Falling into Forever (Falling into You) - By Lauren Abrams Page 0,48

not alone. A number of interested onlookers watch as Hallie bends down to rustle in her purse for the key card.

I hide my face as she glances in my direction. She can’t know that I was listening to that. Marcus lets out a long, low whistle as the elevator doors close on them.

“Damn. Hallie Caldwell, all grown up. I take back what I said, Jensen. If I knew she was going to look that good, I wouldn’t have tried to talk you out of your machinations. I would have helped more.” He shoots me a sympathetic look. “But look on the bright side. She called you a jackhole. Means that there are still strong emotional feelings there.”

“You’re the jackhole, you know that?”

“I would let Hallie Caldwell call me a jackhole any day, but I’m not taking that kind of abuse from you. Listen, I have to meet with one of the set design guys at the restaurant in a few minutes. You think you’ll be able to make it to your room without assistance? Or, do I need to come along to wipe your ass for you?”

“That’s really funny, Marcus. Original, too. Go.”

“Eight o’clock. On the dot, man.”

“Got it.”

With a quick wave, Marcus darts off to the restaurant. The sounds of him barking orders at some hapless assistant over the phone echo throughout the lobby. Voice modulation has never been his strong suit. I shake my head and yank the cap down over my face as I join the crowd that’s waiting at the elevator bay. When the bell dings, I move towards the open doors and take a sideways step to avoid the rush of people tumbling out.

The elevator is nearly emptied when a woman and her a half-asleep Pomeranian careen into me in a rush to squeeze themselves on. The dog lets out a sharp bark as the woman’s arms loosen and instinctively, I reach out to catch him. I put him safely back into her arms with a little smile.

“Thank you. I don’t know why I’m so clumsy today. Buster says thank you, too.”

The woman’s arm flutters over mine in a gesture of appreciation, and I smile at both her and Buster, although hearing the dog’s name rips a tiny little hole in my gut.

“No problem, ma’am.”

When I try to get on, I realize the elevator filled to capacity while I was busy rescuing the damn dog. I wave off the woman’s protests.

“I’ll catch the next one.”

“Oh, you’re such a dear thing. Say goodbye to the nice man, Buster.”

I’m still watching Buster when I feel a pair of eyes on my face. Great. It’s probably a fan. I quickly pull up the collar of my shirt in the hope that I can remain incognito, but the heat of the stare is still there a moment later.

Hesitantly, I look up. It’s not a fan.

Hallie Caldwell, in the flesh.

“Of course, that dog would be named Buster,” she says eventually. “The universe sure has a great sense of humor.”

“Or a lack of one.”

“Or that. I can’t figure out why anyone would want to call a Pomeranian Buster. I can’t figure out why anyone would want a Pomeranian, period. A yellow lab, a pug, maybe. But a Pomeranian? Named Buster?”

She chuckles nervously and when she meets my eyes, I smile at her.

We say the next words at the same time.

“Buster’s a good name for a beagle.”

* * *

Atlanta

6 Years Earlier

Her voice, full of unbridled enthusiasm, rings through the tiny house.

“I found him. The most perfect Buster ever to walk this earth. I saw him at the shelter when I went to drop off the donations from the fundraiser and I almost just got him and put a little red bow on his neck and brought him home, but then I thought, a dog is a big grown-up move and I shouldn’t be making these kinds of decisions on my own. But he’s Buster. There’s no doubt about it. We need him. I mean, he has the name Buster written all over him. Buster’s a good name for a beagle. A beagle is a real dog, not like one of those…”

Her talk abruptly stops when she finds me in our little kitchen. I tap my foot on the stone floor and glance up at her.

“What’s wrong, Chris?”

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.” I quickly try to assuage her worry, but a line crosses her brow anyways.

“I know that look. That’s a ‘Marcus just called me’ look.” She sighs and places her hand over mine and