Happily Ever Hers: Movie Stars in Maryland, Book Two

by Stewart, Delancey

  We lay together afterwards, and I realized something, something that cleared away any last vestiges of doubt about whether I needed Juliet or if she could possibly need me. Maybe, I thought, we needed each other. Maybe the things she could give me—the things she had given me—were equal to the things I could give her. Acceptance, for one thing, and respect. And friendship with no expectations for another. Sex … there was the sex, too. But maybe a relationship between equals wasn’t a scorecard.

  And while learning that perhaps the job offer from Austin hadn’t been influenced by Juliet’s words, I was starting to think maybe she was right. I had never had a community—except maybe in the Corps. And didn’t I end up taking the security job in the first place as a result of that connection?

  I gazed down at the beautiful woman in my arms as the sun glowed brightly around us, illuminating everything in shades of gold.

  Love wasn’t about pride. It wasn’t about competition or dominance. Love was give and take, it was being strong when your partner was weak, it was being a constant your partner could always rely on. And while I might never be a rich man, I could be enough.

  Enough for Juliet Manchester.

  Enough for myself.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Juliet

  Leaving Maryland wasn’t easy. Not for me, and not for Jack, who was practically held prisoner by Chessy, who was doing the chicken version of strapping herself to a tree so it wouldn’t be cut down. Only in this case, the tree was her love, Jack. She was running circles around the Town Car that held him, and shrieking loudly as she ran.

  “I thought the hard part would be the tears,” Jace chuckled as we stood on the porch watching, delaying the goodbyes with Tess and Gran.

  Ryan had decided to stay a bit longer, and he stood with my sister, his arm around her shoulders and such a clear love for her on his face that I wanted to kiss him myself, just because it was so good to see them both happy.

  “I see you two managed to lube up whatever had you stuck,” Gran commented as Jace dropped his arm around my shoulders too, and squeezed me into his side.

  “What is with all the lube talk?” I asked, looking between Gran and Jace as Tess chuckled.

  “Nothing,” Jace said. “Gran and I had a meaningful chat, and she made some excellent points.”

  “About lubricant?” Tess asked.

  “Never you mind,” Gran said, swatting at her. “This is between me and Kong.”

  “Gran!” I scolded.

  She smiled sweetly and sighed dramatically. “Fine. I suppose if you’re going to be around for a while, I can call you Jace.”

  “I’d like that,” he said. “But Kong is cool too.” He did a half-hearted chest pound like a gorilla might, and I laughed.

  “So what’s the plan?” Tess asked us.

  I was enjoying being next to Jace, being acknowledged and open in front of my family. “Go home, pick up Elvis, and figure it out, I guess. I told Zac to go ahead and do whatever he’s going to do, that my attorney would figure it out.” I was amazed at how little I cared about Zac’s threats now, about what the world might see if he released the tape.

  “You don’t care about the tape?” Ryan asked, looking surprised.

  I sighed, happiness filling me too much to feel anything else. “I can’t control everything,” I said. “And I’m tired of trying to control what strangers think about me. I am who I am. They can deal with that.”

  “Is that what you told Alison last night?” Ryan asked.

  “Something like that,” I said.

  “Tess, Gran,” Jace said. “Thank you so much for having us all. It was a real pleasure meeting you. I hope to see you again.”

  I beamed at my polite and handsome boyfriend. I hoped to bring him back with me soon.

  “This has been an interesting weekend,” Gran said. “It makes my withered old heart swell to see both my girls happy. I guess my job here is done. Now I can go smoke myself silly and keel over in front of my computer.”

  Tess scoffed. “You know perfectly well you’re too stubborn to go out that easily,” she said.

  “Meh.” Gran lifted a shoulder and then turned to Tess. “Did you make the appointment for me to get those dentures?”

  “Gran, your own teeth are fine,” Tess said, rolling her eyes.

  “Get me a cane or something, at least. I’m ninety, for fuck’s sake.”

  Gran had always turned to humor when a situation was difficult or too emotional, and I was happy to see that Jace and me leaving was no exception. I was struggling a little too, feeling like home had taken on a more important place in my heart, since it had been the place I’d finally figured out who I was supposed to be.

  “I’m going to miss you,” I told Gran, pulling her in close and happy to feel how solid she was in my arms, despite her small size.

  “I’ll miss you too, Juliet,” Gran said, and when I pulled away, she held my eyes for a long moment. “You turned out so good,” she said quietly. “I think your father would be proud of us both.”

  I saw Tess press her lips together hard, stifling her emotion as tears threatened at the backs of my eyes. “I hope so,” I said.

  Tess stepped forward and hugged me tight, and I felt something new and sweet between us, too. Maybe we could be the sisters I’d always wished we were. I knew it would take some more work, but I’d felt things shift this weekend.

  I released Tess and turned to say goodbye to Ryan, intending to shake his hand or something, but deciding he was basically family now. “Thanks for everything,” I told him, opening my arms for a hug.

  “Thank you,” he said, and he squeezed me and then let go with a glance at Jace.

  Finally, we made our way down to the car and before long we were back in the air, heading home. We would have dinner at Jace’s mom’s place, where we’d pick up Elvis, and then it would finally be time to go home.

