When Dreams Come to Life (20 page)

“Eoin, I’m so sorry but I’m not trying to gain anything from the fact that we’re messing around.”
Fuck!
Instantly, his face drops and I see that he thinks I mean we’re just having sex and nothing more.

Well, what’s going on between us, then? I really want to see what the next two weeks are like. That will be a big decider in what this really is for me. That nonsense with Nola and the fact that he’s a famous sex pot are making me think this is all just a big pipe dream.

“Lea, you don’t need to think like that. I only meant, it would be cool if you made something about us. If that makes you uncomfortable, it’s okay. You don’t have to do it. That’s what Instapic is for.”

He winks and I force a laugh. Thank goodness he doesn’t seem to notice. I don’t know why but the whole idea scares me. I don’t want there to be a public page of him and I. There are so many hateful people out there and I know there will be backlash from the fans of Nola.

Eoin moves close to me again and grabs my chin. He doesn’t kiss me, he just smiles. I smile back.

We pack our things and get ready to go.

I notice Eoin fumbling with something, so I sneak a peek and he tries to hide whatever it is. I decided to pay it no mind and run to his bathroom to grab my toiletries.

As I put my things into a bag, music starts blaring from Eoin’s room. I know this song! It’s
Enjoy the Silence
by Anberlin. I laugh and run towards the sound. I can’t believe he’s playing the song from the scene when he did his sexy Joseph dance on his show. 

I round the corner to his room and my jaw drops. He’s in a button down shirt, open over his glorious chest, rolling his hips and doing his signature Joseph moves.

I bite my lip in an attempt to stop myself bursting out laughing. I grab my phone and start recording; he doesn’t stop. I get about a minute of him dancing before I can’t resist any longer and I join in. We flaunt our stuff all over the house, laughing.

“Talking is
so
overrated, isn’t it? Let’s just dance! Come on, take your pants off, now. It’ll feel just like we’re on the show.”

I do as I’m told, the two of us literally prancing all over to the song. My face is starting to hurt from my permanent smile. Eoin sings along to the song as we dance, which makes it all the more fun.

Flipping and twirling, I pull him to me and kiss him. He lifts me into the air and flips me, turning me almost upside down. I let out a scream of joy and we continue to dance all over his condo. I can’t think of time I’ve had more fun with a guy.

The song finishes and a slower one begins. We walk towards each other and his strong arms encircle me.

“We’ve got to get going after this song, Lea,” Eoin says, his voice soft. “I don’t want to leave you.”

I realize I’m going to miss him like crazy and a ping of loss hits my stomach. I pull him closer to me. The song finishes and begins again. He must have it on loop. I try to not think about tomorrow when I’ll have to wake up without him.

“It’s time to go, Lea. We can still be together for a little bit longer on the flight.” I just want to scream at the fact I’m going to be away from him for so long.

“I’m going to miss you. I’ll be counting the days ‘til I see you again.” With a tight squeeze and a kiss, he lets me go. We grab our luggage and head out.

During the car ride to the airport, all we do is hold each other and dread the fact we have to part. There’s a hoard of fans waiting at the airport. Slowly, we make our way through them, Eoin doing his usual routine of signatures and pictures.

I also get asked to sign a few things which is a little bit of a shock. The whole process is new to me. They all ask me about Eoin but I just smile and continue to move through the crowd. Thankfully, we eventually get through and board the plane on time.

One stewardess definitely has her sights set on Eoin and constantly comes over to ask us if we need anything.

“Doesn’t that ever bother you?” I ask. I would find that exhausting and praise him that he’s able to tolerate it.

“The fans of the show are the reason I have a job right now. You’ll understand soon, Lea, when your restaurant takes off - your food is addictive.” I can only hope he’s right.

We put on an in-flight movie and cuddle up. Near the end of the movie, I realize I forgot to tell him about my interview with
5280
.

“I’ve got something to look forward to when I get home,” I begin. He fixes me with one of his heart-stopping smiles.

“And what’s that?” he asks.

“A big Denver foodie magazine wants to interview me about my restaurant tomorrow afternoon.”

“That’s great, Lea. Are you nervous about it?”
Well, I wasn’t until you mentioned it.

“I wasn’t ‘til you said that, Eoin,” I reply, giving him a playful nudge. “I think it’ll be great for the restaurant though. It’ll hopefully bring in some new clientele.”

“You’ll do fine,” he reassures me. “Just be you and it will all come together.” Kissing my hand, he throws his arm around me and we relax for the remainder of the flight.

ä

When we land there aren’t too many fans and paparazzi which is perfect. I get my luggage and Eoin has the driver take it to the car he’s arranged for me. I think he forgot we drove my car to the airport. I decide to let that go and take care of it later. It’s nice to have someone help with my luggage, anyway.

After Eoin collects the boarding pass for his connecting flight, we head over to the gate.

“I’m going to miss you so much!” I say with a shy smile and give him a huge hug.

“I already miss you, gorgeous. I can’t imagine the next two weeks without seeing those big green eyes every day. I may have to steal a few pictures to get me by.”

That sounds like he’s hinting that he wants to take a few candids. He pulls me over to the window overlooking the runway and we snap a few pictures - me kissing his cheek, him kissing mine and my favorite: he and I locking lips.

Eoin looks through his snapshots, smiling. He lets me sneak a quick peek, too.

“I’m going to post the one of us kissing on Instapic and tag you in it, okay?” He’s not really asking for my permission, either, which I love.

