To my surprise, I was actually enjoying the time apart. We texted throughout the day, and there was always a video message waiting for me when I woke up in the morning. Long-distance wasn’t as bad as everyone always said it was. Then again, ours had an end date, so maybe that was why it seemed so tolerable.

  “You don’t miss him like crazy?” JJ asked before pushing off the couch and heading toward the kitchen. “I need caffeine. You want anything?”

  “I’m good. And, yeah, of course I miss him, but this is kind of nice actually. It’s forcing us to talk and get to know each other all over again. It’s kind of fun, talking about our days and the people we interact with. I feel like we’re rebuilding our friendship.”

  “Is he different? I mean, different than he used to be?” She sat back down next to me, a diet soda in her hand.

  “Yes, and no,” I answered before trying to explain what I meant. “He’s still the same, but he’s changed too. I think it’s the business he’s in and all he’s gone through since we’ve been apart. He’s had so much success and fame. There’s no way that doesn’t change you a little bit. But at the core of who he is, he’s still that guy I fell in love with when I was nineteen.”

  “I’m sure you’ve grown too. Not in a bad way,” she said, but I honestly didn’t feel like I’d really changed all that much.

  Sure, I was successful and ran my own company, but I was still me. The girl who loved Star Wars and Stranger Things and saw colors and shapes in my head. The girl who had fallen for the charming boy back in college and never quite got over him.

  “I’m really happy for you,” she said, and even though I’d never once questioned that, it was still nice to hear.

  “Thank you.”

  She started tapping a finger on her lips. “Now, which one of Tyson’s friends should I date?”

  I laughed, and JJ shot me a look that let me know she wasn’t joking.

  “You’re not kidding, are you?”

  “Why would I be kidding?” she asked before reaching for the phone she’d thrown and typing with both hands. “Ooh, he’s cute.” She quickly turned the screen toward me, but the only thing I saw was that she was on Tyson’s Instagram.

  I missed whoever it was that she was referring to. She went on that way for the next ten minutes until I was convinced that she had half of Hollywood on a list in her head.

  My phone rang out with a video notification as I was lying in bed. It was only eight p.m., but I was bingeing a show, and I couldn’t seem to stop. Glancing down, I saw Tyson’s face on my screen. I did the math quickly, knowing that it was four in the morning in London.

  When I pressed the Accept button, his gorgeous face filled my phone screen, and I smiled. I’d had flashbacks of sorts whenever we first started video chatting. Considering the fact that the last time I’d seen him was on my phone as he dumped me, being a little triggered seemed normal. I hadn’t expected it, but it’d faded quickly. Now, whenever I saw his face, I got happy and giddy.

  I couldn’t help it.

  “Hey, baby.” Tyson yawned, and I ran my finger down the screen, touching his cheek like either one of us could feel it.

  “It’s so early there,” I said, as if he wasn’t aware of this fact.

  “Our call time got pushed up. We need a sunrise shoot apparently.”

  “How are you not exhausted?” I asked because the man worked insane hours.

  There were script rewrites and new lines that needed to be learned for the next day’s shoot, last-minute location adjustments, and call-time changes. It was all part of the production and usually couldn’t be helped, but going through the day-to-day with Tyson really made me appreciate the level of commitment he had to bring to a project.

  “I am exhausted. I can’t wait to come home to you, Eve. I miss you so much. I’m ready to take a break.”

  “I miss you too. I can’t wait to open my eyes and see you there.” I grinned into the phone, and he smiled back.

  I’d thought about it so many times even though we hadn’t officially discussed what we’d do when he moved back home. Living in different areas probably wasn’t a big deal to most people, but in Southern California, it was almost long-distance in its own right. It could take hours to get from my place to Tyson’s. And I hated leaving Orange County anytime that I was forced to do it for work. Dread filled me the second I got onto the freeway, wondering how much of my day would be wasted in traffic.

  The flip side was that the majority of the movie studios and film stages were in Los Angeles County, where Tyson lived. I couldn’t ask him to always come out to Newport Beach and be the one who had to commute. It was the exact same dilemma and conversation I’d had with myself every single day since he had gotten on that plane with no solution in sight.

  “I can see the wheels spinning in your head. What’s up?” he asked.

  I wanted to be irritated that he could read me so well, but it was comforting and kind of romantic.

  “No, it’s nothing.” I waved him off, shaking my head at the screen. I didn’t want to bring him down or talk about this while he was working. Plus, there wasn’t any rush to figure it all out this instant. It was just something I’d been thinking about.

  “You’re sure?” he pushed.

  “Promise.” I gave him a soft smile and changed the subject. “But …” I paused before adding, “JJ is looking at all your socials to find her next date.”

  He let out a laugh so loud that it made me look around to make sure no one was listening in. I had forgotten we were in private.

  “She wasn’t kidding about one of my friends, huh?”

  “Apparently not.”

  “I might have someone in mind,” he said with a satisfied nod. Before I could ask for more details, I heard a loud knock on his hotel room door, and he told me he had to go. “I love you. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “I love you too,” I said before ending the call and pressing the phone against my chest.

  Who would have guessed that the same two kids who had fallen for one another in college would find their way back to each other as adults and give their love a second chance?