  Jace sat next to me this time, Jack and Christian across the aisle. Jace read a magazine, and I was so happy just to be close to him, able to rest my head on his shoulder.

  I let my mind run through the ways our lives might change once we touched down in Los Angeles, a tiny fragment of fear making me worry maybe we couldn’t survive the pressures of the photographers, the fans. And if I was getting new security, as Jace had said, where would he live? “Jace,” I said after a couple hours of flying. “What will happen when we get home?”

  “Dinner,” he said. “We talked about that.”

  “No. I mean after that. If the new security team to replace you and Chad will be at the house …”

  “Where will I go? Is that what you’re asking?”

  I nodded, trying to imagine saying goodbye to Jace at the end of this long day, going back to my own house alone. I didn’t like the idea. “Will you stay with me?”

  He held my eyes a long moment, his mind working behind those dark brows. “I guess I’ll have to,” he said. “Since I was living there. At least until I can get an apartment.” He frowned. “Is that okay? I know it’s an imposition. And whoever they put in house will need the room.”

  “But maybe I don’t need anyone in the house now,” I said. “Zac’s threats are totally powerless at this point. And I have you,” I said. “So maybe I don’t need a guard inside the house all the time.”

  “When I’m not there, though …”

  “But maybe you could stay.”

  “Juliet …”

  “Is it too soon to move in? You kind of already live with me.”

  “We did everything backwards.” His lips lifted on one side, a half-smile. “But maybe we should start at the beginning now.”

  I knew Jace’s pride would make it hard for him to move right in, but I’d had to suggest it. “Then stay tonight. Or a couple weeks. However long it takes to find an apartment next door to my house.”

  “There are no apartments next door to your house,” he laughed.

  “Fine, down the street.”

  “Juliet, I cou
ldn’t afford an apartment in Bel Air even if there were any near you.”

  I pushed my lips into a fake pout. “I hate the thought of you far away. I’ve gotten spoiled.”

  He smiled at me, his eyes dancing. “You’re the farthest thing from spoiled,” he said. “I expected you to be, you know. When I first came to work for you.”

  “You did?” I didn’t like that, but it didn’t shock me.

  “Of course. But you’re real and practical and good.”

  “So you’ll move in?” I tried, still imagining what a pleasure it would be to wake up every day with Jace, in his arms.

  “So I’ll find something close,” he said, taking my hand and pressing it to his lips. “And it will probably take at least a week.”

  * * *

  Elvis was so excited to see us that he leapt up in the air a few times, spinning in a silly pug circle or two, and then immediately snorted loudly and collapsed in a wrinkly snoring little pug pile.

  “It’s so good to see you both,” Renee said, welcoming us warmly. “I made shrimp creole, I hope that sounds okay.”

  “That sounds great, Mom,” Jace said, pulling her in tightly.

  “Did you have a good weekend?” she asked us, seating us at the little round dining table in front of the bay window looking out on the yard, filled with flowers.

  I exchanged a warm look with Jace. “We did,” we both said.

  “And you figured out whatever complications were …” she gestured between us.

  “What do you mean?” Jace asked, surprising me. Renee’s easy acceptance of us together had made me believe Jace had told her what had gone on with us, even before we’d gone to Maryland.

  “Juliet might be a famous actress, but everything you feel is written on your face,” she told Jace. “Always has been. I could see you were in love with Juliet the first time you told me you were working for her.”

  A trickle of surprise immediately turned to warm pleasure inside me, making me smile.

  “No you couldn’t,” Jace said.

  She gave him a serene smile, setting plates in front of each of us. “Okay,” she said simply.

  My heart felt like it was full of warm honey, and it was overflowing and dripping down all over everything, making my whole life seem sweet and good. I loved the idea that Jace had been in love with me when he’d first met me. I knew I’d always had a crush on him, and I’d tell him so. Later.

  Renee sat down with us and turned to me. “When Jace was little, he used to try to lie when he thought he was going to get in trouble—or if he was covering up for his brother, which he did a lot. But where Jarred could lie right to your face with no remorse, Jace’s bottom lip and his chin would start to quiver, and he could barely get through telling the fib before he was contradicting himself, admitting the truth and ducking his head in shame.”

  “Such a clear sense of right and wrong,” I agreed.

  He looked between us. “You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he said.

  I laughed. “It’s not. It’s a good thing. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

  I saw Renee’s smile grow at my use of the word “love.”

  “Mom,” Jace said as we were eating, “you’re not coughing. What did the doctor do?”

  Renee sighed and looked between us. “I owe you a debt of gratitude,” she said. “Both of you, for so many things. But for sending that doctor over, especially.” She shrugged and put her fork down. “It was an infection.”

  “Why does that surprise you?” I asked.

  Renee blew out a breath. “I actually thought I was dying. And I wanted to see Jarred straight again before Jace had to deal with that too. And I didn’t want him to worry about doctor’s bills if I was, and I knew he’d find some way to get me treatment if it was cancer or something … I just didn’t want to do that to him.”

