by Claire Raye
She scans the room, her eyes wide as she takes it all in. “Holy shit,” she mutters and I’m not sure if she realizes she’s said it out loud until the crowd chuckles. She blinks once before her gaze settles on me.
I give her a thumbs up, a tiny nod of encouragement and then she starts to speak.
“Thank you,” she starts, her voice shaking a little. “I’d, um…I’d always thought of myself as just a writer in all of this. Someone who created the words, told the story, but stayed out of the limelight, hidden in the background.” She pauses, her eyes moving over the crowd again. “But then someone took a chance on me, believed that I could do more in all of this. And for that,” she stops, takes a deep breath. “I want to say thank you. Thank you for believing I could do this, even when it wasn’t smooth sailing and outside forces were trying to stand in my way.”
I glance around, see everyone’s eyes fixed on Sadie as she stands up on the stage, her hands clasping the gold statue tightly.
Everyone knows what she’s talking about.
“I also want to thank the amazing cast and crew of this film. I couldn’t have done this without any of you. You made my first lead director job such a memorable and amazing experience. Clapboard Films, thank you for trusting me with this and so much more,” she continues, holding the statue out to Ethan who sits a few seats down from me.
“And you,” she says, turning back to me now.
I smile up at her, my arm propped on the arm rest of my seat, chin resting in my hand.
“Thank you for teaching me to fight,” she starts, a smile tugging at her lip. “For teaching me it’s okay to feel like shit sometimes but it’s not okay to blame myself for things that are out of my control.” She stops again, taking another deep breath, her eyes never leaving mine. “But most of all, thank you for supporting me, for encouraging me, and for showing me there is good in the world. Thank you for loving me.”
She stops now, taking a step back from the microphone as the crowd breaks into applause. Our eyes stay locked though, neither of us looking away from each other. My heart pounds in my chest at her words, at everything she said up on that stage in front of everyone. At how much all of this means to her and how much she deserves it after everything she’s had to fight through to get here.
Elizabeth walks over to Sadie’s side and she slips an arm around Sadie’s shoulders, leaning in to say something to her. Sadie nods once, but before she turns away, she mouths I love you at me, and then turns to walk off the stage.
It’s a while before she comes back to her seat, as she faces the media room backstage and a barrage of questions that I really hope are not about Noel or what this means given how many he’s previously won.
When she finally returns, I stand, pulling her to me again. “I’m so proud of you,” I whisper in her ear. “So fucking proud of you.”
Sadie pulls back, her smile wide as she looks up at me. “I definitely pictured you naked when I was up there,” she jokes, making me laugh.
“Good, it’s a nice little teaser of what’s to come when we get home,” I say with a wink as I guide her back to her seat.
“Thank you, Paul,” she whispers as the next presenter walks on stage.
“Huh?” I say, turning to her.
She stares up at me, her eyes filled with happiness. “Thank you,” she repeats. “For everything, but especially for this,” she adds, gesturing to me with her statue.
I put an arm around her shoulder and pull her close. “Pretty sure I won big with that too,” I say, smiling.
The rest of the show passes quickly, only a few more awards presented before the night is over. Afterwards, it’s a mass of stars and their entourage as they all make their way to the after parties, where the real fun apparently happens.
I’ve never been to one of these before, hell I’ve never been to an awards show either, but it’s been a lot more fun than I expected.
The company that owns Clapboard Films and Circa is throwing a huge party at the home of their CEO and that’s where we end up. As we walk in, I hear Ava call out to us and we walk over to where she and Lewis are standing with Julia and Aiden, both of whom now have statues after Julia also picked up a Best Actress award for her work on Aiden’s film.
“Wow, I forgot how big and heavy these things were,” Ava says, holding Julia’s statue in her hand.
Chuckling, Lewis wraps an arm around her shoulder and pulls her close as he says, “Baby, don’t you worry, I’ve got something big and heavy you can hold anytime you want.”
All of us burst out laughing as Ava blushes, Lewis pressing a kiss to her temple.
“So, New York next?” Julia asks, turning to Sadie.
“Yep,” she says, brows raised as if to say, can you believe it. Her documentary with Roger, the one Julia is also a part of, has been slated to screen at the Tribeca film festival in a couple of months.
