It was totally adorable.
When he didn’t make a move to pull the paper toward him, I nudged it across the table and held out the pen in my hand for him to sign.
“I already signed it. It just needs your signature before we go any further.”
Begrudgingly, he looked down at the paper and absently took the pen from my hand.
“Are you going to sue me for breach of contract if you decide it’s no fun to date me?” He grumbled the words as his eyes started to scan over the quickly written terms and conditions I’d jotted down.
“You’re cute when you’re all badass and broody.” As I leaned closer, I grinned at him, watching his expression slowly shift from annoyance to something closer to stunned wonder.
Written across the plain white piece of paper was my declaration of love. It was a picture of my heart and every hope and dream I had for us for the future.
I will love you and let you love me for as long as possible.
I will stand by you and behind you when it is your time to shine.
I will take the good with the bad and try to make each day we spend together better than the one before.
Even if we decide to go our separate ways, I will always do my best to honor the time we spent together.
I will leave you better than I found you.
My loopy signature was already at the bottom, and I left a big black X for his to join.
Salinger stared at the paper for a long moment before finally lifting his head to look at me.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He looked a little bit like a fish out of water suddenly. He was so adorable when caught by surprise, I couldn’t help but grin at him. I lifted a hand so I could smooth down some of his spiky hair.
“I love you, Salinger Dolan. I love you enough to want to make sure it’s nearly impossible for you to walk away from me. You said you would sign anything I put in front of you, so sign this one, and let’s go find out if we made a baby.”
He gulped and reached up to grab the hand that I was using to stroke the side of his head soothingly.
“You love me?” He sounded like he couldn’t quite believe it.
I nodded. “I really do. I didn’t want to, but there was no stopping it once you walked into my heart like you owned it. I’m a happier person when I’m with you. You brought light and life back into my world when I didn’t even realize they were missing. Everything I used to blame you for taking away from me, you brought back three-fold.”
He still looked bewildered, as if he couldn’t believe what I was saying was true. But he pulled the paper in front of him and snatched the pen out of my hand. His name was a scribbled mess below mine, and his fingers showed a visible tremor.
“Contract or not, I love you. I have loved you. I will love you... regardless of what happens next.”
I knew he would because after all was said and done, he remained a righteous man.
“I KNEW THERE was something special about this project before I ever signed on to be a part of it. When I first read the script, I was moved. I loved it enough to take a risk not only on a brand-new production company, but also on a co-star I wasn’t sure I could work with. That risk paid off in ways I couldn’t begin to imagine. His movie didn’t just bring me my first major award nomination and win, it also reunited me with someone from my past I couldn’t forget, and he is the reason I now have a beautiful little boy and wonderful family. This movie challenged me to branch out professionally and get involved in other aspects of movie-making. It showed me there are many ways to make sure great movies get attention. So, thank you to the cast and crew of A Righteous Man. To our wonderful director Heinrich, who demanded more than we thought we could give, all I can say is, you were right about the ending. And to my amazing agent and best friend, Lennon, you were right, too. Passing on this movie would have been the dumbest move I ever made, and yes, that includes my first marriage.”
I paused for a second to gather my thoughts, and looked at the blinking light on the monitor in front of me. I knew if I stayed silent for too long, what I had to say would get cut off, so I rushed to finish my sentiment before I ran out of time. “I also want to thank my dad for always being there for me, and for always supporting me. He’s the reason I wanted to become an actor in the first place. He’s the one who made me want to tell stories that would help others and offer them an escape when times were tough. He’s the best dad a girl could ask for, and the best granddad any kid could ever have. We love you, Dad.”
I shot a look off the screen for a second and caught Salinger’s eye. He was just out of the frame, holding a little boy who was his spitting image. I could see how proud he was of me as he watched me stumble through my very unrehearsed acceptance speech. We’d both been nominated heavily this award season but had regularly lost to the competition. Even though I had a speech on hand, I had yet to use it, and was in no way expecting to hear my name called as the winner for the award that was most highly coveted.
“It’s probably obvious, but the person who has my undying gratitude for so much more than this movie is Salinger Dolan. He wrote the script. He convinced me to take the role that won me this award. He pushed and refused to back down when it came to making the best movie possible. He is a brilliant co-star who deserves this award as much as I do. It was wonderful getting to work with him on such a magical project. But, it’s even better to live my life with him day in and day out. He is an amazing dad and the best partner. I wouldn’t be here in front of all of you after giving the best performance of my career without him. Thank you doesn’t seem sufficient, so I’ll say, I will always love you instead.”
There was some kind of digital glitch on the screen, then the computer monitor went black. I blinked in surprise since it was all over so soon, and the moment of glory most people in my profession worked so hard for seemed to fade as soon as it began.
I guess that went hand-in-hand with how the world had changed over the last year, making big gatherings impossible and moving everything to a remote format for the sake of safety. I never thought I would win an Oscar, or that I wouldn’t be able to receive such a huge accolade in person and in front of my peers.
