“Not in this lifetime, obviously.” She shrugged. “Speaking of time, I think I should return to my apartment.”
He scowled. “What? No.”
“I was supposed to stay for two days. It’s been two weeks now.”
“Do you hear me complaining? This is the only good thing that came out of this situation.”
Her fingers brushed the back of his hand. “Babe, you canceled all your promotion tours and interviews to babysit me. You need to get back to work.”
“I don’t need to do anything but be with you, Maggie Dawson.”
She smiled.
He pointed at her lips. “What’s that on your face?”
“What?” Her hand rose to her face.
“Right here.” His finger touched her mouth. “Is that a smile? Like a real smile?”
Her lips stretched into a grin.
“OMG, it is a smile!”
It turned into a chortle. “You’re one crazy son of a bitch.”
“A smile and swearing? Ladies and gentlemen, she’s back,” he announced.
“Fucking pazzo.”
“This pazzo missed you so fucking much.” Without thinking, he leaned in and kissed her. Her lips were hot and soft and brought all the feelings he’d been bottling down for the past two weeks to the surface. Pulling away, he winced. “Now it’s my turn to apologize. I’m not pressuring you into anything. I just really missed you.”
She stared at him for a few moments, a sparkle igniting in her eyes. “I missed you, too.” Her eyes dipped to his lips. The warmth of her breath scorched him. “I almost forgot how you tasted.” Then her fingers twined with his as she pulled him into another kiss. “You shouldn’t have waited this long to kiss me. I can’t be the one who makes the first move all the time.”
“I was…”
“Afraid.” She finished his sentence. “You’re always afraid, Mike.”
True. As long as he couldn’t find the courage to come clean about his darkest secret, he’d always be afraid. But how could he tell her now when she was like this, fragile and hurt? How could he break her heart even more? Wasn’t it enough what she had to go through?
“And you’re afraid of nothing,” he said. “The bravest person I’ve ever seen. Remember when you insisted you could catch a fish with bare hands? You almost lost a finger that day. And that time when we were skating and you went on that thin ice on purpose? You scared me shitless. Thank God you only twisted your ankle.”
“Bravery is not the lack of fear. It’s the ability to face your fears.” She put her hand on his cheek. “Neither of us can be called brave, babe.”
PART THREE
HEROES AND VILLAINS
Scene 54
Maggie
TWO MONTHS LATER
“Maggie, how does it feel now that you’re not a debut director anymore?” Tracy, an interviewer from Entertainment Tonight asked.
“I’m beyond excited to start my second project.” I smiled. “Today, as you can see,” I added with a hand gesture introducing the inside of my trailer to the cameraman. “Though I kinda still feel like a debut somehow. I mean, I’m currently, nervously, waiting for my first feature to premiere.”
“Do you have a release date?”
