by M. Stratton
“Why, Miss Mills, you mean to tell me you’ve been checking out my ass?”
“All the time, Mr. Rivers. All. The. Time.”
“Dammit. I miss you.”
“Me too, me too. Since both movies have had issues, it’s going to be tight getting to Los Angeles in time to start filming on the movie.”
“It’ll be easier for me. I just have to pop down the coast from Seattle. You guys, on the other hand, are coming from halfway around the world.”
“We’ve already started packing and shipping things over. It would have been nice to be able to spend some time together and relax before the movie started.”
“You’re telling me. I miss having you in my arms when I fall asleep.”
Her lips tipped up at the corners. “Well, you always know exactly where to find me.”
“Are you sure it’s normal you don’t move when you sleep? That can’t be right.”
“I always say I don’t waste energy tossing and turning all night long. That’s why I don’t need as much sleep as the rest of you.”
Beeping from Hannah’s alarm filled the room. “Well, I have to get going.”
“Soon, my love, soon we’ll be together.”
“I’m counting the hours.”
“I’m counting the minutes.”
They disconnected the call and Hannah sat there staring at the black screen. She now understood how Lissa and Will’s relationship had built on talking with each other. If you were on different sides of the world, you didn’t have to worry about a relationship based on the physical only. Now she just had to get through the next few days. Hopefully then, maybe they’d both be able to shift gears and get a little hands on with their relationship.
Mid February
“You’re worse than a toddler on sugar.” Lissa looked over at Hannah sitting on the other side of the aisle of the plane.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hannah’s leg bounced.
“You may not even be able to see him tonight, you know. We are running late.”
Hannah whipped her head around and stared at Lissa. “Shut up.”
Lissa laughed. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
“He said he’ll be there to pick us up and he will be.” Hannah’s eyes narrowed. “He better be.”
“Ohhh . . . What are you going to do to him, Betty Boxer? Can we film this? Because I’m sure we could sell it and make some money. I can see the headlines now, ‘Girlfriend Uses Her Iron Fists to Keep Superhero Boyfriend In Line.’”
“Lissa, darling, leave the poor girl alone¸” Will said as he casually flipped the page of the book he was reading.
“Ha! Poor girl. I call this payback, and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.” Lissa rubbed her hands together. “And I’m just getting started.”
Hannah turned to Beau, “So Beau, how’ve you been?”
“Oh no, you’re not.” Beau laughed and shook his head.
“No, I’m not what?”
“I’m not getting between you and Lissa. I know better than that.” Beau continued to make notes in his journal.
“You’re no fun.” Hannah crossed her arms.
“I tell him that all the time,” Will chimed in. “Is it too much to ask to be allowed extra time to sign the autographs? No, he’s all about the bloody schedule.”
Lissa laughed. “Which incidentally, his bloody schedule and mine mean two completely different things.”
“Are you planning a new murder, darling?” Will looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, yes, see there’s this woman, and she’s all excited about meeting her boyfriend, whom she hasn’t seen in almost two months, which let me tell you, it sucks, been there done that. Anyway, she’s so excited she can’t sit still. So she’s on a bus with a bunch of other passengers, and she standing up, moving around, always moving. And the other passengers, well, they just want a quiet trip; you know, they all have their own little world to worry about. So there’s Sarah and she’s all up and down, up and down, and finally, they can’t take it anymore, and they end up doing a Murder on the Orient Express on her.”
“Har-har.” Hannah waved her away. “You weren’t a peach to live with while waiting on that one.” She nodded toward Will.
“No, but I get all quiet and retreat inward. You, on the other hand, can’t sit still.”
Hannah leaned over in the aisle toward Lissa and whispered, “Do you think he’ll wait for us, or maybe he won’t even show up?”
Lissa leaned toward her. “He’ll be there, I’m only teasing you. You deserve this, you both do.”
“We haven’t seen each other in so long . . .”
“Don’t worry. It will be better than you can even imagine. It was for me, and you know what kind of imagination I have.” Lissa winked at Hannah.
She smiled. “Yeah, I do . . . but . . .”
“No, no buts. Don’t go looking for the doom and gloom. There is enough in life without searching it out. There is no doubt in my mind he’s going to be there for you, even if we are ten hours late.”
“Bitch.” Hannah pushed at Lissa. “We’re only four hours late. You better hope we don’t end up being ten hours late; otherwise, not only am I going to be missing my man, you’re going to be missing yours. They are both supposed to be on-set set at that time.”
Lissa stuck her tongue out. “Don’t remind me.” She leaned back in her seat and put her head on Will’s shoulder. “Try to chill out, okay? All the worry isn’t going to change anything.”
“Hello, Pot, this is Kettle.”
“Shut it.” Hannah leaned back in her seat thinking about the fact that with every minute that passed, she was that much closer to being in Royce’s arms, to be seeing him again. Her stomach fluttered and turned with excitement and nervousness. Instinctively, she knew this was going to be the make or break time in their relationship. Both of them working and them spending so much time together. With all of her heart and soul, she wished it wouldn’t break.
