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As Nate walked down the hall toward the elevators, Lily found that she was now the one leaning against the wall. She brought her right hand gently to her lips.

It was the first time Nate had kissed—really kissed—her since the night before he’d left her apartment. The spontaneity of it thrilled her. His momentary lack of control made Lily want to throw caution to the wind. She couldn’t help but wonder if they were finally back to the way they had been before.

She closed her eyes and took three deep breaths, trying to focus.

It didn’t work.

When she opened the door, her thoughts were still a million miles away.

“Uh-oh. I know that expression.”

Daniel’s smooth, rich voice brought a smile to Lily’s face. “Hi, stranger.”

“Hey, Lily,” he replied, gathering her into a warm hug. He then held her at arms’ length, evaluating her carefully.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’d been ravaged by my best friend.”

Lily raised an eyebrow at him. “Something like that.”

Daniel scrunched his face into a look of mock disgust. “Ugh. That’s more than I needed to know.”

She playfully slapped his shoulder. “How are you? It’s been way too long since we’ve talked.”

“Mm-hmm,” he agreed. “And it sounds like we have a lot of catching up to do.”

A light blush lit Lily’s cheeks as she rolled her eyes. “Okay, long story short, Nate apologized. We started talking again. And he just kissed me in the hall.”

Daniel narrowed his eyes. “I have a feeling there are more than a few details you left out.”

Lily sighed. “True. But I have a limited amount of time here. So let’s cover the important stuff first, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with an over-the-top salute. “Fire away with the questions.”

For the next ten minutes, they talked business. Lily asked about how the new locations had affected this Pierce movie, how his character had grown, and how the film compared to the book. She also asked Daniel how he handled the responsibility of bringing such a beloved fictional character to life. Lily thought his response to that particular inquiry was especially telling.

“It’s hard to be entrusted with bringing a character like Grady to the screen,” he said. “People already have a very clear idea of who he is, and I’m certain that in most cases it’s not me. I find it so interesting when people say I gave the character life. In my mind, that’s not even remotely true. The writers—the original author and the screenwriters—gave birth to Grady. I just hope I’m doing them justice. I take the responsibility of embodying their work seriously. It’s a privilege to play him.”

“All right, that should be all I need,” Lily said, turning off her recorder.

Daniel grinned. “Finally done grilling me?”

“For now,” she responded with a grin of her own.

“So now are you going to tell me what happened out there?”

“I thought I already did.”

“You did. And I told you that I know there’s more to the story.”

“Nate did kiss me in the hall.”

Daniel motioned for her to keep going. “And?”

“And . . . we’re working it out. It’s kind of . . . undefined . . . right now, but I think we’re on the same page.”

“I’m glad you two were able to put it behind you. Unfortunately, paparazzi photos are just a fact of this life, and you two shouldn’t let it affect your relationship.”

“So that’s why it never bothered you?”

Daniel shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, I still don’t like it. And I also know that kind of attention is just part of doing what I do. I try to keep as much as I can to myself, but I know that doesn’t work all the time. The way I look at it, you two were sweating the small stuff.”

Lily offered him a grateful smile. “I honestly never meant for any of that to happen.”

“I know. And so does she. For what it’s worth, I’m happy you and Nate are . . . together again. He was a miserable bastard without you.”

Lily couldn’t contain her laughter. “Well, I was pretty insufferable myself.”

“I find that hard to imagine,” he said with a wink. “And I’m sorry for not doing a better job of staying in touch.”

“I completely understand. I got a couple of e-mails from Sam, so I knew it was a busy time for you.”

A quick check of her watch revealed that her time with Daniel was almost finished.

“Speaking of busy, I have to go, but I’ll see you at the premiere. Nate asked me to work the press line with him again.”

That was news to Daniel. “Really? That’s great. Just promise to keep him calm for me.”

“I’ll do what I can,” she vowed, giving him a quick hug. “See you soon.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

The few days between the junket and the premiere seemed to fly.

Lily knew this was important. The anticipation started to drive her crazy, and she said as much to her best friends during several phone calls.

“I don’t know why this feels like a changing point, but it does.”

“That’s because he asked,” Maggie said. “He’s the one who broke things off, but now he wants you again—both professionally and personally.”

“She’s right,” Colette interjected. “I have a good feeling about this.”

Lily smiled. “You know what? Me, too. I think this premiere is going to be just as important as the last one.”

“Go get ’em, tiger!” Maggie exclaimed.

Fashion took up a large part of their discussion. After several photos back and forth, they all agreed that a chic black suit with wide-leg trousers and a jacket with a wide satin ribbon that wrapped around Lily’s narrow waist was the perfect choice. Lily paired that with a fuchsia lace camisole, her Calvin Klein slingbacks, and black pearls.

She and Nate talked extensively about travel arrangements. Since he had to be in New York City a couple of days before the premiere, they couldn’t fly together. But Nate said he’d be more than happy to meet her at the airport, since they had reservations at the same hotel.

Lily’s flight landed in the early evening, and after checking in to the hotel, she and Nate decided to grab a quick dinner and go over the plans for the premiere.

