Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
JACK
‘ D id I wake you?’ said Jack, turning to find Caroline standing in the doorway, watching him with wide, sleepy eyes.
‘What time is it?’ she yawned.
‘Stupid o’clock,’ said Jack with a sheepish smile. ‘Sorry… my body clock is refusing to catch up – it’s all over the place!’
‘It wasn’t you. I think it was the smell of coffee that did it.’ Caroline yawned again and wandered over to the kitchen island, toasting him with her half-empty mug. ‘Thank you. For future reference, that’s definitely the best way to wake me up!’
‘Noted,’ said Jack, his stomach flipping in time with the pancake in the pan in front of him. The idea of doing this again with her in the future held more appeal than he’d ever imagined. ‘Want a top-up?’
‘Depends,’ said Caroline.
‘On what?’ he said, his voice coming out all weird and husky.
‘On what’s in the pan,’ she said with a sleepy smile. ‘Because if it’s what I’m hoping it is, I don’t want you to get distracted.’
‘Pancakes. I’ve got bacon and maple syrup,’ he said, glancing at her over his shoulder only to see her crinkle her nose. ‘Or, if you prefer, there are strawberries, chocolate chips, honey…’
‘Now you’re talking!’ she said, her eyes twinkling at him.
‘Excellent, more bacon for me!’ he said with a broad smile, turning back to his pan before he really did cremate the pancake he was working on.
No one should look that cute after spending a night fully dressed on the sofa!
It had taken a ridiculous amount of self-control when he’d pottered downstairs in the middle of the night, only to find Caroline fast asleep in the living room. Jack had only left his bed because he’d spent a whole hour lying in the dark, staring at the ceiling as her mischievous smile danced in front of his eyes.
When he couldn’t take it any longer, he’d hopped out of bed with the plan of adding another log to the wood burner so that it would still be going in the morning. Instead, he’d found her cuddled up in a chilly ball amongst the cushions.
Reigning in the temptation to run a finger across her cheek to brush the stray strands of hair away, Jack had hurried straight back upstairs and returned with a duvet. He’d draped it carefully over her, doing his best not to wake her in the process, and had then banked up the fire so that she wouldn’t wake up stiff and cold to the bone in the morning.
He hadn’t brushed her cheek. He hadn’t kissed her forehead… but it had taken a ridiculous amount of willpower to dim the lights and walk out of that room.
‘So… you’re an early bird, huh?’ she said, interrupting his slightly uncomfortable train of thought.
‘It’s partially the jetlag, and partially because of the last film I did,’ said Jack, sliding another pancake onto the stack he was working on. ‘I mean… I get up pretty early most of the time anyway, but this was a four a.m. start every day because of the makeup. It was brutal to start with, but I got used to it and now I can’t get out of the habit.’
‘I’m… not a morning person,’ she shuddered. ‘I think four a.m. starts would just about finish me off. I’d be a grumpy nightmare.’
‘Uh-oh – also noted!’ said Jack.
‘Don’t worry, you’re safe,’ she said.
‘How come?’ said Jack.
‘Coffee and breakfast!’ she said, as he turned and placed a stack of half a dozen perfect, golden pancakes in front of her and then pushed a bowl of strawberries and a bottle of honey towards her.
‘Now you’re talking!’
Jack grinned at her pure appreciation. It was ridiculously refreshing.
‘You’re definitely going down as the hostess with the mostest!’ she said, drizzling honey all over her plate before taking a huge bite and letting out a loud groan of appreciation.
Jack’s knees gave a treacherous tremble at the sound.
‘I cleared the snow off your car,’ he said, just for something to say. ‘It didn’t take long – it’s just that soft, powdery stuff. It came off in a giant heap!’
‘Oh – thank you,’ she said, this time not taking her eyes off her breakfast.
‘No worries. It looks like the road’s been cleared too,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure how far they’ve got. Obviously, the drive is still covered. It shouldn’t take me too long to clear it when you want to head off, though.’
Caroline shifted in her seat and Jack got the distinct impression that she wasn’t quite sure how to react to this news. It made him weirdly happy that she wasn’t already legging it through the door, desperate to return to reality.
He was… dreading it. He didn’t actually want her to go. He wanted to spend the day laughing together. He could imagine Christmas shopping, making lunch… chatting about something and nothing…
‘I’ll get out of your hair as soon as possible, don’t worry!’ she said, cutting across his happy little fantasy.
Jack shook his head, his heart sinking. ‘There’s no rush – really!’ he said. ‘I’m enjoying your company.’
