Page 49 of Stone Promises

“Are we ever going to talk about it?” she asks.

I know what she’s asking just by looking into her eyes. “You want to know where we go from here. What happens next, right?”

She nods. “I know you have a lot of things on your plate and that my job seems insignificant in comparison, but I have commitments too.”

“Of course you do,” I say. “I wouldn’t ask you to give those up.”

“I pretty much have to be here Monday through Friday every week,” she explains. “Except summer, but that’s a long way off. How are we going to have time to see each other?”

“We’ll make the time,” I tell her.“I’llmake the time.” I pick up my phone and pull up my calendar. “Let’s schedule something right now so we know what’s next. So we have something to look forward to.”

She smiles, getting her phone out as well. She pages through her mostly blank calendar as I peek over her shoulder. She tosses her phone back into her purse, laughing. “Who am I kidding,” she says. “My life is boring as hell.”

I put my hand up on the back of her neck. “You are anything but boring, Mal. I promise you that.” I pull her face towards mine and rest our foreheads together. Her lips are close, so close I can almost smell the lip gloss she had on earlier. I want to taste those strawberry lips. I want to feel her tongue with mine. I want to do all that and more. But the build-up is so much fun, so I release her neck and pull away. I swear I can hear a faint mewl down in her throat and I have to hold back my chuckle.

I turn my attention back to my phone. “I’ll be in Vancouver for a week on a press junket and then I have to go to L.A. for the Academy Awards ceremony. I might be able to squeeze in a weekend after that, but then I have to be back in L.A. for some pre-production meetings for theDefconsequel. We start shooting this summer.”

Mallory is so quiet I have to look up from my phone to see why. She takes a deep breath and blows it out. “Sorry,” she says, shaking her head in disbelief. “I think I’ve finally been hit with the enormity of all this. I mean, Academy Awards ceremony? Pre-production meetings? Shooting a film? You’re a movie star, Chad. Are you sure we can even make this work? I mean, I’m just a teacher.”

“Would you please quit saying that? Being a teacher is what you do, it’s who you are. I happen to love that it’s who you are. And yes, we can make this work. So get your calendar back out and pencil me in for two weeks from Friday.”

She pulls up her calendar again and smiles. “Oh, that’s a long weekend. I have that Friday off.”

“Great, then I’ll come Thursday.” I add it to my calendar and then type out a text.

She raises a brow at me. “Friend in L.A. again?”

Shit. Shewasbothered by that. “I just texted my travel agent. Told her to fly me in that Thursday afternoon until Sunday night. You okay with that?”

“You can do it just like that?” she asks. “Don’t you have to clear it with your manager or Kendra or somebody?”

I laugh. “I know it might not seem like it sometimes, but they work for me, not the other way around as Paul would have everyone think.”

She studies me for a minute. “You’re not actually winning an Oscar, are you?”

I laugh at the mention of it. “Not even close.”

“I bet you will forDefcon One,” she says. “It was a great movie. You were stunning. I was thoroughly impressed.”

I beam with pride at her compliment. “Thanks. That means a lot coming from you. But no, I won’t win for that. Apocalyptic movies rarely get nominated for Oscars.”

“Oh, well they should,” she says.

I grab her phone from her and block out all three days with my name. She looks at it and smiles. Then she bites her lip. Damn, if I only knew what she was thinking right this second. Because if it’s the same thing I’m thinking, that weekend might just turn out to be the best fucking weekend of my life. Pun intended.

Mallory falls asleep on me in the car on the way home. I guess the problem with me not drinking much is that I tend to give others too much to make up the difference. I wrap my arm around her and let her head sink into the crook of my neck. I inhale the scent of her hair, memorizing it so I can remember it later when she’s not with me. I know she thinks that because I’m rich and make movies and have fans that she’s not enough for me. She couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only is she enough, she’s theonly.

“Wake up, baby; you’re home.” I contemplate carrying her up to her house, but I know if I did—if I had her in my arms that way, I wouldn’t be able to let her go. But she’s had too much to drink. I won’t be the guy who takes advantage.

“Sorry,” she says, embarrassed that she dozed off. “I didn’t mean to ruin our last few minutes together.”

I squeeze her hand. “Are you kidding? I’ve been wanting you to sleep with me for years.”

Cole opens my door and I get out, helping her out after me. “I’ll just be a minute,” I tell him.

I walk her up the porch stairs and she pauses as we reach the door. “You don’t want to come in?” she asks with a sad smile.

“That’s a loaded question, Mallory Kate.” I motion to the door. “I want to come in more than you can imagine. I want to come in and take you up to your bedroom and make slow incredible love to you. I want to hold you in my arms and stare at your beautiful face until the sun rises. I want all that and more.” I put my hands on her cheeks and stare at her full lips. “But you’re drunk and your dad would probably kick my ass, so I’m not walking through that door. But I am going to make good on the text I sent you the other night.”

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