“Thank you, thank you. And hey, I’m really glad that you’re here with me to celebrate this news.”
“So am I,” Timber said, pleased that Alex was happy to share such a huge moment with her.
“Now I feel bad because we haven’t been watching the movie together. Should I start it over?”
“No, no, don’t worry about it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
“Okay, cool,” Alex said, sitting back and wrapping his arm securely around Timber.
She relaxed within his embrace and rested her head on his shoulder, once again feeling cozy and content. Several minutes passed while the pair sat quietly and comfortably with one another, focusing on the movie.
But then, when Timber raised her head to readjust the throw, she saw that Alex was holding his phone in his other hand, discreetly texting away. He was so enthralled in his messaging that he hadn’t even noticed her noticing him.
Timber sighed deeply, laid her head back down and stared straight ahead. Her eyes were on the screen, but her thoughts were on Alex. Yes, he had just received some amazing news and was probably eager to share it with everyone. But it was Timber who had dropped everything at the last minute to take the long ride to his house to have dinner with him. As his guest, the least he could do was give her his undivided attention, especially after having not seen her in so long.
But one thing Timber did understand was that some celebrities operated under a different set of rules and lived a different type of lifestyle. They were used to being praised and indulged and adored, and were well aware of the fact that they could get away with practically anything—hence their entitled, self-centered attitudes. Maybe Alex was one of those celebs who fell into that category. And if she wanted to be a part of his life, then maybe that was something she would just have to get used to….
Chapter Fifteen
Timber stirred slowly, then stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes. When she opened them, she was confused for a moment. It look her a few seconds to realize that she was still at Alex’s house and had fallen asleep in his theater room. The chair where he had been sitting next to her was empty. She tossed the throw to the side and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.
On the way there, she heard dishes rattling and smelled coffee brewing in the kitchen. Before going in to say good morning, Timber grabbed her overnight bag from the couch and slipped inside the bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth, cleansed her face, combed her hair and applied a bit of lip-gloss. Then she gave herself a quick once-over in the mirror and went to the kitchen.
“Good morning,” she said to Alex.
“Good morning, gorgeous.” He smiled, his eyes dancing at the sight of her. “Wow, you’re even prettier in the morning.”
“Aw, flattery will get you everywhere, my dear,” Timber joked.
“Oh it will? Then let me continue to bring on the compliments!”
“Please do,” Timber said, sliding onto a stool across from where Alex was standing and watching as he cut up fresh fruit. “How long have you been up?”
“About an hour. We both fell asleep on that movie last night. When I woke up I went for a quick jog, then came back and started breakfast. You were sleeping so comfortably that I didn’t want to wake you.”
“Thank you,” Timber said. “I’m sure I needed the rest. I’ve been working like crazy lately.”
“Well I’m glad you’re so comfortable here. I’ve really enjoyed your company.”
“I’ve enjoyed being here,” Timber replied. The memory of Alex’s long phone call and subsequent texting from last night tried to make its way into the forefront of her mind, but she pushed it away before it ruined the rest of her visit.
“I hope you’re hungry,” Alex said, walking over to the oven and pulling out a pan filled with scrambled eggs and bacon. Then he grabbed a plate and took two bagels out of the toaster.
“I am. Everything looks great.”
“I’m not done yet.” Alex winked. He reached into the cabinet and pulled down two oversized mugs, then picked up a pot that was sitting on the stove. He poured the contents of the pot into the mugs, and glanced over at Timber mischievously.
“Mmm, is that what I think it is?” Timber asked excitedly, inhaling the delicious scent of what appeared to be his infamous hot chocolate.
“Why yes it is,” Alex said, piling marshmallows on top and sliding a candy cane inside each of the mugs. Then he filled two plates with bacon, eggs, bagels and fruit, placed butter and jam on the counter along with the hot chocolate and sat down next to Timber.
“Thank you for all of this. I can’t believe you made the hot chocolate!”
“You’re very welcome. And I had to make it after all that bragging that I did last night. Plus you deserve it. I can already tell that you’re a trouper. I need somebody like you by my side. It isn’t easy being with a man like me considering what I do for a living. Take last night for example. I was on that call with my agent for quite some time, then I had to reach out to several people with the news about the role, and not once did you complain about it. Most other women would have had a problem with that. But you’re confident and secure, and you seem to understand the in-and-outs of this business. Plus you’re independent and you’ve got your own thing going, which is great. I like that.”
Timber sat there silently, taking in everything that Alex had just said to her. His interpretation of last night suddenly put a different spin on things, and this new understanding made her glad that she hadn’t mentioned being irritated by his long phone call or texting. More importantly, of all the things that Alex had just said, what moved her the most was him saying that he needed somebody like her by his side.
“I’m glad that you appreciate me in that way,” Timber told him. “That’s part of who I strive to be. And I like the fact that you want to share your accomplishments and dreams with me. As for you, I’m really grateful that you’re so supportive of my business and my goals. That means a lot to me. I didn’t get that in my last relationship, which was one of the major reasons behind our breakup….” Timber’s voice trailed off. She decided to stop while she was ahead so as not to turn this conversation into a Brian-bashing session.
