Accidental Texting: Finding Love despite the Spotlight

by Kimberly Montague

  "Love?" I gasped, and he opened his mouth looking apologetic. I stood up, shaking and backing away. "You—you can't love me! You're—" I swallowed hard. "And I'm—I'm nobody—I'm—" I turned and walked toward the kitchen. "No, this is no—"

  "Morgan, stop." He wrapped his arms around me from behind again. Damn, he smelled good. He put his hands on my hips and turned me around to face him, grabbing my hands and holding on tight. "Look at me."

  I couldn't. He was Sean Wilder, and I hated him. He hurt me, and he was falling in love with me. I squeezed my eyes shut. This couldn't be real.

  "No, come on, Morgan, look at me. Do you really only see Sean Wilder the actor? Do you really only see this face?"

  "It's who—who you are, how can I—I saw you accept an Academy Award for crying out loud. You—"

  He grabbed my chin and forced me to keep my eyes on his. "I'm the man who's been talking to you for the past month. I'm the man in all those stories Stewie has rattled on about. I'm the man who was broken apart two days ago when you hung up on me and eighteen hours ago when I thought I'd completely lost you. I'm Sean Hallowitz. That's who I really am, Morgan. That's the man who's falling for you. Sean Wilder is just an image projected for thousands of people. You know the real me." He stared intensely into my eyes. "The question is, when you look at this face, can you see the real me?" He let go of my chin. "Or should I walk away right now?"

  His cell phone rang, and he gave a frustrated sigh as he let me go and pulled it out of his pocket, keeping his eyes on me the whole time. There was no way I could keep myself from noticing how freaking sexy he was. My eyes were completely glued to him. The way he agitatedly shoved the sleeves up of his dark blue sweater drew my attention to his very large hands. His muscles flexed, and the veins on his arms were thick and sexy.

  "What?" A male voice spoke loudly and quickly in the background. "The cab just dropped me off, Stew." He managed to sound whiny and angry and intimidating all at the same time. "I don't care, Stew. Make it work. This is my life we're talking about here." He hung up and pulled me back to the couch, tugging me to sit down as he sat back down on the coffee table. He was solid muscle. I remembered him saying he was athletic, but I wasn't prepared for how athletic he was. I mean, I knew Sean Wilder was muscular—I'd drooled over him for years—but I didn't know that my Sean—oh this was just so damn confusing.

  "I have to go, Morgan. I'm supposed to be at the premiere for Until Tomorrow tomorrow night." He rolled his eyes. "I have to catch a plane back to California."

  All I could do was stare wide-eyed at him. He couldn't even stay to talk. But I wasn't really surprised that he couldn't make time for—

  "I want you with me, Morgan." He pulled my hands back into his. "I told you—once I had my hands on you, I wasn't gonna be able to let go. Come with me."

  I laughed hysterically. "And—and do what?" I couldn't stop laughing. "Cheer you on from the sidelines? Watch you with some girl on the—the red carpet? Oh is it Michelle?" I stopped laughing immediately as my brain wrapped around that too well. "Oh God, oh God—Michelle—Michelle Stevens?" My hand flew to my mouth, and I wanted to throw up. He'd slept with Michele Stevens. I'd been watching her movies since Dear Kate came out when I was like twenty. She was absolutely stunning. I even copied her hairstyle for a while. Michelle Stevens was my competition—no, now that was idiotic. I could never compete with her.

  "She's a bitch, sweetie. I want you. I want you with me. I don't know how it's gonna work—I know that sucks, but I want you there with me. I don't wanna walk away from here without you. I can't. I—please, Morgan. I need you."

  "You don't even know me, I mean—I mean—I don't know what I mean. You—"

  "Close your eyes." He sounded so calm that it was a bit unnerving and annoying. "Morgan, please close them?"

  I humored him and closed my eyes. I could feel him move forward and place his hands on my cheeks. His lips grazed my earlobe, and I nearly jumped into his lap from surprise. I felt like a skittish virgin or something.

  "Sweetie, I'm the exact same man who's been talking to you on the phone the past month. I'm the same man who's obsessed over you and worried about you and tried to help you. I'm the same man who can't stand the thought of Alvin anywhere near you. I'm your stalker, sweetheart. Can't you hear that in my voice?"

