Hollywood Ever After

by Sasha Summers

  “What?” I heard the renewed shock in my whispered question.

  “Last fall, I was collecting scripts from Shannon’s office when we were finishing up Stellar Siege. It was an accident. The scripts were stacked on her desk, and I grabbed your manuscript with them. Honestly, I couldn’t put it down. I asked Meg when the screenplay was going to be ready. She didn’t know what I was talking about. And when I gave it back to Shannon, she was livid. She told me to forget I’d read it. It was her secret project.”

  I stared at him.

  “I didn’t realize it was your story until last night. I suppose I should have, but it never occurred to me. And when it did, I didn’t know what to say. All of my bloody questions, my glib responses— I was a shit. I wouldn’t ask you to relive things that you should never…never—” His hand tightened about mine as he spoke fiercely. “—have had to go through. It’s wrong, what happened to you. And I’m sorry for reading your story without your permission.” His voice was full of regret.

  I was sad, but not angry.

  “Can you forgive me?”

  I looked up at him, my heart in my throat. I knew I wouldn’t be able to say anything, so I nodded.

  His arms wrapped around me, gently pulling me against him. My heart pounded as his head bent to mine, pressing a kiss on my forehead. It felt very right, being held in his arms.

  Oh God. My heart betrayed me. I turned my head, burying my face against his shoulder. I’m falling in love with you. It was completely ridiculous, but true.

  I was afraid, very afraid. Instead of thinking or talking, I tilted my head back, pressing my lips to his. He returned the kiss, his mouth a brief caress. Then he held me close, tucking my head under his chin in a comfortable embrace. I closed my eyes, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

  We stood, wrapped around one another. Unexpected happiness pumped through me, turning me soft and pliable in his embrace.

  “You didn’t answer the first question,” he said softly into my hair.

  “Oh?” I stiffened a bit in his arms.

  “What did I do that scared you?”

  He was being so open with me. I had to try. I looked up at him as I said, “You didn’t do anything. It was the way you looked at me. The way you look at me.” I swallowed before I explained. “I’m scared I’ll do something to make that look go away. And something else will take its place: pain, regret, resentment, distrust, anger.”

  “You’ve done nothing wrong, Claire. Ever. None of those emotions exist here for us,” he reassured me, his voice firm. His eyes were molten, full of warmth. He was warm, and gentle.

  My hand pushed his hair from his forehead, then came to rest on his cheek.

  “You know why I look at you the way I do?” His voice was hesitant and I swallowed, my heart pounding fiercely.

  Suddenly Shannon’s answering machine was talking. My mother’s voice spilled into the room. “I didn’t get you on your cell, so I thought I’d try the house number.”

  Josh’s hold loosened. I had no idea where the phone was, as usual.

  She continued. “I love you, Claire, so very much. My literary side is truly impressed. You are a gifted writer. Shannon is right about the book. It could be a fantastic liberator for many battered women. However, I’m still pissed at the way she handled this.”

  Josh nodded, his jaw locked.

  She sighed then continued. “As a mother, I just want to make it all better. If you want to do this, do it. Publish it. Together we can deal with whatever backlash might follow. You’re not alone, remember that, okay? I’ll support whatever choice you make. Call me tomorrow. Love you, sweetie. Bye.”

  Josh looked at me with a smile on his face then disappeared into the kitchen. He returned with a glass of water and some pain reliever.

  “Can’t I just drink some more? We could dance?” I took the pills and a long drink of water.

  “We can dance.” He reached over and clicked the computer a few times. The soothing voice of Nora Jones’ “Come Away with Me” filled the room and he pulled me into his arms.

  ***

  I opened my eyes cautiously. The brilliant California sunshine was spilling into my room. There was a high probability that my head might protest. My hand came to rest on my forehead. It wasn’t painful, but I felt heavy all over. I heard a soft snore and turned. Josh was sound asleep beside me on the bed.

  I smiled happily. The previous evening slowly returned to me, providing vague recollections of dinner, clubbing with Shannon, and meeting Arthur. Sweet, sweet Arthur. He was a keeper.