  The thought had always lingered in the back of my mind like a perfect romance novel, but I’d never held on to it. It had hurt too much to live in the fantasy of what-ifs and if-onlys with Tyson Hunter.

  But now that it was really happening and the two of us were back together … I was never letting go.

  KEY EXCHANGE

  EVE

  SIX MONTHS LATER

  Tyson had come home from London months ago, given his notice on the show, and wrapped up filming in New York. They scrapped his character way sooner than he had anticipated, and he was released right away. He had sold his place in the city and sent all his belongings from there to my condo in Newport without telling me.

  The other afternoon, I got home, and a hundred boxes were sitting in front of my garage. I had no idea what they were until I got out of my car and noticed Tyson’s name on all of them. Reaching for my cell, I pressed his contact and waited for him to pick up.

  “Tyson, why are there boxes with your name on them sitting in my driveway?”

  “Shit, babe, I forgot to tell you,” he said with a laugh, and I held my breath, waiting for the explanation. “It’s my stuff from New York. I figured it was easier if I sent it all there.”

  “Ahhhh,” I breathed into the phone, wondering how the heck I was going to make all that fit into my already-full condo. “It’s a lot of shit, babe.”

  “Yeah, I know. Sorry?” He said it like a question, and I simply shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “I’ll be there soon to move them. Don’t touch them until I get there.”

  “Uh, why can’t I touch them?”

  “Because they’re heavy. And you’re a girl. And I’m your man. And it’s my job. Just don’t fucking move them, babe. Me and Ransom will be there soon, and we’ll handle it.”

  “If you insist,” I argued because it wasn’t in my nature to sit around and watch someone do all the work while I did nothing, but getting sweaty and lugging heavy boxes didn’t sound very fun at the moment.

  “I do. Gotta go.”

  “Bye.” I hung up the phone and sent JJ a text, letting her know that the guys were on their way over to move some East Coast shit into my place.

  Ransom was one of Tyson’s costars that he’d known for years. Surprisingly enough, he actually hadn’t been one of JJ’s picks when she scrolled through Tyler’s friends online and presented him with a list. Thankfully, Tyler had better taste than JJ did when it came to guys, and he picked her out a good one, setting Ransom and her up on a double date with us one evening.

  It was supposed to just be one date at a movie premiere, but it turned into more soon after. Hell, it turned into more that night. They were all over each other, kissing for the cameras, laughing and holding hands like they’d been together forever. I’d never seen JJ look so happy. They’d pretty much been as inseparable as Tyson and I had been ever since.

  I was still standing outside, staring at the mound of boxes, when JJ pulled into a visitor spot and cut the engine. Her door swung open, and her long legs shot out first, followed by the rest of her body in a gorgeous sundress with hair and makeup perfectly done.

  “You’re shitting me with all these boxes.” She laughed before handing me a latte.

  “You’re a goddess,” I said, taking it from her and sipping. “And you look way too hot for a casual hangout.” I eyed her from head to toe.

  “I like to look sexy for Ransom. Not all of us have known each other since we were kids, you know.” She gave me a pointed look.

  I glanced down at my outfit—yoga pants and a crop top, both with a thin layer of sweat still showing. “Are you saying I look bad?”

  “Never.” She shook her head a little too rapidly.

  “Crap,” I groaned. I’d left the house this morning to go work out, and I hadn’t put on any makeup or brushed my hair. “I’ll go change. And get myself presentable for my man.”

  “It’s just the makeup artist in me. Occupational hazard,” she shouted after me, but I was already racing inside to shower and change before the guys got there.

  I was just applying my last coat of mascara when I heard the commotion. Guys were so loud.

  “Eve, where are you?” Tyson shouted, and I yelled that I was in my bathroom.

  Staring into the mirror at my reflection, I spotted him the second he came into the room. He looked so damn good, heading straight for me.

  “I missed you,” he growled into my ear as his strong arms wrapped around my middle.

  I spun around to face him and ran my finger down the length of his face. “I missed you too.”

  He kissed me then, and the world stopped. I wondered if it always would. It always used to.

  “Sorry about the boxes,” he apologized. “You’re not mad, are you?”

  “Of course I’m not mad.”

  “I practically live here anyway,” he said, attempting to sound nonchalant about it, but I could tell he was trying to get some kind of reaction out of me.

  “Pretty much,” I agreed.

  Tyson had spent almost every night at my place since he’d moved back with the exception of literally a night or two. He was also working nonstop on a screenplay that he wouldn’t let me read until it was finished. It drove me crazy.

  “Think you’ll ever give me a key?” he asked.

  He’d been hinting at my giving him a key to the condo for weeks now, and even though I’d had one made for him while he was wrapping up in New York, teasing him about it had become too much fun.

  “Think you’ll ever let me read that screenplay?” I fired back, and his head started shaking.

  “You play dirty.”

  “I play fair.”

  He made a tsk sound before kissing me again, and it took all my strength not to hop into his arms and straddle his waist. When we broke the kiss, he held me tight.

