Page 74 of Take It Till You Make It
“She is hysterical. And she’s clever. And she’s capable. And she’s stunning. She literally takes my breath away.”
I cock my head. “Wow. Good morning to you too. I’m gonna have a good day.”
He literally walks into me, wraps his arm around my waist, and escorts me through the door as he flashes his ID at Terrell. I cannot say I mind having him accost me in such a manner. His much larger frame engulfs me like a warm blanket. I want to grab his arms and pull them around to the front of me and curl up with a good book.
I’m laughing as I trip along in his embrace. “What are you doing?”
“I missed you. How was your weekend?”
I squirm out of his embrace and stop. “You missed me?”
“Yes. I went to Catalina with my family, and every time I saw something cool, I wanted to share it with you. I can never go anywhere without you again.”
I cross my arms and shake my head. “I can’t figure you out. Last week, you barely talked to me. I actually thought you were avoiding me.”
He makes a funny face. “I might have been.”
My mouth drops open. It takes a few beats for me to find my voice. “Oh, but this week everything’s fine again?”
Drawing in a deep breath, he stands with his feet shoulder-width apart, his hands folded in front of him, biting his lip. “I’m working on a surprise for your birthday, and I’m scared I’ll say something to give it away. But I hate not seeing you, so I’m just going to try really hard to not spill the beans this week.”
Wow. There’s a lot to unpack there. I did sort of suspect he was planning something, but I didn’t think it was a big deal type of something that he’d have to avoid me to not accidentally share.
“Oh my gosh. Are you getting me a pony?”
He makes a disgusted noise. “See. I knew I’d blow it. I should have kept avoiding you.”
He steps forward, sliding his sunglasses on top of his head, and then wraps his arms around me again, but gentler this time and with intent. My heart immediately speeds up like it’s the space shuttle and we just launched it. Gingerly, I rest my cheek against his warm chest, kind of not believing what’s happening right now.
“But now that you know, I can see you as often as possible. Let’s get you to makeup before Remi removes my head.”
When we turn in that direction, he takes my hand. I look down at our entwined fingers with wonder. What is happening this morning?
Remi smirks when we walk in holding hands. “I should have known she wouldn’t be late on her own.”
“Sorry, Remi.” Crispin squeezes my hand before releasing it. “It was selfish of me, but it was a long weekend without her.”
I feel like I’m being punked. I search for hidden cameras and Ashton Kutcher in disguise. “What’s gotten into you today?”
Crispin takes his usual spot, leaning against the lit-up mirror, the glow highlighting his high cheekbones and flawless complexion and making his brown eyes shine. When he speaks, his tone is so sincere it steals my next breath. “I told you. I missed you.”
I can’t hold his gaze, so I look at Remi in the mirror, dramatically arching a single brow so she knows I’m dubious about this sudden show of affection. But she has a sappy expression like she’s witnessing a marriage proposal or something. That doesn’t help. I close my eyes since she’s spraying my hair. “What about me did you miss?”
He doesn’t miss a beat. “Your laughter. Your humor. How you keep me in line when I’m a jerk.”
“I do that?” I open my eyes. “And you missed it?”
He nods, his gaze soft. “I think you’re like an earworm to me. Now that I’ve heard you, I can’t get you out of my head.”
“Earworm.” I scoff. “That’s very romantic. Thank you.”
“In the best way, though.” He snorts. “I was wondering if you’d like to go to dinner with me on Wednesday for your birthday. We won’t stay out late or anything. Unless you have plans with your mom. I just…If you’re free, I would love to celebrate you.”
I swallow. Not “with” me – he wants to celebrate me. “I honestly have no idea if Mom even realizes Wednesday is my birthday. I’ll ask her and let you know.”
He nods. “Now I’d better get going. I’m filming with this girl today who is unusually difficult to work with. I need to get in character.”
“I’m sure she brings the best out of you for the camera, though.”
