Page 77 of The Now in Forever
There’s a beat of silence that stretches on and on. Ed stops andpushes his sunglasses up. His green eyes catch the light. Sometimes he’s so beautiful, it hurts a little to look at him. Or maybe it hurts because he’s so far away. He sighs, like he’s getting ready to say something. But then he waves.
“Shit, I’m here and they spotted me. I have to go. Can I call you later?”
“Yeah. I’ll be here.” Because honestly, where else would I be?
He smiles at me. “Talk soon.”
And then he’s gone. My screen shows me my face again, lips turned down, eyes sad. I plug in my phone. It doesn’t really need to charge, but I’m sick of the sight of it.
Leaving it in the room, I go out onto the deck, where Robin and Nathan are sitting at the table having a drink.
“Hey,” Robin says softly, almost too softly.
I tousle my hair and try to make my face not look like a sad doll in a Mark Ryden painting. “Hey!” I say with a false brightness that I definitely don’t feel.
“Did you talk to Ed?” Robin pours me a glass of wine.
“Yeah, you’re never going to believe this… Austin Butler might be in the movie. Isn’t that wild?”
Robin nods.
Nathan says, “He was so cool inDune.Bummer he won’t be back this summer though.”
For a minute, I think he’s talking about Austin Butler. I raise my glass to my lips then lower it without taking a drink as it dawns on me. He means Ed.
“Huh?”
“Yeah. He texted me earlier. He has to stay out there. They want him to be available while he writes the script. He already found a long-term Airbnb. Dude forgot his running shoes under the bed. I had to mail them earlier today. I told him it’d probably be easier to buy new ones, but he said they don’t make that kind anymore.”
Robin is studying my face like there’s going to be a test later. I don’t want them to know he didn’t tell me. I don’t want Robin to be mad at Ed. I don’t want them to feel any worse for me than theyprobably already do. So, I smile and nod. “Yeah, it’s such an adventure for him, though. An amazing opportunity.”
I try to smile and make chit chat, but I am lost in my thoughts. That must’ve been what he was going to tell me when he had to run. I wish he would’ve just taken two extra minutes to let me know. Maybe he wasn’t sure how I’d take it. HowamI taking it? It’s probably what he wants to talk about later. After I finish my glass of wine, I stand. “I’m going to get back to writing.”
Robin’s face pinches. “We’re going to grill. Do you want us to throw something on for you?”
Food sounds terrible. “I’ll just grab a sandwich later. I’m at the seventy-five percent mark, and I can’t wait to see how it ends.”
“You don’t already know?” Robin asks. She knows I’m usually a meticulous plotter.
I shake my head. “Nope.”
Propping myself on the bed, I open my laptop and throw myself into the story. I give my happy couple a problem in the form of a Henry Cavill look alike. Now June has to choose between the man in the book and a real live man, one who doesn’t live most of his days in a fictional world. I work past the sun setting outside my window. I’m still typing as the first stars come out. I’d like to say I don’t notice at all that Ed never calls, but that would be a lie.
CHAPTER 20
SATURDAY, JULY 13TH
Usually, I listen to an audiobook or a podcast on my run, but this morning I left my phone at home. I’m tired of checking it every two minutes. When I get back, I see the missed call from Ed and throw the phone on the bed to take a long shower.
After I’ve dried off, I put on makeup, my mascara gliding over my lashes. If he’s going to tell me he’s not coming back, I’m going to look really good while he does it. I pour a cup of coffee in the kitchen then get myself situated in my little window seat.
My put-together face stares back at me on the screen, and I give myself a nod before I hit the button to call him back.
Ed answers on the third ring. His green eyes are bright but rimmed in dark circles, like he didn’t get much sleep. “Hey.”
His smile is warm.
“Hey yourself. How’d it go last night?”