  My admiration for this woman grew, knowing she understood her son so well, that she had an innate understanding of the way Jace’s mind worked—something I’d just figured out this weekend. And I thought only a mother would be that selfless, to decide she’d rather die than put her son into debt.

  “So you’re better?” I asked her.

  Renee nodded. “The doctor called in a prescription, and it only took a few days.”

  Jace’s shoulders visibly lowered, as if knowing his mom was better took a heavy weight off of them.

  We finished dinner, scooped up Elvis and all of his belongings, and after saying thank you, we were finally headed home.

  * * *

  Jack and Christian were already there, and assured us that the perimeter and house were secure. The additional guards would arrive the next day, and we all agreed they’d rotate on external shifts.

  Jace and I went inside, and settled Elvis, who pranced from room to room, checking to make sure each of his Elvis jumpsuit-themed dog beds was in its proper place.

  “All set?” I asked him, and he gave a little body shake to tell me yes.

  “What about you?” Jace asked, leaning on the railing at the foot of the stairs. “Are you all set? Everything good?”

  I walked toward him, happy for the quiet comfort of my own home, ecstatic to have Jace inside it—not as my bodyguard, but as my boyfriend. “Yes. I’m all set.”

  I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my cheek to his chest, gratified to feel his strong arms slide around me to pull me closer. “Good,” he purred.

  “I’m so happy, Jace,” I said, breathing in the scent of him, letting him fill my senses. “It feels like I’m finally getting my own happily ever after.”

  “We both are,” he told me. And then he scooped me over his shoulder and carried me upstairs to my bedroom, where he showed me exactly what happily ever after was.

  Epilogue

  Jace

  Juliet had been right—it was a little silly to get my own place, since I had spent most of the nights over the last six months at her house. That said, there was a good reason to have an apartment nearby—Jarred.

  Once he was released from rehab, he moved in with me, taking the second bedroom in the apartment I’d found equidistant between Mom and Juliet’s places. For the first two weeks he was back, I didn’t spend the night at Juliet’s, though she did come visit us at my place a couple times.

  The first time Juliet had come over, Jarred had answered the door. When she’d introduced herself and come inside to see me, Jarred had pulled me aside, beckoning me into his room.

  “Bro,” he said, rubbing a hand through his close-cropped hair. “Is that the actual Juliet Manchester? Like the movie star?”

  I hadn’t filled him in on quite everything right away, figuring he needed time to just adjust to being in the real world again. “Yeah. It is.”

  “Why is she here again?” He shook his head.

  “We’re dating,” I’d told him.

  He glanced out the bedroom door to where she sat on the couch in the living room. “Shit. I go into rehab for six weeks, and the next thing I know, the world’s upside down.”

  “Not upside down,” I’d assured him. “Just a little crazy.”

  “It’s always been crazy,” he said.

  “It has,” I had agreed, and I’d pulled him into the living room to meet Juliet properly. And from that night forward, Thursdays had become game night. Mom even came over sometimes to join us, and it became my favorite night of the week.

  Right around the time Jarred had begun working for an electrician Mom had met in Brentwood, Austin had called to tell me he thought he was ready to retire.

  “Already?” I asked, surprised. I’d expected it to be at least a year.

  “I’ve got a chance to take a round-the-world trip,” he said. “Can’t pass it up.”

  “Okay,” I told him. I was ready. I’d talked to his attorney and financial manager, and brought in a couple of my own. The paperwork was done, and the transfer was going to be easy.

  I told my mother and Jarred that day, but waited until tha
t night to tell Juliet.

  We’d decided to have dinner brought in, something we did pretty often, since Juliet had only become more famous on the heels of the piece Hollywood Reporter had run on her, describing her realization that she didn’t want to define herself through her relationships, that she was a confident and secure single woman. The piece had delved into Hollywood’s tendency to focus on starlets as two-dimensional, as caricatures of human beings, uninteresting unless they were either linked to a man or in the midst of some dramatic crisis.

  “I’m a fully-formed and intelligent human being on my own,” Juliet had been quoted as saying. “And I don’t really care if people acknowledge that—maybe it’s too much to expect in Hollywood. But what’s important is that I’ve realized it, and I’m not going to live my life for other people any more. I’m taking it back for myself, and for those I love.”

  The piece had been cited widely as a mantra for women everywhere to define themselves not by other people, but by their own actions and intentions. “Taking it back” had even become a hashtagged meme online for a while, and Juliet’s picture was everywhere.

  Juliet had been busy, studying a lot—not just scripts anymore, but she was working on her college degree, taking classes in literature and French. I was glad to have an evening where we were both away from the distractions, focused on one another.

  An enormous Christmas tree stood in the corner, surrounded by a low fence to keep Elvis from investigating anything too closely, and the twinkling light gleamed in Juliet’s eyes as she smiled at me.

  “This is nice,” Juliet said, reaching for the salad bowl as she sat across the blanket we’d spread on the floor in front of the glowing fireplace. Winter was setting in, and though Los Angeles really didn’t get cold, it was still cool enough in the evenings to warrant the fire.

  “It is,” I agreed. “And I have some news.”

  “What?” she cocked her head to the side, her fork paused partway to her pretty pink lips.