Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Yes. Yes they are. And you’re crazy about them, and they’re important to you, so they’re important to me too.”
Which basically validated what I’d thought. “But meeting more people,” I filled in for him, “spending that time, you’re not invested in that anymore like you thought you’d be.”
“That’s exactly right,” he said, pointing at me, starting to pace then. Because I’d seen him do it before, and it meant he was formulating ideas, working out a problem, I smiled at him.
“And that’s because of what?” I prodded.
“Because of you,” he declared in a very accusatory manner.
“Me?”
He growled in frustration, and I laughed at him.
“You’re driving me crazy,” he muttered.
“And why is that?”
“No, don’t ask me like that.”
That was surprising. “How am I asking you?”
“Your voice gets all silky and low and all come hither when you’re bantering with me.”
I could not have kept a straight face for anything. “Does it?”
“Does it,” he parroted, giving me another slight growl.
“You’re adorable right now,” I informed him.
“See, normally I meet someone,” he began, ignoring my comment, “have sex with them, and then we part ways.”
“Why?” I asked as he paced.
“Because it’s what you do.”
“Why?”
“It’s suffocating otherwise.”
“Is it?”
“Yes! Normally, yes,” he nearly shouted.
“Okay.”
“And a lot of times, I’m going one way and they’re going another.”
“Sure,” I said, moving to the wall, leaning on it, still watching him. “People are busy, especially in your line of work.”
“Without question,” he agreed. “And then our paths will cross again, or not, or I’ll call when I get a moment, or they will, and sometimes we reconnect and sometimes we don’t.”
“Got it.”
“Now the thing is, even if we really liked each other, had a good time, a great time even, there’s still that learning curve when you’re finally back in someone’s physical presence. When we reconnect, there’s an amount of time it takes to get comfortable again, and then once we are, things are fun and light and easy until it’s time to part.”
“Again.”
“Yes. Again,” he barked at me.
“Okay. Got it.”
“But see,” he said with a deep sigh, “with you, here we are on the second day, and there’s been horrible news about my friend, and we had that amazing night and when I woke up you weren’t there… I just, it’s been real life happening here. It’s not some fairy tale, and we’ve talked, and I’ve told you more things than…than I normally share, and I feel connected.”
“Good. I feel the same.”
“But what about when I have to go back to Malibu?”
“I thought you were flying back to—”
“No, not right now. I mean later. Down the road. When we’re doing our bicoastal dating. What about when I have to go back home then?”
“I don’t understand the question.”
“I mean, what happens to that connection?”
“When you go home.”
“Yes!”
“Because you love it so much, and when you think of home, that’s it, right?”
“What?” He stopped pacing.
“Your house in Malibu, that’s home.”
“Of course.”
“Of course because yes, it is, or of course because that’s what you think the answer should be, so you’re saying it?”
“You’re confusing me.”
“Fine. Tell me this. Do you love Malibu?”
“It’s beautiful there.”
I snickered. “Not an answer.”
“No?”
I shook my head.
“I have no idea what’s happening right now.”
“That’s okay,” I soothed him, taking hold of his hand and easing him slowly forward, to me, until he was close enough to lean in and kiss. It was quick, my lips pressed to his only for a moment. “Something about me you need to know.”
He took a breath, calming.
“I will do the long distance with you, Ash Lennox, and it won’t be weird when we get back together because it’ll be like we were never apart.”
Long exhale like all the panicky energy was leaving his body, and he took my other hand when I offered it to him.
“At some point you might look around and say, I think I want to change my home base to Chicago.”
“It’s quite possible.”
“You’ll be ready then to make that change.”
His eyes never left mine.
“Maybe you won’t. But whatever I have to do to be in your life, I will do. I will fly, I will take vacations, and I will be in bed at night with you when it’s time for you to go to sleep as often as I possibly can so you will wake up and have me beside you in the morning.”
His eyes scrunched up tight, and I knew why. I did that myself to stave off tears.
“That’s my promise to you.”
“Okay,” he choked out, his voice ragged.
“But I don’t need a bracelet or even a ring,” I assured him. “I will be yours for as long as you’ll have me. Period.”
After a moment, he ground out, “Good, then. We can begin.”
I kissed him gently, then tugged him after me to get us moving. We walked in silence toward the elevators.
“It feels weird to think that you’ll fly to Turks and Caicos to finish your movie and I’ll go back to Chicago, but that’s all right. Because it would be like that anyway when you go off to make a movie, so that’ll be just like normal.”