“So! Let’s get started,” Parker boomed. Dan the director had returned and was positioning himself behind the camera. The afternoon had warmed into a sun-kissed L.A. day. Olivia was thankful for the umbrella providing shade and hoped her makeup didn’t start to run.
“Same drill as last time, folks,” Dan said. “TJ, take it away.”
They were styled, mic’d, positioned, lit, and ready to roll. Olivia took a deep breath in the final second before Dan whisperedaction.
TJ turned on his megawatt game show host smile. “Olivia, Chuck, welcome back to another sit-down. You’ve been in thehouse now for two and a half days, and I have to say, after that explosive scene on the sidewalk that began all of this, it’s longer than any of us thought you would last.” He chuckled, and honestly, Olivia had to agree with him. “Since we’ve all seen where you ended up—that spectacular showdown and split—today we want to talk about where you started. What were your first impressions of each other? Olivia, let’s start with you. What did you think the first time you met Chuck?” He turned his grin on her at the same time the camera pivoted to point at her like a laser.
Olivia took a deliberately slow inhale for one, because she was relieved they weren’t diving into last night’s argument, and two, thinking about meeting Chuck always winded her. She needed to brace herself because whether she wanted to admit it or not, that day changed her life. No matter that they were broken up, her days would always be divided between before and after Chuck Walsh.
“We met at a Westside coffee shop for the interview,” she said, and felt the memory come back to her in vivid color. “We sat outside on the sidewalk, and I honestly wondered if he’d chosen the place to be seen.”
There hadn’t been any photos taken of them that day, but the image of him in a tight tee shirt and sunglasses with tousled hair lived permanently imprinted in her memory.
“He was very reserved at first. I thought he was going to keep his sunglasses on the whole time, but he took them off as soon as I sat down.” She glanced sideways at him and felt his gaze pierce her now the same as it had that day.
“I’d done some research on him, but all I really knew was that he’d just landed his big-break role inSafe Gamble, that hewas known for keeping distance in interviews, and that he was single.”
“A status that changed that day, right?” TJ cut in, bursting the warm memory like a pin into a balloon.
“Um…yeah. I guess you could say that,” she said with a flush.
Chuck had asked her out during that interview, but that memory, that rose-tinted exchange that still filled her chest with helium, felt too personal to share on TV.
She let herself privately sink into it.
They’d talked about where he grew up, moving to L.A., his early days in the industry. How his first manager suggested he go by Chuck and not Charlie as he always had, and it stuck. He told her about his big new role that would start filming in a few months. When she’d worked her way to asking him about his relationship status toward the end of their conversation because everyone was pining for that juicy tidbit, she’d expected one of the vague, dismissive answers he’d given in other interviews:I’m focusing on my career. The timing isn’t right.But instead, he’d looked straight at her and said, “I haven’t met the right person yet.”
He’d been open and candid with her through the whole interview. Funny. Charming. As if she’d pried loose a lid that no one else had been able to budge. But even then, the sudden conviction threaded through his words, the vulnerability, stilled her breath. Her next question tangled on her tongue because she’d somehow known even after talking to him for only an hour how he was going to answer.
“How will you know when you’ve met the right person?” she’d asked.
“Because I’ll have the feeling I’m having right now, talking to you.”
They’d stared at each other, lost to the rest of the world and safe in their own little bubble, until Chuck had eventually smoothed a hand over his jaw.
“I’m sorry,” he’d said. “That was wildly unprofessional of me. I’m not trying to hit on you. I’m just…being honest.” The sincere, bashful flush that filled his face had made Olivia’s heart flutter.
“That’s okay,” she’d said.
Hopeful light had flickered in his gaze. “Well, I guess if I’m this far in, I might as well go all the way. Do you want to go out sometime?”
Embarrassed laughter had pealed out of her, but it hadn’t put him off.
He’d given her his movie star grin. “I’m so sorry. I’m ruining this completely. You’re trying to do your job, and I’m being an asshole.”
“You’re not being an asshole. It’s just—”
“You already have a boyfriend.”
“I don’t!” The words had leapt out of her and made her blush. “I mean, I’m not seeing anyone right now.” He’d gazed at her in anticipation, hanging on what she’d say next. She’d carefully considered her words to make sure she was thinking her decision through. “I would very much like to go out with you too. But that is complicated.”
He’d leaned closer over the table, excitement flashing in his eyes and his tee shirt straining against his biceps. “Then let’s uncomplicate it. What do I have to do?”
She’d laughed again and wished that closing her notebook was all it would take for her to be able to reach out and touchhim. To squeeze one of his corded forearms that he was so eagerly leaning forward on.
“How about this?” he’d said, and motioned for her to hand over her notebook.
When she did, he’d started scribbling his phone number on a blank page. “You think about it and call me if you want to. If I never hear from you again other than when this piece publishes, I’ll live out my days finding a way to make peace with knowing I let The One get away.”