  I could. I could hear all the conversations we'd had. Against the screaming reality my brain was throwing at me, I nodded, keeping my eyes closed.

  "Then why can't you see it in my eyes. Just my eyes." He pulled back, and I focused on his eyes. They were almost the same color as mine, but his had dark green, almost black flecks scattered around the gray while mine had light brown flecks. They were beautiful and somehow, his eyes were exactly as I'd imagined them. They belonged to the guy I'd gotten to know and really truly care about. I nodded.

  "I'm falling in love you, Morgan. I can't stop it. I can't slow it down. Everything you do, everything you say, everything about you pulls me to you. I can't stand the thought of walking out of here without you, but I have people depending on me. I have to go. Please come with me?"

  Tears came to my eyes as my brain reminded me why I'd come to Cerise's cabin to begin with. "You hurt me," I whispered.

  He pulled me into his arms, and it felt so damn good. His strong embrace and the way his hand stroked my hair made me melt into him against my better judgment. "I didn't know what it would do to you, love. I had no idea. I thought it was a good thing. I still don't understand, but I want to. You have to believe I never meant to hurt you. I don't ever want to see you in pain again, Morgan. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me and come with me."

  I wanted to say yes, but I was so petrified. Where the hell could this possibly go? I pulled back and stared at him, not even breathing, trying to make a decision. Cerise's voice played in my mind over and over again, "You'll regret not giving it everything, Morgan." Would I? Or would I be happy that I avoided getting hurt even more? No, she was right. Even if this went down in a great big flaming pile of wreckage, I'd deal, I'd recover. But could I ever get over not trying?

  "Okay," I said softly.

  His smile was brilliant. His perfect bright, white teeth and his deep dimple made me shake my head. Sean Wilder. He stood up and put his hand out to me. "Grab your stuff. We need to get to Warren County Airport as soon as possible."

  I ran to the back bedroom and threw my things in my bag as quickly as I could. I came out of the bedroom, turned off all the lights, and grabbed the keys from the table beside the door. I looked around to be sure I'd done everything I needed to. The thought that this was Sean Wilder just kept replaying over and over in my mind. What if I wasn't enough for him? I mean, he was completely out of my league, like monumentally. I was totally attracted to him, but what if we didn't have any chemistry?

  "What are you worrying about, Morgan?"

  How was it he knew me so well? I couldn't even keep up with my own thoughts. How was it that he was able to pick out when I was worrying? I stood next to the door and shook my head.

  "Morgan?"

  "I can't—what if—I don't even know if we're compatible."

  He threw up his hands and chuckled, sounding a little crazed. "You are completely insane!"

  "Sean?"

  "Morgan, you're being ridiculous. We—"

  "Kiss me?"

  His eyes widened. "Is that what you meant by compatible?" I nodded and looked at the floor, suddenly embarrassed at how forward I'd been, but he walked quickly to me. "Hell, I have no problem taking on that fear."

  Before I could even look up, he'd dropped his bag and pushed me back against the wall, his hand cupping my cheek, and his lips pressed firmly to mine. It started out forceful and needy. From that already flaming fire, it built up to a damn inferno. His fingers pushed down on my chin, and the second I opened my mouth, his tongue slid in to make me moan into his mouth. His hands slid down to my waist, and lower to my hips, biting into them.

  When he reached around to grab
my butt, he lifted me until I had my legs wrapped around his waist. My heart was beating so fast I couldn't keep up with it. His lips were everywhere—my mouth, the sensitive skin beneath my ear, the crook in my neck—building this crazed passion between us higher and higher. I could feel myself trembling, unable to hold on tight enough to him, while trying to touch him everywhere.

  "Sweetie, we have to stop." But instead of pulling back, he sucked on my neck, and I moaned loudly. "God, I love that sound." His voice had me wanting to remove clothing, and we were clearly on the same wavelength since he pulled my loose sweater off my shoulder, attacking the skin he found. His phone rang again. "Damn it!"

  I unhooked my legs from around his waist, and he lowered me back to the ground, staring into my eyes in a way no one had ever looked at me before. It was like he wanted to eat me alive. I leaned against the wall for support, my hands splayed behind me.

