Page 25 of The Burdens We Share
I push off the barstool and take a step toward her. I reach for her wrists in my palms and pull them away from her face. Her head is angled down, “Look at me,” I command her.
She looks up and the sight of the tears in her eyes has a sharp pain shooting through my chest. “Just because he removed himself from footage doesn’t mean that I won’t still catch him.”
“So what does it mean then?” Her voice cracks as a betraying tear rolls down her cheek.
I wipe it away with my thumb and rest my hands on her shoulders. I notice how her body relaxes into me. “It means that he’s just a little smarter than I thought he was.” And I have a theory to back that up. If he knew I was Ivory’s new security, that means he definitely did his homework on me. No stalker wouldn’t look into someone who’s spending so much time around the object of his obsession. If he did his homework onme like I think he did, that means that he knows who I am and what I do for work. He knows I excel in tech and security which is why he went in and cleaned the footage. “But I’m smarter,” I promise her.
She sees something in my face. Something that shows her I mean what I’m saying, that I would never let anything hurt her. She nods, “Thank you.”
I nod, removing my hands from her shoulders. If I continue touching her any longer, I may do something uncontrollable like kiss every square inch of her body. There will be plenty of time for that, but for now, she needs to trust me.
“Go to bed, you look exhausted.”
She yawns suddenly and gives me a weak smile. She takes a step back and then another until she’s walking all the way to the stairs. She stops at the first step and says, “Goodnight, Dallas.”
“Goodnight, Ivory.”
Chapter 10
Ivory
“Blair is the cutest.She really is a mini me,” Brody speaks affectionately about the actress playing her when she was a little girl.
We all sit in Brody’s trailer and go through scenes. “She is so cute,” Aria agrees.
Brody asks me, “Did they find an actress to play Little You yet?”
I shake my head, “No, but I’m glad you brought that up. I have an idea,” I quirk my head at her.
Harvey and Sly are here today on set and they sit with Dallas in the little kitchen area. It’s interesting to watch the dynamic of Harvey and Dallas interacting with Sly. Dallas and Harvey are best friends and business partners and they have far more in common than they do with Sly. Sly’s a fucking rockstar for crying out loud. He couldn’t be more different than them. Sly isn’t best friends with Harvey and Dallas by any means, but they do include him in conversation and I do think they have a mutual silent agreement of some kind or just some kind of understanding ever since Dallas and Harvey had to pull a raging Sly off of Rogan that night.
“What’s the idea?” Brody asks curiously.
I look over at the guys, “Harvey?” I call.
He stops talking to Sly and Dallas and looks over at me with a questioning look on his face. Harvey and I have never been close, and if I’m being totally honest, I don’t think he likes me very much. I don’t blame him for that. At one point, Aria and Iwere really shitty to Brody and she didn’t deserve it. If he hates us, it’s because he’s loyal to Brody. Though I don’t think he hates Aria anymore. Not after he tried to warn her about Rogan.
“I have a question for you and Brody if you don’t mind,” I give him a polite smile.
He turns and gives me his full attention. Sly takes the opportunity to get up from his seat in the kitchen and walk over to where his fiancé sits. He places his hands on her shoulders from behind and kisses the top of her head. She smiles at the contact and I’m so genuinely happy for Aria that she’s happy.
Brody leans forward, “Let’s hear this question.”
“I was wondering if maybe Lucy would like to play young Ivory Aslan in the movie?” I ask. I feel awkward asking. Lucy is Harvey’s little sister and Harvey is extremely protective of her. He’s more of a parental figure to her than a brother and I have a feeling that Harvey may not want her in the spotlight. But I love Lucy like she’s my own little sister. Brody likes to include her in our group hangouts or sleepovers sometimes and she’s such a sweet and funny girl.
Harvey looks surprised as if he was not expecting me to ask that at all. He looks at Brody who’s grinning ear to ear. She looks at him and beams, “I’m sure Lucy would love that.”
Harvey nods and looks at me in a way he’s never looked at me before, “That would make her so happy. Thank you, Ivory.”
I give him a gentle smile, “So you’ll allow it?”
Harvey walks over to his fiancé and sits down next to her on the bench seat, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She presses a kiss to his cheek and he fights a smile as he speaks to me, “Of course.”
I clap my hands, “Yay!”
Aria frowns, “I wish I thought of that first. Fuck.”
Sly leans into her ear, “It’s okay, Kane. You’ve been busy with wedding planning.”