Hannah thanked her lucky stars they were in first class and able to be the first ones off the plane. She didn’t pay attention to the other travelers in the airport, or the paparazzi surrounding Will and Lissa. Her focus was on getting their bags and finding the vehicles, because Royce would be in one of them. Her Royce. It took everything she had not to sprint to baggage claim; it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway, since they had to wait for the carousel to start up and the luggage to start coming around.
She stood there tapping her foot, waiting for the slow precession of bags to file by her, looking for theirs. She started talking to herself. “We shouldn’t have checked our bags. Why did we check them?”
“Because you wanted to make me suffer and wait.”
Hannah’s breath caught and she turned toward the voice. There he was. Royce. She couldn’t help it. She screamed and jumped into his arms.
“Easy there, honey, I don’t think everyone in the airport heard you.” Royce wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck.
Closing her eyes, Hannah breathed in his scent and felt his warmth seep into her bones. He was here. She was in his arms, and it felt like coming home. She didn’t want it to end. “I’ve missed you.”
“I can tell. Let’s get your bag so we can spend some time together, alone.”
Smiling up at him, she vaguely noticed the flashes of cameras all around them. “What are we waiting for?”
“Well, I think for you to take your eyes off me and look at the conveyor belt for your luggage.”
“Yeah, I can do that.” She turned her head to watch the suitcases go by, but didn’t let go of him. Finally, she spotted hers, but before she could grab it, Royce reached around and took it for her. Not letting go of each other’s hand, they walked out of the airport and into a waiting SUV. “Shit, Lissa.” She started looking around.
“Don’t worry about them.” Royce tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Beau took care of them. Now, let me look at you.�
� He framed her face with his hands. “Just as beautiful as I remember.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “I’ve been traveling all day from London to Los Angeles. I look like crap.”
“You aren’t the one looking at you. To me you are the definition of beauty, and will always be.”
Eyes drifting closed at his words, she leaned toward him. Without hesitation, he took the lips she offered and showed her exactly how he felt, how he missed her. Soon their passion built and hands roamed over each other’s bodies. Hannah whimpered. Touching his skin, she wanted him closer to her.
“Soon . . .” he whispered in her ear.
“Now . . .” she whispered back.
Moaning, he nipped at her neck. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to come back to me.”
“Too long.”
“We have to wait, just a little longer. We’re almost home.”
“But there’ll be too many people around.”
“I have a surprise for you.”
Her eyes flew open. “What kind of surprise?”
“You’ll see.”
“Dammit, I hate not knowing.” She looked out the window to see where they were going, but she didn’t know Malibu well enough, even though she’d studied the maps. She didn’t like not knowing an exit strategy, or an escape route if she needed one.
“Here.” Royce turned her in the seat and pointed out the window. “We’re coming up on the house you picked out for Will and Lissa, and you see that house?” He pointed to the one next to it. “That is the one I rented. I thought we could use our own private home, just the two of us. And with Lissa being right next door, you can still do your job. Perfect.”
Hannah sat there and let what he said sink in. They were going to be able to spend time together, in their house, while Lissa and Will would be next door. They’d have privacy. He knew how important her job was to her, not to mention Lissa, so he made sure she’d have what she needed to take care of her responsibilities. There was no doubt about it; she was falling in love with him.
“Thank you, Royce. I can’t begin to tell you what this means to me.”
As the car came to a stop, he kissed her quickly. “Let’s get everything inside and you can show me.”
“I like the way you think.” She reached around and opened the door. They both tumbled out of the car, laughing.
“You’re in the wrong driveway,” Lissa hollered.
Looking at each other like kids caught with their hands in the candy jar, they burst out laughing again.
Royce grabbed her hand and led her next door to talk to Lissa and Will.
“See, it’s like this. You know I’m crazy about this gal.” Royce swung his arm over Hannah’s shoulders. “And I couldn’t bear being away from her any longer, so I rented the house next door.”
Lissa crossed her arms and tapped her foot, looking both of them up and down. Hannah tried not to squirm under her scrutiny, but was losing. She felt like a teenager again.
“Do we need to have the talk?” Lissa said.
“Since we didn’t have the talk when you and Will started spending all that time together alone, I’m going to say you might not be the best person to talk about it.”
Royce grinned. “Looks like she’s got you there, Lis. Now you two run along to your house, and we’ll be over in this one.” He nodded toward the house. “And maybe we’ll meet up for breakfast?” He looked down at Hannah. “Or maybe not, we aren’t going to have much time in the morning before we have to be on set, and well . . .”
“Say no more.” Will held up his hands. “Come on, darling, let’s go inside ourselves. Royce.” He nodded, “The car is going to be here at five. You want to catch a ride with me?”
“Sure. See you then.” Royce pulled Hannah toward the house they were going to share for the next two or three months. She didn’t know if the butterflies were from excitement or if she was just terrified.
As soon as they went through the door, Royce was slamming it and picking her up in his arms. He carried her upstairs and threw her on the bed, jumping on it after her. Their laughter changed to gasps as each one battled for dominance.
Clothes left their bodies and hands roamed over each other, making sure their memories of London were correct. Hannah’s body came truly alive under his touch. He wouldn’t allow her to touch him until she’d surrendered and let him ravish her. Once he slid deep inside her, her whole being sang out in pleasure and coming home.