It hadn’t taken Nate long to grab her hand once they’d exited the hotel. The smile on Lily’s face seemed permanently etched into her skin as she and Nate strolled down the streets, deciding on a restaurant.

Being in this city with this man brought back many memories.

“This feels familiar,” Lily said, echoing her thoughts.

Nate chuckled and squeezed her hand in response. “Yeah, it does.”

“Kind of nice, don’t you think?” she asked, her tone hesitant.

Nate smiled. “Absolutely.”

They agreed on grabbing a slice at a pizza place. As they ate their dinner, the discussion turned to business.

“If you don’t mind, I’d love it if you could take notes during the interviews again,” Nate said between bites.

Lily nodded, swallowing a bite of her own. “I don’t mind at all. It’s kind of interesting to hear what other reporters ask.”

“Great.
People
has been all over this, so I’m interested to see how they cover it tomorrow.”

“Good to know. I’ll pay close attention to their interview.” Lily paused for a moment before continuing. “I know it’s at the same theater. Will Daniel go across the street to sign autographs again?”

Nate shrugged. “The studio’s security team always recommends against doing that, just because you never know what might happen. But he probably will, even if it’s just for a few minutes.”

“And do you advise him against doing that? I’m curious from a publicist’s point of view.”

“I’m not sure there is a right answer to that. As his friend, I’m concerned for his safety. As his publicist, I know how important those impromptu autograph sessions can be. Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile those two points of view. I suppose that’s why I ultimately leave it up to him in the end.”

“I have to admit, I like that he does that,” Lily confided with a hint of a smile. “No doubt he’s making the day, year, or decade of who knows how many fans.”

Nate snickered, his eyes full of mirth. “Spoken like a true girl.”

Lily raised an eyebrow. “You seem to enjoy all my womanly wiles.”

Nate hummed lowly. “You have no idea how much.”

A wicked smiled crossed Lily’s expression. “Oh, I think I do. But don’t worry, I’m a very grateful beneficiary of that enjoyment.”

Nate cleared his throat, trying to defuse the tension that surrounded them like the thick humidity of a sauna.

Lily winked at his clouded expression. “Let’s get out of here,” she suggested. “We both have a long day tomorrow.”

As Lily stood, he reached behind her chair to grab her coat. After she slipped her arms through the sleeves, he leaned down to kiss her.

She grumbled lightly when Nate ended their embrace, her eyes still closed. “Yeah—we definitely need to go.”

Nate laughed as he led her from the restaurant. He kept his arm around her shoulders, shielding her from the cold wind. But the temperature wasn’t the cause of the pink tint on her cheeks. Lily was warm with happiness.

When they reached the door of Lily’s hotel room, Nate turned her back to the wall and leaned toward her, placing his forehead against hers. She saw his lips turn up in a smile before they descended on hers. His kiss was urgent but tender, as if he were holding himself back from kissing her the way he wanted to.

Eventually, he broke the kiss with a small sigh. Her eyes remained closed, and his hands maintained their grip on her hips, holding her to him. When she did look at him, the emotion reflected back in his stare surprised her.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said quietly.

“I’m glad you asked me to be here,” she responded in the same soft tone.

She moved to kiss him again, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him to her. His own hands moved up, tangling in her hair, as he deepened their kiss.

Lily giggled as he moved his lips to her neck. “I thought we were taking it slow.”

He groaned and rested his forehead on her shoulder. “I know, I know. You’re right.”

After one more quick peck on her lips, Nate made his move to leave. “I want to stay, but I should go—before I don’t leave at all. I’ll come by here at three, and we’ll head over to the theater.”

Lily nodded, still a little dazed from their embrace. “Okay. I’ll see you then.”

“Sweet dreams, Lily,” he said as she opened her door. She winked at him as she closed it behind her.

She slept more soundly than she had in months, knowing that she and Nate were under the same roof.

Lily decided to pamper herself with a leisurely and decadent morning. She ordered an indulgent and filling breakfast from room service and scheduled a morning massage and manicure. Then she relaxed in the bathtub, surrounded by floral-scented bubbles as she primped and scrubbed.

Wrapped in a fluffy white bathrobe, she began the tasks of applying makeup and fixing her hair. She decided to keep things simple with light pink blush and eye shadow, a berry-colored lipstick, and her hair twisted into a business and evening-appropriate chignon at the nape of her neck.

After packing her black leather work tote with everything she’d need, she gave her appearance one final check and smiled with approval.

Just then, there was a knock on her door, and her smile widened as she opened it. “Hi. Come in.”

Nate stopped just inside the threshold. She turned off the television, switched on one of the lamps, and grabbed her tote. It took her a moment to realize that he seemed distracted.

“Is everything okay?” she asked as she dropped her room key into her tote.

“Hmm?” Nate responded. “Oh . . . yes. It’s just that you look . . . stunning. And that’s not even close to an accurate description.”

Lily blushed and took in Nate’s appearance. “Well, you look pretty amazing yourself.” She knew that she would never grow tired of seeing him in a well-tailored black suit. His platinum gray shirt and skinny black tie blended perfectly.

He crossed the room in three purposeful steps, and Lily knew exactly what he wanted.