You Belong To Me (14 page)

Read You Belong To Me Online

Authors: Patricia Sargeant

BOOK: You Belong To Me
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Malcolm looked up as she entered the kitchen. “Have a seat,” he invited as he rose to pour her a cup of coffee. “Eggs?”
“Just toast and jelly, if you have it, please.”
He smiled briefly, a sexy tilting of his lips that served as foreplay to her senses. He pulled a loaf of wheat bread and a jar of grape jelly from the fridge. Nicole sipped her coffee and tried to keep her eyes from straying to the shoulders she'd scratched and the waist she'd squeezed between her thighs last night. He put the toast on the place mat in front of her.
“Thank you.” She felt nostalgic when she saw he'd cut the two slices of toast into triangles.
“You're welcome.” He resumed his seat and sipped his coffee. “Nicky, about last night—”
“Last night was a mistake,” she interrupted, undaunted by the shuttered look he gave her. “I want us to be friends, Mal, like we were before we got married. But you want more. And, frankly, you're too much of a temptation for me. I lose my focus around you. So I think it's best if we don't blur the lines anymore.”
Malcolm regarded her closely, heat simmering in his eyes. “Are you sure?”
Nicole frowned. “Absolutely.”
Malcolm smiled at her tone, but Nicole held his gaze.
“All right. I guess it's on to business, then.” He picked up his coffee cup. “I'm going to schedule casting and location appointments for this week and next. As I mentioned yesterday, we need to get this project back on schedule. Or on a new schedule. The next couple of weeks will be hectic.”
Nicole was caught off guard by Malcolm's quick and easy acceptance of her decision. Her mind hurried to catch up with him. “Okay. Will the director join us for the casting and location visits?” Nicole bit into a slice of toast.
Malcolm set down his cup. “I'm the director.”
Nicole froze midchew, then hastily swallowed. “As well as the producer? That's going to be hard on you, won't it?”
“It won't be easy. There's a lot to do. But I can handle it. And Joyce has offered to help with the books and billings.”
“Oh? She never mentioned that.”
Malcolm looked surprised. “You've spoken to her?”
Nicole shrugged a shoulder. “I've stopped by her house a couple of times to bring her something to eat. She's lost quite a bit of weight.”
Malcolm regarded her strangely. Again, Nicole couldn't hold his gaze. “That was very nice of you, Nicky.”
Nicole shrugged again. Feeling uncomfortable, she rushed to change the subject. “She didn't mention she would be helping with the accounting.”
“Joyce has always done our books, ever since we hired her firm to handle our accounting.”
It hurt Nicole to learn Malcolm would accept help with the project from Leo and Joyce, but all he'd allow her to do was attend parties with him. He would lean on anyone but her. Making that realization after sharing her body and a part of her soul with him last night made her almost physically ill. She needed to escape, to leave before she said something embarrassing.
Nicole glanced at her watch, feigning surprise. “Oh, look at the time. I'd better get going.”
“What's the rush?” Malcolm stood with her.
She looked up, and the sensuality emanating from him shoved the breath back into her throat. For a brief time, he'd been hers again. And during that time, it was as though he had never left her.
“I need to go.” She carried her dishes to his dishwasher.
“Shouldn't we discuss the schedule for the casting and site surveys?” Malcolm followed closely behind her, prompting Nicole to move more quickly.
“There's no need to. There's nothing on my schedule I can't move to accommodate those appointments.” She scooted around him and out of the kitchen.
“Just don't schedule anything for evenings or weekends, if possible,” Nicole continued, retrieving her jacket from his coat closet.
“The NBA play-offs. Okay.” He helped her slip her hand into the second sleeve. “Evenings and weekends are out.”
“That's right.” She avoided his gaze as she zipped her coat.
Nicole strode to the front door with Malcolm strolling beside her.
“Well.” She forced a smile. “Have a nice day.”
Malcolm's eyes sparkled with humor. The idiocy of her statement made Nicole want to groan from embarrassment. Instead, she gritted her teeth to keep her smile in place.
“Have a nice day,” he returned.
Her cheeks flaming, Nicole yanked open the door and fled down the steps toward her car. She cast surreptitious glances up and down both sides of the street, trying to determine whether anyone saw her leaving Malcolm's house so early.
She rounded her car and opened the driver's door. Before sliding into the vehicle, she glanced up and saw Malcolm studying her from his porch. She froze, torn between desire and a need to protect her heart. Just get into the car, she ordered herself.
Distance,
she thought.
I need distance.
She forced another smile and tried a jaunty wave. He lifted a hand in response, but his expression remained inscrutable. She ducked into her car and made herself drive away.
 