“It’s easy to support someone who’s doing great things. I’ll always support you.”
“Thank you,” Timber said, thrilled that their date had hit such a high note. In a short amount of time, she felt as though she and Alex were making some pretty meaningful strides. Their compatibility rating seemed to be getting stronger and stronger.
When they were done eating and drinking their cocoa, Alex cleared the dishes while Timber put the leftover food away. Once the kitchen was neat and tidy, Timber turned to Alex and smiled. “What now?” she asked, wondering what else he had planned for their day.
“I actually need to get going,” he said, kissing her tenderly on the forehead. “I’ve got a meeting with my agent at the airport before I fly out this afternoon.”
“Wait, what?” Timber asked, thinking that she must have misheard him. “You’re leaving town today?”
“Yeah, didn’t I tell you that the role I just landed starts shooting tomorrow?”
“No,” Timber said as a plethora of emotions hit her all at once. And none of them felt good.
“I’m sorry, babe. I thought I mentioned it last night after I got off the phone. Filming starts on the west coast, then we’re heading overseas. This shoot is going to take me all over the place. But I’ll be home periodically.”
“How long will you be gone?” Timber asked, desperately trying to hide her sadness and disappointment.
“A few months, but I promise I’ll come home to visit whenever I can,” Alex said, moving in closer to her. “That’s not going to be a problem, is it?”
“No…it won’t,” Timber said, unsure that she actually believed what she’d just said. But now that Alex knew her to be the secure, confident, understanding woman who he wanted b
y his side, she felt as though she had to live up to that.
“Good,” he said, taking her hand in his. “Come on, I need to go pack.”
Alex led her upstairs to his bedroom, where he pulled two huge suitcases from his closet and began meticulously placing his clothing inside of them as well as a garment bag.
“Can I help with anything?” Timber asked, her tone sounding way perkier than she actually felt.
“No, I think I’ve got it,” Alex said. “I’m so used to this that I’ve perfected my system. I’ll be done in no time.”
Timber sat down on the edge of the bed and watched as Alex quickly packed his belongings. Then he pulled a smaller suitcase out of the closet, which was already filled with his toiletries. He explained how he kept two of everything: one for his house, and one for the road.
“That’s smart,” Timber told him. “Had I known you were leaving today, I would’ve brought some of your favorite Soothing Bliss products to take with you.”
“Now that would have been fantastic. Maybe you can ship them out to me while I’m on location. Better yet, you could send me a few boxes and I’ll pass your products out to the cast and crew. Hopefully that’ll drum up some new business for you.”
“That would be amazing,” Timber said, holding her hands to her chest. “You’d do that for me?”
“Of course!” Alex said. He zipped his suitcases shut, threw on a pair of sneakers and grabbed his coat. “We’d better get going. I’d hate to miss my flight.”
I’d love for you to miss your flight, Timber thought to herself as she headed downstairs to gather her things.
“Is Rafael going to take me home?” she asked, assuming that Alex was heading straight to the airport.
“No, I’ll drop you off on my way. I made sure to carve out enough time to do that.”
“Oh…okay, good,” Timber said, pleasantly surprised that they would have that last bit of time together.
The pair left Alex’s house, and Timber struggled to hide her sadness behind an upbeat conversation. Apparently it worked, because Alex didn’t seem to notice that anything was wrong. They talked nonstop all the way to her place about a little bit of everything, and for a while she was enjoying Alex’s company so much she’d forgotten that he was leaving town. But when he pulled in front of her house, the painful reminder came flooding back and a feeling of sorrow overcame her.
Alex walked Timber to her door, and when she turned to face him, he took her hands in his. “I’m going to miss you,” he said.
“I’m going to miss you, too,” she whispered.
“I promise to call you as soon as I can. And the minute I get some time off, I’ll come home and visit.”
“That sounds good.”
Alex wrapped his arms around Timber and held her tightly, then kissed her passionately. She allowed herself to get lost in the moment, once again forgetting that he was about to leave.
After a few minutes, Alex finally pulled himself away from Timber and ran back to his car. She watched as he sped off and waved until he was no longer in sight. Then she headed inside and willed herself not to cry, hoping that a call to Eva so that they could swap stories would help lift her spirits.
Chapter Sixteen
Timber looked in the mirror and zipped the back of her magenta halter dress. She gave herself a final once-over, then smoothed a couple of flyaway hairs and adjusted her delicate gold jewelry. The phone rang, and she glanced down at her antique gold watch. It was already after six o’clock. She should have been gone by now. She questioned whether she should answer the phone or act like she’d already left. She decided on the latter.
Timber hurried into the living room and grabbed her keys, purse, wool pashmina and overnight bag. She rushed out to her car and pulled off, going against everything that she believed in and everything that she stood for, all in the name of friendship. When she hit the expressway, Timber checked her voicemail. Of course it had been Eva calling. Timber put the message on speaker.