  He kissed my lips quickly as he pulled his cell phone back out of his pocket. "I think you can check compatibility off your list of worries." When he winked at me, I swear the whole world disappeared. His eyes stayed on me as he answered the phone. "Talk to me, Goose." I smiled and tilted my head at the strange greeting, and he winked again. "No, I want Nathan there not Anthony." He brushed my hair back behind my ear. "Because I can't fucking trust Anthony—he'll hit on her before I've even left the room." I flinched at his tone. He sounded pissed, but he tenderly tangled his fingers in my hair, cupping my cheek again. "And make sure Mel's there, too. Call Stew and get it set." He hung up and put the phone back in his pocket, his hand still on my cheek. "This is harder than I thought."

  "I—I don't have to come."

  He laughed but still hadn't taken his eyes away from me. The hand that had just shoved his cell phone in his pocket rested against my hip, moving underneath my sweater to touch my skin. I actually jumped when his skin touched mine, and it made him bolder as he ran his hand up my side. His other hand did the same until he used them both to pick me again, pulling my legs around him. "I meant it's harder than I thought it would be to leave this cabin."

  I didn't have to ask what he meant by that as his lips touched mine again in a kiss that was just as feverish and overpowering. His hands explored every inch of my upper body.

  Between kissing and sucking on my neck, he whispered, "How long does it take to get to Warren County airport?"

  "Uh, I—" His teeth grazed the skin on my neck, and I moaned.

  "Sweetie?" He nibbled my skin. "How long?"

  "Stop." I pushed at him. "I can't focus on—um—Warren County airport? Like thirty minutes."

  "Damn, what I wouldn't freaking give for a few hours alone with you right now." He attacked my neck again before bringing his lips back to crash into mine. My knees went weak, and the desire I felt for him was the strongest I'd ever experienced in my life. He pulled back abruptly. "If I don't stop now, I won't. We have to get out of here before I—we just have to get out of here." But my legs were shaking so much that I fell forward as he moved away from me. He smirked and put his arm around my waist. He swooped me up in his arms like I was a pillow and held me close to him, kissing my lips gently.

  I could feel my cheeks flame up over the fact that he'd clearly noticed I was having trouble holding myself up. He kissed my cheek. "All those pictures I have of you… they don't do you justice." He kissed the bridge of my nose. "Your freckles—" He kissed the tops of my cheeks. "They're driving me crazy."

  I was shaking even more now, and I couldn't hold a coherent thought in my head. He stopped kissing me and just held me close to him. His embrace was tight, and he smelled amazing. He had cologne on, but it wasn't overpowering. His sweater was so soft. The way it contrasted with his hard chest left me rubbing my cheek against it. His lips brushed the top of my head, and I felt his intake of breath as he buried his nose in my hair. This was insane. I hadn't imagined this crazed inability to stop touching each other. I loved Brent, I really did, but I'd never felt anything like this for him or for anyone.

  Sean's cell phone rang again just as my cell phone started ringing. He groaned and set me down, but kept one arm wrapped around me as he pulled out his cell phone with the other.

  "Yeah?" His voice was a little shaky, and it made me smile to know I wasn't the only one feeling this insanity. "No, I'm fine." His voice had a much higher pitch than it usually did, making me giggle. He pulled away from me and leaned down to look me in the eye. He turned the phone inward away from his mouth and whispered, "Oh, you're enjoying what you've done to me?" I smiled brightly at him, and he kissed my lips softly twice before I could hear yelling on the phone. "Sorry, no Stew, I'm sorry—we're leaving now." Stewie was still yelling and Sean winced. "Hey now, careful there, Stewart." Sean was shaking his head. His jaw was clenched. "That depends on whether you can you watch your damn mouth." I had no idea what was being said, but he went from shaky to seriously angry in less than a minute. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Fine." He held the phone out to me. "He wants to talk to you."

  I took the phone from him, but kept my wide eyes connected to Sean's. "Hello?"