‘Awww,’ said Caroline, giving him a wide, sunny smile. ‘Jack Jones, you old smoothy.’
‘I’m serious,’ said Jack. ‘Just… don’t make me regret it!’
Caroline snorted and Jack laughed as she managed to lose a bit of strawberry she’d been nibbling in the process.
‘So,’ she said, nodding at the script he’d left open on the kitchen island. ‘What ya reading? Have you found the perfect project to dive into next?’
‘What – to perfectly showcase my wooden abilities?’ smirked Jack.
‘Ah maaaan,’ sighed Caroline. ‘I’m sorry. Really. I never should have—’
‘Only kidding,’ laughed Jack. ‘Actually, funny you should ask. I got a call from my agent in the middle of the night – just after I’d covered you up with that duvet, in fact.’
‘Yeah – I meant to thank you for that,’ said Caroline.
Jack grinned at her. ‘My pleasure.’
‘So… what did your agent want?’ said Caroline, clearly intrigued. In fact, Jack had a feeling it was costing her a great deal of effort not to slip into reporter-mode and start bombarding him with questions.
‘Well,’ he said slowly, ‘I’ve been offered a new role.’
‘Congratulations!’ said Caroline.
‘Thanks,’ said Jack. ‘Aimee – that’s my agent – she’s really excited about it. That’s why she called at such an ungodly hour. She said it’s one of those "career-defining roles" – and she wants an answer asap.’
‘Wow,’ said Caroline. ‘That’s cool!’
‘It is,’ said Jack slowly. ‘It’s the lead role… the start of a huge franchise. I mean…’ he trailed off and ran his fingers through his hair.
It really was mind-blowing that he’d been offered the role. A big compliment – and an even bigger opportunity. So why did it feel like saying yes would be some kind of cosmic mistake?
No – making a huge, life-changing decision based on a woman he’d met less than twenty-four hours ago would be a cosmic mistake!
‘You don’t look very happy about it,’ said Caroline, raising her eyebrows curiously.
‘I guess I’m still processing it all,’ said Jack.
‘Why don’t you tell me about it?’ said Caroline. ‘It might help it feel more real!’
‘Okay – good idea,’ said Jack, nodding slowly. ‘So, it’s got a pretty huge budget. It’s the start of a franchise, so it could mean years of work for me. I’ve not actually read the whole script yet, but—’
‘Wait, if you’ve not read it yet, how come they’ve offered…’ Caroline trailed off.
‘The writers had me in mind from the start, apparently,’ said Jack, rubbing his neck and feeling decidedly awkward. He didn’t like to brag, but this really was a big deal.
‘Um, wow!’ said Caroline. ‘That’s seriously amazing.’
‘Yeah.’ Jack shrugged. ‘Huge jump in earnings, amazing script according to Aimee…’
‘What am I not getting about all this?’ said Caroline. ‘You don’t seem to be very excited!’
‘It’s shooting in New Zealand,’ said Jack. ‘I’d be away for at least eight months… probably more. If the franchise really took off… well, I’d barely be here.’
‘Oh,’ said Caroline.
Jack watched as she put her fork down, a chunk of strawberry and honey-drizzled pancake still attached to its prongs. The pair of them sat in silence for a long moment.
‘So…’ said Caroline, finally turning to meet his eye, ‘when do you have to leave?’
‘I’ve not given them my answer yet,’ said Jack in a small voice.
‘You… you haven’t?’ gasped Caroline, surprise written all over her face.
Jack stared at her. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t tell Caroline it was because he couldn’t bear the thought of being on the other side of the planet… when she was here.
‘I… erm… I’m not sure it’s quite the right vehicle for me,’ he said, making up an excuse on the spot.
‘You’re such an actor!’ she laughed. ‘But… I guess that’s fair enough – if that’s the way you feel.’
‘Not sure Aimee will let me off the hook quite so easily,’ he sighed.
‘I bet,’ said Caroline. ‘Hey - is that the script for it?’ She nodded with interest at the bound document Jack had been reading when she’d entered the room.
Jack shook his head. ‘That’s one of the ones from the bookshelf.’
‘Oh!’ said Caroline, looking more than a little bit confused. ‘Are you considering doing that one instead?’
‘Hell no!’ he laughed.
‘Why not?’
‘Because it’s an animation about a talking dog in space,’ said Jack.
‘Sooo… why are you reading it?’ said Caroline, picking her fork back up.
‘I just like the story!’ said Jack with a grin.