Salinger moved to the mini-command center we’d set up for the event just in case either of us won, and because A Righteous Man was almost certainly going to snap up the best picture award, which meant we were both going to have to make a digital appearance as well. While he and I hadn’t had much luck winning until tonight, Heinrich and the film hadn’t suffered the same fate. Heinrich won for best director across the board when he was nominated, and the film took home the best picture more often than not. It was definitely the darling this awards season, so Salinger and I had adapted to the digital format of acceptance speeches and red carpets.
Salinger moved to stand behind me, bouncing our baby up and down in his strong, tattooed arms as he started to get fussy. Thirteen-month-old Frost Hemingway Dolan immediately reached for my hair, filling his tiny fists with the dark strands.
“Do you regret not getting dressed up and having your hair and makeup done?” Salinger handed the baby over to me and bent to kiss the crown of my head to soothe the sore spot where the baby pulled my hair. “Never thought you’d accept an Oscar barefaced wearing sweatpants.”
I laughed a little and made a funny face at my little boy, which made him giggle and clap his hands together. I’d actually been holding him when they announced I was the winner through the live feed. I was pretty sure the broadcast kept showing us because my boy was the cutest, and not because there was any particular interest in what Salinger and I looked like on an average night at home. Our little boy, who was named after Robert Frost as a nod to his father’s unusual moniker, was a budding superstar. People were more interested in him than they were in Salinger and me. Partly because he was adorable, but more because I’d kept my pregnancy under tight wraps and limited any and all access to my child. There were no public pictures of him until after he was one.
We didn’t even share his name with the public until he was older.
I understood the curiosity, but there were parts of my life I refused to share with both fans and haters alike. Salinger and I made protecting the little boy our top priority, but now that he was a bit older and we’d been stuck at home for so long, it was harder to keep him insulated as our professional and private lives clashed in our home more often than not.
I knew many of our fellow nominees got dressed up and treated the digital event like the real thing, but I didn’t want to. Not just because I didn’t think I was going to win, but because it was rare to give an audience a peek into my real life. On a big night like Oscar night, it took a team of people to get Salinger and me ready and out the door. It made no sense for us to do that, or bring that many people into our home when pretty much everyone in the entire world was trying to limit contact and make the best out of a bad situation.
Besides, our little family was beautiful with or without all the flash. Salinger looked just as good in his torn jeans and faded t-shirt as he did in a tuxedo.
Actually, he looked better because the tuxedo covered up all the artwork that decorated his skin.
And I knew it didn’t matter if I was dressed to the nines like I stepped off a runway, or if I was dressed like I hadn’t moved from my spot on the couch for days, Salinger would think I was beautiful and wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off me. Even when I was pregnant and suddenly very self-conscious about our age difference and our different life stages, or because my hormones were raging and I was scared out of my mind something would happen to the baby, he worked himself to death to show me that he only had eyes for me and prove that he wanted me no matter what.
While I was playing with the baby, my phone started blowing up. I was sure they were all messages of congratulations for winning.
I was officially a Best Actress now.
No longer the black sheep.
No longer the comeback queen.
It was a nice feeling, but nothing was better than holding my little boy in my arms while his daddy watched.
Salinger looked down at his phone, which was also going crazy. His eyes lit up slightly, and I knew that the caller was either his grandmother or his brother. They were the only two people in the world who could pull him away from Frost and me.
“It’s Jeno.” He grinned as he answered the call, walking toward the back of the house so he could step outside and talk without being interrupted by the baby.
Frost reached his hands out toward Salinger as he disappeared and lifted his adorable chubby face to look at me as tears threatened in his chocolate eyes.
He really was a mini-version of Salinger, even down to his temperament. He was normally a good baby, not too loud or fussy, but when he wanted something and didn’t get his way, he could be a little devil. He was also very much a daddy’s boy. He didn’t like it when Salinger was out of sight for too long.
“He’ll be back. He just went to talk to Uncle Jeno.” I swore the baby’s eyes lit up when I mentioned one of his other favorite people on the planet.
No one was better to my little boy than Salinger’s baby brother.
I was so glad that right around the time I was ready to pop and Frost was ready to make his grand entrance into the world, Jeno decided to come back and run the production company with Salinger.
When he went on hiatus, he’d done a bit of traveling, and even enrolled in a couple of college courses to cover all the bases. As it turned out, what made him happy was working with Salinger and being his own boss. He wanted to call his own shots and invest in projects that moved him the way Salinger’s script had moved me. So, these days the boys were still close and connected through the business, but they were no longer tripping over each other every time one made a move. Salinger gave Jeno his house in Hidden Hills after he moved in with me. But we quickly realized we were going to need more room when the baby came, so we left the beach house and moved into a home that was probably a bit too big for the three of us in Silver Lake.
