Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Because remembering the way Robbie had felt, wrapped in my coat and my arms, the way he’d looked sleeping beside me in my bed, and then hearing the way he’d sounded as he’d come in my bathroom had stolen every bit of air from my lungs and left me staggering.
It took three days before my hands stopped shaking with the need to get back to San Francisco and go see him. When I was finally myself again, I’d told Brinn it was time to go home. But Robbie was still there in my mind, in my heart, so I couldn’t stay away from him entirely.
In fact, I realized as he pushed into the restroom behind me, I couldn’t stay away from him at all.
“You’re avoiding me,” he said, moving directly to the urinal without looking at me.
“I’m trying to give you space,” I corrected slowly, taking my time to keep from saying something I’d regret. “You said you didn’t want to be treated as a child. I was trying not to hover.”
He zipped up and moved to the sink next to me, finally meeting my eye in the mirror. I tried not to notice how similar and different this interaction was compared to the last time we’d seen each other in my own bathroom.
“Thank you,” he said.
“For what?”
“Treating me like an adult. It’s all I want from you. To stop seeing me as a child.”
“Okay.”
He reached for a towel and dried his hands before turning and meeting my eyes. “And I’ll try to stop acting like one.”
My eyebrows went up in surprise. “I don’t think you act like a child at all. I’ve never thought that.”
Even in the dim light of the men’s room, I could see the pink on his cheeks. I wanted to run my fingers over it, feel the heat and know it was because of me.
I cleared my throat. “So… Darcy Latham.”
He rolled his eyes and smiled that adorable smile that made my heart melt and slither over to beg at his feet. “He’s awfully full of himself.”
I nodded.
Robbie shrugged. “But he’s sexy as fuck, so I’m going home with him.”
Then he turned around and walked out.
I stared after him, the words I forbid it on the very end of my tongue. More words crowded up behind them until I was choking on them, hot with frustration and anger and lust and love and any other fucking word that indicated the very dire straits I was in right now.
“Oh,” I breathed after the door closed behind him. “I will not survive this.”
When I finally got myself under control, I pulled my neutral, polite mask down and returned to the party. For the rest of the evening, I stood by Mandi’s side. If people thought I was quiet, well, sometimes assholes were quiet.
When Robert came up and clapped me on the back, my smile most likely looked like a grimace. “Glad you could make it. Thanks for supporting the cause, et cetera, et cetera. And who do we have here?”
Mandi gushed in the presence of a Hollywood legend, and Robert ate it up as usual. He was gregarious and charming, the kind of man you’d expect in the larger-than-life roles he’d played. He had the personality of a politician and the face of a rugged leading man. He knew how to work any room he was in.
I tried not to shove my nose into Robbie’s business, but I couldn’t help it. When Robert and I had a moment to ourselves, I pulled him aside and lowered my voice. “I wanted to let you know about an opportunity to do something nice for Robbie for his birthday next month. His school is doing a superhero costume day as part of their Halloween week activities. He told me his kids are really into superheroes this year because of the Nova reboot, so I thought maybe you could stop by in costume and surprise them. Maybe pose for a few photos.”
His eyebrows dipped. “I haven’t put on the Nova costume in years, you know that.”
“If it’s a fit concern, I can get a new one made, just say the word.”
I hoped to god he wasn’t looking for an excuse to get out of it. Before he could decline, I added an incentive.
“What if we did three stops that day. One to Robbie’s class, one to a Title 1 school, and one to whatever school tonight’s raffle winner chooses? You could announce the last-minute raffle at dinner. Imagine how many people in here would donate big money to get the original Sable Nova in their kid or grandkid’s classroom during Halloween week? C’mon, your PR people would lose their shit, lining up photographers for the do-gooder campaign.”
He sucked in a deep breath and flashed me a grin before clapping me on the shoulder again. “That’s a great idea. Alright. Let’s do it.”