickered again.
    “I’ve never been to Hollywood,” Nina said, “but I’m sure I know you.” Then she laughed. “Has anyone ever told you that you look just like the movie star Lyon Roberts? He was always a favorite of mine. He used to be the guy who was the hero’s best friend in all those cute comedies. He never got the girl, but I thought he should have. I always liked him better,” Nina said.
    “Yeah, I get that a lot,” Bob said.
    Ryan Mulcahy began to laugh now. “Tell her!” he said to Bob.
    “Tell me what?” Nina asked. What the hell was the matter with Ryan Mulcahy tonight? He’d had only one drink, and she’d never known him to be affected by booze.
    “I look like Lyon Roberts because I am Lyon Roberts,” Bob said. “At least I was once upon a time. Lyon was my mother’s maiden name. Now that I’m retired, I prefer to use my own name which happens to be Robert Lyon Talcott,” he told her. His blue eyes twinkled at her. “I’m glad you liked me best.”
    Nina colored becomingly. “Oh, my!” she said softly. “Of course. You left Hollywood and came back to do Broadway.”
    “It’s where I began my profession,” he explained. “I’ll end it there, but I’m still a little too young to retire entirely. I’ll be starting rehearsals on a new play opening in early March. It’s a comedy.”
    “You were always so good in those cute movies. You have a terrific sense of timing,” Nina told him admiringly.
    “A must for the second banana,” Bob said.
    “You were a star!” Nina exclaimed. “None of those pictures would have been as successful without you.”
    He laughed. “Ryan said you were a fan,” he teased her. “I was the last of my kind. Back in the day there were some pretty good second bananas in those light and frothy comedies. Van Johnson and Tony Randall, to name a few, but by the time I got to Hollywood, that kind of movie wasn’t being made very often. Still, I came from Broadway, had a good career in the movies and television, and have been back on Broadway for the past few years. While it’s flattering, I’m just a working actor, Nina. You don’t have to be impressed.”
    “You’re just an ordinary guy building a house in Egret Pointe,” Nina responded drily. “Yeah. Sure. Is it going to be a McMansion? I imagine you’ll be entertaining.”
    “It’s going to be cozy and small,” he told her. “I never hung out in Hollywood, and I live in a one-bedroom prewar in the city. I’ll only keep the apartment as long as I’m working in theater. My home is for me.”
    “I’m intrigued,” Nina told him. “Where are you building?”
    “I bought some property near Ryan and Ashley’s place.”
    “The old Oliver property,” Ashley interjected. “Remember, the house burned down years ago, but the road in from the main road is still there.”
    “It’s all wooded,” Nina remarked.
    “And it’s going to stay wooded,” Bob told them. “I’m building on the bluff over the bay.”
    “Back far enough, I hope,” Nina said.
    He nodded. “I’m aware of the erosion problems,” he