Falling into Forever (Falling into You) - By Lauren Abrams Page 0,47

call it?”

“A youthful transgression.”

“That you’ve been repeating for, oh, just the last ten years or so?” Hallie clucks her tongue. “For shame, Eva. For shame.”

“It’s seven years, not ten. With the jackass. I swear, there’s a special place in hell for him and his kind.”

“Marcus isn’t all bad.”

“We’ll see about that at the meeting tonight. Just wait until he starts shredding your screenplay. He’ll make mincemeat out of Ben’s work. He’s going to try to turn it into a Chris Jensen vehicle. That man’s career is the only thing in this world that Marcus cares about, other than making money and chasing tail. Even when we were in bed, it was always, ‘What do you think about this for Chris’s career? What about that?’ I swear, those two should just get married and be done with it. It would save us both a lot of trouble.”

“Save you a lot of trouble, you mean. I don’t have a horse in this race.”

Marcus suddenly appears before me with his arms crossed, and I raise a finger to my lips. He shakes his head and points behind me to an oversized pillar. After pulling the hat further over my eyes, I turn around and sneak a quick look in the direction of the voices.

I catch a clear glimpse of her face as she turns around to glance down at her phone. It’s only been a week since I’ve seen her, but she’s transformed. She’s still too thin, but her shoulders are ramrod straight and her hair has regained some of its luster. Even from this distance, I can see some of the old light, that sense of wonder at the world around her, reason # 482 that I had fallen in love with her in the first place.

She glances once in my direction, and I inch behind the pillar. When I look up again, she’s absorbed in her conversation with Eva, seemingly oblivious to my presence. I breathe a quick sigh of relief.

“No horse in this race, huh? So, you’re telling me that it’s just a magical coincidence that you decided to return to the land of the living after your little rendezvous in New York. That none of this newfound snarkiness can be attributed to Chris Jensen.”

“Yep, that’s what I’m saying.”

“Sell it to someone who’s buying.”

“Be careful what you wish for.”

“Be careful what you wish for. If I were more informed on the subject, I might back off a little, you know. You still won’t tell me what happened between the two of you. Was it a whirlwind romance gone bad? A steamy love affair that ended in tears? Did he cheat on you? Run away with your best friend? Was it Hollywood that dragged the two young lovers apart?”

“You’re getting Hollywood endings confused with reality again, Eva. I’m sure Marcus could whip you into shape. But for your information, it was none of the above.”

“Don’t you dare mention that man’s name. You’re too cruel. You at least owe me the short version. I’ll get the long version another time.”

“I will tell you the short version under one condition. Two conditions. You have to promise that you’ll get a few cups of coffee before tonight’s meeting and you have drop the subject completely for the next month. No more badgering.”

“I promise on both counts, even though the thought of not badgering you is unpleasant.”

“We were together. It was great until it wasn’t.”

“Come on. Not fair. That’s a non-story.”

“He’s Chris Jensen. He’s colossally talented, looks like a Greek god, and had the whole world wrapped around his little finger, even back then. I thought…”

Her voice catches and I can hear the sharp intake of breath from across the lobby.

“What?”

“I didn’t realize that I was living in a fairy tale. The jackhole broke my heart.”

Her voice is suddenly filled with naked emotion and I lean back. I want to disappear.

“Every girl’s got one of those in her past. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Hallie’s voice is teasing again, but the barely concealed hurt is still audible. “And bad breakups are the best diet ever. They need to put that one in the magazines.”

“Unless your break-up strategies involve a lot of Ben and Jerry’s.”

“Fair enough.”

There’s a bit more teasing back and forth and then I hear the rustling of chairs and I know that they’re leaving. As they pass our hiding spot, I take a deep breath and move closer to the pillar, even as my eyes follow the pair of them. I’m