It was disgustingly domestic, but I loved it. It was everything I ever wanted.
Jeno still worried about Salinger, and Salinger still tried to take care of his younger brother, but they were living their own lives and seeking their own success. They were happiest when they spent time together, and I was delighted that Frost had an uncle who doted on him whenever he got the chance.
He and Arrow actually fought on the regular over whose turn it was to babysit. Honestly, they still argued over everything and anything, so babysitting duty was just an excuse for another reason to disagree. Neither Salinger nor I could figure out why there was so much animosity between the two of them, and neither Jeno nor Arrow offered up a reasonable explanation.
I clapped the baby’s hands together and made funny noises at him until he was laughing. It was well past his normal bedtime, so he was bound to crash sooner rather than later. It was doubtful he would close his eyes until his daddy came in to put him down.
Like I said, Daddy’s boy through and through.
“Your mommy is an Oscar winner. Are you proud of me? You wouldn’t believe me if I told you what happened the first time I worked with your daddy. Who knew it would lead to this... to you?”
The almost toddler gurgled happily and again reached for my hair. I jumped a little when Salinger’s tattooed hand was suddenly there to save the long strands from getting yanked.
“Oscar or not, we’re always proud of you.”
Honestly, the Oscar nomination and little gold statue were nice, but his words were the only validation I needed.
I had won even before my name was announced.
Fortunate Son
A next generation novel coming soon…
(Are you excited? I feel like you’re big STOKED!)
PROLOGUE
“I DON’T THINK we’re a good match.”
The softly spoken words echoed in my head for hours.
It wasn’t like the breakup came out of nowhere. The girl I loved with every fiber of my being had been acting strange and had become more and more distant for weeks. I’d known her my entire life. We grew up together and had been the best of friends before falling in love. I knew her almost as well as I knew myself and could tell something between us was off, but I refused to believe the end of what we had was near.
I told myself she was just stressed out and worried about the fact we were soon going to different colleges and spending a lot of time apart from one another. Young love was already unreliable and tricky to navigate. When you added the hurdle of a long distance to the mix, it seemed almost destined to fail. I tried to reassure her everything would be fine; after all, I was older than her and had already been in college a year. Nothing changed between us while I waited not so patiently for her to finish high school. I foolishly thought she would apply and get accepted to my school so we could stay together. It never occurred to me that she was only going to apply to schools out of state. I was unaware that she had her heart set on leaving not only me but also our hometown for years. When she finally came clean and let me know she was moving to California in the fall, I was stunned but still optimistic that our relationship would survive. After all, she was my first love. I was willing to sacrifice and suffer whatever it took to keep her in my life.
Royce didn’t feel the same.
I felt blindsided by both the breakup and the revelation that she was always planning to move halfway across the country. Suddenly the adorable little girl who grew up following my every step and who had effortlessly stolen my heart with her sweet, cheerful, innocent demeanor seemed like a total stranger who never cared about me the way I cared about her.
It was easy enough to argue with her when she said we weren’t a good match.
It was impossible to fight against her when she told me she wasn’t happy being with me and needed a change.
I wanted to tell her we just needed some time apart. I had faith in my ability to change her mind and prove t
o her that we belonged together. But the look in her eyes when she ended things was definite. This wasn’t a rash decision on her part. It was something she gave a lot of thought to and had clearly made up her mind about.
She didn’t want to be with me anymore, and I was left adrift and discombobulated.
Heartbreak wasn’t something I had a lot of experience with.
I was the kind of guy who typically got what I wanted and excelled at whatever I put my mind to. I graduated at the top of my class in high school. Got into my first choice of college and was in the starting line up my first college football game. My parents had a wall full of trophies and accolades I’d earned over the years. They were always proud of what I’d accomplished, even though they had never pushed me to be perfect. All they wanted was for me to be happy, so they supported me regardless of how hard I pushed myself.
I was popular and well-liked among my peers, and as one of the oldest members of my tight-knit inner circle of relatives and longtime family friends who were all similar in age, I was often the voice of reason and most responsible member of the group. I never had a problem getting close to members of the opposite sex, but there was only one I wanted to keep and call mine.
But she no longer wanted me, and I wasn’t sure what to do with myself now.
It was my first time being rejected, and I could admit I wasn’t handling it well… at all.
I glanced down at my phone, which had been ringing and pinging with messages nonstop for the last several hours. I wanted to turn the damn thing off, but there was a part of me that refused to believe I’d been dumped and I waited for each call to show my ex’s info. She never popped up on the screen, but my mom called no less than twenty times. My dad no less than ten, and my best friend, who also happened to be my cousin, was sending a text every fifteen minutes like clockwork.
I ignored them all, but eventually, the one and the only person I couldn’t ignore even if I wanted to called, and I finally caved and answered the phone.
A Righteous Man Page 22