Love Me Forever - Juliana Stone Page 0,48

couldn’t help but smile. “What’s playing?”

“Come Away with Me.”

“Oh my God, I’ve heard such great things about that play. Did you know it’s based on true stories of real people who were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, when 9/11 happened? I saw a documentary about it. And then this young couple wrote music and…and it became this thing on Broadway and…” She looked away. “I’m babbling like an idiot. I’m sorry. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the theater. Years, in fact.” She glanced up at Boone. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he answered slowly. “I like seeing you smile like that.”

“Why?” Her question was barely a whisper. “I mean, why all the trouble for me?” Heart pounding, she waited for his reply. Boone moved so he was sitting beside her. He cupped her cheek and pressed a kiss beside her mouth.

“Because I realized we’ve skipped a lot of steps, you and me, starting way back when we were kids. That last summer.” Boone pulled away, and she had no choice but to look into his eyes. He was dead serious. “I’m sorry about how I acted back then. You deserved a hell of a lot more than an immature, mad-at-the-world eighteen-year-old could give you.”

A throat cleared, and they both glanced up at Ashley.

“We’re taking off, Mr. Avery.”

They buckled up and less than five minutes later were at cruising altitude. Ashley brought out filet mignon and lobster.

“In honor of the show,” Boone said with a grin. “And the Canucks who looked after our fellow Americans. They sure like their lobster.”

Poppy tried to make a dent in the food on her plate because it was delicious and must have cost a small fortune, but her stomach was still in knots, and she found herself reaching for more champagne instead. Probably the wrong thing to do, but she was going to go with it. They settled into a conversation that was equal parts flirting, equal parts getting to know each other. Boone told an off-color joke, and she’d barely recovered from laughter when he settled back and looked at her over the top of his champagne flute.

“What happened in LA?” he asked.

Her smile fell away as she toyed with her napkin. How to answer such a deceptively simple question?

“I was the typical small-town girl, and the big city was just too much for me, I guess.”

“But you stayed out there for nearly five years.”

She nodded. “I did. I got a few bit parts and did some theater, but I found I was a better writer than an actor, so I started screenwriting.” She glanced out at the clouds. “I loved it too. And I was good at it, but Mark…” She faltered and forced a smile. “It just didn’t work out.”

“I get the feeling there’s more to the story.”

She nodded and turned back to Boone, chasing away the ghosts of LA. “Isn’t there always?”

“Why did—”

“Nope. My turn, Mr. Avery.” She eyed him for a few moments and then asked the question she’d been dying to know the answer to ever since he’d come home with a gorgeous wife who soon fled Crystal Lake, leaving him and Benji behind. She’d heard all kinds of things. The most outrageous had been that his ex-wife had been a high-priced call girl.

“How did you meet Benji’s mother?”

“How do most athletes meet women?” he replied casually.

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”

Boone finished his champagne and set down his glass. “I met Amber through her brother, Dwight, who is my”—he made a face—“was my wideout. She was a one-night stand, and Benji was the result.”

Poppy let that settle for a moment, her mind whirling.

“And before you ask, yeah, I’m pretty sure she planned the pregnancy. I resented the hell out of her at first, but then I realized a kid has no choice or control over who their parent is, and I was damned if I was going to make the same mistake my father did. He knocked up my mother and, in his mind, did the right thing by putting a ring on her finger. But he was a shitty husband and a shittier father, and he never let me forget I was a mistake.” Boone shook his head. “Sorry, I guess that’s more of an answer than you were looking for.”

Poppy didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing. She climbed onto his lap, cupped his face between her hands, and feathered kisses on his mouth, jaw, and next to his ear. Her heart was