8. Miles

8

MILES

"I'm going out for pizza," I relayed as I drove along Seaside Lane on my way to the pizza parlor. As I looked out over the horizon, I was once again in awe of the natural beauty here on the island. The sun had set, and lightning bugs were hovering above the sand. The moon shone like diamonds across the ocean's surface. Waves crashed on the shore.

"You're going out for pizza ?" Braxton repeated what I'd just told her, her voice coming through the speakers of my rental SUV.

I could understand her confusion. It wasn't in my usual diet.

"Yes."

"And Zoe is going to be there, I presume."

"I didn't ask, but I think she is." Zoe hadn't actually even spoken to me at the ballfield. If anything, she was actively ignoring me.

Walter had given me Harlan's phone number last night at dinner, and we'd arranged to meet at the game tonight. Dawson met us there when he got off his shift at the fire station, and they invited me to join them for pizza.

The two men were really open to talking about Austin. They'd shared so many stories about their childhoods that had given me insight into him. Like Walter had said, he got into a lot of trouble before meeting Zoe. Once he met her, all of his energy was focused on her.

"You know you don't need her approval to move forward with the project."

"I know." That wasn't why I was going. If that were the reason, I would be driving back to the boarding house. Zoe had seemed less than enthusiastic when she heard Harlan extend the invitation to Slice of Heaven.

"In other news," Braxton changed the subject. "Tyler sent two new scripts for you to look at. He wants an answer by tomorrow."

"Are they any good?"

Braxton always prescreened scripts. She had an eye for good material. Even if the writing needed work or the characters needed development, she could see through all of that. I had big plans for her in my newly formed production company—plans I hadn't spoken to her about.

I was going to miss having her as an assistant, but her talents were being wasted on keeping my schedule, making travel arrangements, handling emails, and basically running my life. She was capable of so much more. Once we started principal photography on Fallen Hero, I was going to fire her…as my assistant and promote her to head of production and acquisitions at Ford Entertainment.

"One has potential. The other is a hard pass."

"Leave potential on my bed, and I'll read it tonight. Do you want me to bring you any pizza back?"

"No!" Braxton exclaimed. "Mrs. B insisted I have two helpings of her lasagna, and then she just showed up at my door with double fudge brownies. And I still have half the cinnamon roll from breakfast this morning. We've been here a little over twenty-four hours, and I swear I've already put on five pounds."

I grinned. "You're loving it."

"I am," she easily agreed.

As stubborn and ‘insistent' as Mrs. B was, Braxton would never be talked into anything. She did not get peer pressured or let other people's expectations of her affect the way she moved through the world. It was one of the things that impressed me the most when I met her.

After being in this business so long, I was accustomed to ‘yes people' and people who would say or do anything to get ahead or to get what they wanted. Braxton was not that way. She had a very strong sense of self and self-worth, and she protected and guarded it fiercely. She was never rude or unkind, but she also never allowed anyone to make her feel like she had to do or say anything.

I'd told her on several occasions she needed to do a TED Talk or write a book because I didn't know many twenty-five-year-olds who had achieved that level of actualization. Hell, I didn't know many forty-five-year-olds who had, and Braxton had shown up at twenty fully formed.

"But, if I keep loving it," she continued. "I'm not going to fit in any of my jeans by the time we get back to LA. Oh, hold on. I have another call. Night."

"Night." The line disconnected as I pulled into the parking lot of Slice of Heaven. It was beside the Firefly Pier and overlooked the ocean. The building was wood with a metal roof and reminded me of a beach shack.

I walked up the wooden steps and noted a deck that wrapped around to the back, overlooking the ocean. There were string lights hanging above and picnic tables. It was much like the rest of the town—quaint.

When I opened the door, the scent of freshly baked bread, garlic, herbs, and tomato sauce caused my mouth to water. It was either that or the woman I saw waiting in line. Zoe had her back to me and was one of the only people who hadn't turned when I entered. Soft rock music played, and the tables were filled with people I'd seen at the ballpark.

"Hey man, glad you made it." Harlan rose from a chair to my left as I walked inside.

"Thanks for the invite."

"We ordered two larges and three pitchers if you're good with that."

"Sounds great."

I wanted an excuse to stand in line and speak with Zoe, but I realized this wouldn't be the time—not with every eye pointed in my direction.

