Page 79 of Professional Consult

“Since you left? Fuck, it’s been…empty.”

Perhaps I should lie and tell her everything’s been great, but I can’t. It’s not that I want her to feel bad, but I need her to know that she’s special. That she’s more than what people see on the screen.

“Perhaps you should think about filling the void, then.”

“That’s easier said than done. You’re a tough act to follow.”

“Then perhaps you should think about filling that void with me.”

Dare I hope that it’ll all work out? When she’d said she was here for me, I didn’t want to read too far into it. With all I’ve been through, I can’t endure more heartache, and if this is a joke, I need to be prepared.

Lexi glances down at her toiling hands, then back up at me, her lower lip tucked between her teeth. She looks so different than she does in the movies, which does little to show off how effortlessly beautiful she is. They make her into this naïve, klutzy thing, but in real life, she’s sharp, determined, and utterly beguiling.

“That is…if you’ll have me,” she says meekly.

“What do you mean, if I’ll have you?” My voice comes out brisk and unfriendly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like that. It’s just seeing you after so long, fuck…it’s making my head trip.”

“In a good way?”

“In the best way. I can’t play around like this, Lexi. I want you so badly.”

She smiles. “Then give me a place to land, and I’m all yours.”

My jaw drops, and I have to snap it shut.

She licks her lips. “You’re gawking.”

“A place to land?”

“While my lake house is being built.”

“Fuck, Lexi—will you just clue me into what’s going on?”

“I found a way out of my contract. I basically had to film the pilot, which I’ve been doing the last few weeks, and write a few episodes. I might have to go back to Hollywood for a few award shows, but I’m fully expecting you to be able to leave Pond Spring for a few nights to be my date.”

“You’re…moving…here?” I press my finger down on the picnic table.

She nods.

“Of all the places to move, you’re moving to Pond Spring?”

“I’m moving home, which isn’t Pond Spring. It’s you.”

“We barely know each other.” I rake my fingers through my hair. “Are you sure you want this?”

“More sure of this than anything, actually. And heck, if it doesn’t work out, I can afford a few misplays in my life.” She gets up from her seat and walks around the table to sit on the bench next to me. “But something tells me this isn’t a misplay.”

She tilted her face up to meet mine, and our eyes lock for a beat, silently claiming each other.

It’s then that it hits me. She’s not leaving. Lexi is mine.

Our lips collide in brutal desperation, two halves of a whole knitting itself back together. I can’t believe I even considered letting her go after knowing deep down that we’d always crave each other. That we were meant to be.

“Eh-hem.”

The sounds of my brother’s intrusion frustrate me to no end.

Annoyed, I break from Lexi and look over at him with scathing eyes.