Page 117 of One Life to Loathe

“That’s not what this is!”

“I promised I wouldn’t turn clingy and look at me.” I shook my head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I know why you didn’t tell me. You didn’t want to ruin our final week together. I took care of that for you by overreacting, though. Yay, me!” I pumped my free fist. “Don’t let my broken heart ruin your future.”

He closed the remaining distance, not stopping until we were chest to chest. “I need you to listen to me.”

“It’s okay,” I insisted.

“No, it’s not. Listen to me.” He gritted out the words. “I love you. I’m not just saying that because I feel bad about hurting you. And, yeah, I’m mad you’re upset. I’m upset too, though.”

I felt as if I should say something, but I had no idea what it should be, so I just stood there like an idiot.

“I didn’t tell you about getting the role because I wasn’t certain what I wanted,” he continued. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to hurt you—although, yeah, I really don’t want to hurt you—but also because I’m not the same guy who had a chip on his shoulder when he arrived on this set.”

He swallowed hard before continuing. “I don’t just want to be the guy in the action movie now. I want to be the guy who gets to curl up next to you every night. I want both of those things.”

My mouth was suddenly dry. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m not leaving the show,” he replied. “Miles and I already talked through it. I can fit the movie shoot in and be back in plenty of time for season two.”

“But you hate the show.”

“I don’t hate the show. I could take or leave the show. I love you, and I want to work with you.”

It was finally starting to sink in that he was serious. “But … how is that going to work?”

“Well, I started planning without you, even though I have it on good authority that I should include you in all future decisions. I had to act fast, though.”

I ran my tongue over my teeth as I debated what to say. It was rare that I was completely and totally tongue-tied, but here I was. I was at a genuine loss.

“We can finish filming the first season together,” he said. “I know you love this place and want to stay, but I feel I need to do this movie. I want you with me for it, though. It’s being shot in Vegas and Vancouver. It will be about three months total. If yougo with me, I swear as soon as I’m done, we’ll come back here and start figuring it out.”

My voice was raspy when I spoke. “Figuring what out?”

“Our future. I know you want a house, but I think we should go for a condo for the first few years. I want to do a few more movies in the off seasons. I swear to you that we’ll make it back here in time to enjoy the town every year before filming starts up again onEvermore.”

Was he seriously making plans years in the future? “But … you don’t want a home.”

“I was wrong when I said that. All I could picture is the home I had with my mother and father. A home with you wouldn’t be like that. I already feel like I’m home whenever we’re together.”

I couldn’t wrap my head around this. It was dumbfounding. “But … are you really telling me there’s a romantic dinner over there?”

“Yeah.” His smile was rueful. “Daisy helped me.”

I frowned as I thought back to my earlier interaction with the woman. “She’s really sneaky.”

“She and Jax helped me figure out the timetable,” Leo replied. “It’s going to be tight after this first season, and I understand if you don’t want to go with me.” He swallowed hard. “We can still make it work, though. I’ll try to get out here every other weekend. If you don’t want to leave, I mean.”

Was he kidding me? “Just because I love this place and can see settling down over the long haul here, that doesn’t mean I don’t ever want to leave.”

Hope filled his eyes. Then he calmed himself. “Does that mean you want to go with me?”

I nodded. I’d never been more sure of anything in my life. “I want to go with you.”

He let out a heavy breath. “Really?”

“I love you too.” It wasn’t hard for me to say. I’d been feeling it for weeks. I just couldn’t say it to him because … well, because I didn’t want him to run away before I was ready. Apparently, saying “I love you” meant I got to keep him. Maybe even forever.

He stared hard into my eyes. “Sam,” he said after what felt like a really long time.

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