Sadie is nervous as hell about it, not just because she’s played a huge role in putting it all together, but because of the stories it tells, hers included. The whole thing has been surrounded by news, particularly with the investigation into Noel still going on and now other names being added to the list.
Roger’s continuing to work on telling the story, but their documentary, Dirty Hollywood, is about to be released to the world. I know she’s scared of the blow back, but she’s also relieved I think, that the story is finally out there. That people are starting to understand all the shit she had to endure over the ten years she was married to him.
“It’s going to do great,” Julia says, smiling as she squeezes Sadie’s arm. “And we’ll all be there to support you,” she adds.
It’s well after two in the morning by the time we roll into the waiting car, both of us now a little drunk after many celebratory champagnes.
“You wanna hit up anymore parties?” I ask.
“Nope,” Sadie says, sliding along the back seat so she’s resting against me. “Let’s go home.”
I wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close as I press a kiss to the top of her head. In her lap is her statue, the plaque at the bottom only engraved with the words BEST DIRECTOR so far.
“We’ll have to get that fixed,” I say, gesturing toward it.
Sadie tilts her head, looking up at me. “Yeah,” she says, smiling. “We will.”
“What?” I ask, smiling as she continues to look up at me.
“This was the start of it,” she adds, turning back, her fingers brushing over the plaque again, almost in awe.
“Yeah?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she repeats, turning back to me. “Everything good began with this movie,” she whispers, leaning up to kiss me. “And it’s only going to get better.”
“It is,” I whisper, as I kiss her again, knowing I feel the exact same way.
Hey Readers!
Did you love Sadie and Paul’s story? We really hope so! If you did, please consider recommending it to your family or friends. We also really appreciate reviews, so please consider leaving one. Thank you so much for downloading and reading our book!
Recommend Here
About the Author
Not only is Claire Raye a really sweet pen name, it’s actually a pen name for two sarcastic best friends who met through their mutual love of reading. After bonding over books (and wine and cheese), they decided to take the plunge and see if they could write a book together and ta dah... The Rockport Beach Series was born! In addition to their shared love of food and dropping an occasional (read, a lot of) f bombs, the writing duo that is Claire Raye like to write about strong, sassy females who aren’t afraid to say what’s on their mind and the overprotective men who fall in love with them. While Claire Raye’s resting bitch face might be strong, she always makes sure her alpha males are stronger!
Both halves of Claire Raye are married and both of their husbands have a cheeky side that gets plenty of airtime in their books. From their smart mouths to their witty one-liners, there’s plenty of material to
use for all those alpha males they love to write about.
Plans are already underway for the next series, which is sure to feature plenty of sass, steam and humor, and of course, a happily ever after! If that’s your thing, then a Claire Raye book is for you!
Connect with Us
http://www.claireraye.com
Subscribe to our newsletter
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Books by Claire Raye
The Rockport Beach Series
Coming Home to You: Book One
Finding Home with You: Book Two
Making Home with You: Book Three
Rockport Beach: The Complete Series
The Love and Wine Series
Always Yours: A Companion Novella
Finally Yours: Book One
The Dirty Hollywood Series
Beautiful Secret: Book One
Beautiful Trouble: Book Two
Acknowledgements
First, as always, a huge thank you to all of our readers, to all of you who buy our books and leave us a review. Your support means the world to us and we couldn’t do this without you.
Thanks also to our beta readers and editor who are always happy to read any draft we throw at them and provide us with invaluable feedback.
And of course, a big thank you to our husbands, for their many smart ass/arse comments and sayings that often end up in these books. We do love them (and you), so keep them coming!
Writing the Dirty Hollywood series was another change of genre for us, which all started when we both read a book about a very famous Hollywood producer who did some very bad things. While that story certainly inspired this series, we wanted the focus of our books to be on the survivors, the ones who took a stand and said enough was enough. These people are the true stars. And while this might be the end of the road for the Dirty Hollywood crew, we always say it’s the end…for now, because you never know what might happened.
So stay tuned, because there’s plenty more to come!
Table of Contents
Hey Reader!
About the Author
Books by Claire Raye
