Page 116 of One Life to Loathe

“In this case, it really is never.”

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

THE CUCUMBER SLICES DID THEIR JOB AND Ididn’t look like a train wreck when I arrived at the cemetery. Thankfully, it was just a small crew tonight. Leo and I had a lot of scenes—five of them—and we had to get through them. The others weren’t part of a shoot, and I was grateful for that.

“There you are.” Miles smiled when he saw me. “I was afraid that you weren’t going to show.”

“I would never flake out on shooting,” I assured him. “I’m a professional.”

“I know you are.” He shot me a reassuring nod. “The door is over there. Why don’t you familiarize yourself with the set. We had to get special dispensation to be able to film here, so make sure you don’t draw on any of the tombstones.”

“I’m sure I can refrain.”

“Okay. I’ll be down there in ten minutes.”

I followed the path to the door, which was unlocked as promised. When I walked through it, the first thing I noticed were the moody lanterns that had been placed everywhere. It cast an eerie—and somehow romantic—glow around the area. In a single word, it was breathtaking.

“Wow.” That was all I could say as I looked around. “Just wow.”

As I finished making my circle, I pulled up short when I found Leo watching me from between two lanterns. He was almost invisible in the shadows being cast from multiple directions, and I had to suck in a breath when I saw him watching me.

“Hey,” I said lamely. I needed to do something with my hands, but my costume didn’t have pockets. “Um … nice set, huh?”

Leo nodded as he pushed away from the wall. His gaze was intent as he scanned my face. “How are you?”

I was expecting the question. “I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.” I sent him an awkward thumbs-up. “I’m just going to keep on keeping on.”

His hand covered mine as he finished his approach, and he gripped it hard. “We need to talk.”

I was already shaking my head before he finished. “I don’t want to talk. I’ll start crying again. If you want to know the truth, it took a small miracle to get rid of the puffiness. I just … don’t want to screw up our scenes. If I start crying now, I’ll never stop.”

Leo looked pained. “I knew I should’ve gone to you last night.” He was clearly angry … likely at himself. “Daisy and Jax told me not to. They said I should wait. My gut instinct was to go to you last night, though.”

His intensity was daunting. “Daisy said she saw you.” I pulled my hand back because touching him—knowing it was the last time other than whatever awkward hug we offered up to each other in parting—was painful to the point of being debilitating. “She made me get in the shower two hours ago so I wouldn’t smell for our scenes together. You should thank her because… I really did smell.”

He didn’t smile. He didn’t back up either.

“Are you excited for the new movie?” I tried to put a bright smile on my face so he wouldn’t fall apart. “I bet you are. It will be great.”

“I haven’t said yes yet.”

I almost fell over I was so surprised. “What? Are you kidding me? Why?”

“Because I can’t go without you.”

It was not the response I was expecting. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that … I can’t go without you.” He planted his hands on his hips and huffed out a growl. “This isn’t how I’m supposed to be doing it. I planned a whole big thing. Around that corner over there is a table. It has candles and stuffed lobster for two. I was going to make a big romantic gesture, but I can’t wait. I’m too nervous. I have to do it now.”

I was no less puzzled than I had been seconds before. “You have to do what now?”

“I love you.” He blurted it out as if he couldn’t say the words fast enough.

I had to put my hand out on one of the tombstones to keep myself upright. “What?”

“I love you,” he repeated. His eyes were clear and fixed on me. “I don’t know when it happened. I think I might’ve been feeling it right from the start. You consumed me from the moment I met you. Right here.” He tapped the spot above his heart. “You crawled in and took over.”

I didn’t realize I was shaking my head until I saw my shadow dancing in the flickering flames. “You just don’t want to hurt me.” I forced myself to reach out to him and take his hand. “It’s okay. I knew that this was temporary. It’s not your fault I turned into a big baby.”

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