Page 22 of To Love Jason Thorn

“Actually, I can.” His smile got evenbigger as he sat on the edge of the office desk. “He wanted to be a teacherever since middle school or something like that, and family was alwaysimportant to him. No wonder he couldn’t wait to start his own.”

Finally reaching the door, I rested myback against it and waited for the perfect moment to escape.

“God, Olive, you can’t even imagine how muchI missed you guys.”

“When you stopped calling, they missed youtoo.”

He arched an eyebrow. “So, you didn’t missme?”

You hurt me, you big, sexy meanie, I wanted to say.

“Um, sure. Of course.”

His dimple disappeared and he straightened.When he started walking toward me, I had nowhere to run.

“What’s wrong with you, little Olive?”Reaching out, he tugged a strand of my hair, a gesture so old that it tugged atsomething in my heart. “I’m not your friend any more?”

He had remembered. The hair-tugging thing hehad started doing every single time he saw me was like a warm ‘hello’ from him.I used to love it, thinking he couldn’t keep his hands off of me. I had been inlove with him. You could call it a crush, but for me, it was pure love. He’dbeen my one and only wish on every single one of my birthdays.

“I would’ve thought you’d be happy to seeme, too, Olive. If not happy, hell, maybe a little excited. My ego is taking areal beating.”

“Sorry,” I said, wincing a little. “It’sbeen a…a weird day, to say the least.”

“Still not admitting that she missed me,”he muttered almost to himself. His eyes seemed to be taking in every inch of myface, yet I chose to focus on a spot over his shoulder. His face wasn’t strangeto me, as mine was to him. And I remembered that tender look all too well.Hell, it was just one of the things that made me swoon for him.

“You’re a writer,” he commented, as if thethought had just occurred to him.

“Looks like it.”

He hit me with that dimple again. “TonightI’ll be reading your words.”

Panicking, I said, “Oh, you really don’thave to. It’s not even that good. It’s my first book and these people are plaincrazy.” His smile got bigger and bigger. “I might even be getting punked rightnow. I’m being serious, you wouldn’t even like it, Jason. And what kind of a moviestar are you that you have enough time to read a book?”

There was sex in that book! Pounding.Fucking. Sucking. Orgasming.

Oh, dear god. There were words like cockand pussy!

He chuckled. “Now you’ve intrigued me evenmore. I’ll have to read it as soon as I get home. Plus”—he lifted a finger whenI opened my mouth to object again—“I just said I’m in to the studio execs whoare interested in turning your book into a feature film. I think I should knowwhat I’m signing up for, don’t you think?”

“Why did you even say that if you have noidea what it’s about?”

“My agent dragged me here, saying it was agood choice for me. I’m guessing he knows about your book and I trust him.”

“Fine. You go do that. I have to go.”Taking a step to my right, I opened the door. “It was so good to see you. Goodbyenow.”

His eyes lit up. “There’s the little OliveI know.”

Before I could pull my hand away, hegrabbed it as if he was getting ready to walk a kid across the road.

Why did my heart flutter so much every timehe touched me even though it was obvious that he still saw me as his bestfriend’s little sister, the kiddo?

“What are you doing?” I asked as I wasbeing pulled toward freedom.

“I’ll drop you off wherever you want togo.”

“You don’t even know where I live. What ifit’s an hour away? I’m seriously starting to doubt your movie star status.”

Again, that chuckle. “It’ll be fun. Ipromise to entertain you the entire hour, little one.”

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