Role of a Lifetime by Amanda Wilhelm Read Free Book Online Page A

said.
    "What's so funny?"
    "You are."
    "How?"
    "Okay, how's this, you've gotten to see my work, and now I want to see yours."
    They had spent a portion of the dinner conversation talking about Kelly's movie career, and which movies Holly had seen.  He had wanted to know what she thought about the different roles, and she had answered, truthfully.  She hadn't told him that since they had met she had taken to searching for his name through the movies available on demand.
    Lia was out just about every night with her friends but Holly had barely noticed, she was too busy watching a different one of Kelly's movies every night, when she wasn't on the phone with him, that is.  She realized Kelly was waiting for a response from her and she shrugged.
    "Your work is meant to be seen, by everyone, mine is different."
    "You, you are impossible," he said shaking his finger at her but she knew he wasn't mad at her, not in the least.  "Okay," he said and after another pause, he reached across the table and grabbed both her hands, exactly how he had at the diner, "I have at least two hours before I have to be back at the airport for my flight and I want to spend it with you."
    "So you don't care about my work."
    "No, I do, but," he brought her hands very slowly up to his mouth and kissed one of them, "dinner is over, but I wish it wasn't."
    Holly was tempted to pull her hands back away from him but she didn't.  She wanted this.  She liked him.  They had talked on the phone almost every day for the past two weeks.  She hadn't gotten one hint of anything to worry about.  And didn't she deserve this?  A guy who actually was nice to her.
    She put the brakes on anyway.  It was too much, too soon, too fast.  She still had to be careful.  Very careful.  Be sure.
    "My work is at my house," she told him, then regretted it.
    Kelly took his time thinking about that.
    "You're not sure you want me at your house are you?"
    Holly pressed her lips together and shook her head no.
    Kelly started to say something but she interrupted him.
    "I still barely know you," she said, shaking her head again and pulling her hands away from him, "I'm sorry, I like you, but I really don't know you."
    "It's okay," he said and reached back across the table to grab one of her hands, "Listen, I want to see your work, so promise me tomorrow you'll e-mail me some pictures of it."
    "Really?"
    "Yes, promise."
    "I promise," she said, but she really wasn't a hundred percent committed to keeping that promise.
    "Okay," Kelly said, and he grabbed her hand again and squeezed it gently.  Holly felt a shock shoot through her, "Now, we have two hours, this is your town, so you tell me, where should we go?"
    "Okay," Holly said, smiling, "I know where we should go."
    She took him to another restaurant, several blocks away, where she knew the bar and the back patio stayed open long after the kitchen was closed.  Being that it was the middle of the week, it was almost empty, and they chose one of the small wrought iron cafe tables off to the side.  On the other side of the patio a guitar player strummed softly.
    They had a minor argument when Kelly refused to let Holly drive him back to the airport, but she finally relented when he told her he would have to pay for the car service he had scheduled anyway.  They got into the car that showed up for him together so Holly could be dropped off at the municipal lot where she had parked for the evening.  Kelly put his arm around her and she settled into him.
    She ran her hand up her forearm and was stunned by the bulk of it.  It didn't frighten her though.  It didn't matter, how strong a man was.  In general the average man was so much stronger than the average woman it-
    "Holly," Kelly whispered in her ear and she turned to him.
    He took her face in his hands and kissed her, and she stopped thinking about everything, except kissing him and how that felt.
    "Is this it?" said the cab driver.  Then, "Whoops, sorry."
    Holly felt