Page 136 of Best Friends for Never

Not with my mind back in Washington.

I can’t believe Gran was the one who donated the money for the theater renovation to reunite Parker and me. Either she’s a genius or completely delusional.

Since I’m currently sitting on a plane, flying away from the woman I love for who knows how long, I’m going with the latter.

If Parker wanted me to stay, why didn’t she ask me to?

The thought stays there throughout the rest of the flight and even when we land.

I slide into the car Vince has waiting for me and close my eyes as the driver navigates us toward the studio.

We sit in traffic—because there’s always fucking traffic—and I do my best to try to block out the noise from all the honking horns and loud cars.

Fuck, has this city always been so noisy? Has it always been this overstimulating? Or did I just get far, far too used to the slow pace of Emerald Grove while I was there?

Almost an hour later, we pull into the studio lot, and I’m escorted inside the big gray building where Aaron is waiting for me in the equally gray lobby.

“Noel!” he chirps, rising to his feet to greet me. “You made it!”

“Did you think I wouldn’t?”

My words come out much harsher than I intend, but I guess that’s expected when I haven’t had any sleep or food and am running on shitty coffee and scotch.

Aaron’s brows lift, but he doesn’t comment on my demeanor. “Right. Well, we should probably go over a few things. Ensure we’re on the same page before heading in there.”

We sit, and he pops open the briefcase he was holding. He pulls out several papers, shuffling them around.

He begins going over timelines, salary, and script changes.

I nod along with all of it, not really paying attention.

I should be fucking ecstatic to be sitting here. I know at least ten other actors who would kill to be in my shoes right now.

But I can’t muster a single ounce of enthusiasm for some reason.

Maybe it’s the lack of sleep or overdoing it on the caffeine. Or maybe all the travel I had to do this morning, the traffic I had to sit in on the way over here, or these gray walls making me more and more miserable by the second.

Or maybe it’s just that I miss Parker, and I think I left half of my heart back in Washington.

“Noel?” Aaron asks. “Are you still with me?”

“Hmm?” I scratch at my scruff, which is steadily turning into a full beard. “I’m good. It’s just been a long day already.”

He frowns. “This is why Vince had you flying in yesterday so that you could be rested for today. But no. You wanted to stay in your crummy little town until the very last second.”

I grind my teeth, barely holding back all the words I want to sling at him.

It’s probably not a good idea, especially since he’s worked so hard to get me here and I’d basically be spitting right in his face.

He snaps his fingers at the employee sitting at the front desk. “You. Can we get some coffee, please?”

They roll their eyes but rise, then walk to the coffee bar near the elevators. They make a big deal out of putting the pod in the machine and pressing the start button. When it’s finished, they bring it over to us, stomping and sending the coffee sloshing out of the paper cup the whole way.

Aaron takes the coffee with a groan and then hands it to me.

“Thank you,” I tell them. “You didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate it.” I smile, trying to ease the apparent tension my agent has created.

They give me a curt nod, then walk back to their desk.

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