Page 33 of When Stars Collide
“Whoa, babe, I don’t think I’ve ever seen your work before. I remember Elle saying something about your artwork while at Cogsworth, but I just figured you’d lost interest in it over the years.”
“Speaking of losing interest, it’s nice to see you’re speaking to me again.”
“On that note.” Jo got up from the couch and placed the empty bottle of beer on the counter. “I think that was my cue to go to bed. No boinking on the couch whenever you two kiss and make up,” she announced, pointing an accusatory finger between Peter and me.
“I assume you follow that rule when I’m out of town?”
Jo’s stare back at me was a bit too prolonged before she turned around to head into her bedroom. “Goodnight.”
Peter scanned the couch in disgust while I tossed my notebook on the coffee table.
“What is it?” he asked softly.
“You tell me.” The blank stare on his face told me that we could be here all night if I were to wait for a response from him. “Okay, I’ll go first. You’ve hardly said a word to me since lunch, and when you have spoken—to me, anyway—you’ve used nothing but one-syllable words and have done everything in your power to keep your answers as short as humanly possible. Listen, I know the fact that I had to work today wasn’t ideal, but—”
“I didn’t care that you had to work today … I mean, I did. I wasn’t upset by it, though.”
“Then what is it?”
He ran his hand through his thick hair. “Whenever you talked about Phineas, I would just naturally assume he was an older man in his sixties.”
“That’s exactly what Jo said. I hear the name is making a comeback. You know, like Edward, Gertrude, Elmer.”
“To be fair, I don’t think Elmer will ever be making a comeback.” I raised an eyebrow, silently requesting him to proceed. “When I saw Phineas, and noticed he was decidedly not in the realm of what I expected, and then I heard how he talked about you and how excited you seemed to be with the way things are going here, which I’m happy for you, Mena, I really am, I guess I allowed my insecurities to take over.”
“Peter Monroe, are you jealous?”
“You don’t have to look so smug about it.”
“I hadn’t realized my face was reacting to my thoughts.”
“It’s not just a jealousy thing.” He caught my eye and relented. “Okay, it’s notentirelya jealousy thing.”
“Then what?”
“You have a life here.”
“You don’t say? And you have a life in Virginia.”
“I do, and until Jackson grows up, I will continue to have a life there. New York is great to visit …”
“You just don’t want to live here,” I finished his sentence. “Peter, I know. You haven’t exactly made a secret of it.”
“And then I hear about how well you’re doing here, and what great opportunities you have. Mena, I can’t compete with that.”
“I’m not asking you to compete with any of it. We’ll figure something out. Part of my job can be done offsite. Phineas and I will work something out.” I laid my hand on his thigh, capturing his attention. “I love you, Peter Monroe. When we decided to give us another go, I know we expected to have more of a plan in action by this point in our relationship, and we will. I promise you it will work out. Otherwise, The Beatles are a bunch of filthy liars.” He had a big, goofy grin on his face that was only briefly interrupted by confusion. “Because as The Beatles sang,All You Need Is Love.”
“So, you love me?”
“Yeah … yeah, don’t go getting a big head over it.” I ran my fingers over his chin stubble. “In all seriousness, you’re the first person outside of family I’ve ever said that to, so it’s kind of an honor if you think about it.”
“I love you, too, Mena Straszewski.” Goosebumps sprouted across my skin as he brushed his thumb across my jawline. “Thank you for putting up with my—”
“Man tantrum?”
“My concerns.”
“Well, then, thank you for putting up with me in general.”
