Page 25 of Words I Couldn't Say
My gaze went from him to the ground, where he was impatiently tapping his foot. Clearly, this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have. Too bad. We had to start somewhere, right? As much as I wanted to flee and hide in the comfort of my parents’ home, I had to do this. Fighting for him was never going to be easy. Plus, I’d already run away once before. I wasn’t making it a habit. Not when it came to him.
“Right. Umm, well, it looks like I’ll be in town for a while. Umm, filming in Cincinnati, a new movie. I’ll be staying next door. You know, umm, with my parents,” I informed him, my gaze returning to his face to try to read his reaction, to see if he had any response to the fact that we’d be so close once again.
Nothing. Not an eyebrow raise or an errant lip twitch. Not even a frown. There was nothing there. No reaction at all. Perhaps indifference really was what Tucker felt. Indifference was the worst possible emotion he could give me. If he was still angry, that meant, from somewhere deep within him, he still cared about me. But not caring? That was a tell-tale sign Tucker Manning was over me and didn’t give a damn that I was back in town.
He nodded curtly. “Heard.”
That was it. One word, one syllable, yet it said so much more. It said everything. He obviously had no interest in small talk, and I was too exhausted from the flight to try to pull teeth from him. As eager as I was to speak with him, to find some way to work this out and start fresh, it was clearly not the time or the place. Not that it would deter me in the future. I’d made a conscious decision to stay with my parents when I could’ve stayed in the short-term apartments the studio had rented for the cast.
I was thrilled to be in the movie. Beyond thrilled. Not just because it had brought me back to Cincinnati and Tucker, but because it was also my first role in a major motion picture. After so many small parts, landing this huge one was beyond my wildest dreams and I needed to stay focused. I had high hopes that this role would change the way I’d been viewing my career lately. The last thing I needed was a distraction.
But, as much as I was willing to pour my heart and soul into the part, I was going to do the same with him. If he let me. But the scowl on his face at the moment? I wasn’t so sure he was going to.
“Well, umm, I guess I’ll see you around?” Without waiting for his response, I turned around to make my exit.
“Your dad coming?” he surprised me by asking Then he surprised me even further as he walked alongside me towards baggage claim.
I took a moment to check my phone, sighing when I saw I’d missed a text from my dad. “He got held up at a showing,” I responded, trying to mask my disappointment.
Dad was one of the city’s most successful realtors, so it wasn’t shocking some client had delayed him from picking me up. Right then, nothing sounded better than a Jeremy Banks hug, but it appeared nothing was going my way.
“I’ll just catch a cab.”
“I’ll take you.”
I stopped in my tracks and gaped at him, probably looking like an idiot with my mouth wide open, eyes rounded, and my head cocked to the side like he’d just said something in a foreign language and I was having trouble grasping the concept. “You…you will?”
“We’re neighbors, Ava. It only makes sense.”
“Okay. Umm, I appreciate it.” I nodded, unsure of what to do with this extra time with a man who so clearly didn’t want to be around me. Yet, selfishly, I’d accepted his offer, hoping I could use the ride as a way to somehow get him to warm up to me. After all, as he’d said, we’re neighbors, and if I had my way, we’d be seeing much more of each other over the next few months.
We stood in silence, waiting for my luggage. The air was thick with tension, as neither of us spoke a word. Just as I was about to ask what he was doing at the airport, I spotted my luggage and moved to grab it.
“Shit,” he mumbled.
I turned and saw a beautiful redhead waving to Tucker from across the terminal. All he gave her in response was a small chin lift, but it was enough for her. I could practically see the way she was melting from the simple yet super macho act.
Which, if I was honest, was pretty damn hot. But, since it hadn’t been directed at me, it wasn’t sexy. Nope, it was rude.
“Friend of yours?” I asked wryly. The jealousy in my tone was evident and I didn’t even care. Maybe it would be nice for him to know I was jealous. It’d let him know I still cared, right?
His gaze left hers, and his eyes, no longer indifferent but narrowed, locked in on mine. “Does it matter?” he challenged, crossing his arms firmly over his chest.
Even though it was utterly shameless, I ignored the question and decided to study him instead. The bulge of his biceps was alluring. Muscles he’d never had before had appeared over the last five years, a dark, golden tan highlighting them. Thanks to his new career, I presumed. His hands, from what I could see of them, appeared rough and callused, and the sight sprang tears to my eyes. Those hands were meant for typing, crafting stories for the world to read. Not swinging a hammer and carrying drywall. It was just another reminder of how much our lives had so drastically changed. How our plans had been wrecked the day his parents had died.
The day his dreams had died.
A throat cleared. My cheeks burned because he’d caught me checking him out.
He shook his head. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Then he turned on his heel and made his way towards the door.
It took a moment to remember that he’d asked a question, and instead of answering, I’d stupidly just eye-banged him. Yeah, the reunion was definitely not going like I’d planned, and suddenly, the idea of sitting in the car with him on the half-hour drive home was no longer appealing.
Ava was home.
Yeah, it’d been my intention to make that one thing happen, but I hadn’t expected the impact of actually seeing her return. Especially when I hadn’t been prepared for it.
