I glare at him. “I didn’t wear the sweater the whole time.” He laughs at me. “You’re lucky I love you.” He pulls me closer to him. Fine, I hate being apart from him. I mean, in six months, we’ve been away from each other for three days, max. It was supposed to be seven, but he went postal and came back home. He also got a new PA, this time a guy named Joshua. He’s twenty-three and straight out of college. He’s amazing and also has the best-looking boyfriend I’ve ever laid eyes on.
“Joshua got us a house with three bedrooms in case my parents come and visit or your friends come.” I can only imagine the house Joshua got. The last time we asked him to book us a hotel, he booked us the penthouse suite with two floors. “I’m filming for three weeks, and then we can come back home.”
“Fine,” I huff, knowing full well I would not be able to last three weeks without him. It’s come so easy to the both of us; it’s just us. We sit and watch way too many episodes of Dateline and have even expanded our TV repertoire by streaming Law & Order episodes. We cook together, and we hold hands and go hiking. We are rather boring, but it suits us. We’d rather be in front of a fire together than walking down a red carpet, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the whole world.
“I love you,” he says to me. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I ask him, my arms around his waist and my leg over his. The fire crackles in front of us, and the crickets chirp in the distance.
“For showing me what I was missing this whole time.” He kisses me without letting me tell him the same thing. He is always telling me he loves me, as if I could forget. I feel it all the way down to my soul, every touch, every kiss, every word he whispers to me is all done with his whole heart. I don’t get to tell him that I’m the lucky one. I don’t get to tell him anything because once again, he shows me just how much he loves me.
EPILOGUE TWO
Tyler
Two years later
“No matter what happens . . .” Jessica whispers from her seat next to me. I’m sitting in the front row at the Oscars, and I look over at her. The woman who makes all my dreams come true just by being here. She sits next to me with her hand in mine, wearing a beautiful champagne-colored dress that goes way too low in the front for my liking. The dress hugs her every curve, and kicks off at the knees, the back of the dress has a train with even more material. She looks more beautiful than anyone I’ve ever seen. She walked the red carpet holding my hand, and the press calls her name more than mine. She has a way with them that takes all the attention from me, and she knows I needed that tonight.
“Here are the outstanding nominees for performance by an actor in a leading role.” I hear the woman talk.
I watch it happen in slow motion, my eyes on hers as the past two years play out in slow motion. The movie pushing me to the edge, but knowing I had to do it. Her being there holding my hand the whole way, giving me pep talks when I wanted to give up. The way she smiles at me, the way she holds my hand, and the way she loves me. “And the Oscar goes to . . .” I don’t hear anything because Jessica jumps up and starts clapping, her eyes filled with pride and tears, and I get up in shock. It must be shock. I grab her face and kiss it, turning and walking up the stairs. This moment right here is a moment I will remember for the rest of my life. The black stairs are shiny as I walk over to the woman holding the Oscar in one hand as she hands it to me. I thank her, kissing her on the cheek, and then turn to look out into the audience.
I look to the right, seeing Jessica standing, beaming with pride, and I nod my head. “Wow, this is surreal,” I say right off the bat, looking at all my peers. “I’m speechless. On my way here, my mother looked over at me in the car and asked me if I had something prepared. I looked at her and said it will never happen, and if it does, I’m going to wing it.” The crowd laughs. “I want to congratulate the other four guys in the category.” I look down at the gold man in my hand. “I have to thank Ryan for giving me a chance so long ago and then being there every step of the way. Especially when he came to me with this script.” I swallow. “Everyone associated with this movie. I don’t want to name anyone in case I forget someone.” Everyone laughs. “I guess I should have written a little note.” I look out into the audience and then to the front at my girl. “To my parents, who are always proud of me no matter how many stupid things I do.” I know the time is running out, but I don’t care. “And finally, to Jessica.” I look over at her as she wipes tears from her eyes. “For loving me with everything that you are. For holding my hand at night, every night. For being my best friend, for listening to my fears and my dreams. Before I go, I have to share a funny story with you,” I start, and I suddenly get nervous. “Tonight when we were getting ready for this huge thing, the jeweler comes over with a ring that I wanted her to wear for the night. She had seven people around her, making sure she was ready and in place. I put it on her left hand and rushed her out of the room without a word . . . so I really, really hope that tonight when we get back home, and I get down on one knee and beg her to be with me forever that she’ll accept to keep the ring and me forever.” I raise the Oscar with one hand. “Thank you for taming Hollywood’s Playboy, Jess.” I look at her, and she looks down at her hand. I don’t think she really noticed the five-carat ring until right then. I walk down the stairs to her and kiss her. “I love you,” I tell her. “Marry me.” She doesn’t say anything; she just nods her head, and they are ready to usher me to the back to talk to the press. “I’m not going anywhere without you,” I tell her, and she grabs my hand and walks behind stage with me. One hand holds an Oscar, the other hand holding hers, and I can say that without a doubt this has to be the best day of my life.
Until nine months later when she gives birth to our first son.
THE END . . .
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Acknowledgments
My Husband: Thank you for being by my side through this whole thing.
My Kids: Matteo, Michael, and Erica, thank you for sharing me with this book world!
Rachel: You are my blurb bitch. Whether you wear sloths or bats I still love you. Thank you for writing every single blurb without reading the book!
Beta girls: Teressa, Lori, Natasha M, Lori, Sandy, Yolanda, Yamina, Sarah and Melissa. Thank you for cheering me on and begging for more.
Madison Maniacs: This little group went from two people to so much more and I can’t thank you guys enough. This group is my go to, my safe place.
Julie: Thank you for taking my book with all its mistakes and making it pretty, or as pretty as it can be.
BLOGGERS. THANK YOU FOR TAKING A CHANCE ON ME. You give so much of yourself effortlessly and you are the voice that we can’t do this without.