We walked over to the table and sat down. Daphne, who I'd been introduced to earlier in the parking lot of the ballpark, was alone at the table as we sat down. "So you two just got engaged?" I remembered Harlan had mentioned that he'd popped the question about a week ago.

"Yep." Daphne smiled from ear to ear.

I rarely ever forgot a face, and Daphne looked so familiar to me. I'd been trying to place where I knew her from, since we'd been at the baseball field, and it was driving me crazy.

"Yes, we did." Harlan pulled Daphne close and nuzzled into her neck. I'd noticed he took every opportunity to touch and kiss his fiancée. I would say they were in the newlywed phase, but something about them made me think he would still be behaving this way when they were eighty.

"Congratulations. Are you from here?" I asked her.

"No, I moved here a few months ago."

"She used to live in L.A." Harlan explained.

"Did you work in the entertainment industry?" Most people thought Los Angeles was so big, and square footage and population-wise it was, but as far as the industry itself, it was actually pretty small.

"I was a producer at Pulse."

"Oh, okay." As soon as she said Pulse, it clicked. I'd seen her on red carpets before, and she'd done a dating show on Pulse called Dating in the City . She'd also been rumored to date an actor named Kale Butler. Kale and I went up for the same parts often, and the press always tried to pit us against each other and create a rivalry, but I'd never even really met the guy.

"How is it living here in Firefly?" I asked, wondering how the transition from living in Los Angeles to moving to a small town across the country would be.

A glow of absolute bliss fell over her face as she beamed at her fiancé. "It's the absolute best."

He pulled her in for another kiss. "You're the best."

"Okay, I'm gonna go sit with my girls." Daphne planted a kiss on Harlan before hopping up and making her way to the table where Ashley and Nadia were seated. The women waved at me. I lifted my hand and waved back.

"Mr. Ford."

I looked up and saw AJ standing with two of his teammates.

"I told you, it's Miles." I knew that it was a sign of respect, but I didn't want AJ calling me Mr. Ford. It just felt wrong.

"Can you take a selfie with Stevie and Ritchie?"

"Absolutely."

I stood, and what started out as two selfies quickly turned into a dozen. There was a line of people, and pretty soon I had taken selfies with everyone at the establishment, including the cooks in the back.

When the pizza came out, everyone went back to their seats and gave me the space to eat in peace. That was not something I was used to. Most people didn't care if I was eating, working out, driving, or even using the restroom. It was nice to be somewhere where people respected boundaries.

Dawson arrived while I was taking photos, and while we ate, he and Harlan continued to tell me all about the adventures that they'd had with Austin. The trouble they'd gotten into together. The laughs they'd had. The dreams they'd had.

As we finished our pizza, Dawson sighed as he glanced over at AJ, who was playing video games with his friends. "I hate that Austin's not here to see AJ grow up."

I could see the pain in both of the friends' eyes as they looked at the kid.

"It must be so hard. Thank you both so much for tonight. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear all the stories about him."

"We're happy to." Harlan took a drink of his beer. "We love talking about him. We know Zoe has a tough time, but we always tell AJ anytime he wants to talk about his dad, we're happy to talk about him. We feel like that's what keeps him alive. You know."

If Zoe didn't even like talking about Austin to AJ, it made sense why she didn't want a movie made about him.

Dawson sighed. "I know she's not too happy about the movie, but I think it's just painful for her. You didn't know what they were like together. They were…"

I waited, but Dawson didn't continue, as if he couldn't put what they shared into words.

"I wish I could have seen them together." I glanced over at Zoe.

"Actually, I have a ton of videos of Austin and Zoe, and Austin and the guys. Just stupid stuff I shot on my phone when we were kids and teenagers. Do you want me to send them to you?" Harlan offered.

"Would you?" I'd wanted to ask Zoe and Walter if they had any videos, but it hadn't felt like the right time.

"Yeah. No problem," Harlan easily agreed.

"Thanks."

As I watched Zoe across the room, laughing and talking with her friends. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she had wispy hair at the base of her neck. My hands were itching to touch her there. To run my fingers along the fine strands, brushing them to the side before pressing my lips to her soft skin.

Harlan laughed at something, snapping me out of my lust haze. I blinked and turned my attention back to the table. When I did, I realized I had a half-chub. This woman could get me semi-hard from one look at the back of her neck across the room. I was in trouble. Serious trouble.