Falling into Forever (Falling into You) - By Lauren Abrams Page 0,87
further away from me and sinking into the chair. Shit. It’s time to pull out a joke. Hallie likes jokes.
“By the way, I’m not letting you get away with the greatness thing. I mean, did you see Breakdown? Anyone who’s seen Breakdown has to admit that there’s no chance that I was ever destined for greatness. Maybe professional bird calling, though. Do you think I need to go to school for that? Is there such a thing as a professional bird calling school?”
There’s a subtle loosening of her muscles and a miniscule change in her face that just might be the beginning of a smile.
“No, I don’t think there’s such a thing as a professional bird calling school. I could be totally wrong, though. You never know.”
“I’m sure there has to be at least a certification I can get from the internet.”
“I’m sure there is. But I don’t think you would make a very good bird caller, Chris. You’re a movie star.”
“I don’t have to be.”
“Yes, you do. You have to make Rage. There’s no one else I would trust with it but you. It’s more important than you or me or anything else.”
“So, I have to make Rage. But that will be it. No more movies. Just as long as you give me one chance. One shot. That’s all I want, Hals.”
She gives me a beseeching look before moving across the room to stare out into the blackness of the night.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You were born to make movies, Chris. It’s so much a part of you that I can’t imagine it being any other way. I love the way you tell stories. It’s a wonderful gift, and I wouldn’t ever want you to give that up. Not for anyone and certainly not for me.”
“I would, you know.”
“I know that you would.”
“I would do anything for you.”
She’s still not looking at me, but something in the air, between the two of us, changes, and then her voice cuts through the silence and she spins around to face me, her enormous blue eyes filled with questions.
“Are you sure, Chris? I mean, really, really, really sure? I have a four year old daughter, and neither she nor I can just make decisions based on some whim. If you haven’t thought about that, if you aren’t totally, one thousand percent positive that being with me is what you want, then you need to just walk out that door and go. Now. Because if you want me, if you want to make a life with Grace and me, it’s not going to be easy.”
She looks so fragile that I resist the urge to run across the room and throw her into my arms.
“I love you, Hals. I’ve always loved you. I will never stop loving you. And if you’re actually saying what I think you’re saying, I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life making you and Grace absolutely, perfectly happy.”
I see the smile start to spread across her face, starting at her lips and reaching her eyes. She’s still uncertain, but I open my arms and she flies across the room and into them. I lift her up and draw her in for a long kiss. She manages to free herself after a long moment and she stares at me with huge eyes.
“Hallie, I…”
“Stop.” Her smile grows wider and I run my fingers through her tangled curls, not knowing why she wants me to stop but not really caring, either, because every question I ever wanted to ask already has its answer in the way her body fits perfectly against mine. She pulls back and frees herself from my arms and stares deeply into me.
“You always get to talk first. It’s my turn. I love you. I love you so much that it makes my head spin and it makes me want to scream and it makes me want to stay with you, like this, forever. Just like this. I think I probably fell in love with you the second I saw you on that goddamn balcony and don’t tell me that I’m remembering it all wrong, that it was actually the diner or the park or the apartment, because I think I had to have known the moment that I saw your face for the first time, Chris Jensen. And I will always love you. And I wasn’t sure if it was going to be enough, but I’ve sat in