AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I couldn’t. I turned my head away to stare out to sea.
“Kate, you can’t. Please.”
I drew in a ragged, shuddering breath. My whole frame shook with it, but my eyes stayed dry. I smiled past Eric’s arm, at the foaming breakers. “I’m okay,” I whispered.
“Oh, Kate, oh Kate…”
I smiled past him, at nothing. “If I have to die somewhere, I’m glad it’s here. I’m glad all this beauty is the last thing I’ll see. Beats a hospital ceiling, so yeah. I’m okay.”
Eric kept shaking me, kept slapping and begging, but I said nothing more. I let my eyes glaze over. My hand went limp and dropped from his jacket, and he scrambled to grab it and clutch it to his chest. Finally, he slumped across my still body, holding me to him, burying his face in my neck. I could feel his fast heartbeat, his uneven breathing. The cameras circled us, crowding in on our ending. Somewhere, a bird cried, harsh and unscripted. Eric’s rough palm came to rest on my cheek.
“Cut,” shouted Berg.
Eric stayed where he was, hunched up, heart pounding, hand cold on my cheek. When I tried to sit up, he crushed me to him. I found his ankle and held it.
“Eric? We’re—”
“Lacey.” My name came out hoarse, and he coughed. Pulled away. “Sorry,” he said.
“Are you actually crying?”
“No! No, of course not.” He wiped at his eyes. “I mean, Lock was, but…” He coughed again, sniffed, and I felt my heart swell. Eric didn’t show his feelings, at least not often, but here was proof he had them, and he had them for me. I could’ve teased him some more — big tough guy, all sniffly — but I hugged him instead.
“That was intense.”
“Yeah, too intense. Your face, and she’s dying…” Eric hugged me back so tight I couldn’t breathe. “We should go out after this,” he said. “We’ve been staying in all week.”
I nodded. Ithadbeen a while since we’d showed our faces. The paparazzi would be getting antsy.
“Somewhere private,” he said. “Somewhere just us. Romantic.”
My heart soared at that. This would be our first date, then, at least our first real one. An actual date, for us, not the press.
“I’d love to,” I whispered.
Berg made apfftsound. “Whatever you’re doing, you lovebirds down there, get back into makeup. We’re going again.”
I floated back up to makeup, hardly touching the ground, and let Grace fix my blood bag and swap out my costume. We went three more times, but we’d lost our edge, lonely no longer. Hearts beating as one. In the end, Berg conceded we’d got it the first time, and Grace rounded up Eric to prep for his next scene. I was done for the day, so I headed back to my suite. Where would Eric take me for our first date? What should I wear for it? Should I ask, or surprise him?
I was pondering these questions when an alert bubbled up, a gossip rag headline,SAFIRE ROSE ON FASHION WEEK, ERIC HARPER.
I frowned. Safire Rose, the model? She knew Eric? Thinking back, maybe Ihadseen them photographed together. I sat with my thumb hovering over my screen: if she was his ex, this was none of my business. Whatever she thought of him, that was between them.
Unless… what if he’d dumped her in some crushing way? Or if he’d hurt her? Broken her heart? Shouldn’t I be prepared for that, if he had a dark side?
I knew I shouldn’t look, but I did anyway. Safire didn’t mention Eric till right at the end, four lines of text, but I couldn’t stop staring.
GABRAG: How do you feel about your ex getting married? That must have been a shock for you, so soon after your breakup.
SAFIRE: We broke up a year ago, so it wasn’t that recent. As for his marriage, I wish them both well.
GABRAG: Haven’t you wondered, why them and not us?
SAFIRE: I don’t really look backward. That isn’t me. And I know why it wasn’t us. We were surface-level. Like, we had chemistry, and Eric’s a great guy, but he had parts of himself he never shared with me. I think that’s because I wasn’t the one. He knew it, I knew it, and I’m glad he’s moved on.
I flashed back to the spa, Sam’s hurt and confusion. He’d known Eric since high school, and there were secrets there too. Pieces of Eric held back, even now. Was he holding back with me too? Hiding parts of himself?
I tossed my phone on the bed and closed my eyes tight. When I did, I saw Eric’s eyes glazed with tears, trying to shake breath into my lifeless body. I’d seen something there, a crack in his armor. Proof hecouldopen up to me, if he hadn’t already. Maybe Safire hadn’t been patient. Hadn’t given him space. And Sam was Eric’s friend, but he was his employee as well. Of course there were boundaries, lines in the sand. That didn’t mean it would be like that with us.
