Page 70 of To Love Jason Thorn

I must have nodded, because he continued.

“If you accept, we’ll get married in a weekor two.”

I gave him a sarcastic laugh. Did he thinkgiving me that information would help? Because it didn’t. Not at all.

He kept going. “Of course, you’ll live herewith me until the divorce.”

We weren’t even married yet, and he wasalready planning for a divorce?

“In the contract I’ve signed with thestudio for Soul Ache, they added a clause that says I can’t be in arelationship while we are filming the movie and through the promotion phase ofit. However, since you are the author, us getting married would be a pricelesspromotion for them.” He stopped talking and looked into my eyes. “Megan and Tomthink you might have had me in your mind when you wrote your book.”

My heart literally stopped beating, longerthan it should have. I stood frozen until he spoke again.

“But that can’t be true, right?”

“Of course not.” I shook my head.

“Right. Well, the public will think likeMegan and Tom,” he muttered, his eyes still searching mine. “They think theexecutives will be happy about the news since it will only draw more attentionto the movie. When the story gets out that we’re together, everyone will talkabout how, after so many years, we found each other again, how the movie starfell in love with the author of their own story. In the movie, practically allthey’ll see is me falling in love with you. The more they talk about us, themore your book and their movie will be mentioned. And, well, you’ll be the girlwho made me give up my old ways.”

I opened my mouth, but he stopped me andtook my hands in his.

“Yes, this will help me get everyone off ofmy back so I can get back to doing what I love doing without all this mediacrap, but it can also be a good thing for your career, too. Your next book ispretty much guaranteed to be another bestseller before you even finish writingit.”

I didn’t like hearing that. Not at all. Ididn’t want people to read my words just because I was married to theirfavorite movie star. I wanted to make my own path, not walk in Jason’s shadow.

“The truth is, Olive, I’d take marrying youover marrying some girl I don’t know any day, some girl who is just looking toget a piggyback ride by marrying me.”

Lucky, lucky me.

Wasn’t that the marriage proposal everygirl dreamed they would get from the love of their life?

“We are friends, right?” he asked when Ikept silent.

Still shell-shocked, I was trying very hardto keep up with him. I nodded. I guessed we could be called friends. “It mightbe fun living together again. You’ll have your own room right across from mine,just like the old days, except this time there is no Dylan to bother you. I’llmostly be gone, filming.” He looked around his heavenly backyard—if that expansivespace could even be called a backyard, that is—and gave my hands a squeeze.“You can have this place all to yourself, Olive. It would be easier to writehere instead of in a house filled with roommates, right?” His eyes came back tome.

“I’m not even writing,” I said stupidly.

“What?”

“I think I’m fresh out of creativity.Nothing new is coming, so that might have been my first and only book.”

He tilted his head and showed me hishypnotizing dimple.

“Maybe when you move here I can help withyour creativity issues.”

My eyes got stuck on his mouth.

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

I forced my eyes away from his lips. I was dreamingof an alternate world where we were kissing. When the love of your life asksyou to freaking marry him, you laugh with joy, maybe even shed a few happytears, and eventually kiss, right? But this wasn’t my childhood dream comingtrue, was it? No, this would just be living in the same house with Jason Thorn,acting like we were in love only when were out in public, maybe holding hishand, kissing him on the cheek.

Could my heart survive Jason Thorn?

“So, what do you think?”

“About?”

“Marrying me…”

---