  Things got a little sketchy then. I pieced bits of coherent memories together. There was drinking, lots of drinking. Lots and lots of drinking.

  I’d danced wildly at a club. Josh had appeared. He’d driven me home. I felt my cheeks grow hot as I realized what an active car trip it had been. Well, maybe I’d given him some exceedingly good memories in his front seat. My smile grew. I loved the way he’d trembled from my touch.

  He’d stayed, to take care of me. I remembered that…and our conversation.

  When the song had ended, he’d spoken softly. “We need to get you to bed if you’re going to be up before noon.”

  I had nodded drowsily against his chest. “Staying?”

  “I’ll take that as an invitation.” He’d taken my hand, clicked off the light and the computer, and led me to the bed. He’d pulled the blankets back and patted the bed for me to sit.

  I’d smiled, cocking an inviting eyebrow at him, and began to untie the sash of my robe. He grabbed my hands and kissed me gently.

  “Sleep. We’re going to sleep.” He shook his head. “Don’t tempt me.”

  I slipped between the sheets, watching as he stripped down to his black boxer briefs and climbed into bed.

  “Do you wear pajamas? Normally, I mean?”

  He lay on his side, facing me. “If I’m at my dad’s or my sisters’.”

  “If not?”

  “I just fall asleep in whatever I’m wearing.” His eyes traveled over my face. “And you?”

  “No, no pj’s, unless there’s company,” I said with a yawn.

  He cocked an eyebrow, looking curious. “How does that work with children in the house?”

  “I’m always up before them, and I have a robe or pajamas in arm’s reach so I can slip into them if they need me. I’ve always been really hot-natured.”

  He looked at my clingy black robe and sighed. “I can behave.”

  I pulled the blankets up to my chin and slipped out of the robe. “Thank you.” I stretched, but kept myself covered.

  He closed his eyes. “I think I can behave.”

  I laughed, watching his face light as I did so. It amazed me that I could make him smile like that. “You have sisters?”

  He nodded. “Helen is the youngest and my mate. She was there tonight, by the way. I pointed you out to her. You’d get on, I think.”

  I could only imagine the impression I must have made, dancing drunkenly and singing at the top of my lungs. So much for a good first impression.

  “And Emma lives in Kent with her stodgy older husband and three monstrous boys.”

  “You make them sound so charming.”

  His eyes twinkled.

  My thumb caressed the slight stubble on his cheek. “Will they mind? Your friends? Will they mind that you didn’t come back?”

  He moved closer, his head on the same pillow as mine. “No.” He closed his eyes, his hand catching mine. He kissed my palm gently. “I told them I was hoping to spend the night with you.”

  “Oh.” My chest filled with happiness at his words. “I’m glad things worked out for you.”

  He laughed, opening one eye. “Things did not go the way I anticipated.”

  He didn’t say anything else. My curiosity grew as he blinked silently at me. “Elaborate,” I pleaded.

  His hand squeezed mine. “You caught me completely off guard.”

  I arched an eyebrow in question.


  “I was planning on bringing you here and taking you to bed,” he said.

  “Which is exactly what happened.” I gestured toward the bed.

  “The drive here changed that a bit. What happened out there was a first for me. I’m not fully recovered.” He’d flushed as he said that.

  “Oh.” I felt my breath catch as his eyes darkened. A first? I smiled at him.

  “You have no idea what you do to me.” He’d leaned over me then, kissing me deeply. His eyes were thoughtful as he stared at me from under heavy lids. He’d kissed my forehead then and pulled me along his side. “Sleep.”

  And we had. I’d woken a few times to find a hand cupping my breast, but he was sleeping soundly, his breath even and warm against my neck.

  With the bright morning sunshine now creeping over the bed, I watched him sleep. Morning stubble covered his chin, darkening the edge of his jaw line. His thick eyelashes cast shadows on his cheeks and his hair stood on end. He lay on his stomach. His face was turned to me on the pillow. His left hand rested on my stomach and his long fingers cupped my hip.