Nicole wandered into the mall bookstore. After leaving Malcolm this morning, she'd been restless at home, staring sightlessly at her computer. She'd tried jogging, cleaning, and even channel-surfing. Nothing had eased her troubled thoughts. In desperation, she'd climbed back into her car and pointed it in the direction of the closest bookstore.
She meandered over to the sci-fi section, disappointed to find that none of her
InterDimensions
books were on the shelves. Nicole scanned the rows for titles by her favorite sci-fi authors and found she'd read all of their latest releases.
Shrugging, she wandered over to the mystery section. A few of her books were on the shelves, and one was being perused by a prospective buyer. Nicole selected another writer's novel to use as a cover while she waited for the young woman's final decision. After reading the back cover and the preview scene, the shopper flipped the book over to look at the front cover again. Finally, when Nicole didn't think she could take the suspense any longer, the woman carried the book to the cash register. Nicole did a happy dance in her mind.
She picked up a couple of new books by her favorite mystery authors, then turned toward the romance section.
“I thought I recognized you.”
Nicole looked up and saw Leo DeCaprio's son.
“Frank!” Nicole exclaimed in surprise.
His face brightened at her recognition. A slow smile eased over his lips. “You remember me.”
Nicole chuckled. “Of course I do. How are you?”
“I'm fine. And you?”
“Fine, thanks.” She pointed toward the paperback clasped in his hand, eager to talk about books with another voracious reader. “What are you getting?”
He glanced at the book, then lifted the cover for her to see. “Christopher Gilliard's latest release.”
“Oh. I enjoyed that one. He created a really exciting world and a lot of plot twists.”
Frank used his fingers to comb back an errant lock of hair from his forehead. “He's my second favorite sci-fi writer, after you.”
Nicole felt her eyes widen in surprise. Her cheeks warmed. “That's a very great compliment.”
“And what are you getting?”
Nicole lifted the paperback. “Cam McCloud's
Gray Lines.
”
“A mystery?”
Nicole smiled at his dubious tone. “Yes. A mystery.”
“Why aren't you getting a science-fiction book?”
“I read other genres besides science fiction.”
“Even romances?”
Nicole tipped her head toward the section behind her. “Actually, I was on my way to the romance section when I saw you.”
His eyes widened briefly before he seemed to catch himself. His lips quirked again in a promise of humor. “Well, I'm glad I saw you—”
“So you could save me from buying a romance novel?” Nicole teased.
He returned her smile. “For that reason. And because I'd like a chance to talk to you.”
“About what?” Nicole asked, concerned he wanted to try to change her mind about the movie.
“About your books and writing. I've read quite a few of your interviews, but they all ask the same questions, and there are other things I'd like to know. Would you like to get something to eat?”
Nicole hesitated, checking her watch. She was behind schedule with her rewrites.
“Please? I promise I won't take up a lot of your time.”
Nicole capitulated. She had time to spare for an aspiring writer. She could always make up the time tonight, if she had to. “Okay. But I've already eaten, so I'll just get something to drink.”
“Great.” Pleasure shone in Frank's violet eyes. It transformed his face, and again Nicole thought she could hear the sighs of young coeds.
Nicole followed Frank to a little sandwich shop in the mall. After they received their orders, she led them to a table toward the front of the shop. She claimed the chair facing the pedestrian traffic in the main mall.
“So, what's your favorite genre?” Frank asked, trailing his fries through a pool of ketchup.
Nicole stirred her straw around her jumbo diet cola. The ice cubes crashed into one another.
“I can't think of any genres I don't like. I read pretty much everything. What about you? Do you read only science fiction?”
“Yep. Is there any other genre?” Frank treated her to another mischievous smile.
Nicole chuckled. “What do you think about fantasy?”
“I don't like fantasy. I prefer pure sci-fi.”
“What do you find so appealing about it?”
Frank bit into his burger and chewed thoughtfully. He swallowed before answering. “I love the imagination of it. Creating new worlds, new technology, new beings all based on probabilities as opposed to improbabilities. That's very exciting to me.”
“So sci-fi is the ultimate escape for you. It doesn't just take you out of the moment. It takes you away from reality.” Nicole was intrigued, even more so as she felt Frank's withdrawal.
“I don't lose touch with reality.” He spoke stiffly.
“I didn't mean to imply you did. But for some people, books are an escape,” Nicole explained. “They're a way of taking a break from their lives and moving into someone else's. And science fiction is more of a break from reality than most genres.”
“I don't live in a fantasy.” He shoved a lock of curly, dark hair back from his forehead.
“No. But you escape into one.”
“I know what's real.”
“I know you do,” Nicole assured him, concerned she had unintentionally offended him. She liked Frank. He appeared to be an interesting, intelligent person. She'd never meant to insult him. She tried to change the subject. “Your father said you wanted to be a writer. Tell me about your stories.”
For the next several minutes, they discussed the sci-fi short stories he'd written and was hoping to sell. Nicole drew him out, providing writing tips for the problem areas he confided to her.
Frank slid her a bashful glance before turning his attention to his fries. “Maybe one day I could show you some of my work.”
Nicole smiled. “I'd like that. Your stories sound fascinating.”
Frank beamed at her before taking another bite of his burger. A comfortable silence settled between them as he chewed. Nicole poked her straw around her plastic cup. By now there was more ice than cola in the container.
“You refer to your books as your babies,” he stated, changing the subject. “That's an indication that you have a really strong connection to them.”
“You have read my interviews.” Nicole played with her straw. She'd finished her diet soda and was contemplating getting another.
“Yes, I have. At what point do your characters become real to you? At what point do your stories or your characters become your ‘babies'?”
She looked into Frank's intense gaze. “They're always real to me. If they weren't real to me, I couldn't tell their stories.”
“Then why are you doing a movie about them? Was it for the money?”
Nicole sat straighter, vaguely noting that Frank's fries lay forgotten on his plate. She didn't know how to answer his question, especially since it was so close to the truth. But she didn't want to tell him the only reason she'd sold her movie rights was to raise money for her cousin's kidney transplant. That information about Simone was too personal to share with a virtual stranger.

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