Page 117 of The Close-Up
“Nope. You’re too good at your job. Thanks for making me look way better than I actually am.”
“You’re smooth. How will I get through the rest of this interview without swooning to death?”
“Don’t fret about it.” He winks.
“You know what it does to me when you say that.”
“Oh, I know.”
Clenching my thighs and clearing my throat, I attempt to focus once more. “If you could go back and do one thing differently while filming the series, what would it be?”
His eyes take on a totally different sheen as he looks at me. I can see the rawness in his stare. His smile softens and his voice drops. “Nothing. Except maybe telling you I loved you sooner.”
I’m breathless once more. “When did you realize you loved me?”
“When I saw you naked in the tub with your vibrator.”
I roll my eyes.
“It wasn’t an exact moment,” he says. “But when we were cooking together in my apartment before I met your family, I had this realization. I’d never been happier than in that moment with you. And that’s when I knew.”
I have to look down at the ground to keep it together. Then I walk over and kiss him. “You can’t saymeas the answer to every question, you know.”
“I can. And I will.”
I turn back around and turn off the camera. “You’re going to get so, so lucky tonight. And tomorrow. And pretty much every day after that. I don’t know if we’ll be able to leave your apartment for the foreseeable future.”
There’s a naughty gleam in his eyes.
“You’ve got a fully stocked fridge, right?” I tease. “Because we won’t even have time to go to the store.”
“We’ll get groceries delivered.”
I move to sit on his lap. He snakes his arms around me, pulling me against his chest. Despite the layers of clothing between us, I can still feel the warmth of his body on mine. I hum softly. I love being this close to him. We share another sloppy, wholly inappropriate kiss.
“The camera’s off, right?” he says between kisses.
I hum “mmm-hmm” while keeping my mouth on his.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Sorry, but I can’t bring myself to be very professional right now with you on my lap,” he says against my neck.
I let out a moan, then giggle when it starts to tickle too much. With my hands cupping both sides of his face, I gaze down at him. Those beautiful golden brown eyes shine up at me like he can’t get enough of me. It makes my entire body go warm and gooey.
Around us there’s music playing and people chatting and laughing. No one seems to have noticed our little display of affection.
We finally break the stream of kisses, but our eyes remain locked together.
“I guess we’ll have to remember to maintain a more professional etiquette if we ever work together again,” I joke.
“Our one weakness.” He tucks a loose wave of my hair behind my ear.
I snuggle into him. My heart swells as I beam down at him. I love Simon. I love him so, so much.
He presses another kiss to my lips. “I take it back. We’re doing pretty damn well if you ask me.”