  I didn’t need to hide my feelings now or the satisfaction I felt just looking at him. I took a deep breath, watching his hand rise on my skin.

  “Claire.” Shannon peeked around the door. Her eyes grew huge and she started giggling as I tried to cover myself with the sheet tangled about Josh. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

  Josh rolled over, trying to pull me against him.

  I slipped carefully from his hold and into my robe. When I looked back over my shoulder, he was sleeping with my pillow drawn into his chest. I closed the door as quietly as I could and headed for the kitchen.

  “Morning,” she sang as I entered the kitchen.

  “Morning,” I murmured as she handed me an oversized coffee mug. “Bless you.”

  “Did you take something last night?” she asked, shaking the bottle of pain reliever as I took my first blissful sip of coffee.

  “I did. Lots of water, too. I feel surprisingly normal this morning.”

  “You have some messages. It’s been vibrating a lot this morning.” She called her voicemail and put it to speaker before I could say anything.

  There was a message from Natalie, looking for her soccer cleats. The next was from Mom about the soccer cleats, then Natalie calling to tell me that they’d found the soccer cleats. Frank Graham had called and left a pleasant voice message asking me to call him. Shannon raised her eyebrows over that.

  My mom’s message about the book was next. Shannon blushed at my mom’s angry words, but nodded as the message continued. The machine beeped and the kitchen was quiet.

  “Arthur’s very nice.” I watched her carefully. She may talk a lot about everyone else’s business, but she was very private about her own.

  She nodded. “He’s pretty wonderful. He asked me to move in with him, actually.”

  My mouth fell open. “And?”

  She shrugged.

  “Shannon, I don’t have a lot of patience…”

  “I know,” she teased. “How long did it take before you two, you know, did the deed?”

  I knew I was bright red. “Way to change the subject.”

  “I said yes.”

  “I’m so happy for you!” I jumped off the stool and hugged her fiercely. “He’s a great guy.”

  She shrugged, then nodded. “He is.”

  “You deserve it!”

  “I do.” She nodded. “So do you.”

  I waved her words away. “Not this morning, please. Let me just bask in your moment. This is so exciting. It’s a big step for you. When?”

  “The sooner the better. This house is way too big for me anyway. Ah, good morning, sunshine! So you really do just roll out of bed like that, huh? How revolting.”

  Josh was scratching his head, wearing his T-shirt and boxer briefs. He looked gorgeous as usual, and my smile appeared before I could control it.

  “Morning, Shannon. Chance of tea around?” He looked at my coffee with envy.

  “Here.” I held my coffee to him.

  He smiled and took it, taking a cautious sip.

  “You’re sharing your coffee with the man?” Shannon teased. “This could be getting serious.”

  “I’m trying,” Josh quipped back.

  Shannon’s eyes grew round as saucers.

  “We should do something to celebrate.” I took the cup from Josh, sipping once before I handed it back. He sat on one of the kitchen stools and pulled me between his legs.

  “Celebrate?” Josh looked back and forth between the two of us.

  “Shannon is moving in with her man.”

  “Congratulations, Shannon.” He nodded at her. “How do you celebrate shacking up, exactly?”

  “Normally you throw a housewarming party, but…” My face fell.

  “But you’re leaving tomorrow morning,” Shannon finished for me. “And you still have to make yourself the mother of all pros and cons list so you can head home with an idea of what’s next for Claire Collins. Or does mother know best?”

  I felt their eyes on me and savored a sip of coffee. “I think,” I said slowly, “I’m going to publish my book.”

  “You’re sure?” Josh asked.

  “Yes. I think so.” My voice sounded more confident than I felt.

  Josh squeezed me and Shannon clapped her hands. “That, sweetheart, is something to celebrate. Arthur and I are homebodies; a party wouldn’t fit. But this…we should do something to commemorate your trip and your impressive book deal.”

