She laughed. “That was kind of the point.”
“Right. Yeah, of course.”
She started pacing. “Shit. After Wes saw us the other week, I told Bryson we needed to be more careful. Can you just promise me you won’t tell anyone else?”
I step into her way, doing my best to calm her. “Liv, I promise I won’t say anything. To anyone. It’s none of my business.” Her lips curled into a small, relieved smile while I was still processing the image of her and Bryson together. “I’m just surprised. I didn’t think you two even got along.”
She twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “We just fit together; I don’t know how else to explain it. He gets me. And it made me realize what I wanted in a relationship. I wanted someone who was in the industry. That’s why I was dating actors all the time, but it wasn’t working, and honestly, I couldn’t figure out why for the longest time. I kept thinking it was just that we were apart all the time. Then after we dated, I realized it wasn’t enough. Just being around didn’t solve everything. It helped, but it was too much and not enough. I wanted someone on the same level as me work-wise.” She stopped herself, reaching out to me. “Not that you’re not … I just wanted someone who could talk to me for hours about direction beats and dialogue and staging. I want to be a director someday, and I thought dating one would be a disaster. You know how most of them are.”
I couldn’t help an amused chuckle. I knew exactly how most of them were.
“And I thought hell would freeze over before I dated Bryson, but things just happened, and now I can’t imagine being with anyone else.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“And what about you?” Liv asked. “You’ve been awfully chipper recently. Wes mentioned you might be seeing someone yourself.”
“I am. She’s pretty amazing.”
“Would I know her?”
“No, she’s not an actress or anything.”
“Not your usual type, then.” Liv joked.
“No,” I said, and the expression on my face must say enough because Liv replied, “Does she know how you feel?”
“She will.” And I remembered why I was looking for Liv in the first place. “Actually, I was hoping you could help with that. I want to do something special. Do you know any good restaurants where we might not get spotted?”
“You think Bryson and I get to go out on dates?”
“Good point.”
“We just make the most of what we have right now. A few weeks ago, I came over to find he’d moved all the furniture around in his lounge so we could have a picnic. It was probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Maybe you could try something like that. The thing is, Jackson, most people want the same thing in relationships,”
“And what’s that?”
“Someone who cares.” Her eyes shifted to the door Bryson had left through earlier. “The rest you just figure out together.”
“Thanks, Liv.”
We shared a hug before Liv excused herself, and I made use of the gym's privacy to call Audrey, a plan forming.
Dialing Audrey’s number was exciting beyond just my good news because I’d decided it was time to acknowledge what we’d both been avoiding.
“Hey, you.”
Her voice was like a shot of whiskey on a cold night, comfort and warmth, and I was helpless to fight off the effect she had on me.
“Morning, beautiful. I wanted to know if you’re free for dinner tonight.”
“Is this leading up to a joke about skipping the main and getting straight to dessert? Because I’ve heard that one before.”
I was giddy at the sound of her laughter, and I steadied myself with a deep breath, redirecting my nervous energy into the foot that was currently tapping on the floor. “It isn’t, but I’ll remember that for next time. Can you get to mine by eight?”
23
Jackson
