A week later, Talia was working from her now home. Zeke's staff wandered in and out of the kitchen where she'd set up her laptop. Her newest story wasn't exciting her. She had a picture of one of the new starlets drunk and stumbling out of a club. Unfortunately, for her she was underage. Talia stared at the cursor on the screen.

The weight of that night at the restaurant still plagued them. Zeke had been fielding one call after another from his agent and her assistant. From Talia's front row seat it appeared he was on the verge of losing a big role. However, it wasn't just his agent hounding them. Paparazzi were everywhere. This was why Talia had taken up working from home. She would have preferred her office but she was tired of being the gossip instead of reporting it.

Their time at the diner felt like a distant memory. Zeke with Gracie and little Tristan showed a side of Zeke she'd never seen. He was definitely not the guy she grew up with. This man was complex. How much of this was still a game? Talia's mind spun as thoughts of anything, but her work jumbled in her mind.

"What are you doing?" Talia jumped at the sound of Zeke's voice.

"Good God! Can you wear a bell or something?"

"Did I interrupt a nap?" Zeke walked over to the fridge pulled out an energy drink.

"No. I was trying to get some work done."

"Bull shit! I was watching you for the last fifteen minutes. You were sitting there tapping your fingers, humming and staring at the blinking cursor."

Talia sighed and crossed her arms in front of her. "What do you want Zeke?"

Zeke's eyes flared with something she couldn't identify. He cleared his throat and turned away from her. "I'm just checking in with you. Making sure your stay here is going well."

"Uh huh. It's fine. There's more than that?"

Zeke continued to look out the window while he finished his energy drink. "Having writer's block?"

Talia furrowed her brow. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"My staff said they've seen you sitting there every day for hours but not a lot of typing is getting done."

"Yeah. I guess I'm a bit distracted."

"The Paps?"

"Yeah. I'd never thought I'd miss the office, but I do."

Zeke walked over to the table and sat across from her. "What are you supposed to be working on?"

Talia looked at Zeke. An unwritten code of the gossip writer was you didn't let anyone in on your lead. Though, the way she was going it couldn't get any worse.

"Normally, I write up the gossip that goes with a photo one of the paps took. It's pretty rare I'm actually the one who catches the gossip in the action."

"You mean like you did with Gina and Gwyn?"

Talia nodded. "You know I've felt bad about all that, Zeke. I'm sorry that happened to you."

Zeke shrugged his broad shoulders. "It's done now. I wish you'd have come to me first about it though."

"I understand. I can't say I blame you for hating me."

"I don't hate you, Lia." Talia stared at the blank screen in front of her when she thought Zeke whispered, "You don't know how much I don't hate you."

"What did you just say?"

Zeke cleared his throat again. "I have an idea. It may seem crazy, but I think it's just the thing we need."

"What?" Talia asked slowly.

"Pack your bags. We are going on a trip." Zeke stood and strode out of the room.

Talia sat stunned. A trip?

She jumped up from her seat almost spilling the tea she had on the table and ran after him. "Zeke! What trip?"

He smirked. "Just pack comfortably. We both need a break from this chaos."

"Wait," Zeke stopped on the steps and looked over his shoulder, "where are you going?"

"I have plane tickets to buy. Now, get your cute butt in gear. We are leaving today."

***

"Is this a joke?" Talia stared at the tickets Zeke handed her.

"Nope." Zeke zipped his car through traffic.

"Why the hell are we going to Georgia?"

"That's where we are from."

"Well I know that dumbass, but I left there a long time ago and never planned on going back."

"I think it's just what we need. Some good ole family time."

"I can't believe you are serious."

Zeke pulled the car into a secluded spot in the long-term parking. He turned to Talia. "Look, I need this break from Hollywood. I need to figure out my next move and who knows maybe by the time we come back we can have a spectacular fight and this whole thing can be over."

Talia stared into his light blue eyes. She'd never noticed how bright they were before. Tearing her gaze away she just nodded and got out of the car.

With a baseball cap and sunglasses, they walked together to their gate. After going through security, they had to practically race to catch the flight. Zeke had ensured they were in first class, unfortunately due to the last-minute booking they weren't seated together.

Zeke had an aisle seat next to a skinny blonde with legs for days. The moment she saw her seatmate was a good-looking guy she sat up straighter and began fluffing her hair and boobs. Zeke sat with a smile as Talia found her seat.

Talia's seat was barely in first class. She was next to an elderly grandmother. Her sweet face was reassuring. A ball of yarn and knitting needles sat in her lap. Talia placed her bag in the overhead compartment then sat in her seat. Immediately, Talia buckled her seatbelt and stared out of the plane's window. She suddenly remembered how much she hated flying. That was the main reason she hadn't gone home.

"Afraid of flying, dear?" Her sweet voice pulled Talia's attention away from the crew running around the plane.

"I'm a bad flyer."

She nodded. "My Harold was like that. He couldn't abide flying. I love it. I wouldn't be able to see my grandbabies without it." The clicking of the knitting needles distracted Talia from the moving plane.

"That's nice." For even more of a distraction she reached into her purse for the book she'd shoved there.

"It's soothing. You get to meet such interesting people."

Talia nodded and opened her book. It wasn't working. Her anxiety was spiking. The book closed in her lap while she held onto the armrests for dear life.

"You see that man over there?" Talia glanced at a balding gentleman a few rows up. "I was talking to him while we waited to board the plane. He is headed home to New York where his daughter is graduating college. He couldn't be prouder. However, just before coming to the airport he got divorce papers from his wife. He will be seeing his wife's new boyfriend at the graduation. That poor man. He's already asked the flight attendant for a drink more than once and we aren't even in the air yet."

Talia nodded. "That's a shame. I think I'm going to try to do some breathing exercises. "

"Oh that's good, dear. That woman up there sitting next to the hunk you boarded with is a yoga teacher. She would probably have some good exercises for you to use. Though she does appear to be pretty busy flaunting her goods. She's a married woman too. Unfortunately, I think she is the type of married woman that doesn't care for marriage."

The skinny blonde was leaning on Zeke. He had his charming smile on his face but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Her boobs were propped on his arm as if they were resting there. As she watched them flirt, something rushed through her. Jealousy for the way he was acting with her. That horrible green-eyed monster took over Talia's body. Now she was gripping the armrests for a whole other reason.

"You know my Harold despised women like that. He was quite the catch back in the day. When he dressed in his army uniform he was a beefcake." Granny sighed. "He never realized I played the same games that woman is playing. Only I was better at it and I wasn't married. I was only 16 years old for goodness sake." Her clicking needles stopped. All of a sudden it felt too quiet. "I really do miss him."

Her sniff cracked open Talia's heart. It occurred to her that other people in this world were going through things while she got jealous of a known player.

"How long has he been gone?"

"Only a few months."

"How did he go?"

She sniffed while the body of the plane surged under them lifting them into the air. "In a plane."

Talia screamed.