Page 244 of Just for the Cameras
I chuckle. “You say that now…”
“You couldn’t.” He kisses the back of my hand as he looks into my eyes. God, he’s so sweet. This big lump of muscle who I thought was a total jerk has turned out to be one of the sweetest humans I’ve ever met.
Tell me how that is possible.
“Okay, then I will send you some times, if that works for you, Maple.”
“Yeah, that works.”
“Great.” She stands from the chair. “I think that’s all I needed. Sorry to take time out of your day.” She gathers her things and heads for the door. Before she leaves, she turns to us and drops her usual stern expression. “For what it’s worth, I like you two together, and I’m glad it turned into so much more. I’m not just saying that because of the PR benefits. I see that you two actually make sense. You complete each other.”
She softly smiles and is about to leave before she stops herself.
“Oh, one more thing. We have the PR relationship on lockdown, meaning all prior contracts from it have been shredded since we started this new one. Nothing else is required from that contract since it’s null and void. Just wanted to make that clear. You two can just…live your life. We would love for you to share, but you don’t have to share everything. What you’re already doing is enough, and as popularity increases, the PR will unfold on its own. Just be prepared.”
“Thank you, Gretchen,” Graydon says, the tension in his voice gone now.
She nods and then takes off, leaving us alone in the conference room. When the door is shut, Graydon pulls me onto his lap.
“How did I know you were going to do that?” I ask.
“This is where you should have sat to begin with.”
“That’s not very professional, Graydon.”
“Like I fucking care.”
I drag my index finger over his five-o’clock shadow, letting my nails scrape along the short hairs. “You should. This is your place of work.”
“Yeah, never cared about that either.” His hand rubs my thigh. “Are you okay? I know that bullshit contract has hurt you before.”
“I’m fine,” I say.
“Promise?”
“Promise.” I smile softly. “Stop acting like I’m about to run off any second. This is where I want to be, with you.”
“Okay,” he says, but he doesn’t smile, and I can see something is in the back of his mind, plaguing his words.
“What are you not saying?”
“Nothing.” He shakes his head.
“No, don’t do that. You would never let me get away with saying, ‘nothing,’ so I won’t let you. What’s happening in your head?”
“I’m just…hell, Maple, I’m sorry that being with me comes with all of this. Contracts and media training and schedules.”
“You don’t need to apologize. You’re worth all of it.” I kiss his cheek, then his lips. “So worth it, Graydon.”
“It would be easier with someone else.”
That makes me pause, and I pull away to look him in the eyes. “Why would you say that? Are you trying to push me away?”
“No.” He links our fingers together and stares down at the connection. “I just, fuck, Maple, I feel bad about all of this.”
“Well, don’t. I knew what I was getting into when I said yes to all of this. Stop trying to protect me, and let me just live this with you.”
“It’s my job to protect you.”
