The one that helped you get clean and focus on all the good things you have in your life.” She gave me a look of concern. “What if making a movie about all the ways things could’ve gone wrong, instead of the way they could go right, undoes all the progress you’ve made?”
I chuckled and leaned toward her. I expected her to move away, but she didn’t, and my lips ended up really close to her cheek. “Thank you for caring about what happens to me, but I can’t live the rest of my life worrying that every difficult situation is going to send me back down into the gutter. I do want to take some time to think about Heinrich’s suggestion, but I went into this knowing I wanted to make the best movie possible no matter what.” I pulled away before I gave in to the temptation to kiss her while we were in public. I was brave, but not that brave. She’d rip my balls off if I did something like that. “You’re just as invested in this project as I am. If you think it’s a terrible idea, I will take your input into consideration.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket with an alert that the new security measures I wanted had been installed. Jeno’s mom tried to come by the house again a couple days ago and was furious she wasn’t allowed past the first gate. Jeno got an earful and was immediately guilt-tripped into spending a few days at home to appease his mom. While he was away, I made sure my house had zero blind spots in case anyone else paid a visit when I wasn’t around. I did feel bad about keeping the new cameras and motion detectors from my brother, but I really didn’t want to put him in the middle of the war between his mother and me.
“I want what’s best for the movie and for you. Is that asking too much?” She frowned a little bit. This time I couldn’t resist the urge to reach out and rub away the furrow between her delicately arched brows.
“What’s best for me is if you quit playing hard to get. How long are you going to make me chase after you? Isn’t ten years long enough?” I was only teasing, but something flickered in her kaleidoscope eyes that gave me pause. It was almost as if she was considering what would happen if she let me catch her.
Maren huffed a little bit and rubbed her hands up and down her thighs. “You were running a race I was unaware of while I was climbing back up a mountain. Maybe we both just need a break.”
I cocked my head to one side and narrowed my eyes at her slightly. “That’s not fair. You reached the top, and I’m still running and climbing. Eventually, I’m going to hit a wall and end up too tired to do anything more than catch my breath.” She did have the ability to leave me breathless without much effort.
I jolted when her fingers suddenly threaded through my hair, pushing the spikey strands backward. I blinked at her in surprise and felt my heart start to race erratically when she smiled at me ever so slightly. She looked her very best when she let herself remember she was allowed to be happy.
“I don’t want anything serious, Salinger, but I do want you. I am dangerously attracted to you. I definitely struggle to keep things professional, and I vividly remember everything we did the other night. I’m not playing games with you or trying to lead you on. I’m not plotting some elaborate revenge for what happened in the past. I don’t want anything to screw up this project. And I don’t want to hurt you because we aren’t looking for the same thing. Neither one of us needs to navigate heartache or all the ups and downs of a relationship right now.”
I straightened my head and turned her words over in my mind for a minute. It seemed like those lines she laid down between us could be blurred after all.
I grinned at her and leaned close enough that my lips touched the curve of her ear. I felt her shudder when I whispered, “Let’s be friends with benefits, then. We’re going to be on top of each other anyway once we start filming, and then through all the press and hype leading up to the release. Might as well