“Hey.”
I spun around and found Matt on his crutches at the door.
“What are you doing?” I rushed over and helped him into one of the dining room chairs. “You’re supposed to stay off your feet.”
“I was looking for you,” he said. “I have an idea.”
I eyed him warily. “Get your mind out of the gutter,” I said. “We currently have a house full of guests, one of whom is my daughter, who happens to be getting a bit too close to that Brennan guy.” My eyes snapped to Matt’s. “How old is he, anyway?”
“Only about twenty-four,” he said. “But, Dani, I didn’t come here for sex.”
I placed a hand on my hip, not believing him. “Oh, you didn’t?”
“Not this time. I came looking for you because I thought maybe you’d like to post something about me on your Instagram.”
“Matt.” I frowned. “You don’t have to.”
“I want to,” he said. “For you.”
“Well,” I said honestly, “thank you.” Maybe it was the pain killers, but he did seem like a new man ever since he decided to relinquish control of the story to the TV people.
Smiling at Mr. Social Butterfly all of a sudden, I pulled out my phone. “Okay,” I said, “what should we do? A video? A picture of the two of us together?”
“Put the camera on me and go live.” He straightened up in his chair.
“Really?” I said. “You want to do this?”
“Definitely. How does my hair look?”
I brushed an errant lock of his hair into place and stepped back, camera at the ready. “Let me know when to press record.”
He nodded before taking a few, long deep breaths. “Okay,” he said. “Now.”
I hit the big red button. We were live. I made a quick wish that this would all go okay for Matt.
“Hi, everyone!” Matt said, smiling big and wide. “It’s me, Matt Bradford. You probably know me better as M.C. Bradford. I’m taking over Dani’s Instagram to tell you we just finished watching the season premiere of The Saga here at the fabulous Wackernagel Resort and Spa in beautiful Wackernagel, Illinois, and we loved it.” He winked. “That’s for you, Gerald.”
I shot him a thumbs up.
“I know most of you have seen that video of me from Comic Con and my reaction to it, and I wanted to take the opportunity to apologize to all of you. I’ve already made peace with the people who work on the show, but I wanted to give a special shout out to the fans—whether you love the books, just the TV show, or both.”
I peered at him over the top of my camera. He looked happy and healthy and comfortable. He was talking to his fans again, and on his own terms.
“That video of me?” Matt raised his eyebrows. “I said a lot of things I regret. For so long, The Bastyan Saga belonged only to me. Then it was published, and I had to share it with the book fans. Now it’s a show, and we all share ownership of that, too. I had a hard time dealing with watching someone else bring their vision of the books to life.” He paused. “Let’s just say I’ve gained some perspective and come around.”
He beckoned me over and pulled me onto his lap. I flipped the camera around to record both of us.
“I’ve spent most of my adult life sailing the seas alone like Alyster, but now I’ve found my OTP, and I know what true grace and gratitude mean.” He kissed me on the cheek. “I’m so grateful for this large community of people who care about the characters I created. They belong to all of you. I give them to you. The show has my blessing to take the story where they please, and I’ll be publishing my own end to The Bastyan Saga late next year. Keep an eye out for that. Happy holidays to all of you!”
I shut off the camera, wrapped my arms around Matt’s neck, and kissed him. He pulled me close.
“I’m proud of you,” I said.
“That felt good,” he agreed. “Speaking of… Sure sex is off the table right now?”
“Yes,” I said. “A twenty-four-year-old actor is in the other room probably asking my daughter the same thing.”
I stood and helped Matt up, handing him his crutches. I rested my head on his shoulder for a moment. “There will be lots of sex in our future,” I said. “Don’t worry.”
Epilogue
Matt
One year later…
Dani stood on the floor beneath me, watching as I balanced on a step stool and placed the star on top of the tree. “Crooked?” I asked, looking over my shoulder.
She tilted her head. “A little to the left.”
I followed her instructions, making sure the topper was perfectly placed before climbing down and planting a kiss on her lips. “We make a good team.”
She hung my favorite dancer ornament on a branch front and center. “Now,” she said, “don’t you go playing around with this. I have all the ornaments placed perfectly. I don’t want to find this one in the arms of one of the wise men in the Nativity scene, thank you very much.”
I pulled her in for a hug. “I can’t make any promises.”
The doorbell rang, and Ralph, who’d been sleeping by the fireplace, leaped into a frenzy.
“Sounds like Nana’s here,” Dani said.
Butterflies rushed into my stomach as I rushed to the front door and found not just Dani’s mom, but the rest of her family on the doorstep, carrying presents. Her dad handed me a bottle of homemade apple pie moonshine on his way in. “To celebrate later,” he whispered with a wink.
I took the bottle from him, and Dani helped her family with their coats and led them into the living room so that they could place their grab bag gifts under the tree. The rest of our guests started arriving then—Gerald, Jane, and Brennan, who’d had such a good time here last Christmas, he decided to join us again.
The more the merrier, as far as I was concerned.
Dani started bringing in the food, and I slipped right into drink duty, a welcome distraction—pouring wine, making cocktails, and grabbing Miller Lites for Dani’s dad. After my guests had been taken care of, I poured myself a glass of red wine and gazed out at the room and took a moment to stand still in the moment, feeling full, happy, and calm—a complete departure from where I was a year ago.
Last year, I’d been fretting over ceding control of the show to the TV people. I’d been struggling to get through the first draft of the next novel in the series. But then Dani came into my life and helped me realize I didn’t need to do it all. I could stay true to myself and focus only on what was really important.