21. Chapter Twenty-One
And the email between agents reads, “They went home together.”
* * *
I wasn’t ready for that.
Stepping into the bathroom, I turn on the light and stand there for a moment.
I don’t know what I was expecting when I walked into his house, but it wasn’t a dog jumping on me, nor how cute his house is.
This bathroom is beautiful. Seriously, two men live here? Two straight men?
The tile is dark, and the countertop is light marble, but with dark veins so it matches. Even the shower curtain matches.
Obviously this isn’t a bathroom that is used daily. This is for guests. I wonder how many guests they get.
I open the drawer where Graham said there were washcloths. I pick one and wet it. I’ll have to have the dress cleaned. Had I known I was going to end up at his house, I would have packed a change of clothes.
“Everything okay?” I hear his voice from the other side of the bathroom door.
“Just fine. I’ll be out in a moment.”
I clean off my dress, wash my hands, and manage to tidy my hair, which got tousled when we fell onto the couch.
When I walk back out into the living room, I take it in.
It’s decorated in mid-century modern, and it fits the house. There is an enormous TV on the wall, two couches, and a large chair. Pictures are set up on the end tables, and I can’t help but move to look at them.
I pick up one that has Graham and what I assume is his family. I know it’s Graham, because he’s perhaps just slightly younger than when he was Chip on the TV show he was on. But I remember Chip fondly.
“That’s my family,” he says from behind me.
“Your mom, dad, and a brother?” I ask, turning to look at him standing there with two bottles of water in his hands.
He nods. “Yeah. That was right before we left Ohio.”
“What’s your brother’s name?”
“Brian. He’s three years younger. Marine.”
I lift my eyes to him. “Are you polar opposites?”
He shrugs his shoulder. “Not really. We have a lot in common, aside from our parents and upbringing.” He chuckles. “Although he is twice my size now, so I don’t mess with him.”
“I always wanted a sibling.”
Graham hands me one of the bottles of water. I take it and set the picture down.
“I like your house,” I say.
“We’ve done a lot of work on it. Want a tour?”
“Sure.”
Even in the privacy of his home, he takes my hand and leads me through the living room to the kitchen.
“Wow,” I say, looking around at the updated kitchen. “You did all of this?”
“Milo and I did it. My dad helped a lot, too. The house is an investment.”
“I thought you said you and Milo live like college kids.”
He chuckles. “I did ask you what you wanted on your pizza.”
That makes me laugh. He most certainly did.
The rest of the house is updated as well. Milo has the back half of the house, which must have been an addition to the original house. It’s like an adult arcade with old, upright video games and a pool table. His bedroom door is closed, but an additional bedroom has been converted to Milo’s office. If he were to have a Zoom meeting, no one would know he was only feet from a teenager’s dream game room in a bungalow in Burbank, that’s for sure.
“Would you like to see my room?” Graham asks.
I know he means nothing by it, so I make sure not to make something of it.
“Yes.”
His bedroom is bright, and that surprises me. The bed is made, and it’s neat and tidy. He has an ensuite bathroom that has been updated as well.
“This is my office,” he opens another door.
I step inside. “What do you do in an office?” I ask, looking around at the shelves of scripts and a few awards.
“I write.”
That has me turning toward him. “You write?”
Graham shrugs. “That surprises you?”
“Yes,” I say honestly.
“Why?”
I don’t really have an answer to that. “I just wouldn’t think you’d have time for it,” I say, as it’s the least negative thing I could say.
“What do you think I do when I hurry off set and to my trailer all the time?”
What do I think? I think he’s running away from me. What else would I think? It never would have crossed my mind that he was creating something.
“What do you write?” I ask.
His lips twist up to the side before he moves toward the desk and picks up a stack of papers that are clipped together with a big binder clip. He hands it to me.
Whisked Away, a thriller by Graham Crowley.
“Really?” My voice lifts, and he smiles as he looks at me.
“You never know when my looks will fade.”
That has me laughing as I hand him back his manuscript and he sets it back on his desk.
When he turns back, he scans a look over me.
“I know you’re probably comfortable, but would you like something else to wear? I have some sweatpants and T-shirts.”
I consider that. “Is Loki going to jump on me again?”
“It’s possible. He’s very excited to have you here.”
“He is, huh?”
“I can’t guarantee that Milo won’t jump on you, too, when he gets home.”
Again, he has me laughing. I didn’t expect this side of him. He’s easy to be around, and I wonder if that’s because I’m in his home. I’m in his space.
No. I was comfortable with him at the house on the beach, and at my mother’s open house. I guess I agreed to this because I am comfortable with him. Even if I can’t keep myself from fighting with him.
“Maybe I’ll take you up on that,” I say. “But no posting pictures of me.”
“I wouldn’t think of it. Anything we do that’s not in public is private,” he says as if he understands that need for separation of the two.
“Thank you.”
“C’mon,” he takes my hand and walks me back to his bedroom.
I stand near the door as he moves to his closet and opens it. Inside, everything is organized by color and design. Dress shirts, polos, and T-shirts are all neatly displayed on hangers.
“Your choice. College tee or nonprofit.”
I can’t help but grin at him when he’s like this. “What college?”
He moves a few shirts around and pulls one out. “Berkley?”
I raise my brows. “Impressive.”
“Oh, I didn’t go there.” He shrugs. “When college rolled around, I was doing a movie and that was more important.”
I nod. “What movie?”
He wrinkles his nose. “The Gift of Not Knowing.”
Now I wrinkle my nose. “I’m not sure that was an Oscar contender.”
“We filmed for a month before it got pulled. As I have a nondisclosure signed about it, you’ll have to do your own research to find out why.”
My smile is even wider now. “I just might do that.”
He hands the shirt to me sans the hanger, which he puts on the bottom rod next to the other unused hangers, and shuts the door.
Turning, he walks toward the dresser and opens a drawer. Pulling out a pair of gray sweatpants, he hands them to me.
“You might need to roll the waist and hike up the legs,” he says.
“Maybe I should just keep my dress on.”
He shrugs. “Your call, but Loki has been outside now. I can’t guarantee it’ll stay white.”
I scan a look over him in his jeans and button down. “Are you going to change?”
“For sure,” he says with a wink. “Comfort is everything.”
He moves back to the drawer, pulls out another pair of sweatpants, and then another T-shirt from the closet, which he pulls from the hanger and leaves the hanger on the rod.
“I’ll change in the bathroom,” he says. “You can change in here. Take your time, and feel free to hang up your dress.”
“Thank you,” I say.
He watches me for another moment before he backs out of the bedroom and closes the door.
I have to admit, this day has become quite a surprise to me.