Page 75 of Sparks Still Fly

He walks behind me and takes the delicate gold chain from my fingers. He waits as I move my hair out of the way, and when I do, he leans down and leaves a trail of kisses along my neck. My head rolls back onto his chest, and I squeeze my thighs together, because Owen’s open-mouthed kisses are my undoing. He stops at my earlobe, pulling it between his teeth. I arch into him, feeling the evidence of what these kisses are doing to his body, too.

“Do you want me to put this necklace on or not?” When I grunt out a response, he laughs. “You look perfect, fengári mou. You always do.”

“Owen, basically all you’ve seen me in since I got to Ojai is workout gear, pajamas and your clothes.” He finishes doing up the clasp and pulls my back to his front, wrapping his arms around me.

“Perfect,” he whispers. I turn in his arms, placing both hands on his chest. As I’m about to speak, he stops me with a finger to my lips. “Everything is going to be fine. We don’t have to just pretend to like each other anymore. I’m not worried. And I love you. Okay?”

Tears immediately spring up in my eyes, and I nod my response. Even if I’m not entirely convinced everything is indeed going to be fine, his words do help. And my own I love you sits right at the tip of my tongue, ready to jump out, but I hold back again, not wanting to think about why that is.

“Why are we stopping here?” I ask as Owen parks on the street in front of a black building with nothing on it other than a neon Open sign in a small window.

“Gotta pick up my daily order.” He smiles as he reaches over the center console to cup my jaw and give me a quick kiss on the lips. “Be right back.”

I watch him walk into the building, noticing how good his bum looks in those jeans, but also how he literally seems to have an extra bounce in his step. The thought that maybe I put that there makes me smile.

Within a couple of minutes, Owen is back with a box I now know well. He hands it to me as he steps back inside, and I open it up, inhaling a deep breath as the smell of fresh donuts and icing fill my lungs.

“Do you even like these?” I ask.

“I started liking them when you told me they were your favorite.” He smiles easily at me before looking back at the road, pulling into Ojai traffic as we drive toward the Santa Barbara airport. I swallow down the lump in my throat. The one that grows every time I learn just how much Owen was paying attention all those years ago.

I take a bite of a donut then offer it to him so he can have a bite, too. I giggle as sprinkles fall over his chin and land on his lap. Owen turns the volume up and Carrie Underwood’s voice fills the cabin, and we enjoy the drive while singing along to our old country favorites.

He smiles for the whole journey, and I swear, it’s as if I’m seeing his smile for the first time every time. It never gets old, looking at him to find him smiling at me, or just smiling because we’re together.

Owen had thought about driving all the way to San Diego, but we would have had to drive through predictably horrendous LA traffic. Instead, he chartered a flight from Santa Barbara directly to San Diego. He didn’t want Julia in a car for too long when he brings her back to Ojai, and he was told it’s safe for her to fly since it’s not a commercial flight.

We get settled in the plane with sparkling water, the box of donuts sitting on a table nearby. I take my shoes off, and Owen quickly pulls my feet up onto his lap in the seat across from mine.

“So. You left the Marine Corps, then what? You started Aegis right away?” Owen doesn’t seem surprised by my sudden question about his past.

“Sort of, yeah. I was still in therapy once or twice a week then, but I was doing way better than before. Raf really wanted to do the personal security thing, and knowing Adam obviously helped. I focused on the cyber stuff and started developing an app almost right away. It took a few years, but once it was finished, and we worked all the kinks out, there was a lot of interest, which is why I ended up selling it. I figured I could help Raf with the business here on the West Coast, but he’s got everything handled. He’s very good at what he does.” I nod my agreement. Raf really is one of the best. It’s why we became friends after I hired him. He’s professional, but kind and funny.

“And you?” Owen asks. “You came out here and got your big break? How did that happen?” There’s genuine curiosity in his question. It seems that as much as I avoided talking about him with Elaina, he must have avoided talking about me, too.

“Yeah. Five years ago, I got a supporting role in a film that took place in a post-apocalyptic world. I thought it was going to be a total flop, like everything else I had worked on previously, but it really took off.” I smile, remembering the shock of hearing the opening week box office numbers. I bought a bottle of wine, not a box, and celebrated with Bon.

“I know. I saw it.” I look up, the smile erased from my face. He runs a hand up my bare calf, squeezing lightly. “I knew nothing about the story. I just needed a way to unwind one day, so I went to see a movie alone, and there you were. I walked out at the end and bought another ticket for the next showing just so I could see more of you.” He cocks his head to the side as he studies the shocked expression on my face.

“Wow,” I respond.

Owen’s soft laughter sends vibrations through his body, causing mine to mirror the movement. “Yeah. I knew I still had a lot of work to do before I could see you. Before I could apologize. But damn, it was good to see you like that, doing what you had always set out to do. I was really proud of you, Maeve. I am really proud of you.” The sincerity in his voice is crystal clear, without a ripple of dishonesty, and it warms my entire body.

“Thank you. I was really proud of me, too. It was really starting to feel like nothing was going to happen after those first few years of navigating the New York acting scene and then trying to figure it out in LA. A near decade of boxed wine and ramen is a long time, you know?” A wistful smile graces my lips as cherished memories flood back, ones that have slowly faded from my mind but are still filled with pure joy.

“And in all those years, you never…I don’t know…had any serious relationships?” My question has Owen’s hand moving a little higher up my leg, squeezing a little tighter.

“No,” is his simple answer.

“Not even one?” I know my tone is incredulous. I mean, how could he not have had even one long term girlfriend in a decade?

“No,” he repeats as he squeezes again, sending a shiver up my spine. “A lot changed in my life, Maeve, but a lot stayed the same, too. I still watch The Office. I still listen to country music. I’m still in love with you. My circumstances didn’t change any of that.”

“Right,” I say. “So fundamentally, you’re still the same Owen, then.” I try for a light comment, but I don’t think it comes off that way. I don’t know how to respond to him when he says these things to me.

He nods, eyes never leaving mine. “And what’s changed for you?”

I purse my lips and shake my head, trying to think of all the ways I’m different now. “I suppose not a lot has changed for me either. I’m not as much of a dreamer as I used to be, but I suppose all my fundamental elements are still the same, too.”

---