Go Away, Darling - Alexis Anne Page 0,78

The only thing that matters for the next three weeks is keeping him happy and healthy.”

“I completely agree.” I leaned back against the kitchen counter with a glass of water in my hand as I looked her over. She was shorter than I was by a good two inches, with dark shiny hair shot through with streaks of white. Her dark brown eyes missed nothing. She took in every detail with the kind of quiet contemplation I’d fear if I were her child. I bet she knew everything about everyone. She was not the kind of woman I wanted to upset. “Erik and I have one thing in common. We’re both unexpectedly living out our wildest dreams. I understand what this means to him and how incredibly rare it is. I will be every bit as supportive of him this month as he’s been of me.”

I struck gold with that one. Bernice sighed with relief. “You know I always worried about who he’d finally fall for. It’s not easy to love someone whose face is in the spotlight all the time. We’ve had our ups and downs with that.”

“Jack?”

She nodded. “You know I live just a few blocks from Berlin. We’re still very close. She’s still a part of the family as far as I’m concerned. I thought both of them being so successful would be a good thing. They each had lives. But in the end Berlin was already successful while Jack was just coming into his. They grew apart.”

It was kind of touching how much she seemed to be torn up over their marriage. “Erik once said ballplayers and writers were alike because we do something very few people will do.”

“I can already see why that’s important for the two of you.”

Seth barreled his way into the kitchen. “Mama Cassidy!” He wrapped her up in a hug. “Did you bring my cookies?”

It was funny the way he dissolved into a teenager around Bernice.

“They are on your bed. By the way, clean your room.”

“Yes, Mama Cassidy.” He leaned his head on her shoulder. “I’m going to miss your visits when Erik moves in with Zoe.”

Her eyebrows shot up.

I shrugged. “News to me.” Not that it wasn’t inevitable.

“Like there’s any question,” he grumbled. “You’re here everyday.”

“How would you know?” I shot back with a grin. “You keep shacking up with the woman you’re not interested in.”

“Seth Butler!” Bernice admonished.

“Thanks, Zoe,” he grimaced.

My phone vibrated, saving me from further evil glares. “Sorry guys. This is my agent. I need to take it.” Out on the balcony and away from the lecture Seth was getting about respecting relationships. “Hey Maggie! What’s up?”

“Please don’t be mad at me.”

She had never, ever said anything like that to me. “Why would I be mad at you?”

“The producers have requested you visit the week after next to go over the final script, casting, and details.”

Oh. “I see.” I never thought I’d be disappointed by something like this, but I was. Usually being a writer was awesome because I made my own hours. And because of that advantage I’d planned on traveling with Erik to support him during the playoffs.

“I know this is terrible timing for you but it should just be one, maybe two days in LA.”

“No, no. It’s fine. I was just surprised.”

“I was too but once Lily and Scott joined the project everything has gone light speed ahead. I told them in the future we need more of a heads-up.”

“Yeah thank you. Forward me the details and I’ll get my travel plans squared away.” LA and movies still seemed kind of imaginary. I had a feeling after next week it be a lot more real.

The sliding glass door behind me slid open and closed. Warm lips caressed my cheek as strong arms surrounded me. I leaned back.

“Thanks for understanding, Zoe. And tell Erik I said good luck. You can say that to ballplayers, right? It’s not bad luck like in theater?”

I turned to the man in question. “Maggie says good luck.”

He kissed my cheek again. “Thank you Maggie.”

Maggie giggled. “Talk to you later.”

I ended the call. “Time to go?”

“Yep. What was Maggie calling about?”

“Turns out I’m going to make a quick trip to LA for the movie.”

“Now?” His arms tensed around me.

“No. Maggie’s sending me the dates. Week after next. I might miss a couple of games.”

“No problem.” He spun me around. “You have big dreams too. It’s part of our deal.”

He had no idea how sexy that made him so I decided to show him with a much dirtier kiss.

Jack knocked on the glass behind us. “Come on, Lovebirds. Let’s go!”

“You have a game to win.” I kissed him once more for luck.

“How can we lose with you there to cheer us on?”

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Go Away, Darling - Alexis Anne Page 0,78

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