  “You need to move some of your things into the Santa Monica place. I know we barely stay out there right now, but it will be easier for whenever we do,” he suggested, his tone uncertain, like he wasn’t entirely sure how much pushback I’d give him on the matter.

  “That would make things easier,” I agreed because it would be nice not to have to pack each time I stayed the night there.

  We had decided that it was smartest for Tyson to keep his condo in Santa Monica, as opposed to sell it, in case he had to work out there. The commute from Newport to Hollywood or Burbank would be a pain in the ass, and that was a logical solution that made the most sense.

  Plus, if I took on work in the area, I’d have a place to stay now too. It was very much a win-win situation for us both, and it made me feel relieved instead of stressed. I had always dreaded taking jobs out there, but now, I could look forward to it instead, if I wanted.

  In the meantime, however, he stayed here. It had been his idea. He’d said he wanted to support me and see my business thrive and that there was no reason to be so far away from each other if we didn’t have to be.

  “And because I obviously love you more than you love me, I already made you a key,” he said, pulling it from his pocket. It was decorated with palm trees and sand castles. “That way, you know it’s for our place at the beach.”

  “Our place?”

  “Babe, I’m not into wasting any more time when it comes to you. I did enough of that to last me a lifetime. What’s mine is yours.”

  I smiled at him and palmed the gift before walking over to my nightstand and pulling open the drawer. Staring at the silver key inside, I reached for it and walked back over to Tyson.

  “What is that?” he asked, turning his hand over, palm side up. I dropped the key into it, and he smirked. “Is this real?”

  “Of course it’s real,” I answered with a laugh.

  “How long have you—” He didn’t finish asking his question before I answered it.

  “Long enough.”

  “Maybe you do love me as much as I love you.”

  “Maybe.” I shrugged, and he kissed me again.

  “We’d better get out there before they try to make a baby on your couch,” he said, and I shook my head to rid myself of the mental image.

  “Tyson. Gross.”

  “What? I’m just being honest. They can’t keep their hands off each other.”

  “It’s your fault.”

  “My fault?”

  “You introduced them!”

  He nodded. “Eh. I’d do it again too. But if anyone’s making a baby on that couch, it’s me and you. Let’s go.”

  He reached for my hand, and I tried to pretend like he hadn’t just said that while secretly loving that he had.

  When we walked out, I braced myself for what we might be walking into.

  “It is pretty quiet out there,” I whispered as we headed down the hall.

  No sooner had the words left my lips than I noticed JJ sitting on the counter in my kitchen, Ransom standing between her legs, kissing her.

  “Jeez, you two, get a room,” I shouted, and they broke the kiss and turned to face us.

  “At your own place. Not ours,” Tyson added quickly, and I didn’t miss the way he had called my place ours.

  JJ grabbed Ransom’s face and said, “Gladly,” before hopping down.

  “No! Don’t leave. You just got here.”

  “We’re not leaving, gorgeous. Who else would help your man carry all those boxes?” Ransom asked before walking in my direction and giving me a hug.

  I swore Tyson growled under his breath. “Hands off.”

  Ransom laughed and hugged me tighter in an effort to torment Tyson and his apparent jealousy. The doorbell rang, and I narrowed my eyes, wondering who it could be, as Ransom still held me tight, refusing to let go.

  “Pizza’s here,” JJ said as she jogged over to the door to answer it.

  Tyson took a step in our direction, his jaw tight, and Ransom dropped his hands instantly.

  “I want it known that I’m only letting go because I need food.”

  I stood there, biting back a laugh as the smell of pizza filled the air. My stomach growled.

  “Hungry?” Tyson asked against my ear before sucking the lobe into his mouth and nibbling on it.

  All thoughts of food flew out the window at that second, and I only wanted him.

  “Not anymore.” The words fell breathlessly from my lips.

  “Wanna go make that baby?” he asked, his tone dead serious, and I swatted his shoulder.

  “No. I mean, not right now. Not yet. Not today.” I stumbled on all my words as my internal freak-out came spilling right out of my mouth.

  “Soon though?” he pressed, and I gave him a surprised look.

  “You’re joking, right? We’re not even married,” I started to say.

  But before I could continue my rant, filled with all the logical reasons as to why we shouldn’t have a baby yet, Tyson was on one knee, holding a massive yellow diamond ring between his fingers.

  “Yet. We’re not married yet. But we will be, if you say yes.”

  My jaw dropped at the sight, and I forgot that anyone else was in the room with us even though I could make out the faint sounds of cheering and screaming from somewhere around me.

  “Say yes to what exactly?”

  That million-dollar signature smirk appeared, the one he used to give to only me back in college, and I was getting it to myself all over again. He reached for my hand and held the ring at the tip of my finger.

  “Eve, you are the love of my life. You always have been, and you always will be. Say you’ll be my wife and never make me spend another minute without you by my side. Will you marry me?”

  He held the ring steady as tears spilled from my eyes.

  “Yes. Oh my God, yes!” I said before he pushed the diamond all the way on and stood tall, reaching for me.

  I fell into him, my body melting against his as our mouths fused together as one. We lost ourselves in that moment, our tongues touching, our emotions filling the room. When we finally pulled away, he reached for my hand and held it gently in his.

 

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