Page 79 of One Life to Loathe

“Yup. Once a month he calls me on the phone. He wants to make sure my head is in a good place. He actually came to see me after my meltdown that one time. He always makes time for me.”

“He sounds like a good man.”

“He is.”

“You’re a good man, too.”

“I want to be.”

“Well, give in to that feeling. You won’t regret it.”

“So you keep saying.”

I ATE SO MUCH THAT I HAD NO CHOICE BUTto walk it off after dinner. Leo picked the direction, and I wasn’t surprised that we ended up near the Derby Wharf Light Station. Thereweren’t a lot of lights to distract us—or call attention to us—and the smell of the salty air made me feel as if I had endless energy.

“What are you doing this weekend?” he asked after we’d gone a full five minutes without speaking.

“What do you mean?” I cast him a sidelong look. “I’ll be here.”

“I know that. I mean … um … I have to go to New York City this weekend. I thought you might want to go with me.”

It was not what I was expecting. “You’re going to New York City?”

“Honesty, right?”

I swallowed hard. Was he about to drop some big truth bomb on me? Did he have a girlfriend in New York that I didn’t know about? That would be my luck.

“I have an audition for a movie,” he explained. “It’s kind of likeMission Impossible, but without Tom Cruise. I wouldn’t be the lead, but it would be a good role.”

“Oh.” I let out some of the air I’d been holding in. “It would be a good stepping stone for you.”

“It would. I don’t want to miss time with you, though.”

“And in New York, nobody knows anybody else, so we could do whatever we wanted without having to worry about our co-stars stumbling across us,” I deduced.

“I thought we could make a whole weekend out of it,” he said. “Go Friday and Saturday nights. Then we could drive back Sunday. There’s good food. My audition is Saturday afternoon, but it shouldn’t be more than a few hours. I just … don’t want to go without you.”

If he’d said he didn’t want to go alone, I would’ve understood the sentiment. He was trying to do something important with his life right now, it made sense that he wouldn’t want to do it alone. The fact that he said he didn’t want to do it without me caught me right in the feels, though.

“So … it would be like a weekend of fun, food, and debauchery as soon as your audition is over,” I prodded.

“Well, we could go out for dinner and a drink or two Friday night, but I can’t really cut loose. I need to be fresh for the audition.”

“I get that.” I did. “Would we be in the same room? I only ask because I’m not sure I have the money for a New York hotel room—at least one that wouldn’t terrify me—on my own.” Shame flooded my cheeks.

“Baby, don’t worry about that.” He pushed my hair back from my forehead, and I could tell he was pained that I’d turned the conversation to something so serious. “I’ve got the hotel room. Please, don’t worry about stuff like that. I’ve got the food … and the entertainment. I just want you.”

I exhaled heavily. He was so earnest I couldn’t tell him no. Sure, a weekend trip to New York would fill my head with fanciful ideas—like could we possibly make this work beyond the expiration date we’d set for ourselves?—but I would never hurt him by saying no.

“I think that sounds amazing,” I admitted. “I haven’t been to New York in years.”

“Good.” He looked relieved. “I checked the schedule. Our last scene on Friday is at noon. If we figure two hours to film it, we can head back to the hotel and get showered and changed and leave around three o’clock.”

“How long is the drive?”

“Four and a half hours.” He was rueful. “That gets us there in time for dinner and a drink or two.”

“Then bed,” I teased.

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