A Slow Burning Fire Read Free Page A

together. Without his dad, brother, even his stepmother and stepsisters, Bryce would have been lost long ago in the sea of fame and probably would have drowned. Katie hadn't shared those sentiments. In fact, she didn't believe there was a point in having family, period. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before things ended after all. Why hadn't he seen it before, when it was so obvious to outsiders? He would have saved himself a lot of pain from holding onto a false hope that he could change her through his love and patience, when she never cared about the same things he had.
    Bryce gazed down at a different photograph, this one of him, Arial, and another co-worker of theirs. It was one of his favorite pictures. He couldn't help but smile. “Remember this? When we went to that random county fair with Lisa?”
    Arial walked over, leaning over him, her body so close to his own. He swallowed, shifting a bit as he moved the picture closer to her so she could see it better. A small laugh escaped her lips.
    “I do remember! Goodness, look at those awful bug sunglasses of ours. I'm surprised nobody recognized us that day. Especially because we looked like such dorks. And I can't believe we rode the Tilt-A-Whirl so many times Lisa puked. Did you ever burn that plaid shirt of yours?”
    “No! I would never do something so horrible,” he protested.
    “Neon green, brown, and yellow don't exactly go well together.”
    “You'd think they would.” He shrugged and put the picture into the box. “I can't get rid of a shirt that's given me such a good time. Pretty sure that makes it lucky. That day was the most fun I've had in a long time.”
    ****
    She frowned, listening to him. “Okay, now you're depressing me.”
    He threw his hands up and laughed. “I can't help it being true! Not to say I don't do anything fun, but I felt free. You know? No crazy paparazzi following me around and yelling at me. Things were normal. I need more normal in my life. Hopefully, now that the show is over, I can have some of that before my next project.”
    “I'm looking forward to eating a big pile of French fries. Do you have something new lined up?” she asked as she grabbed another picture of him and Katie and put it into the box. Arial was trying to grab as many of those as she could, so he wouldn't have to do it himself. While her relationships had never been as deep, every time she broke up with a guy, she'd wanted to destroy any evidence of it ever happening. She couldn't even imagine what he might be going through with each reminder that was left in his room. Hopefully talking about work would be a pleasant topic change.
    “I've got a movie at the end of the summer to film. There have been a few pitches for new television shows, but I might stay off the small screen for a little while, just to see what other options present themselves. What about you?” He stopped what he was doing and flashed her a smile.
    How she loved that smile. It always took her breath away. His white teeth were straight, but not so perfect that they looked unnatural. The part she loved most about it was the way his olive eyes seemed to light up and turned more green than brown in color. And his lips made her want to know what it would be like to kiss him out of love instead of a work obligation. Every time she'd shared any onscreen romance with him, Arial had tried her hardest to convey the deep love she'd concealed from him for so long, selfishly hoping he might notice.
    It took her a moment to find her voice again. “I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do. There are options, of course, but I need to wait until the end of the summer before doing anything. I've been thinking about writing an album.”
    He put a hand to his heart and sighed listlessly. “Music, my first love. I envy your talents. Writing a song has never been one of my amazing superpowers.”
    “You sing like a dream, though,” she pointed out.
    “So do you. I'd listen to you sing the