“But if you really love someone, honey, those things don’t matter.” Lulu patted his leg once. “Who cares what the press says? Who cares what anyone says? They don’t know. And as for the distance and the schedules, you make compromises. You work together. As long as you keep communicating and sharing what’s going on in your head—and your heart—you can make anything happen.”
She turned her head until she met Micah’s eyes. “It’s not any different than building a film career. You just choose to work on each other as much as you choose to work on your own stuff.”
God, he was such a dick. And he couldn’t figure it out until his mother sat him down and told him the obvious. What was he, twelve?
He ran his hand over his eyes, rubbing out the last bits of sleep crusties that still clung to his lashes. “Mom, I think I’ve fucked up pretty bad.”
“Then un-fuck up.”
He chuckled at his mother’s uncharacteristic swearing. “How? She won’t answer my calls. I agreed to not go to meetings about her movie.” Micah considered. “I could send her flowers.”
Lulu shook her head with a frown.
“Nah, that’s lame,” Fudge agreed. “Your last romantic gesture was a hot air balloon ride. You need to do something drastic to top that. You know what they say, ‘Go big or go home.’”
Drastic. Micah’s brain started whirring, somewhat slowly due to his hung-over state. “Got any ideas?”
Fudge shrugged, reaching for the Cheetos. “You’re Micah Preston,” he said, popping one in his mouth. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Jen’s dress is hideous.” Bree curled her leg under her, her eyes never leaving the flat screen TV on the wall.
Maddie kicked her flip-flops off and stretched out her own legs on Bree’s couch. “She’s just lost too much weight.” Unlike Maddie, who watched movie awards shows because she loved film, Bree watched to see what the stars were wearing.
Maddie squinted at the television. “She’s almost as skinny as you now, Bree.”
“Shut up.” Bree pretended she didn’t love to hear how thin she was.
“She won best supporting actress, right?”
“Yeah.”
Maddie marked the box on her makeshift ballot. She had made predictions earlier in the day while she’d run on the treadmill at the gym. This one she’d gotten wrong. Usually she was pretty good at guessing, but her heart really wasn’t in it this year. The only actor that permeated her thoughts was Micah Preston. And he wasn’t up for any awards.
“Oh my God, Christian looks h-o-t hot.”
“Where?” Maddie looked toward the screen.
“No, don’t look now. They just scanned over Micah. And he looks super hot too. Sorry.”
Too late. Maddie had already seen him. He did look super hot. As always. Dammit, she had hoped moving on wouldn’t be as hard as it was turning out to be. Stupid broken heart.
“At least he looks like he didn’t bring a date. He’s sitting in between two guys.”
This comforted Maddie. Unless the two guys were merely place holders. Award shows did that—had paid models available to take the seat of anyone who got up for any reason. It made the theater full. What if one of the guys sitting next to Micah was simply filling in for some hot blonde that had to pee? “Why do we have to watch America’s Choice Awards again, Bree?”
“Because if Beaumont wins Best Director, he’s going to immediately get a million phone calls and crap, and I have to be ready to handle them.”
Ah, yes, I’m watching this stupid award show because of Beaumont. It figures. “It seems like you should be there then.”
Bree didn’t detect the bitterness in Maddie’s voice. “It does seem that way. But no, I have to be here instead of dressed up all pretty surrounded by yummy, yummy hot stars.” Bree had her own bitterness. She squeezed Maddie’s leg. “I mean, I’d totally rather be here with you.”
“Of course you would.”
“Tell you what, when you get nominated for best director or screenwriter or cinematographer, I expect an invite.”
“Deal,” Maddie said. And finally, for the first time in her life, she saw being nominated for an award as a possibility. She actually had a shot now that she was being funded by Three Spot. Three Spot and Micah. How had Micah managed to make her biggest dreams a reality and then completely break her heart all in the same day?
Nope. Stop. Don’t think about it tonight. Focus on why you’re here. Oh, yeah, Beaumont. Maddie groaned. “I’m sorry, Bree, but I’m seriously hoping Beaumont loses.”
“Frankly, I am too.” If Beaumont won, the rest of Bree’s night would be spent working. “And must I remind you that you don’t have to be here?”
Maddie sighed. “I didn’t want to be alone. I’d end up not only watching Micah, but rewinding his segment over and over.” She had done that with a million YouTube videos already that week. “And then I’d cry.” She’d done that too. “A lot. I’m tired of crying.”
Bree wagged her finger at her friend. “No more crying. Your eyes are going to turn perma-puffy.”
“Are my eyes puffy right now?” Maddie thought she had put on enough foundation to hide that.
“Don’t think about it, baby, you’re gorgeous.” Bree grabbed two Oreos out of the package on the coffee table. “You don’t have this set to DVR, do you?”
Maddie took a cookie from Bree. “No.” She took a bite. “Maybe.”
“Madalyn!”
“I’ll only watch it if I’m desperate.” When she set the record option, she had told herself she was doing so in case she ended up leaving Bree’s early. She wouldn’t want to miss any of the big awards. Not that she couldn’t find any of that info on the internet.
Maddie leaned her head back on the armrest of the couch and swiveled toward the TV. The best supporting actor, announced while Maddie and Bree were talking, finished his acceptance speech and the voice-over came on. “Coming up after the break. Best Actor and Actress presented by last year’s winners, Natalia Lowen and Micah Preston.”
Bree gave Maddie a sideways glance. “You can close your eyes and plug your ears when he gets on-screen.”
“I can watch him.” She better be able to watch him. He was everywhere, after all. If she couldn’t make it through an award show, she’d never make it past the magazines in the checkout stand at the grocery store. Realizing that she knew exactly what he was doing at that moment, though. That made her heart extra lonely. “You better pass over the ice cream.” Yeah, good idea. Eat all the calories I burned off today at the gym.
Bree passed over the container of Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Therapy. “Be careful, it’s kind of melty.”
Maddie took the carton, a drop of chocolate oozing onto her white jersey dress. “Uh, no kidding.” She pulled the fabric to her mouth and licked the spot off her dress, leaving a brown smudge in its place. “Good thing I’m not going anywhere.”
Bree nodded toward the television. “He’s up.”
Dishing up a giant spoonful of ice cream, Maddie turned her attention to the screen as the announcer’s voice boomed. “Presenting our next awards, last year’s Best Actor and Best Actress, Micah Preston and Natalia Lowen.”
And there he was looking gorgeous, and more than a bit nervous, in his fitted black tux with a non-traditional black button-down shirt. Seeing him sent a stab to her chest while simultaneously causing her lower belly to clench. He looked so hot she knew that later, when she was alone, she’d fantasize about taking him out of those clothes. Probably while she was in the shower so she could employ her showerhead nozzle to erase her pent-up horniness.