“Don’t joke around about this. You’re the one who said you might date thirty-seven guys because they responded to your letter. How am I supposed to know you won’t take him seriously if he wants to participate?”
“And why am I supposed to listen to your opinion on this subject at all, Alec? We aren’t a couple. Not anymore.”
“Because I care about you, Brooklyn. A lot.”
That gave her pause. Scratch that—it was like her entire body had slammed on the brakes. It wasn’t the words so much, although they had some heft. It was the gravity in his voice. She’d only heard that tone one other time—the day he broke up with her. “I care about you, too. But you’re going to have to tell me why you’re weighing in on this at this particular moment. Is there something I’m missing?”
“I can’t tell you more. Not right now. I’m just begging you not to sleep with him.”
“I don’t have the patience for guessing games. Give meonegood reason.”
“Just one?” His eyes blazed with intensity.
“Yes—” Brooklyn hardly got out that one syllable before Alec’s lips were on hers. Warm. Soft.Uncannilyin sync with her. All she wanted was more, so she kissed him back. Hard. He recklessly raked one hand into her hair and the other was at her waist, his fingers digging into the fleshiness of her hips. She grabbed his biceps, holding on for dear life. One half of her brain was telling her to break away, but the other half—the half that really, really liked Alec and was incredibly biased toward good kissers, said,oh, hell yes.Game on, sister.Fireworks exploded in her head. She arched her back. He leaned in. Had he always smelled this good? She had a fleeting fantasy of taking off her clothes and climbing inside that impossibly soft dorky blue sweater along with him, soaking up his heat, pressing her breasts against his chest, toppling the ficus tree, and kissing him into oblivion on a bed of tropical foliage.
But then she heard a voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, the screening will begin in fifteen minutes.”
She pushed back from Alec, using his impressive arms as leverage. Her lips immediately protested.Uh, hello? Things were just getting good.“A kiss isn’t a reason.” She struggled for breath, but she was proud of herself for encapsulating the problem in only a few words.
“But what if it was?” His chest heaved like he’d just sprinted up twenty flights of stairs.
“I’m wearing thigh-high boots and I’m on a date with another man. This isn’t a good time for riddles.”
“Brooklyn, I have feelings for you. I never stopped having feelings for you. I think we’re going to make a huge mistake if we don’t try again.”
Her heart was pounding against her chest. Her head was swimming, drunk on his kiss, stuck in a tug of war about good and bad, and confused like hell by the notion behind his words. “Try again? But you don’t want to be a dad. You told me as much that night we had dinner. And if you know anything about me, then you know that’s not a point of negotiation. It’s the whole reason I ended up in a movie theater in a cat suit.”
He reached for her arm, cupping it with the very tips of his fingers. “I think we should talk about it.” His voice was so soft. His eyes so earnest. It made her heart ache.
“You’re serious about this?”
“I am. I just need to get past this big interview and see where the job with the news division goes.”
Oh, how the tables had turned. And turned back again. Now who was putting life on hold because of their job? “It sounds to me like you have a lot of thinking to do. I can’t help you make that decision and I really can’t do it now.” She glanced over Alec’s shoulder to see Jason scanning the lobby, probably searching for her. “I need to go, Alec. I’ll see you later.”
“I’ll call you.”
“Uh, okay.” She wasn’t sure what that was going to accomplish. She ducked out from behind the ficus and away from Alec, her lips still tingling. Damn him for making her feel so torn. Because the truth was that she would gladly ditch Jason Adams for Alec. If only he wanted everything she did.
She caught up to Jason. “I’m so sorry. I had to talk to Alec about something.”
Jason wrapped his arm around Brooklyn’s waist, and she couldn’t help but notice how her body’s first reaction was to tense up. Her heart, her head, and her gut seemed to be in agreement that this wasn’t right and probably not real. “I was starting to think you were avoiding me.” He kissed her on the cheek. Funny how her love life had gone from barren landscape to fertile field. Men were kissing her left and right.
“Don’t worry. I’m all yours now.”
Jason took her hand and they began making their way into the theater. As they strode down the aisle, the fans rose to their feet and clapped and cheered. The adoration they felt for Jason was palpable. The air was thick with it. And Brooklyn thought about how strange it was to soak up praise from people you’d never really meet. Still, she didn’t begrudge Jason for taking advantage of every minute of it. He was clearly making an awful lot of people very happy, and as unsure as she was about this entire evening, it felt special to be present for it.
They found their seats in the VIP area, near Jason’s costars. The lights went down and Jason took Brooklyn’s hand again, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. She glanced over at him, seeing only his profile, wondering again if he actually liked her. Or if there was something else to this.Just have fun, Brooklyn.
Of course, the kiss from Alec wasn’t helping things. Her body was still humming from it. He always managed to leave a lasting impression on her. And his suggestion that they try again only made it more potent. She’d made mistakes. But so had he. Did that mean they had a chance? And if they did, could it actually work? Because she’d meant what she’d said. Casting aside her dream of having a child was not an option. If she opened up her heart to him and he ultimately decided that his dream—the one where he had a whole new career—was more important? It would break her in two.
As the movie played, Brooklyn was thankful for the distraction of non-stop action, with blobs of magma flying through every scene, bad guys burning to a crisp, and the vision of Jason, hands on his hips and his shoulders taking up the entire width of the screen in that mind-blowing red and black suit. He was nice to look at and a pretty decent actor. She’d give him that. The audience loved every thrilling minute, clapping and cheering as Lavaman triumphed over evil. When the closing credits rolled, the crowd again expressed how much they worshipped him and his creative endeavor, with a deafening standing ovation.
After the premiere came the party, at a nearby restaurant which the studio had rented out for the night. That was when Brooklyn truly knew that she could never make it in Jason’s world. First off, there were far too many young and stunningly beautiful women around. Brooklyn’s sense of self was already teetering on the brink, depending on the day, and there was no way she’d survive more than a few hours of this. But the bigger issue was the parade of his very famous friends, people she was initially thrilled to meet, but who time and again made her feel as though she was a novelty. A punch line to a joke that had grown very old, where they thought it was “cute” that she wanted to have a baby and had gone about it in such a “unique” and “interesting” way.
None of this was a stunt. This was her life. And she was eager to get back to the business of owning it and molding it into the best version she could.
By the time Jason’s driver picked them up, Brooklyn only wanted two things—her bed and a graceful exit from this date.
