Page 87 of Romance Is Dead

I grinned. “You can pry the nextConjuringsequel out of my cold, dead hands.”

Teddy used his thumb and forefinger to tip my chin up until I was looking at him. “He’ll understand. I know he will.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart clenching painfully as I hoped he was right. The words were a balm, soothing an ache that had been in my chest for months. So many people in the industry looked at you but didn’t see you. It was starting to feel like Teddy saw me.

When I opened them, Teddy’s gaze had fallen to my lips. I didn’t hesitate before I closed the space between us, pressing my mouth to his. He wrapped an arm around my waist and hauled me up, twisting until I was on top of him. I pressed my hands to either side of his face, deepening the kiss. It felt different this time—kissing not just for the pleasure of it, but because I wanted to be as close to him as possible, like I couldn’t stand a millimeter of space between us. I wanted him, all of him, to envelop me completely.

It was intense. Probably too intense. Teddy was filming his last scene tomorrow. And then he would leave, and I would never see him again. He would go off to film his next dating show, and I would be. . . well, whatever I ended up deciding to do. Which was exactly the plan, I reminded myself. Exactly what was supposed to happen. What needed to happen. But I couldn’t chase away the feeling of being cheated. Like I hadn’t had enough time. I’d had no idea about his father—what else didn’t I know about him? Probably a million things.

I pulled back, breaking the kiss. “Tell me something I don’t know about you.”

“What?” Teddy laughed, cupping my cheek in his hand as he brushed hair out of my eyes.

“Tell me something I don’t know about you,” I repeated, rolling over to snuggle under his arm. “I want to know everything.”

“I got spat on by a llama once. Does that count?”

“Definitely. Tell me another.”

I knew it was late. I knew my alarm would wake me up way too soon once I finally went to sleep. I knew delving further into Teddy’s world wasn’t going to make saying goodbye any easier. But I didn’t care. I wanted to soak it up, soak him up, when I still had the chance.

So we stayed. I learned he didn’t lose his virginity until he was twenty-one, and he learned that I slept with my baby blanket until it disintegrated two years ago. We didn’t leave until the horizon started to lighten with a hint of the morning sun, driving back to the hotel with hands entwined. We had two hours before we had to be in hair and makeup, and I knew taking a nap would only make me more exhausted and that filming would be grueling.

But as we said goodbye and I collapsed into my hotel bed, I knew it was worth it. He’d been worth it.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Lungs burning, I burst out the back door of the house. Teddy was two steps behind me, our feet clattering down the porch steps and onto the grassy yard. The night sky was bright, the full moon and a smattering of stars illuminating our way as we tore down the lawn. Dew was already forming on the grass, but thankfully our feet didn’t slip as we sprinted toward the tree towering in the distance, mist swirling at its base.

“Cut!”

Thank God. I ground to a halt, bending over to grip my knees and catch my breath. We’d finally reached the point in the script where Teddy’s character is killed off by the witch, and we’d been working on the scene since the sun went down a few hours ago. It was a key scene, but did it have to involve so much running?

Teddy stopped next to me, annoyingly not as out of breath as I was. “Damn, Jigsaw, you were booking it.” He ran a hand through his hair, sweat gathering on his forehead. “It’s like you’re excited about my death or something.”

“Of course not.” I clasped a hand to my chest, as though mortally offended. “What on earth would make you think that?”

“Hmm, I can’t imagine.” He fisted his hand under his chin. “You were so kind to me on my first day. So welcoming. So forgiving.”

“Listen, buddy, I take destruction of private property very seriously.”

“Unless it’s a wig you don’t mind almost losing.”

“Shh!” I hurried to cover his mouth with my hand. Laughing beneath my palm, Teddy wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close, making me giggle, too.

I knew we looked cozy, but I couldn’t bring myself to push him away. Knowing it was our last day on set together, my heart had been doing something funny all day—a weird ache punctuated by moments of intense pride. It was hard to believe Teddy was the same actor who had flubbed his lines and sent a lamp careening onto the floor that first day. Now, he was so confident, so self-assured. And he was good. It was a shame that he was going to waste his talent on another reality show when I knew he could do something so much more.

I tried not to think about how much I would miss him.

“You two.”

A sharp voice pierced my train of thought. I pulled away from Teddy, guilty, like we’d been doing something much more illicit than sharing a hug. It was Natasha, staring at us with one eyebrow raised.

“Yes?” I asked, inching away from Teddy.

“Everyone’s moved over there.” She gestured further down the backyard, where crew members were setting up the cameras and lighting near the giant, gnarled tree that stood in the middle of the long, sloping lawn.

“We were just talking,” Teddy explained.

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