The Actor by Maya Brooks Page A

isn’t
standing me up.
    Maybe he got
drunk again and forgot all about her, or slept through the day.
    Trudging
forward, she hoped she was going in the right direction. Then he was there,
leaning against a wall, waiting for her. He had made a valiant attempt to
straighten up, was newly showered and shaved, and he held her tight.
    He whispered,
“Thank you for coming, it’s so good to see you.”
    Marc took her
suitcase and fumbled for her hand. She squeezed his fingers, suddenly
overwhelmed by an urge to sit down, anywhere would do, rest her head against
him, and close her eyes.
    “People are
staring.”
    He glanced
around and gave a slight shrug.
    “Ignore them.
They don’t have lives of their own, so they want a piece of ours. How was your
flight?”
    She clasped his
hand a little harder.
    “It was good. I
can’t believe you put me in first class.”
    “Do you want
anything? Coffee? Lunch?”
    She paused and
stood on her toes to whisper in his ear.
    “I want you .”
    He rewarded her
with a warm smile that reached his eyes.
    “You have me.
Anything else?”
    “I’m good for
now. How ‘bout you?”
    He snorted, “I
want a big fucking drink, what else is new.”
    “Lately, you
swear a lot.”
    He burst out
laughing, and she grinned, happy with herself for lightening the mood.
    When they
reached the garage, he led her to a big black Escalade, tossed her suitcase in
the back as if it weighed nothing, and looked her over from top to toe. The
scrutiny made her cheeks heat.
    “That’s your
warmest clothes, huh?”
    Yes, and
what’s so funny about that?
    He shook his
head, looking amused, and pulled out a jacket, a furry little hat with matching
gloves and scarf, and a pair of cute boots from the back of the car.
    “I hope they
fit. I forgot your shoe size.”
    She stared at
him, at the clothes, and back at him.
    “How did you…
Whenever did you get time to do that ? Wow. Thank you.”
    He seemed to
find her extremely comical. “I’m not completely useless all the time. Put them
on, we’ll have to make a couple of stops on the way home, and it’s cold.”
    The boots fit
just fine, and her eyes darted over to Marc who pulled out some winter clothes
for himself.
    You’re the
only man I can imagine looking sexy with a knit, striped hat pulled down over
your ears.
    “Are you okay
to drive?”
    The words
popped out of her mouth without any involvement of the brain. Her lover
shrugged and flashed a smile that made her want to drop all her clothes.
    “I made it
here. You can drive if you want to. Just remember ice is slippery. It’s not
usually this cold and snowy here, I guess nature wanted to show you some
winter.”
    All of a
sudden, the car towered over her. Compared to her little Toyota, it was huge.
    I wouldn’t
even get that thing out of the parking spot without crashing.
    “Naah, just
checking.”
    He kissed the
tip of her nose and held the door open for her.
    “That’s what I
thought.”
    When they
pulled out on the road, Laura stared.
    The sky is
so pale, and the snow so white…
    “It’s more
different than I imagined. Is snow really cold?”
    Her innocent
comment made him laugh again.
    “Damn, I’m glad
you’re here.”
    Marc pulled up
outside a grocery store.
    “It’s cold
outside but you have to come. I shouldn’t be trusted with shopping right now
God knows what I would bring home.”
    If you came
home. You might wake up on Greenland…
    Laura didn’t
let the thought show, she just smiled, but when she opened the door and jumped
down from the car, a wave of chilly air hit her. She could barely breathe.
    “It’s like
being in the freezer. I feel like I’m actually sitting in a freezer.”
    “I think you arrived
on the coldest day of the year. I’ll make you a fire when we get home, and we
can go buy you some more clothes tomorrow. Come on, let’s get you inside.” He
took a cart and frowned. “Assume we have nothing in the kitchen. Get everything
we need to survive for a