Change of Hart(80)

As we pulled up to her building, she turned and looked me dead in the eyes. “Is it? She’s the one, Jason. You said it yourself. So I’m not sure it’s too early for anything.”

With that, she opened the door of the car and stepped out, only to find more paparazzi standing on the sidewalk talking pictures. I climbed out after her, still a little stunned by her words. Was it too early to be thinking about marrying Addison? Could I really have her as my wife so soon? I mean, my mom had always told me that she and my dad were married within nine months of meeting. But I always chalked it up to it being a different era back then.

Huh, I thought to myself. Maybe Sara’s right.

I was jolted out of my thoughts when the elevator doors opened to one of the three penthouses in this building. Sara had told me at dinner that since her next two shoots were both set in New York, it made sense for her to buy something here and build the equity. It was a nice place. Huge open floor plan with a living room, dining room and kitchen overlooking some great views. It was definitely bigger than my place, but cost a whole lot more, too.

“Well, look who finally came for a visit.” I looked over to the left to see Elaine coming down a hallway that I assumed led to the bedrooms.

“Hey, girl! How the hell are you?” I asked as she kissed me on both cheeks, European style, and pulled her in for a tight squeeze.

“Busy,” she replied, squeezing me back before pulling away and waving us to follow her into the kitchen. “This one has been keeping me on my toes,” she said, pointing her thumb at Sara. “I swear, every time I think I’ve got her calendar organized, her fan sites sorted out and her shoots scheduled, she goes and finds another project to throw into the mix. How was the movie, anyway?”

“It was great,” Sara said, plopping down on a bar stool and tossing her purse on the counter. “Jason was a great date, as always.”

“She really did a great job in it,” I said as I pulled my tie loose. “Did you know she was gonna go all psycho on her best friend at the end? I didn’t see that coming!”

Elaine chuckled. “It’s great, right? Best ending to a chick flick I’ve ever seen.”

“I hope you make it through our private party, Jay,” Sara said as she took her shoes off and dropped them to the floor under the stool. “He’s looking awfully peaked. I’m not sure he’s gonna last.”

“Don’t you dare bail on us, Jason,” Elaine said sternly. “I got popcorn and chocolate chip cookie dough and those nasty Pico de Gallo chips you like so much.”

“Hey . . . don’t make fun of the chips,” I joked, unbuttoning my shirt. I was about done with this monkey suit. “And don’t worry about me. Now that I can just sit on the couch, I will be just fine for a while longer. What are we watching, anyway?”

“Oh!” Sara said excitedly. Elaine and I exchanged a knowing glance. “There’s this new Nicholas Sparks movie out . . .”

“NO!” Elaine and I said in unison.

Sara crinkled her nose and her jaw dropped open in shock. Although, she shouldn’t have been too shocked. We had this conversation every time. “You guys are just mean! How come we never watch what I want to watch?”

“Because you always fall asleep during the movie,” Elaine replied without missing a beat.

“Seriously, how did you get into the movie business when you can’t even stay awake during one?” I asked her.

Sara stood up and stomped off toward the hallway, grumbling the whole time about why she was even friends with us, and other such injustices.

“You already got a movie, didn’t you,” I asked Elaine.

She snorted like it was a ridiculous question. “Of course I did. You think I’m gonna sit through some crappy movie while she sleeps?”

“What’d you get?”

“Did you see that new action flick yet? That one with those alien-looking things?”

“Nope. It was on my list.”

“Perfect,” she said, opening a box of popcorn. “I put your stuff in the first bedroom on the left. She’s been using it as an office, but there’s a queen-sized bed in there so you should be ok. You’ll have to sleep at an angle though, unless you don’t mind your feet dangling off.”

“Thanks, Elaine,” I said as I made my way to the bedroom to change. Thankfully, I had an extra pair of running shorts and a t-shirt with me since I hadn’t planned to stay an extra day. By the time I was changed and back out in the living room, the girls had already settled themselves on the couch and were munching on popcorn. I plopped down on the couch next to Sara and grabbed a handful while Elaine lifted the remote and pressed play.