Fractured [SHAWN MENDES]

~10~

"I guess I should give you a little background," Shawn said after handing Taryn her coffee.

"Sure. I mean...I watched your romance unfold online, but I know that's probably a somewhat warped perspective."

"Warped is the right word for it. No matter how transparent celebrities are, what the world sees is never the full truth. People like to say that being famous means you're living in a glass dome for everyone to observe, but really it's opaque. Those on the outside get an idea of what's going on, but not a crystal clear view."

Taryn took a sip of the dark roast. "Start at the beginning."

He took a second to organize his thoughts. "I first met Winter at a party at a private club in Los Angeles. She was surrounded by people, and I was standing by the bar with one of my friends. I literally could not take my eyes off her. She'd just won an Oscar and was swarmed by a crowd of admirers. I hadn't seen the movie she'd been in, but I knew who she was. Everyone knew who she was. In the middle of accepting congratulations, she looked in my direction and we made eye contact. That was all it took for me to fall in love with her. A couple seconds of locked eyes and I knew she was the one."

"That's very romantic."

Shawn smiled sadly. "It was."

"Keep going," Taryn urged.

"I spent most of that night working up the courage to approach her, but by the time I was ready, she was gone. I was furious with myself for letting my nerves get the best of me. The next morning I got a text. It was Winter. She explained that she'd coerced her agent into finding my number. Then she said that she'd been hoping we'd talk at the party, but since we hadn't, she wondered if I'd meet her for coffee. I loved how direct she was, and I was blown away that she was interested in me."

Taryn held up a hand. "Hold on a sec. You're Shawn Mendes. You can't tell me that women weren't throwing themselves at you constantly and that you weren't aware of how easily you could have just about anyone."

"You think that at my peak I could just snap my fingers and hook up with whomever I wanted?"

"Yes. Or you'd have a high enough success rate that you wouldn't be intimidated by some actress," she said.

He chuckled. "I've been rejected plenty. Honestly, I always did pretty well with non-celebrities, or as I liked to call them back then, muggles. When the dating pool was full of beautiful famous people with gigantic egos, my batting average wasn't as great."

"Huh. Interesting," she mused.

"At the time I met Winter, I was struggling with some stuff career-wise and definitely didn't have a lot of confidence. I was so anxious before we met for coffee, but once we sat down and started talking, I relaxed. That was another thing that told me she was perfect for me. I asked her out to dinner and after that second date, I kissed her. A few nights later we spent the night together, and within two weeks we'd both said 'I love you' and we meant it. It wasn't just infatuation."

Taryn set her empty coffee up on the table and repositioned herself on the comfy sectional. She was captivated by this love story, especially since she already knew the dramatic ending.

"I'll fast forward a little since things followed a pretty normal pattern. We dated, then I started staying with her at her beach house in Malibu, though I still spent some time here in Toronto. I went on tour and she joined me when she could. Being away from Winter was horrible, but at the same time, I felt completely secure that the separation wouldn't hurt us."

The way Shawn said the last sentence led Taryn to wonder if he was hinting at something. She thought about asking but chose to let him continue uninterrupted.