I grunted in acknowledgment.
Case in point.
She fidgeted, glancing around, looking for a polite way to abscond. I had to respond better than I had last night.
“You seem upset.” I scratched at my neck. “About something else.”
Christ. That was too intrusive.
“Gosh, this is embarrassing. You found me here crying.” She pointed to her face and her chin trembled. “Now I’m crying harder because I’m embarrassed, and I just keep messing things up with you.”
My face must have contorted into something scary because she winced, and I had to force my eyebrows to relax.
“You didn’t mess anything up,” I growled out but that did little to convince her. “I was a shite last night. I’m sorry. It wasn’t you. Just some … thing I’m dealing with.” I waved my hand as if to erase the whole thing. I looked up at her with my chin tilted down, repentant.
She drew in a soft breath and mouthed. “Oh.”
“You don’t have to talk about it,” I said. “Uh, what’s upsetting you. If you don’t want.” I cleared my throat. How did people communicate face-to-face like this? How did anything ever get accomplished? I couldn’t look at her for more than a second at a time without my tongue drying up and sticking to the roof of my mouth.
“No. Gosh. Look at me. A mess in front of Charles Downing. Honestly, I’m fine.”
Hearing my full name on her lips shut everything down inside me like a layer of ice on a windshield overnight. I would only ever be the celebrity to her.
The tension between us grew as thick as the ice forming over my features. She must have sensed it because she looked up at me tentatively. Her tongue flicked out to lick her lips. My jaw ground together so hard, a headache formed.
“I’m just a person,” I grumbled and wished I hadn’t. She tilted her head and looked abashed. I added, “I mean, I’m concerned when I see a person upset. Just like anybody else.”
Her features softened, and her focus moved back to the desk. “My boyfriend and I … had a fight,” she admitted. “Then I came here and it just was all … a lot.”
“Do you need me to kill him?” I said it flatly and immediately.
Her head shot up, and her eyebrows were high behind her bangs.
My right cheek twitched. Her gaze moved over my face, and then slowly, the shock melted into a smile.
A breath whooshed out of her and she laughed. “You’re joking. British humor.”
No, I’m not. “Of course.”
She laughed harder, and I watched her as long as I could. I soaked up every moment of it so I could picture it when I made her laugh in our letters. Until she looked up at me again. Finally, she took another deep breath, visibly more relaxed. I would absolutely threaten to kill her boyfriend every day if it made her laugh. It really wouldn’t be a chore.
“I’ll be okay. Thank you for asking.” She smiled at me, and I couldn’t look away.
There was that power again. Our gazes were their own electric current. Could she feel it too?
When I didn’t speak, she traced a finger over the desk, between us breaking the unintentional staring contest. “Actually, it’s good we met like this.”
My fingertips went icy. Did she know? “Why’s that?” I asked tightly.
“Apparently we’re filming together today,” she said.
I frowned. She flinched.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I—uh, just looked at the filming schedule for today. They’re doing something a little different. They want me to interview you and vice versa, I guess? I don’t know all the details.”
No, this couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t be around her even more and not fuck this up somehow.
