“Vancouver?” Her hands fluttered for a moment, then folded neatly on her lap. “I-I’ve heard it’s a lovely city.”
“Yeah. Me too. Maybe we can take a trip out there between now and when I have to go, so we can explore the city a bit.” There were only a few more notes, which he reread before setting aside his phone. “The other big news is that they want a three-year commitment.”
She bit her lip, her smile a shadow of its former glory. “Okay.”
Abruptly, she got up from the couch to pour herself a glass of water from the bathroom tap. Her brow had creased in concern, and no wonder. The role would initially mean big changes in their daily lives.
But she didn’t need to worry about any continuing upheaval. In his conversation with DeShaun, he’d made certain of that. So he got to his feet and followed her to the bathroom doorway, where he told her the rest of what she should know.
He braced his hands on either side of the doorframe. “Since the show is already renewed for another four years, we won’t have to watch and wait every year to find out whether it’ll get canceled in the middle of my contract.”
There would be no uncertainty for either of them. Just a regular, generous paycheck, the unattainable pipe dream of almost every would-be actor in Hollywood. That dream had already come true for him once before. Twice was a fuckingmiracle.
“We’ll know exactly where I’ll be for all three years, so I’ll rent a place big enough for two.” Was the climate there anything like Sweden? If so, he’d try to find somewhere that would remind her of her homeland. A cottage with a view of evergreens, maybe. “One where you’ll be comfortable whenever you come to visit.”
“Have you...” Her throat worked, and she took another sip of water. “Have you already accepted the offer?”
He shook his head. “DeShaun is still negotiating a few things, but their initial offer was more than fair, so he thinks we can officially say yes very soon. Later tonight, he’ll send me the contract and highlight the parts still in question.”
“It’s basically a done deal, then.” Her glass clinked against the granite countertop as she set it down. “Okay.”
Gently but firmly, she moved him out of the bathroom doorway so she could gather her badge and purse and slip on the lacy flats arranged neatly just inside the room.
What he’d been offered today was the most stability a working actor could provide to his partner. So why did her forehead still have that crease in it?
“You and I can look over everything tomorrow, once we’re back home, to make sure there’s nothing problematic DeShaun didn’t already flag,” he suggested, moving closer. “Just in case.”
Would that be enough to reassure her? Because he wanted her as his ally from the very beginning of this project, without reservation. The two of them an indivisible team, as she’d once suggested.
Back then, he’d scoffed at the very idea of it, at the prospect of having a truepartner, because he’d been a hurt, angry idiot. Now that kind of partnership encompassed everything he wanted, and had become the source of all his contentment.
So he needed her with him on this. By the time he left for Vancouver, he wanted them so united in hearts and minds that even a little distance wouldn’t weaken the fierce connection they shared.
But maybethatwas the source of her concern. The distance between them. The prospect of another relationship with a man she’d have to book a flight to see, a man with plenty of opportunity to find trouble if he went looking for it. After what happened with her ex, he couldn’t exactly blame her for being skittish.
“Okay,” she said again, and reached for the door handle.
“You know I’d never...” He faltered. There was one thing he could tell her that would reaffirm his constancy in a way she wouldn’t be able to doubt, but it would mean sacrificing a bit of pride. “Maria. After we—from the moment we met, I haven’t been with anyone else. I haven’t even kissed another woman since you walked into that sauna in your red bikini and blew my fucking mind.”
Her hand dropped to her side, her chin to her chest. “Peter—”
Ducking his head, he tried to catch her eye. “I don’t expect you to say the same, sweetheart. I’m the one who didn’t want a sexual relationship while the show was filming, so I can’t and won’t judge you for taking what you needed elsewhere.”
At that, she looked up. Unmistakable affection shone in her warm brown gaze, even as her lips remained pressed into a tight line. And when he stepped closer again, she didn’t try to keep him at a distance.
He let out a long, slow breath of relief and cupped her beautiful, beloved face.
“My point is that I would never, ever fuck around on you.” Her cheeks were so soft beneath the stroke of his thumbs, but cooler than normal. Paler. “Not even if we were filming on separate continents for thirty years.”
“Thirty years, huh?” Her laughter was oddly shaky, and her eyes glistened. “That long?”
“Thirty years. A hundred years. Forever.”
It was a vow.
“Oh, Peter.” Twisting her neck, she kissed his palm. “I know you wouldn’t cheat on me.”
Good. Because he would never, ever hurt Maria the way her asshole ex had.