Page 78 of Stone Promises

“Not that I know of. But um . . . he has been dating someone for a while now.”

My jaw drops. Then for a few seconds, pictures of my mom flash through my mind. How is it possible to be so sad and happy over the same news? “Really? Define a while.”

Julian motions between Chad and me. “Longer than you’ve been together. Six months, maybe.”

I replay some of the moments with my dad in my head. I guess it makes sense. He’s been able to talk about my mom without getting upset. He’s been going out more than he ever used to.Oh, my God. My dad has a girlfriend!

“Who is she?”

Julian winces. “That’s the part he thought you might have the most trouble with. She’s a nurse.”

I sigh. My mom was a nurse. Of course that’s why he didn’t want to tell me. I close my eyes and absorb the information. “No, it’s fine. It makes sense that he’d date someone from the hospital. He’s pretty much there all the time. How serious is it?” I ask.

He shrugs. “You’ll have to ask him that. But I think pretty serious.”

Julian and my dad have a great relationship. I never told my dad that he cheated on me, and they remained friends even when Julian and I weren’t. What surprises me is that Julian has discussed this with Ana. I smile thinking maybetheirrelationship is more serious than I thought.

“So you don’t have to stick around and take care of him, Mal,” Julian says. “I have a feeling he’ll be just fine if you leave for the summer.”

“Maybe Julian could come out for a week and we can all hang out,” Ana says, looking hopeful.

“I think that could be arranged,” he says, putting his arm around her.

I smile, looking over at Chad. I don’t need words to tell him I agree. He leans in to kiss me and then whispers in my ear. “Ten weeks with you will be like living in heaven.”

My heart thunders. My body melts. My head spins. I’m not sure, but if I looked it up in the dictionary, that might be the definition of swooning.

Chapter Twenty-three

Chad

I wasn’t kidding when I told Mal it would be heaven having her live with me for the summer. Two weeks in and I already know this is what I want for the rest of our lives. But I know it’s not always going to work out this well. Mallory works ten months out of the year. She won’t be able to come with me when I film most times. What will happen then; when getting away for the weekend isn’t an option? Filming is done on a very tight schedule. To stay within budget we sometimes work fourteen to sixteen hour days, six or seven days a week.

With Mallory’s help, I picked two films to do next year.Out of the Deep, that sci-fi number Paul really wanted me to do; and another romantic comedy likeBlind ShotcalledFour Night Stand. I told Paul no way in hell would I sign on for theMalibumovie. He wasn’t too sore at me, though, because Thomas didn’t want to do it either—and it was all or nothing. I’m hoping that will get Heather out of my life once and for all.

I’m showing Mal around my trailer in the studio lot where we’ll be filming for the next few weeks before we head to Sedona. Kendra has made sure they provided all the comforts of home, especially since Mallory will be spending so much time here. Kendra even blew up a picture of the two of us and had it framed and mounted over the couch.

Mal opens the small refrigerator that has already been completely stocked. She pulls out a bottle of her favorite beer and examines it. “How did they know? Did you tell them?”

“It’s Kendra’s job to find out what we like,” I say. “She submits a list of requests for our favorite things like food, drink or personal items. They’re called riders.”

She goes to the back, checking out the small bedroom. She opens the closet to see it’s been filled with duplicates of my favorite shirts and jeans. She opens the drawers. She looks at me, red in the face. “Did you tell her to get these?” She holds up a box of condoms.

I laugh. “No. That’s pretty much standard.”

Mal’s face falls into a frown and she puts the box back where she found it and sits on the bed. “So they will put them there even when I’m not with you? Do they expect you to use them?”

I step over to the bed and sit beside her. “Babe, they could put a naked Victoria’s Secret model on my bed and I still wouldn’t use them.”

She gives me a sad smile. “What are we going to do when I can’t come with you?” she asks.

“We’re going to burn up cyber-space with our phone love.” I push her back onto the bed and climb on top of her. “Don’t worry, Mallory. We’ll work it out. I promise.”

There’s a knock on the trailer door. “Ten minutes, Mr. Stone.”

“Thanks!” I yell, still hovering over Mallory. Then I lean down to kiss her. I kiss her hard. I kiss her with everything I have. I’ve seen today’s call sheet and I know it may be tough for Mallory to watch, so I need her to know without a doubt that she’s the one I love.

After I’ve kissed her senseless, I lie next to her and pull her against me, cherishing these last quiet minutes.

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