“I like to run in silence.” I spoke finally, and she looked at my earphones with a sharp stare.

“I didn’t realize that country music was silent.”

“I didn’t realize that Jay-Z was a country music star.”

“Aha, so you’re listening to music.” She gave me an ‘I got you’ stare and I stifled a sigh and increased the pace of my run. She grinned at me and increased her own pace. “Trying to get away from me?”

“Look, I don’t know you.” I shrugged and frowned at her. “We met once, and frankly you were a bit of a bitch. I’m not sure why you really care to talk to me now.” I said harshly, annoyed that I was somewhat happy inside to see her.

“I’m sorry about the other day.” She made a face. “I had a bit of an attitude. It had been a long day. Thanks for not telling my manager.”

“Yeah.” I kept my face straight. “No problem.”

“Don’t you want to know what happened?”

“Not really.”

“Oh.” She bit her lower lip and I saw her stare at me uncertainly. “I guess I should let you run by yourself now.” Her voice sounded a bit unsure and I realized that she most probably wasn’t used to being brushed off by guys. Even among all the hot girls in Los Angeles, a girl as pretty as she was would get a lot of attention.

“See ya around.” I nodded and continued running.

“Ow!” she screamed, and I paused to look behind me. She was sprawled on the concrete face down, with scratched palms and a bleeding knee.

“You okay?” I sighed and ran back to help her up.

“I tripped.” She stood up slowly and sighed.

“Over?” I looked at the flat surface of the pavement in bewilderment.

“My own two feet.” She blushed and looked away. “Thanks for the help, you can continue on your way now.” She pulled her hands away from me, and I felt suddenly bereft at the loss of her touch.

“Look, I didn’t mean to be rude.” I sighed. “It’s been a long week.”

“It’s okay.” She smiled at me tightly. “I don’t know why I expected you to be friendly to me. Like you said, you don’t know me, and the one time we did meet I wasn’t exactly nice.”

“Yeah, you weren’t.” I made a face and laughed.

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay.” I reached my hand out to her. “Let’s start over. I’m Noah, Noah Beaumont.”

“Robin.” She smiled and shook my hand firmly. “Robin Cartwright.”

“Not shrew?”

“What?”

“Nothing but a bad joke.” I groaned to myself. “It’s nice to meet you again, Robin.”

“You too, Noah.” She beamed at me, and her brown eyes sparkled. I stared in amazement as they seemed to change colors right before me. Sharing a smile with Robin awakened something in me, and I tried to ignore the stirrings of interest that pervaded my body.

“Are you okay to run, or do you need help to your car or anything?”

“I’m okay.” She laughed. “I’m a bit of a klutz. I’ll be fine.”

“You need to take better care of yourself.”

“Yes, Dad.” She rolled her eyes and I laughed. I had heard Lucky say something similar to Zane earlier that morning when he had told her to be careful as she was vacuuming the stairs. I guess the paternal instinct was alive and well in both Zane and me.

“I’m not trying to say that you won’t take better care of yourself.” I tripped over my words as she stood there standing there with her hands on her hips and an amused look in her eyes.

“I’m glad to hear that.” She grinned at me and started laughing. “Who knew that a guy as handsome as you could be so awkward?”

“You think I’m handsome?” I smiled at her with a happy smile. A swell of pleasure filled me as I stared at her.

“I also said you’re awkward.”

“Awkward’s cute.” I gave her a lop-sided smile and stuck my tongue out. “I don’t take offense to awkward. But I do take pleasure in handsome. Handsome is even better than cute. You can’t buy handsome. Not even in Beverly Hills.”

“You’re a dork.” She shook her head, laughing at me.

“An awkward, handsome dork.” I held my hands up in the air. “I sound like a winner.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“But I’m still handsome.” I grinned at her, all worries gone from my mind. I was enjoying our banter more than I had enjoyed anything in a long while.

Robin rolled her eyes and leaned over and brushed my chest softly. My breath caught at her touch and I stared at her wondering if she had felt the same spark of electricity.

“You had some fluff on your t-shirt.” She offered an explanation for her touch and stood back with a slightly bewildered look in her eyes.

