35. Chapter Thirty-Five
And the intern on set posts a picture to Instagram of Graham and Christina kissing in private. “For you naysayers, here’s some hard proof. They don’t actually hate each other. I guess she’s done throwing things at his head.”
* * *
I hate that I cried, but I did.
Graham pulled me to him and held me. He didn’t question me. He just held me.
Wrapped in his arms, I found a comfort I’ve been searching for. When my tears were dry, we did it again—and again.
The entire night was spent pleasing one another. I’ve never had a man touch me in such gentle and erotic ways, and he let me explore what it is to pleasure a man I care deeply for.
“You need to go to sleep.” His breath is warm in my ear. “We have to be on set in a few hours.”
His arms are wrapped around me, and I’m happy. I’m so very happy.
“Jean-Claude is going to kill us when he sees the bags under our eyes,” I say softly with a quiet laugh.
“So fucking worth it.”
Graham pulls me in tighter, and my eyes close.
I want this to work, I think quietly to myself as I feel my body begin to settle. I want to spend the rest of my life waking up in this man’s arms.
* * *
Flirty smiles pass between us in the kitchen as we drink coffee. Shared soft kisses are irresistible as we get ready together, and this is all new to me. I’ve never shared a bathroom with a man.
I’ve never cared for a man like this.
I can’t believe I feel this way about Graham Crowley.
“Do you think you can make it to dinner at my parents’ house on Friday?” he asks as he sprays on his cologne.
I watch him add his cologne and then look in my bag for my atomizer.
“Are you sure you want to introduce me to your family?”
He moves to me. With his hands on my waist, he eases me against the bathroom counter. “I’m very sure,” he says as he moves his lips to my neck. “You’re going to love my family, and they’re going to love you.”
I press my hands to his chest to ease him back. “I’m not under the impression that you didn’t say negative things about me to them.”
Graham cups my face in his hands. “My family doesn’t think that way. My mother is looking forward to getting to meet you. She’ll make her own judgements.”
“Does she know about the deal we made?”
He shakes his head. “I haven’t told anyone. Your parents?”
I shake my head. “I can’t tell them anything. I can’t even trust my mother with news like that. It would be spread everywhere.”
His eyes go sad. I don’t want him to feel sorry for me. I do enough of that.
“We should go,” I say, turning back to the counter and dropping my atomizer into my bag.
Graham pulls it from my bag and holds it out to me. “Aren’t you going to put this on?”
I wrinkle up my nose. “You don’t like it.”
He lets out a breath, and his shoulders drop. “I’m sorry I said that.”
“You wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t true.”
He takes my arm and sprays the perfume on my skin. “I’ve learned to appreciate it,” he says with a smile.
“Are we making a big mistake with this?”
Graham wraps his arms around me. “No,” he says reassuringly. “It was just a strange way to get to this point.”
He’s not wrong. I certainly didn’t think I’d ever be in Graham Crowley’s bathroom getting ready for my day after a night of amazing sex.
* * *
Jean-Claude certainly is not on board with our relationship. And now that we’ve taken it to this next level, we can’t stand to be apart.
I feel like a teenager, only I get to wake up with Graham next to me each morning.
The makeup team continually has to fix the dark circles under our eyes, or the lipstick that Graham keeps kissing off my lips each time we come back from the trailers.
Usually, I wouldn’t want anyone upset with me, or to cause delays, but sneaking away between scenes with Graham has made it all worth it.
The whispers as we walk around hand in hand, or with our arms around one another, have been accompanied by smiles this week. There are often whispers when Graham and I are working, but now that we’re together, it feels different—and no one is ducking, assuming a miscellaneous prop will fly through the air.
I know this is some kind of honeymoon phase, but the past few days have been magic, and I don’t ever want to lose this feeling.
* * *
As Graham drives toward his parents’ house, I scroll through my phone.
“Someone on set isn’t following their contract,” I say.
“How’s that?”
As he pulls to a stoplight, I turn my phone to show him a picture of us kissing outside of my trailer.
“Interesting,” he says, grinning, and then turning his attention back to the light as it turns green. “We certainly want to make sure we pull the blinds closed in my bedroom tonight.”
I drop my phone to my lap. “That’s not funny.”
He’s laughing. “It is a bit.”
“That’s stalking.”
“It’s not going to happen.”
I chew the inside of my cheek. “Maybe we should start staying at my place. I mean, I do have security.”
Graham reaches for my hand. “I don’t care where my dog and I stay, as long as I continue to wake up with you—every day.”
I can’t help the smile that forms on my mouth, or the flutter in my chest.
This little publicity stunt is more than Graham getting into one of my dad’s movies, or me working with Penelope Mondragon. What’s happening between us is life-altering, and I’m afraid I’m falling in love with this man. If there is a crash at the end of all of this, I’m going to be devastated.