Page 27 of Happy Trails & Honey Pots

“I’ve been keeping busy, Matilda.” I went on to tell the “off the cuff” anecdotes that had been approved in the pre-interview that Braxton had done with one of the show’s producers. The final story seamlessly segued into the movie I was promoting,Long Way Home.

“And when will that be out in theaters?” Matilda rubbed her hands together excitedly.

“Long Way Home will be exclusively in theaters here in the States on Memorial Day weekend and internationally on May 25th.”

“Well, I can’t wait to see it. From what I’ve heard, there is Oscar buzz. Now, Miles, before I let you go, I know my viewers would not let me have a moment’s peace if I didn’t ask, Is there anyone special in your life?”

“I have a lot of special people in my life,” I responded purposefully vaguely with a half-grin.

Matilda wagged her finger at me. “You know what I mean, you cheeky boy. Any special, lucky person of the romantic variety?”

Flashes of Zoe filled my head. When she came to the door in her sweats. When she was sitting on the bleachers at the baseball game. When she was standing on the deck overlooking the ocean.

I blinked and erased those images from my mind.

“I’ve always liked to keep my personal life personal.” It was the patent answer I’d given ever since I was fourteen, and people had started asking me those types of questions.

“Well, I had to try. Oh, one more thing, I read that you are going to be starring in a biopic about an American soldier. Is it true that you will also be producing and directing the film?”

“I can confirm that there is a project currently in development, but you never know with these things.”

“Oh Miles, always the man of mystery. You know how to keep us wanting more! Doesn’t he?”

The audience applauded and chuckled.

“Well, I hope you’ll come back and see us in person next time.”

“I hope so, too, Matilda.”

“Thank you for joining us, Miles! G’day mate.”

“G’day Matilda!” I smiled and waved until the screen went back to the waiting prompt.

Once it did and I signed off with the segment producer, I closed the screen to my computer and removed my earbuds. During the time I was doing my interview, I’d gotten four missed calls and six texts. Over half of them were from my agent, Tyler. Unfortunately, none of them had been from Zoe. She’d told methat she’d let me know her answer by the end of the week. It was Sunday night at ten p.m.

That didn’t bode well for her decision.

Or maybe it did.

I really had no idea. To be honest, I would have thought I’d have heard from her by now. It really surprised me that I hadn’t.

Leaning back in my chair, I ran my hands through my hair. The question that Matilda asked at the end of the interview came back to me. Did I have anyone special in my life?

It had been four days since I’d seen her. I would have thought the potency of her effect on me would have begun to dissipate. If anything, it had only increased. She’d constantly been on my mind. She was the first thing I thought about when I woke up. The last thing I thought about before I drifted off to sleep. She was always in my thoughts, no matter what else I was doing throughout the day.

I’d even started dreaming about her. Some of the dreams were innocent. We were doing regular things like walking on the beach, riding bikes, and going to AJ’s baseball game together. Other dreams were more adult in nature. Those were the ones I had some guilt over.

I’d never considered myself a method actor. But maybe all the research I was doing to try and get into Austin’s mindset also made me have feelings for Zoe.

No. I shook my head as I leaned forward and rested my forearms on my knees. That was ridiculous.

The moment she came to the door, and I saw her for the first time, something happened that had nothing to do with Austin. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to explain it even if I had the rest of my life to try and figure it out.

Trying to push her out of my mind, I sat up and pulled up my schedule on my phone. I had press starting at four a.m. tomorrow and lasting until two p.m., which meant I needed tobe up by three to run, shower, and eat so I would have enough stamina to get through the day. Even though I wasn’t tired at all, I knew I needed to try and get some sleep. After heading to the bathroom, I brushed my teeth, stripped out of my shirt and jeans, and had just crawled into bed when I heard a knock on the door.

My eyes closed as I exhaled a long sigh. Since I didn’t respond to Tyler’s messages, he’d called Braxton, and now she was here to get my answer. I stood up and walked to the door.

“Can we do this tomorrow?” I asked as I opened it.

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