“Thanks for brushing it off.” Touch me again. I wanted to beg her to press her hands against me again. Her touch had ignited something in me. Her fingers had made me feel something deep inside where it was dark and cold. Her touch had created warmth.

“I don’t normally do this, but would you like to go for a drink tonight?” She laughed girlishly and lowered her eyes.

“A drink?” I took a step back.

“Yeah, you know. You get a whiskey or a gin and tonic and I get a white Russian or a sex on the beach.” She grinned at me effortlessly.

“Sorry.” I shook my head. “I’ve got plans.”

“Figures.” She smiled ruefully. “All the good guys are gone.”

“I’m not dating anyone.” My voice sounded harsh and she looked up at me with a curious expression. “Sorry, recent break-up.” I softened my tone.

“That’s okay. I’ve been there.” She shuddered. “And I’ve been a lot meaner to you, so no need to apologize.”

“Well, I should probably get going.” My heart was beating rapidly and my body was starting to feel warm with confusion. “I need to finish my run before I turn into a slob.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to turn into a slob.” Her eyes looked me up and down, and she didn’t hide the fact that she was impressed by my muscular frame. I tried to ignore the feelings of pleasure that rose in me again at her obvious interest. I was in no place to start dating.

“Glad you’re concerned for me.” I started jogging in place. “But I should be going now.”

“You got your phone?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Take my number. In case you ever change your mind and want to get that drink.” She smiled. “And I’ll even buy the first round.”

“How can a guy say no to that?” I smiled at her and handed her my phone.

“I don’t know. How can a guy say no to that?” She grinned at me impishly and then handed me back my phone.

“Only a fool would say no!” I slipped the phone back into my pocket. “And I dare say I am that fool.”

“Well, fools can change their ways.” She hesitated before continuing. “I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward. I just feel really bad about how I acted in the restaurant. I’m new to Los Angeles and I’m the cliché drama student who wants to be an actress and make it big and, well, I’m just trying to meet some new people. And not sleep my way to the top, though it seems that all producers want to do is see how far I’m willing to go on the casting couch.” She paused and slapped her hand to her mouth. “Not that you wanted to know any of that.” She sighed. “Sorry again. I’m an over-sharer.”

“Then you fit into Los Angeles already.” I gave her a reassuring smile as I studied her face. I liked her like this, not so confident and slightly out of her element. It made me feel like we had something in common. “We all over-share here. It’s a problem we have. It’s like we all think our lives are a movie and we want everyone to understand every single part of it. Cue angsty music from Paramore.” I laughed and she joined me, while running her hands through her hair.

“You haven’t really shared much with me, though.” She pursed her lips. “I barely know your name.”

“That’s because I don’t live my life as if it’s a movie.” I looked to the ground for a moment before looking back up and catching a flicker of remorse on her face. “But really, I should get going. I’ll give you a call sometime,” I lied to her.

“That would be great.” She nodded at me, and looked away. “I’ll catch you later, Noah.”

“Yeah.”

I ran away from her quickly, feeling suddenly alone as I left her. As I got to the corner, I looked back quickly to get one more glimpse of her and I saw her still standing in the same place staring blankly at the space in front of her. My heart panged for her as I wondered what she was thinking about. Part of me wanted to run back to her and find out what was going on in her life. I wanted to know where she grew up, where she had gone to college, why she wanted to be an actress, what sort of actress she wanted to be. I wanted to tell her that she was so much more than just the cliché drama student who comes to L.A. to make it big. She had charisma and character. She was someone that you didn’t forget easily. She was someone I wasn’t going to forget easily. Even though I barely knew her.

But instead I continued running away from her. I couldn’t help her or save her. It wasn’t fair to bring her into the confusion in my life. Not when I still had so much unresolved. Not when my heart still had a hole in it the size of the Mississippi. I thought back to what Sidney had said about moving on in life and making a fresh start. But a part of me didn’t want to forget. A part of me still hoped that everything could still work out. And while I still had hope, it wasn’t fair to bring someone else into my life. No matter how many times my stomach flipped just thinking about her.

Chapter 6

“I just want it to be us, Noah. I know you love Zane and he means something to me. But I just want it to be us. You can move here, to France, and we can make up for all the years we’ve lost.” She stroked the side of my face as she looked at me with wide eyes.