  “I need to do some of the more touristy things so I have pictures to take home to the kids. The ones I have are going to be sadly disappointing.” I plugged my camera into the laptop then took the coffee from Josh.

  “Busy day?” Shannon asked Josh. “I guess you can tag along. But then we have to worry about all of your stalkers with cameras.” She did an imitation shudder.

  He gave a lopsided grin. “I’ve a meeting with my agent this morning, finalize some contracts of my own. I’m going with my assistant’s recommendation and passing on the car piece.”

  She looked at him. “When did you get an assistant?”

  I glanced at him, taking another sip before he could grab the cup. He peeked into it sadly. “You don’t share very well.” He sighed. “Yesterday. She—” He looked at me meaningfully. “—fell asleep while reading it. Not the best endorsement.”

  Shannon laughed. “It sucked!”

  I took the cup from him and refilled it, adding some cream and sugar. I handed it to him and was rewarded with another lopsided grin and an arched brow. He took a sip and smiled. “That’s very nice.”

  “I’m going to get dressed.” Shannon watched the exchange. “You two say your goodbyes and we’ll go do some star map tour thing or something, okay? If you wrap things up, Josh, feel free to join us—incognito if possible, please.” She waved at Josh then disappeared down the hall to her room.

  Our eyes met, mine shy, his serious. I waited for him to break the silence, but he seemed content to stare.

  My camera beeped and I went over to unhook it. A slideshow began on the laptop screen, the images making me freeze. I felt Josh come to stand beside me. His hand slipped around my waist, pulling my back against his chest to hold me gently against him.

  “Look at that,” he said softly.

  “Yeah, you’re beautiful…” I muttered.

  Three pictures from the beach that first day together. I was so happy to have them now.

  We looked good, relaxed and somewhat smitten with each other. I looked ridiculously happy, but he did too.

  I glanced at him, still surprised by him, here, with me. He kissed me quickly, then let go of me. He plugged his phone into my computer then.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “If I’m not going to see you for a bit, I’d like a picture to keep with me. Maybe I won’t miss you as much, but I doubt it.” His hazel eyes seemed to trace every feature, line, and curve of my fa
ce before he kissed my forehead. He checked his phone then slid it shut.

  “Josh, I can’t come to England with my kids.” I couldn’t—could I?

  He kissed me, stealing my breath and any possible argument I might have rather effectively. “You can, Claire. I have to go to this meeting, but I’ll catch up with you later. I’m not saying goodbye.” He dropped one more kiss on my lips before he walked back into the bedroom, whistling.

  Chapter Seven

  I looked at the bed covered in my newly purchased Shannon-selected clothes. “I can’t get everything in the damn suitcase.”

  “You can take one of mine and bring it back to me.” Shannon zipped up my bag. “You only brought one?”

  “Mom packed. Her superhero power would be fitting an entire closet into a single bag.”

  “Not exactly an exciting superpower, but useful.”

  I eyed the pile of clothes that I’d brought with me, discarded in the corner. “Why are we getting rid of these?”

  “Because they’re…sad.” She looked at me with disbelieving eyes. “And you don’t need to be sad anymore. Things are changing.”

  I sat on the edge of my bed, looking up at her. “I know that.”

  She came to sit beside me. “What are you going to do first?”

  “It’s been kind of busy, you know? Not a lot of time to formulate a plan.”

  She seemed at a loss. Then she said, “I know you’re worried, but you don’t need to be. Things happen. Choices are made, sometimes without us being aware that we’ve already made them.”

  I paused in the middle of folding a shirt and shot her a look. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “No idea. I’m trying to sound knowledgeable and supportive. Guess I sound like a bad fortune cookie, huh?” She shrugged and stood up. “I’ll go get that suitcase.”

  I smiled after her, finished folding the shirt, and added it to the stack of items I needed to pack. My eyes wandered to the window and the gorgeous beach outside. I gave in, walking onto the balcony and breathing in the ocean air.

  I’d be with Natalie and Will by this time tomorrow. I couldn’t wait for that. I missed them.