  "Morgan, it's Stewie. I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to upset you. I trust you, I really do, Morgan, but it's my job to look out for Sean and his reputation. Hell, it's not just my job, the jackass is my family. I just, I'm not sure he's thinking this through very well. I'm worried about how you'll handle all this. Are you sure you want to do this? And don't give me the answer you know Sean wants to hear. He's a big boy—he can wait for you a few more days if you make him."

  "I—" Sean was watching me intently with his knees bent so his eyes were at my level. He looked like a little boy waiting to find out if he could play outside. "I don't know what I'm even getting into, Stewie. I can't tell you I'm ready for this. I don't know what this is yet. But—but I want—to be with him. All I can say is I'm ready to try."

  "Morgan, he can't afford for you to—" Sean pulled the phone from my hand again.

  "You have your answer, now make it work. I'm done with this conversation, Stew." He turned off the phone, kissed me quickly and turned away. At the door, he stood with our bags and his hand stretched out to me. I was done hesitating; I slid my hand into his, and off we went.

  My Sean

  Sean's phone didn't stop ringing. I couldn't even keep up with who he was talking or what was being said. But that may have had something to do with the way he drove my car around the snow-covered roads, leaving me gripping the seat. His hand covered my bouncing knee, and I looked over at him.

  "Are you okay?" he asked, a soft expression on his face.

  "Yeah, just, you're going a little fast."

  He chuckled. "Actually, I'm going slow."

  "Maybe for a California highway, but this is snow and ice, Sean."

  "Sweetie, you know I grew up in Minnesota. I learned to drive in Minnesota. Do you have any idea how often it snows in Minnesota? Trust me, love, I know what I'm doing. And I would never put you in danger."

  I relaxed a little, having forgotten that he grew up farther north than Vermont. But I grabbed onto his hand like a lifeline and squeezed the hell out of it every few minutes when we zoomed past a tall snow bank or a car that was a little too close.

  We made it to the Warren County airport in twenty minutes. Sean was on the phone immediately getting instructions. We drove to a hangar labeled "Big Duke's Up and Away." I looked around and only saw small, single propeller planes.

  "Are we—" I swallowed hard. "We're not flying on one of those?"

  Sean pulled me close to him, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "It's okay. It's just a half hour to Burlington then Stewie got us on a private jet to Los Angeles."

  "A private jet?" I'd never even flown in first class, let alone a private jet.

  He hugged me even closer to him as we walked toward the door. "I've flown on these small planes a hundred times. It'll be fine. Do you trust me?"

  I bit my bottom lip, but nodded. He smiled wider and kissed m
y forehead.

  Twenty minutes later, we were in the air, and I thought I was going to throw up. The craziness of it all—Sean Wilder and movie premieres and tiny planes taking us to a private jet—was more than I could imagine, and I had a pretty good imagination. Sean kept up a steady conversation with Denny, our pilot. He was apparently Duke's oldest son, and a big fan of Sean's. I couldn't imagine anyone who wasn't a fan of Sean's. Landing was the most terrifying part of the flight. I was so happy when we touched down that I almost kissed the ground, but I didn't have time.

  The second we stepped out of the plane, a guy in a red TSA jacket met us on the Tarmac and ushered us into the building. We climbed on a golf cart-like vehicle, and I really just lost track of where we went after that. We zoomed around several buildings and were back outside at another plane several minutes later. Sean signed a few autographs for our golf cart driver and steered me up the stairs of a small jet. I thought my stomach was going to jump out of my throat.

  Sean was talking to the flight attendant, who was a tall but thin young man, and texting someone on his phone, which left me far too much time to think. This was moving too quickly. I sat down in one of the five seats that looked more like recliners, although I thought about lying down on the couch in the back since I felt like I might pass out any minute. My blood pressure had to be through the roof. The interior of the plane was actually really comfortable and not at all sterile like a commercial plane. Even with the cozy interior though, I was so nervous. I'd never flown cross country. I'd never even flown half that. I felt so disoriented.

  Sean sat down in the seat next to me with the thin aisle between us and handed me a small glass. "Drink this. It'll help you calm down a bit."

  I swallowed back the Scotch and set the glass down, noticing my hand shaking. He moved to the seat facing me and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees like he had back at the cabin. He took my hands and rubbed soothing circles over my knuckles.