All the Way (Romancing Manhattan #1)(29)

When Jeffrey Cameron, a superstar in both film and stage, sees me from across the room, he poses for one more selfie, then marches over to me and lifts me up in a tight hug.

“How are you, darling?” he asks as he sets me on my feet. “I’ve been worried sick.”

“I’m better,” I reply with a smile, and cup his cheek in my hand. “And I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve been here, doing this show for about six weeks. I have two more weeks to go, and then I head back to the States, and I was going to call you, but now I can talk to you in person.”

I frown. “About what?”

“Let’s go to my dressing room.” He winks at me, and I immediately reach for Finn’s hand.

“Jeffrey, I’d like to introduce you to Finn. He brought me here tonight.”

“Well, then he’s a friend of mine already,” Jeffrey says with a perfect smile, and holds his hand out to Finn. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jeffrey Cameron.”

“Pleasure,” Finn says, but his eyes say that he’s not pleased with how familiar Jeffrey is with me.

I’ll explain to him later that he has absolutely nothing to worry about.

We’re led to Jeffrey’s dressing room, and once we’re inside with the door closed, he gestures for us to have a seat.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“A movie,” Jeffrey replies, and leans forward, his blue eyes dancing in excitement. “I know you’ve always been content in New York, but I also know that circumstances have changed. There’s a new movie that I’m working on with Gerald Silverman.”

My eyes widen at the mention of the famous director’s name.

“It’s amazing, Lon. It’s a musical, and I’m the lead male. I need a wife.”

I feel Finn stiffen next to me, and I smile up at him. “A movie wife,” I clarify.

“That’s right. The part is gritty, and real, and the score is out of this world. We’re talking Oscar-winning material here, babe.”

“I’d have to have my agent request an audition.”

“You don’t need an audition,” Jeffrey says. “If you want the role, we’ll fly out to L.A. and read together for Gerald, just to make sure it’s right. But I’m telling you, it’s right.”

“Have you two worked together before?” Finn asks.

“A few times,” I confirm. “We work very well together.”

“And if I wasn’t gay, I’d marry her in a heartbeat,” Jeffrey adds with a smile. “I’m telling you, London, this would be an amazing way to get started in film.”

“Well, there’s a lot to think about.” I look up at Finn, who just smiles and offers a shrug.

“Don’t look at me, I think you should at least think about it.”

And just like that, for the first time since before the fire, I feel the warm glow inside me start to take shape, the way it did before where my career was concerned. I see an opportunity that feels real.

“I’ll think about it,” I reply with a nod, and Jeffrey immediately pulls me in for a bone-crushing hug.

“Excellent,” he says. “I’ll have the script sent to you so you can look it over, and when I’m back in the States, we will arrange to get with Gerald for a reading.”

I nod, a bit shell-shocked, and spend the next thirty minutes chatting about the business, my time on Martha’s Vineyard, and Finn tells Gerald about his job and other interests.

It feels so good for Finn to meet someone from my world. Since he will never meet my family, this is as close to that as it gets for me.

Shortly after I say good-bye to Jeffrey, Finn and I are in the backseat of the car he hired, snuggled up, and my mind is whirling with so much information I can’t even talk.

Once we’re inside our hotel suite, I walk into the bedroom to remove my jewelry and shoes, and then stare at myself in the mirror.

Finn knew that I didn’t have clothes appropriate for the theater with me on the island, so he had a beautiful dress and shoes ordered for me.

He also gave me a stunning necklace and earring set made of rubies and yellow gold.

He took me to London, to the theater, and has indulged my every whim since we left the house yesterday.

I wanted to nap, so we napped.

I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich, so he ordered room service.

I leave the bedroom, in search of the very special man that has come into my life, and find him in the sitting room, reading something on his phone.

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

“Yes and no,” he replies, then shuts the screen off and sets it aside. “Everything with you is amazing. But there are some things at work that need my attention.”

“I’ve kept you away too long.”

I sit next to him and he pulls me into his arms and kisses my forehead.

“I’ve been exactly where I wanted to be, London. But, once we leave here, I’ll have to go to New York.”

“Oh.” I don’t know why I feel so disappointed. I knew our time on Martha’s Vineyard wouldn’t last forever. No one lives in a bubble. “I have some things to finish up on Martha’s Vineyard, and then I’ll go to the city as well.”

“You don’t have to cut your time there short because of me.”