Being able to relax, and allow herself to give in to him completely, body, mind and soul, was perfection. She remembered London and how wonderful that was, but this, this was something special, magical even. After spending so long talking, getting to know each other better, they’d finally been able to worship each other the way they’d been dreaming of. Falling asleep in his arms after being away for so long and making sweet love was the most rewarding feeling she’d ever had.
Royce and Will met up at the car at the same time, nodding to each other as they climbed in. Royce leaned his head back and closed his eyes, absently sipping on his coffee. He could feel the other man’s eyes on him. “What?”
“We’ve known each other for some years now, right?”
Royce sighed. He knew where this was going, and who was behind it. Lissa was looking out for her best friend. “Yes, we have.”
“You know I’d do anything for you.”
“Yes.” Ever since their first movie together, it was evident Will Martinsson was loyal and took his friendship seriously, something Royce appreciated and made sure his close friends were of the same mindset as him.
“We’ve had long conversations about your demons and where you are coming from, and what you want out of life.”
“Yes, we have.”
“So, sorry, mate, but, well, Lissa doesn’t want her friend hurt.”
“Neither do I.” Royce stared at Will, not wanting to get into a lengthy discussion.
“Then you’ve changed your mind? About settling down?” Will’s head tipped to the side and Royce felt he was trying to get into his mind.
“Yes, Will, yes, I have.”
Will smiled. “Well then, that’s wonderful.”
“I think it is. Can we drop this now? It’s too fricking early for a serious talk.”
“That it is, old friend that it is.”
“Dammit, dammit, dammit.” Lissa hopped out of bed and flew around the room throwing clothes on. She’d slept through Will leaving, but had wanted to get up when he had so she could corner Hannah early.
She raced down the stairs, hardly looking at the beautiful ocean just beyond the windows and skidded into the kitchen, bumping her hip on the counter. Frantically searching the kitchen, she found the coffeemaker with a half pot still left in it. Quickly putting sugar and creamer in it, she drank it down quickly. Once the sleep fog started clearing in her brain, she thought she heard people talking.
Frowning, she walked around the corner of the kitchen and looked onto the back deck where Beau and Hannah sat talking. She wasn’t expecting Beau; she’d have to reevaluate her plan. Deciding more coffee was always good, she went back into the kitchen, refilled her cup and tried to casually walk out to join them.
“Well, good morning!” Lissa called.
“Well, look who is all Suzie Sunshine this morning.” Hannah narrowed her eyes at her. “What’s up?”
“What do you mean what’s up? Why does something have to be up?”
“Because, even I know you, my dear, are never cheerful in the morning,” Beau said dryly.
“Well, geez, I’m cheerful . . . sometimes.”
“You keep telling yourself that,” Hannah said.
“I’ll ignore that comment.” Lissa looked up at the sky to see where the sun was. “What time is it anyway?” She’d been so focused on grilling Hannah for some answers, she didn’t even look to see what time it was.
“It’s almost eleven.” Beau held up his phone. “Will just let me know they are going to be h
ome in a few hours.”
“Wow . . . eleven? That’s sleeping in, even for me.” Lissa frowned.
“It’s the jetlag.” Hannah was working on her tablet. “You’ll be fine in a couple of days. Wouldn’t hurt you to relax for a few. You’ve been on another writing spree.”
Lissa shrugged. “What can I say? I’ve been inspired lately. Plus, if it’s jetlag, why are you guys up so early?”
“I’m always up early, you know that, and Will had to go into work, and you know how much he loves that, it’s his drug. And Beau did sleep in, until eight. Royce didn’t have to worry about jetlag, so he was ready to go first thing no problems.”
“Yeah . . . well, it’s still not fair.”
“Deal,” Hannah stated. “Since you’re up, we’ve received a couple of requests for live interviews while we’re in L.A., One of them is The Ellen Degeneres Show.”
Lissa’s mouth dropped open. “Get. Out.”
“No. Way.” Hannah grinned at her.
“Ellen? Seriously? The Ellen?”
“Totally serious.”
“Wow . . . just . . . wow.”
“After all these years, here’s another dream of yours coming true.” Hannah was bouncing in her chair. “I’ve started putting things in motion. They are looking at next week, or the week after at the latest.”
“So soon?” Lissa looked over at Beau who only grinned and nodded. “But, I’m not ready!”
“What’s there to be ready for? You go, you sit, and you answer questions you already know all the answers to, you leave. Easy.”
“But, I’ll trip, or I’ll forget my name. I’ll drop an F-bomb when we’re on air. Something. Oh, shit, this is going to end badly.” Lissa started breathing heavily and dropped her head between her legs.
Hannah rubbed her back. “Of course all of that is going to happen, in your head, but out here in the real world, you’ll be fine. I’ll give you a drink or two before you go on.”
“That’s all I need, I’ll end up passed out in the chair, or telling a dirty joke, or laughing so hard at myself I’ll have tears running down my face and it will ruin my mascara. I’ll look like a raccoon and Will won’t ever want to be seen with me in public again.”