A voice comes over the speaker, announcing boarding for his flight. We look at each other with what I’m sure are identical crestfallen expressions. He grasps my chin with his long fingers and pulls me towards him for a long, passionate kiss.

“I’ll call you as soon as I land, Lea. Have a great interview. I know you’ll rock it.”

“Sounds great. Please do let me know you’ve landed safely. I’m headed to the restaurant so if I miss your first call, just call me right back, okay?” I give him a final kiss and hug.

“Talk soon, Lea.” He turns to leave. “Oh, and your car is back at your apartment so go with the driver.”
What a brat!
I laugh.

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you? Thanks, fancy face. Talk soon.” He turns back to me and snatches another hug and kiss and then walks off. 

Before he goes out of sight, he turns to blow me a kiss. I catch it and put it in my pocket, earning a sexy smile from him. I turn and head out of DIA.

Thirteen

OUTSIDE, THERE’S A car waiting for me, so I hop in and pull my phone out. I dial the restaurant and let them know I’m headed their way.

“Look busy,” I joke to Jessie before I hang up. I send Eoin a quick text just to be cute.

* Miss you already. Let the countdown begin! *

I wait for a text back but nothing comes up. It makes me sad but I know he’s probably still boarding so decided not to worry about it. He will like getting off the plane to it, anyway.

Do I dare call Trent and make him feel like the dick he is? I scroll down and look at his name. My blood boils and I hit call. It rings a few times and he picks up.

“Lea! Hi! How are you? Where have you been?” He sounds worried but I’m not going to fall for it.

“I’m fine, Trent. You know exactly where I’ve been so why ask?” He tries to answer but I cut him off.

“I’m only calling because I’ve thought a little bit more about your actions and I wanted to tell you a few things. Are you listening?”
God, I sound like my mother!
Like he’s some child to be scorned.

“Yes, I am, but I’m not going to be talked-”

“Shut up and listen, Trent!”
There, how mother is that for you?
I wait, and he remains silent. “I don’t want to see you in my restaurant, near it or within fifty miles of it ever again. Don’t come anywhere near my place and if you
ever
go near Eoin, I’ll have your balls Trent! What you did was inexcusable and I refuse to put up with your childish shenanigans ever again. Do I make myself clear?”

I wait for him to start making excuses. He remains absolutely silent, shock emanating through the phone, for a minute or two. 

Finally, he starts spewing word vomit, the best way to describe what comes out of his mouth ninety percent of the time.

“Look, Lea, if you think I’m going to take your abuse, you’re wrong! I can handle not coming near you because I’d hate to beat up that cute new toy you have-” I’m about to blow my top! If he continues this kind of talk, I’ll have a restraining order put on him.

“-But I’m not going to be spoken to like that! Don’t think for one second I’m going to tolerate mouth like that from you. I’ve been through-” That’s it!

“Been through what, Trent? I’ve never done anything to make you unhappy. That was always
your
job. Don’t ever threaten Eoin or me again. You know me well enough to know I’m not some dumb little girl, unlike the trash you cheated on me with, and date now. If I see, hear or even smell you near me, you’re going to have major problems!”

I hang up, my blood boiling. The nerve of that asshole! We’re over, so why is he so threatened by another man in my life? It’s ridiculous!

The driver takes the last turn to the restaurant. As we approach the restaurant, I see Vicki standing on the footpath, dealing with a clearly pissed off customer. Wait, I know that profile! Oh, my fucking God! It’s Trent!

I tell the driver to pull up beside the restaurant. As I get out, I notice the driver gets out as well.

I’m fuming already. This isn’t going to go well. Vicki is holding her own against Trent.

“Go the hell away, Trent.” I tap her on the shoulder and almost earn a punch in response before she realizes it’s me. I ask her to go inside and hand her my phone.

“Text Eoin for me if this gets out of hand.
Only
if it gets out of hand, please.” She nods in agreement and heads inside. I turn my attention to Trent.

“What the fuck are you doing here? I told you I’m done with your bullshit, Trent!” I can see the anger in his eyes but it doesn’t worry me. I’m not afraid to defend myself if he tries to get stupid.

“You think I’m going to let a woman talk to me the way you have, Lea? I’m not a doormat.”
Oh, wow.
He’s trying to get to me in a really bad way. I move closer to him.

“The only fucking one who was a doormat was me! You better leave now or I’m going to call the police. I’ll get a restraining order on you and then you’ll have no choice but to stay away from me.” Trent takes a step forward. He’s so close to me now that we’re literally nose-to-nose.

I lose it and punch him right in the nose, hard. He wobbles back before advancing on me, a menacing look on his face. Before I know it, the driver is standing between us.

“No. Move now.” The driver shakes his head at me. I notice that he’s on his phone.
Wait, who with?

“Who are you talking to?” He doesn’t answer me so I snatch the phone from his hand.

“Who’s this?” All I hear is the click of the call ending. I look at the number but I don’t recognize it.

I hear Trent talking so I lean around the driver’s bulky frame and see that he’s on his phone.

“-Yes, officer…” Shit! He’s talking to the police.

I hand the driver his phone and ask him to leave but he doesn’t move.
Whatever.
I go inside and find Vicki.

“Can I have my phone, please?” She hands it over, a nervous look on her face.

“I told Eoin that you hit Trent. Looked like it got out of hand.” We both laugh. Gosh, I love her.

My phone vibrates with an incoming text. It’s probably from Eoin.

* What’s going on, Lea? *

             
I text him back quickly.

* I hit Trent because he got in my face. He called the police but I’ll keep you posted. *