Hollywood Scandal

Just before I gave in, she arched her back and screamed my name.

I couldn’t hold back any longer—I pushed into her again and exploded along with any notion of a future without Lana. My body covered hers as if I were sheltering her. I wanted to feel this close to her forever, share every experience and thought I had. I’d finally found my place in the world. Nothing else mattered. Not Hollywood, not scandals and not movies.

As long as it was the two of us, I had everything I could ever want.





Epilogue





Matt


“I thought we were going to the dunes?” Lana asked when I pulled off the coastal road just on the outskirts of Worthington and headed down a track toward the ocean.

“Don’t be mad, okay? I just wanted to take a little detour first.” Since the publication of the photos, I hated keeping anything from her, but I was hoping she’d give me a pass on this one surprise.

“Why would I be mad?”

“I hope you won’t be,” I replied.

“Matt. Seriously.”

I stopped the car and turned off the engine. “Look at that view,” I said as we faced the cloudless sky, the bright blue water and the almost-white sand.

“What have you done? You know I don’t like secrets.”

“That’s what makes you so infuriating.” Before Lana could reply I opened the car door and rounded the hood.

“Why are we here?” she asked, stepping out of the car as I held the door open.

I took her hand and led her to the middle of the plot on which we were standing. “Because I wanted you to see this. The land goes right down to the ocean.”

She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked out across the field that petered down to the beach. “I’ve lived here my whole life. You don’t need to convince me of how beautiful it is. Now answer my questions. Why are we here and why am I going to be mad?”

I took a breath. “Because I’ve been doing a bit of research that I haven’t told you about.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What kind of research? For a film?”

I shook my head. “As much as I love your cottage, I’m not sure it’s our forever home. When we have our family—”

“Our what now?” She furrowed her brow. We’d talked about kids. We knew we both wanted them. At some point. But we’d never gotten specific.

“I figure three kids is a good number, but you could convince me to have four. But the cottage just isn’t big enough for all of us.”

“It’s plenty big enough for me, which is all it needs to be if you want four kids.”

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against me. “We can negotiate the final number.”

She pushed at my arms, creating a little distance between us. “We’re not trying for a baby here and now, and you know how I feel about PDAs.” She glanced around as if anyone would see us.

I chuckled. “How do you like the spot? The peace, the view, the ocean breeze? We can still walk into town from here.”

She relaxed in my arms. “What are you saying?”

I hoped she’d love this idea as much as I did. “This lot is for sale. I want us to buy it, build a house big enough to raise four boys, with a huge wraparound porch where we can watch the thunderstorms, read to each other and grow old.”

Her eyelids flickered as if she was trying to find focus. “You want to be based in Worthington?”

We’d been splitting time between Los Angeles and Maine, but the more time I spent on the East Coast, the more I realized I didn’t have to be in LA to have a career. “I thought we could buy a place in Malibu for when I need to be there for work, but spend most of our time right here, just like we’ve been doing these last six months. I don’t want to raise kids in Hollywood.”

She grinned up at me, her arms slipping through mine and circling my waist. “You sound pretty enthusiastic about the kids thing.”

“I’m enthusiastic about everything in my life. Most of all you.”

“Even my yoga pants?”

The first time I’d mentioned getting married had been in a suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel the night Lana first told me she loved me. She’d said we’d talk about it again in six months when I was sick of her yoga pants. I’d always love her—yoga pants and all—and today was six months exactly since that night when our lives together began. I wasn’t about to let her go. I wanted her bound to me in every way possible.

“So, you’ve bought the land?” she asked, looking up at me.

I shook my head. “I’d never make a decision like that without you.” The wind caught a strand of her hair and I tucked it behind her ear. “We’re a team.”

“You couldn’t have said anything better. And I think you might have found the perfect spot. I love it here.”

“We can work with architects and design the house ourselves. You can have a studio. We can build a privacy wall if you want.”

She sighed. “No walls. Not here. It will be our home and I want people to feel welcome when they come here. I don’t want our kids to think they’re locked in. I loved the freedom of growing up in small-town Maine.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Kids, huh?”

She grinned.

“Six months ago, I told you I loved you in yoga pants and always would.”

“Has it been that long?” She glanced over at the ocean. “It feels like nothing and everything has changed.”

“Some things should change. It’s time.”

“Time?” she asked.

“For me to ask. For you to say yes.”

The corners of her mouth twitched. “Here? Now?”

I released her, took a step back and dropped to one knee. “Lana Kelly, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

She kneeled in front of me on the grass. “Of course,” she said, flinging her arms around my neck. “I didn’t really think you were going to wait a whole six months.”

I chuckled. “It’s been killing me.”

“What about my ring?”

I shook my head. “No way. As if I’d make a decision like that without you. And anyway, I didn’t know if you’d want one. Or if you might want to make it yourself.”

She pressed her palms to my cheeks and swiped her thumbs along my cheekbones. “I’d really like to wear my mom’s ring, if that would be okay with you. Does that sound weird?”

I leaned and dropped a kiss on her lips. “I think that’s a beautiful idea.”

She pulled back. “I can’t wait for you to be Mr. Kelly.” A huge smile lit up her face.

I chuckled. “Life with you will be a constant challenge. I’m looking forward to every moment.”



* * *



There were no guarantees, but the sky was such a bright blue that I felt sure that any rain would hold off during the ceremony. It was my job to provide shelter from the storm, and today, of all days, I wanted to make sure everything was perfect.

Most of the guests were already seated, but there were a few still finding their way in. “Hi, Mrs. Wells,” I said. “Polly. Welcome.” I looked down to find Molly, Polly’s cat, with a big pink bow around her neck.

“Hello, handsome,” Mrs. Wells said with a wink.

I winked back. “I’m glad all three of you could make it.”