“You really are no help.”

“Eh. Apparently my superpowers don’t work on you when you’re in another state. Who knew?” A loudspeaker blared in the background and I tensed as I heard Quinn’s name being paged. “I’ve gotta go. Call me later, okay? I love you. Take pictures!”

The line went dead. Quinn was on the set of her newest movie, and I must have caught her during a break in filming her scenes. Thankful that I’d caught her at all, I placed the phone down and brought the pillow to my nose. It smelled like Tatum, and I breathed it in for a moment. Feeling a little foolish, I set it down and got up. I hung up the phone and made my way back to the main house, where Mrs. Montgomery waited for me to make the pie.

On the way back to the house, I stopped on the porch and daydreamed about kissing Tatum. If I thought Tatum had consumed my thoughts before, I was wrong. Every moment I wasn’t around him, I wanted to be. A giant had awakened inside of me. A giant who wanted one thing…Tatum’s mouth.

“Girl, get in here. What are you doing out there?” Mrs. Montgomery called out from the side window, and I coughed, startled by her shouting.

“Be right in,” I called back before heading inside.

Tatum’s mom walked me through the motions of making a pie crust from scratch. She showed me tips and tricks to getting the edges just right, and how to make it perfectly flaky without being dry.

I really enjoyed the process of creating something in this way. It relaxed me. I didn’t cook much back in LA because I didn’t have the time and besides, I rarely ate at home. Doing this forced me to realize just how many meals I ate in restaurants and out of craft service trucks on set.

When I got back, I’d be adding that to the list of things in my life that needed to be changed.

Reliving Old Memories

Tatum

I couldn’t wait to get home from the shop and see Paige, but I didn’t want to appear overanxious or smothering, so I played it cool. Well, as cool as a guy could be called when he raced through the screen door and practically sprinted into the house.

“Tatum, honey. Slow down,” Mama warned. “Where’s the fire?”

I glanced at Paige, but she turned away. The fire was in my pants, my hands, my chest. It was everywhere, but I wasn’t about to tell my mother that.

“No fire, just starving.” I stared at Paige, whose gaze had returned to mine as I licked my lips. She blushed and mouthed, Stop it.

“Well then, get over here and help me set out the food,” she asked, and I obliged.

Dinner was pure torture. Having to keep my distance from Paige when all I wanted to do was reach out and touch her…well, it damn near killed me. She sat across from me, her hair up in a sexy ponytail, and the width of the dinner table put her too far away from me.

I willed the wood to disappear into thin air so nothing separated us. This girl had me feeling so many things that I’d pushed aside for too long, I didn’t even mind it.

As soon as I’d swallowed my last bite of food, I tossed down my napkin and said, “I’m gonna take Paige over to my place to watch a movie. That okay?” Paige’s mouth fell open slightly, but Mama couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.

“I don’t know what you’re asking me for. Paige is a grown woman,” Mama said gruffly, still trying not to smile.

I turned to Paige. “That okay with you?”

“Sure. You sure you don’t mind?” she turned to ask Mama.

“Of course not, dear. Why in heaven would I mind?”

“I feel like we’re ditching you,” Paige said with a frown, and I wanted to grab her and kiss her for being so damned sweet.

“Don’t be silly. You two go have fun. Don’t worry about me.” Mama waved us off before heading down the hall before we could say another word to her.

I leaned close to Paige and whispered, “I’ve thought about kissing you all day.” She bit her bottom lip and smiled, then I pulled her out of there as quick as I could.

The second we stepped onto the porch, I pressed my lips against hers. She tried to pull away and gestured toward the house, but the porch light was off and it was dark. I knew Mama couldn’t see us at all, not that that would have stopped me anyway. This girl had bewitched me, and I didn’t care who saw me kissing her. Even Mama.

“So, what do you want to watch?” Paige asked as she looked at the DVDs stacked on my shelf.

“I was kidding. We’re not watching anything.”

“Why not?” She turned around with a huff and crossed her arms over her chest.

“If you want to keep up the charade, then pick something out for us to not watch. I’m going to kiss you, Paige. I’m not going to watch a damn movie with you.”

“So we’re just going to spend the rest of the evening kissing each other? That’s your big plan for the night?” Her eyebrows pinched together, and I instantly wanted to fix whatever I’d said wrong.

“I hadn’t thought past the kissing.”

“Well, I have,” she said, and I couldn’t fight back the smile that spread across my face.

“Let me hear it.”

She grinned like a Cheshire cat before launching into my arms. “Just kidding. I can’t think about anything but kissing you either.” Her lips pressed against mine before they parted and her tongue slid inside.

I licked her bottom lip, pulling it into my mouth as I sucked on it gently. Kissing her was like free-falling off a cliff that had no end. I floated in a world filled with nibbling and licking and sensations I’d fought off even thinking about for the last few years.

My insides felt like they were on fire, suddenly awake after being numb. You’d think that my heart would be rusty, that it might need a few beats to get used to the idea of wanting someone after being closed for business for so long. But no, not my heart. It started beating to its own rhythm the second we saw her, instructing my body to feel, want, and need—three things I hadn’t experienced in years. This girl sitting right here called to me. I was a ship about to crash into oblivion on the rocky shore, and she was a beacon of fire, determined to save me with her light. And oh, what a beautiful light it was.

After making out for a while, I pushed her away. She laughed while I focused on my breathing. This girl tested all my resolve. I grabbed us each a beer, and we sat across from each other on the couch in my living room.

“So you’ll stay on your side of the couch, and I’ll stay on mine? Is that how this works?” she said playfully, pushing her toes against my feet.

“Yep. You keep your perfect little lips over there away from mine. You’re like a temptress.”

“A temptress, huh? Well, that’s a heck of a lot better than a princess.”

A laugh escaped from my throat. “You like being called Princess. Admit it.”

She shook her head vigorously. “I don’t. I really don’t.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause it sucks!” she insisted. “It insinuates all sort of stupid things that I don’t like or relate to. I know I’m an actress, and I get way too many things for nothing, but I’m not that kind of person. I wasn’t raised that way. I work really hard.”

“But that’s just it, Princess. You think being an actress is hard work,” I said, then instantly wished I could take back the words.

She sat up straighter and cocked her head. “I know to someone like you it probably sounds stupid. I’m not up at the crack of dawn plowing fields or baling hay or growing corn. But I do work hard. Please don’t pretend like you know what it’s like to be me.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Feeling like a complete ass and desperate to recover, I asked, “Why don’t you tell me?”

“I work really long hours. I have obligations to more people than I can count. I can’t leave my house without someone following me or taking my picture. I know that’s not hard work, per se, but it’s hard emotionally,” she said emphatically. “When I’m filming, we usually film all day long, from first thing in the morning until nine or so at night. And if we have a night scene to shoot, I’m there until whenever that finishes, which sometimes isn’t until two or three in the morning. There’s a lot of sitting around and waiting, but it’s not like I can go to sleep or go home. I have to sit there until they’re ready for me. And not mess up my hair or ruin my makeup in the meantime.” She stopped suddenly and growled, “Damn it.”