“I hope you’ve already left. If you haven’t, you’re late. And I appreciate you doing this for me. I am so over Cameron and all his excuses. But I know this is hard for you. So I owe you. Big time. And I know you probably haven’t left yet. So hurry up.”
Timber shook her head and deleted the message. The feelings of regret that had been lingering all day were really starting to set in. Today was Brian’s birthday, and after days of begging, pleading, and groveling, Timber finally agreed to go with Eva to his party. Eva had been down in the dumps the past few weeks after Cameron told her that he needed to focus more on his career and less on her. So she was currently single and dateless. The fact that things had been moving along nicely between Timber and Alex wasn’t helping matters. But it wasn’t that Eva was jealous; she was just feeling a bit left out.
Even though he’d been on the road, Alex had been calling Timber on a fairly regular basis and even managed to squeeze in a trip to visit her. While her friends constantly questioned when they were going to establish some sort of commitment, Timber wasn’t worried about it. She believed that everything would fall into place in due time.
Timber’s cell phone rang. She didn’t even have to look at the caller ID.
“Yes, Eva,” she said.
“Just making sure you’d already left.”
“I have, and I should be there shortly,” she exaggerated.
“I know you don’t want to do this. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I just can’t seem to shake this little bout of depression. And I hate to admit that it’s because of a man, but Cameron has me in shambles! I’ve been planning and attending events nonstop since I don’t want any downtime, because downtime turns into lonely time, and lonely time is the absolute worst.”
“Eva, you and Cameron are still friends, so there’s still a possibility that you two will get back together. And there have been plenty of men asking you out, but you’ve turned them all down because you’re stuck on Cameron. So you choose to be alone all the time, which is fine if that’s what you want. But just as you suggested to me, it sounds like you need to get out and start dating again.”
As Eva complained about how the men who usually asked her out just weren’t her type, Timber’s mind wandered towards thoughts of Brian. She hadn’t seen him in so long, and didn’t know how she’d feel once she did. It probably wouldn’t be too intense considering her head and heart were elsewhere.
“Oh, and by the way, I didn’t tell Brian that you were coming tonight,” Eva said.
“What? Why not? I doubt that he even wants me there.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic to see you. You know that man is still in love with you. He asks about you all the time.”
“Really?” Timber asked, surprised to hear that she was still on Brian’s mind, especially to that extent. But then again, she wasn’t. She had been good to him. He was the reason why they hadn’t worked out. He knew he’d lost the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Timber and Eva chatted until she got to the city. When she pulled in front of her building, Eva was already waiting downstairs. They didn’t hang up their call until she actually got inside the car. They both laughed at themselves.
“We’re a mess,” Timber said, reaching over and hugging her. Eva looked radiant in a slinky floor length purple slip dress and long cape. “You look beautiful!”
“So do you,” Eva told her. “Now let’s go. We’re late, and the hotel staff is probably looking for me.”
Timber pulled off and headed towards the hotel. “I can’t believe that I’m actually going to this party with you. And I really can’t believe you didn’t tell Brian I was coming.”
“I’ve got a lot on my mind, Timber. I can’t remember everything. Don’t worry about it. Your being here tonight won’t be a big deal.”
“I beg to differ. You do realize that Brian and I haven’t seen or spoken to one another in forever. Does he know I�
��m still seeing Alex?”
“I haven’t mentioned it.”
“I was just wondering whether he knows that we’re…together.”
“Oh, so you two are together now? Like, together together?” Eva asked, looking over at Timber with a stunned expression.
“You know what I mean. We may be soon.”
“Well, I’m not getting into all that with you two. Whatever you do is your business, and the same goes for him.”
“Is Brian seeing anybody?” Timber asked before considering whether she really wanted to know. After the question came out, she realized that she didn’t. But Eva’s long pause and subsequent silence answered it anyway.
“Maybe I’ll meet a professor tonight and fall in love,” Eva said, evading the question. “I think I should switch it up. Go after a different type of man….”
“Eva, why are you ignoring me?” Timber asked.
“I already told you, I don’t want to get into all that. Make a right at the next light. It’ll get us there faster.”
“I know where I’m going,” Timber said, looking over at Eva. “So is she going to be at the party?”
Once again, Eva’s silence answered her question.
“Have you met her?”
Eva sighed heavily. “Timber, please, I can’t deal with this right now. You’re here with me. For me. So don’t worry about Brian.”
“You’re right,” Timber replied sarcastically. “Why should I be worried about Brian? After all, I’m only going to his birthday party uninvited. To watch him prance around with his new girlfriend. Who’ll probably be upset that I’m even there. I wish I would’ve known all this before I came, because I would have stayed home.”
Timber and Eva didn’t speak to one another until after they arrived at the hotel, parked the car and got in the elevator.
“I’m sorry,” Eva told her when the doors closed. “I guess I didn’t realize how selfish and inconsiderate this was of me. I was only thinking of myself. But since you’re seeing Alex now, I didn’t think you would feel—”
The Road To Bliss Page 13
