She’d snorted a laugh, and he’d looked up at her with a crooked grin that popped out a dimple she didn’t know he had until that moment.
She’d known she was going to call him before he even finished writing his number.
Now she shook herself to resurface from the memory and remembered theywerein fact filming something that would be on TV, and she needed to answer TJ’s question.
“I guess you could say my first impression of Chuck was surprising.”
“How so?” TJ asked.
“Well, before we met that day, I’d only seen his most recent movie. I watched it to prepare for the assignment.” From the corner of her eye, she didn’t miss Chuck’s slight wince at the fact that she hadn’t opted to watch it on her own. “Surprisingly, I liked it.”
Chuck straightened himself with a smug tilt of his chin. “You liked that one, huh?”
Her instinct was to roll her eyes at his self-indulgent question, but she couldn’t deny a fact.
“I did, yes. And I liked the one that came after it.”
He’d had supporting roles in both films. She really hadenjoyed them both, the second one perhaps slightly more because they’d been dating by the time of the premiere, and she got to attend a Hollywood party for a reason other than reporting on it.
“So you fell for his thespian skill,” TJ said, reclaiming control. “What else?”
Olivia tried to stave off the heat curling into her face at the thought of Chuck’s dynamic allure. The movies were just a 2D teaser. Seeing him in living color was an assault on all her senses. But she felt like that went without saying, and babbling about his good looks would reduce her to the ranks of an airhead reality TV contestant she’d decidedly determined she was above. So she reached for something deeper and just as honest.
“Well, when I finally met him in person, I thought he was charming, of course. Obviously ambitious. Self-assured. But what I found surprising was how remarkably vulnerable he was at the same time.”
Chuck turned to her with a curious tilt of his head.
“Interesting,” TJ said. “Tell us more.”
Olivia all but tuned him out and turned to face Chuck. She found herself confessing a truth she hadn’t really considered until that moment. “I think that’s what I was most attracted to, honestly. His self-confidence is magnetic, but it’s the tenderness beneath that really drew me in. I guess I was intrigued by why he felt he had to hide it in public.”
A glimpse of the exact vulnerability she was referring to flashed across Chuck’s face, the same as it had that day at the coffee shop. She knew she was one of the lucky few who ever got to see it. It sank a hook straight into her heart.
She cleared her throat and smoothed her palms over her thighs, turning back to TJ. “I was attracted to all that. And hisarms. He was wearing this ridiculously tight tee shirt like he knew my weakness. What can I say.”
TJ guffawed a loud laugh as Chuck stroked a bashful hand through his hair, showing off one of the arms in question.
“The heart knows what it wants, I guess,” TJ said.
Olivia blushed and quietly laughed. “Or something.”
“All right, Chuck. You’re in the hot seat now. What was your first impression of Olivia?”
Chuck rounded his lips and blew out a big breath. He widened his eyes as if the encounter had been overwhelming.
Olivia gasped like she was scandalized. “What doesthatmean?”
He shot her a devastating grin that involved only half of his mouth but somehow squeezed her entire heart. “It means you stole the air right out of my lungs the first time I saw you.”
She froze and wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to move again.
Chuck’s face softened into a wistful, hazy look. He spoke to her like no one else existed in the whole world. “You showed up to the coffee shop with your notebook and a pen like you’d come to study me. You were wearing that dress, the yellow one with the kind of ruffled skirt. You had your hair partway back, and you smelled like flowers when you walked by. I remember thinking, holy shit, I’ll tell this woman anything she wants to know about me. I’m an open book; take it all. Your questions were so pointed and smart. I could tell you really cared about learning about me and writing a good piece. It took me two seconds to realize you’re a very driven and passionate person.”
Olivia gazed at the man sitting beside her and felt her heart swell like it had done the day they’d met. He hadn’t said anything so perceptive and generous—so damnsweet—in a long time. She was at a loss for how to respond.
Chuck softly laughed. “I did question your judgment when you agreed to go on a date with me later that night, though.”
Her face heated. “Yes, you asked me before we even finished the interview.”