Page 14 of Yours, Always

“Yes, I’m aware how true that is. This is the script she wants me to read that Samantha Crane is attached to, but I’m just ready to leave it all behind for a while, and I told her so. Honestly, I think she gave up a little too easily.”

“Why did you call me while she was there?”

“I pretended it wasyoucallingme! I don’t think she would’ve left otherwise.” He returned to his seat and plopped down. “It felt so good to book that plane ticket. It only took me about one minute of thinking after I talked with you last night to decide.” He reached over to an end table and brought a bottle of water to his lips, taking a drink. “I suppose you knew that since you were with Annabelle earlier.”

“I did know, but it makes me happy to hear it directly from you.”

“No take backs, huh?”

“Absolutely no take backs. I can’t wait to see you in person, Grey. I’m glad we can talk over the phone, but I just can’t wait.” Prudence leaned closer to the phone. “Just so you know, Annabelle has a list of things for you to do for the Fall Festival. And by list, I mean she has a full itinerary.”

“Oh, man! There go my hopes of getting any rest.” His eyes took on a playful look. “Maybe you’ll have to kidnap me so we can get some time to hang out.”

Prudence started to get warm, her mind going to something more intimate than board games, her thoughts from earlier and the memory of their kiss rushing back. She reached for her drink, taking a gulp of her now ice-cold coffee.

“You okay, Pru?” Greyson asked, sounding concerned. “You’re looking a little warm.”

“I’m good. The coffee combined with a sweater and a hot coffee shop seems to have made me overheat.” She fanned herself trying to cool down, needing a change of subject, still disconcerted that memories from so long ago, memories she hadn’t thought of in a very long time, could affect her like this. “Annabelle said you were coming tomorrow?”

“Yep, there’s no reason to wait. You already saw Nadia, she’s desperate to keep me here. She’d have me doing press every day up until the Passel nominations are announced and then twice daily after that. I swear, if I didn’t know better, I’d think she had a spare key made for my house.”

“‘Single White Agent’. Now that would be a movie I’d see.”

“Exactly! If I don’t get out now, she’ll book me solid and I might never get to leave.”

“What time tomorrow? My day is free by noon after my client meetings, I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

“I’ve got it taken care of. I’ll call you when I’m in, and we’ll meet at Finnegan’s.” Greyson startled in his chair and glanced sharply over his shoulder at his front door. He sat back, relaxing again. “Just the mailman.”

“Man, you do need to get out of there. You know you’ve spent too much time in Hollywood when you see agents lurking in every dark corner.”

Greyson laughed. “You have no clue how true that is, Pru. No clue.” He stood and walked into his kitchen, throwing his water bottle into a blue recycling bin under the sink. “I’ve got a few loose ends to finish up here, then I’ll be free as a bird for whatever Amber Falls can throw at me.”

“I can’t believe you’ll be here tomorrow!”

“You’d better believe it, Pru. Bye.”

Prudence sighed in relief and stretched—she’d been sitting for too long and sweated more than she had in quite a while. She needed to go home and shower but still had items strewn on the floor, a reminder of the work she needed to finish and errands she had yet to run.A shower would have to wait.She bent to pick up her briefcase, her head almost hitting the table as she bolted upright. She’d forgotten to tell Greyson about Chuck.Daaaaaamit.

She supposed it wasn’t her fault she never thought of Chuck when talking to Greyson, but she didn’t want him walking into an uncomfortable situation when he got home, not knowing and being blindsided. Although blindsided didn’t seem like the right word. Her and Greyson were not, nor had they ever been, a couple. She didn’t owe him any explanation other than a friend-to-friend conversation about the current state of her love life.Romantic life. No…dating life. She’d give him a quick run-down when she saw him tomorrow, short and sweet. She’d remember to do it then. Surely, she would.

Chapter Eight

As far as airports went, LAX was amazing. Every time Greyson flew into California the brightly colored obelisks and the LAX letters, reminiscent of the infamous Hollywood sign, welcomed him, beckoning him back to the land of milk and honey. It was always warm when he came back, even in the winter when celebrities would wear big puffer jackets at the chilly temperature of 50 degrees, trying to fool regular folks in subarctic North Dakota that they were just like them, rather than living in a paradise where you never had to scrape ice off your windshield. But Greyson had grown up in Massachusetts. Nor’easters and freezing temperatures were not unusual in the winter months, and to him 50 degrees was shorts and maybe a light jacket weather.

Flying out was an altogether different experience. The thrill of arriving at the airport ready for a new journey had never worn off for Greyson, even when it was the five a.m. red-eye he was taking today. The beginning of a trip held so many possibilities, and this one felt so much more significant. After his conversation with Prudence the night of the Verity Awards he knew it was time to go home. Home. Not the place where he’d lived for a good portion of his adulthood—he’d never really thought of California as home—but the place of his birth, where his brother still lived, where his friends were, where Prudence was—Amber Falls.

He didn’t know when he’d first started connecting Prudence with home. Sure, she lived in Amber Falls, she’d grown up there just like him, but the two had somehow become synonymous over the last few years.

That’s why this trip felt more meaningful to Greyson. The last week—spending time with Samantha Crane, winning the award—had forced Greyson to truly examine his feelings for Prudence. More than just wishing she was with him, more than wonderings and musings. He’d always thought of Prudence, but it had reached such a fever pitch that as of late he could no longer deny what he needed to do. He’d made up his mind the night he won the Verity Award and booked a ticket that night to go home. He wasn’t just going home—he was going to Prudence, and he had a plan. It wasn’t fully formed, and he didn’t know how he was going to execute it, but he’d envisioned the result enough times to know exactly how it was going to end… Okay, maybe it wasn’t a plan, but that didn’t change his mission for this trip. He was going to make Prudence his. A smile crossed his face as he stepped out of the Uber and grabbed his luggage. Yes, he was ready to go home.

Greyson pulled his Red Sox baseball cap a little lower on his head, a habit when he was out in public, to avoid being noticed. He wasn’t so vain to assume he was the most popular actor out there, but just enough people recognized him to give his ego that little boost all actors internally craved. He hiked his carry-on higher up on his shoulder and turned his head slightly away as he passed a group of bored looking teenage girls. Sure enough, one squeal was all it took. He stopped and obligingly took a picture with the group before heading to stand in line at the TSA PreCheck. He never minded waiting, it’s not as if his life were so much more important than those around him.Probably less so.

Greyson reached the front of the line and greeted Paul, the TSA agent he most regularly got. Paul, with his slicked back hair and crooked grin, was the kind of guy you didn’t want to know what he did in his free time. Smarmy was the best word to describe him, his record obviously clean enough to get a government job, but just barely.

“Hi, Mr. Atwood, leaving again so soon?” Paul asked, sucking at something invisible stuck in his teeth.

“Yep, this time for a vacation.”

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