“I had a feeling. Did you?”
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up. But I really fucking wanted it to.”
She took his hands in hers, intertwining their fingers, unsure whose were shaking.
“What else did you hope would happen tonight?” she asked.
He let out a deep, unsteady breath, shaking his head. “Nothing we can do in this chair without getting arrested.”
She could get addicted to the way he was looking at her, if she wasn’t careful. Let herself be fooled into thinking it meant something. That it was actually aboutherand not the thrill of the chase, the excitement of the unknown, the intoxicating blend of inevitable and wrong.
The whole thing felt bigger than the two of them, the only logical next step in the surreal situation they’d been thrown into. Even if the casting had shaken out differently, even if it hadn’t been Lilah, she knew without a doubt he’d be down here anyway, in this same chair, some other Kate draped across his lap.
She looked down at their hands, then back up at him. The sour turn of her thoughts must have been written all over her face, because he was studying her with concern.
“Where’d you go?” he murmured.
She shook her head, brushing it off, trying to smile. “I’m right here.”
She leaned in to kiss him one more time—a slow victory lap after a pulse-pounding sprint—then eased off his lap, grateful her legs were steady enough to hold her. She tugged him to his feet, too, leading him wordlessly toward the elevator, their drinks abandoned and untouched on the table.
She wasn’t going to let her brain ruin this for her. There didn’t have to be anything profound about this moment, no deeper connection than lust and loneliness. It didn’t matter that it wouldn’t ever go anywhere.
They were probably better off if it didn’t, anyway.
30
Now
RIP—Relationship in Pieces! Supernatural sweethearts Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy give up the ghost!
Less than three months afterIntangiblestars Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy shocked the world with public confirmation of their long-rumored relationship, the pair has officially called it quits.
“They’ve always had chemistry, but at the end of the day, they’re just too different,” says a source close to the couple. “But they’re committed to keeping their working relationship civil and ending the show on a positive note.” Representatives for Hunter, 32, and McCarthy, 35, declined to comment, other than to confirm the split.
Hunter and McCarthy, who previously starred together on UBS’s flagship drama for five years, have had their share of ups and downs since Hunter’s highly publicized return for the ninth and final season. Between a racy photo shoot cut short, guest director Jonah Dempsey quitting mid-episode amid rumors of an on-set brawl, and their spontaneous kiss during McCarthy’s stint hostingLate Night Livein January, the pair’s behind-the-scenes antics have keptIntangiblein the headlines—and on top of the ratings. However, their breakup should effectively squash the whispers that the it-couple status of its stars meantIntangible,whose series finale airs May 18, might be in for a last-minute resurrection.
…
For the finalIntangiblewrap party, they’d booked the ballroom of the same hotel where Shane and Lilah had shot theirReelcover. It must have been a coincidence, but as Shane made his way through the lobby, he couldn’t shake the eerie feeling of déjà vu that settled over him.
He’d come alone, of course. Dean hadn’t been able to make it: though it was still under wraps to the general public, he’d just been officially cast as the first bisexualBachelor. The producers had already whisked him back to Oklahoma to shoot promotional B-roll of him “at home,” conveniently obscuring the fact that he’d lived in Los Angeles for almost ten years. Shane was both thrilled for his brother and extremely grateful that he wasn’t in his shoes.
He could’ve found a date, but as he nursed his whiskey and looked out at the room, he was glad not to have a relative stranger at his side tonight. That wasn’t what this was about: it was about saying goodbye. He knew it was borderline toxic to think of a workplace as a family, but as he slowly made his waythrough the crowd of familiar faces—most of whom he’d known for close to a decade—it was hard to get the word out of his mind. He felt like he’d talked to every person in that room over the course of the evening.
Well, every person except one.
Spirits were high: they’d just gotten the news that Rosie and Ryder’s spin-off,Invincible,had been officially picked up for a full season a few weeks earlier. Shane bumped into Polly, congratulating her on her new showrunning gig, but she was already so drunk and giggly that he was sure she wouldn’t remember a thing.
Late in the evening, he saw Walt by the bar, and he gave Shane a gruff hug—the first time Shane could ever recall hugging him. When they separated, Walt clapped him on the shoulder.
“Thank you, Shane. For all your work over the years.” He raised his glass. “The end of a fucking era, right?”
“Right.” Shane clinked their glasses before taking a sip. “Have you figured out what you’re doing next?”
“Nothing for a while, thank god. Lance has been trying to get me to go to Peru, stay in one of those transparent pods on the side of a mountain. You heard of these? Supposed to be incredible.”
Shane cracked a smile. He hadn’t seen Walt look this happy the entire time he’d known him.
