AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He smiled too when he saw me and poured two glasses of red wine as he said, “Welcome home. I’ve started making dinner, but it’s going to take some time. Phoenix volunteered to pick up some groceries for me when I told him I was coming to see you, which I thought was awfully nice of him.”
“I heard you were on set. When I couldn’t find you, I thought you might have seen Harper Royce and me trying to get comfortable with each other before tomorrow’s love scene and reached the wrong conclusion.”
“I saw the two of you together, but I absolutely knew for a fact you weren’t cheating on me, if that’s what you mean. You just wouldn’t do that.”
“You’re right, I never would. But given what you’d told me about your last relationship, I thought you might be quick to assume the worst.”
“Seeing you with Royce actually reminded me just how much I trust you. It’s pretty remarkable, because like I said before, I’ve always had a hard time trusting people.”
I couldn’t keep the emotion out of my voice when I said, “I was so scared. I thought I might have lost you.”
He stepped around the kitchen island and took me in his arms as he asked, “Why would you think that?”
“Because you left without saying anything, and I knew how that must have looked.”
“I was jealous, so I decided to leave before I picked a fight and punched that guy in the face.”
“But if you trust me, why were you jealous?”
“Just because I trust you doesn’t mean I trust Royce. And I know I’m not being rational, but sometimes there’s no reasoning with my inner caveman,” he said. “By the way, I sent you a text letting you know Phoenix was driving me here, but you didn’t respond.”
“My phone’s missing. It’s probably in the trailer’s couch, now that I think about it. That’s where I was when I called you this morning.”
Lorenzo brushed my hair from my eyes and said, “You sounded so upset.”
“My day got off to a rough start.” I looked up at him and traced his jawline as I asked, “Did you fly five hundred miles just because I said I wished you were here?”
“In part, but I also did it because I missed you. I know you’re really busy and this is the most important job of your career, but I had to come see you, even if it was just for a couple of hours.”
“Please don’t turn around and leave again. I want you to stay as long as you can.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to be a distraction, and I really don’t want you to feel obligated to spend time with me when you need to give this film your undivided attention.”
“The job doesn’t take twenty-four hours a day, and I should have asked you to come with me in the first place,” I said, as I ran my hands over his shoulders. “I’ve been enjoying our nightly video dates, but not being able to touch you has been torture.”
He kissed me tenderly, and then he rested his forehead against mine and murmured, “All I’ve done over the past few days is think about you. There’s been a huge void in my life since you took off.”
He kissed me again, but then I pulled back and asked, “Is something burning?”
Lorenzo dashed around the island and used a towel to pull a sheet pan from the oven. After he gingerly unwrapped a foil packet, he said, “The burning smell was just a little olive oil that had leaked out. I’m roasting garlic.”
I joined him at the stove as he turned his attention to an enormous stock pot. “Is that going to be homemade marinara sauce?” He nodded, and I asked, “How many people are you planning to feed, exactly?”
“It’ll cook down a lot, but my plan was to feed you a nice dinner and then stuff your freezer with lots of good food before going back to Catalina. Now it looks like I’ll be staying and helping you eat it.”
After he fussed with the sauce and threw in a few dried herbs, we took our wine to the living room. He sat down on the sofa, and I hesitated before asking, “Would you hold me? Just for a few minutes.” I hated how needy that sounded, but at the same time I wanted it more than anything.
“You don’t even have to ask.”
I slipped off my shoes and jacket, and then I climbed onto his lap and put my arms around him. As I buried my face in his shoulder, I whispered, “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
He kissed the top of my head and held me securely. After a while, I grinned and said, “I don’t understand your taste in music. It seems entirely unlike you.”
