Chapter 10
Back at home, later in the evening, she confided her concerns about Dalton casting shadows over anything that might have her name on it.
“Perhaps you should just put your name on it and leave me out of it. You can go it alone or I can be a silent partner,” she told him.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not worried about Dallas Dalton.”
“I am.”
“Well, you shouldn’t be.”
Lorna started to argue the point, that she had good reason to be and that he couldn’t just dismiss her concerns so easily, but she wasn’t in any mood to talk about that particular mistake in her life. Instead, she shifted the discussion to the screenplay. They sat around and hashed out some ideas, finally deciding on what way they wanted to go with it and then settled in for drinks.
“Here you go, one screwdriver for me and one virgin screwdriver for you,” he said, handing her a glass.
“So, orange juice then,” she said with a little laugh.
“Yeah,” he told her.
“Listen, I don’t know what to say about C.J. this afternoon. I hope I didn’t respond wrong to that. I didn’t know what else to say.”
“Do you love her?” he asked, unblinking.
Lorna stopped for a moment, not expecting the question. Then she smiled and looked back up at him, “Yeah, I do. I kinda do.”
Buck smiled and looked down at his hands for a moment, seeming pensive. When he spoke, his words were deliberate, well chosen. It was almost as if he had already practiced them in his head.
“I wasn’t sure if it was such a good idea to let her get so attached to you, but it happened so quickly. It’s like she laid eyes on you and decided that you were okay with her. She never does that. She’s hopelessly shy with people. You’ve seen her with some of the staff, she still hides behind things to talk to them. But you? Not you. I have to consider that what she might need just as much as a sibling is a woman in the house, one she likes and feels happy with . . . one she loves.”
“Perhaps so, but that shouldn’t be someone who signed a contract to have a baby and will be leaving,” Lorna replied sadly. “That can’t be good for her either.”
“I know. It’s something I’ll need to figure out. For now, it’s just simply too late. You’re here. You’re having a child. She loves you. Those are just the facts. Don’t think I’m second guessing the baby. I’m absolutely not, but maybe I should have tried harder to find a stable relationship rather than just trying to get her a playmate.”
Lorna shifted a bit in her seat, unsure of what she should say to that. Reaching for her juice, she finished it off, giving him an easy out to the conversation if he wanted one.
“Do you want something else?”
“Maybe just water,” she replied. “I can get it.”
“Don’t be silly. I’ll get it. I’m going to make myself another drink anyway.”
“Okay,” she said, watching as he got up and left the room, taking the dirty glasses with him.
He returned with his refilled and a clean glass for her, along with a bottle of chilled water. Rather than resume the conversation, they went back to discussing the screenplay, making some notes on his tablet as they began to hash out a basic plot. The room grew dark as the sun went down outside. Buck got up to turn on a few lights and glanced at the clock.
“Oh, wow. I didn’t realize how late it’d gotten. You need some rest. I’ll let you get to bed,” he told her.
“It’s okay. I’ve enjoyed the conversation and the work,” she told him.
She stood and turned to walk around the sofa, bumping right into him as she rounded the corner and he was reaching for his phone that had been laying on a side table. There was a charge of electricity that shot through her like a bullet, leaving her a little breathless. He didn’t miss it.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“You seemed out of breath for a moment,” he replied.
“No. I’m good.”
“Are you sure, because for a moment, I thought it might have been because of me.”
“Wha…,” she started to say, but her words were cut off as he dropped the phone on the sofa and pulled her into a kiss.
Lorna leaned into him, letting the kiss happen. They stood there, pressed against one another. Her heart was racing. She hadn’t realized how much she had wanted this until it actually happened. All this time, she had convinced herself that maintaining her distance was in all their best interests, pushing down any desires that she might have felt toward him, not allowing herself any feelings. Nothing good could come of it, but in this moment, all that mattered was this kiss. This kiss was everything.
Just as quickly as it has happened, it was over, with him pulling away and taking a step back. He looked stricken, uncertain. It wasn’t like him at all.
“I’m sorry, Lorna. That was inappropriate. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It was nice,” she said meekly. “I enjoyed it.”
“I enjoyed it too, but we shouldn’t. We have an agreement and that isn’t part of it. Nothing good can come from it. Um, I’m going to head up to bed. Let’s just pretend that didn’t happen,” he said, already on his way out the door, making a hasty retreat.
She stood there looking at his disappearing form, not sure what to say or do. Well, she couldn’t do anything or say anything was the answer to that, because he was gone. After standing there feeling completely out of sorts for a few moments, she finally walked out, making her way up to her room to sleep. There was a lot of tossing and turning, but she finally drifted off.