He kisses the top of my head and breathes me in. I grasp his arms as questions burn in my mind. There are things I need to know. “Can I ask you something?”
He steps back to see my face. “Oh boy, your nose is twitching. Maybe we should sit down.” He leads me to some chairs and he drops his backpack on the floor. “Ask away.”
“Why didn’t you get on the plane?”
“Chloe called me. She said there was a chance you might be coming to try to stop me.”
“And you waited?”
“I watched the last person boarding. They asked me if I was coming and I couldn’t do it. Knowing you wanted to talk to me was enough reason for me to stay. I would’ve stayed here even if you didn’t show. Just on the off chance you might call.”
My heart aches. “You seemed so angry and cold. I didn’t think I was going to get through to you.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t exactly sure why you wanted to see me. I was afraid it was only about the film.”
“Why did you turn it down?” I ask, touching his arm.
“That news traveled fast. The only reason I ever considered it was because of you. Without you in my life, I could never even pretend to be Penn. It would hurt too much.”
I pick the lint off my shirt and flick it to the floor. “You scared me when I found out you lied. I was worried it was the beginning of the end. The start of a long string of deception.”
“I was wrong. I promise you I’ll never lie to you again. Ever.”
I gaze up at him through the tops of my eyelashes. “Even if I ask you if my butt looks fat?”
He smirks. “Even then.”
I sigh and yawn.
“You look exhausted.”
“I haven’t slept much.”
“Me neither.”
“I don’t even remember where I parked my car.” I laugh and scratch my head.
“That’s pretty bad. I think you win. I see you didn’t pack much.”
“I didn’t pack anything.”
“What would you have done if I was on that flight?”
“I would have taken the next one.”
“Whoa, that’s some serious stalking. Should I be concerned?”
I crawl over my seat and onto his lap. “Yes. I’m your fan now. I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You already said that,” he replies, brushing my hair out of my eyes.
“You didn’t seem like you believed me. You called me Macy.” I grip my heart.
“You told me to call you that.”
“I didn’t mean it.”
“I know.”
“Are you still going to Cleveland?”
“My mom is expecting me, but I don’t think I could leave you tonight if I tried. Do you know anyone who might be willing to give me a ride and a place to stay for the night?”
I slowly raise my hand. “Assuming we can find my car.”
“If we found each other through this mess, your car should be a piece of cake.”
He leans forward and places his forehead against mine. He closes his eyes and releases a deep breath. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Did I actually wake up before him? I softly kiss his chest as I lift up on my forearms to see his face. He’s sleeping peacefully, and I can’t help but stare. I roll over and look at the clock. It’s almost nine.
“Shit!” I jump out of bed and run to the bathroom naked. I’m supposed to meet Fabian at ten and it’s a forty-minute drive. I’m never late! Never!
I run back and forth between the bathroom and the closet, pulling on a new pair of underwear, putting toothpaste on my brush, stuffing it in my mouth, and clasping my bra.
I glance at the bed as I rush past and Fisher is up on his elbows watching me. He has a ridiculous smile on his face.
“It’s not funny! I’m late!”
“I wasn’t laughing. I was admiring.”
I spit my toothpaste in the sink and rush into the closet. Yoga pants for a movie meeting? No. Fuck! What do I wear? I grab a pair of dress pants and sit on the edge of the bed, praying I can zip them. They slide on perfectly. I guess being too sad to eat has its perks.
“Your tits look amazing when you run.”
I roll my eyes at him but silently cheer that anything looks good on me naked.
Heading back into the closet, I grab a blouse and rush back to the bathroom. Where’s my dry shampoo? God bless the person who invented it.
Fisher leans on the bathroom door completely naked and crosses his arms. I stare at his reflection in the mirror and bite my lip.
“Don’t rush. You’ll be fine.”
“You don’t understand. I was supposed to look through videos and pictures last night to find a new Penn and I completely forgot. Fabian wants to tell his boss we found a replacement for—” I stop and turn to face him.
“What?”
I drop my hairbrush in the sink and take his hands.
“What’s going on?”
“How much do you love me?”
He grins. “I thought we covered that last night. Do you want me to show you again?”
“Would you do me a really big favor?” I pull his hands against my breasts.
He glances down. “Absolutely.”
“Be Penn.”
“No.”
“Fisher, please!”
“Greer, we discussed this the last time you brought it up. From the day I read that first page that job meant nothing to me. I’m not going to risk losing you again.”
“You won’t. Please?”
“I love you and I’d do anything for you. But I won’t do that.”
I try to avoid singing Meatloaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” but it’s no use. It’s in my head now. “Fabian was so angry with me. They loved you. They wanted you so bad their mouths were salivating. Fabian hasn’t told the director yet because I was supposed to find Penn last night. I did find him. At the airport.”
He rubs his face with his hands and walks back into the bedroom, bending over to get his boxers.
“Do you have another job lined up?”
He pulls them on and sits on the bed. “Not yet.”
I get down on my knees in front of him.
“Greer, stand up. Don’t do that.”
“Patrick Fisher, I made a huge mistake. I assumed all men were alike and I was wrong. You’re not like other men. The truth is you’re better than any man I could have ever written. All other book boyfriends I try to write and all book boyfriends I try to read will forever fail to compare to what I get to kiss at the end of the night.”
He huffs out my name. “Greer . . .”
“I always thought this was a fantasy: the butterflies, the phone sex, the dates that end with sweet kisses, and the guy who always seems to say exactly what I want to hear, until I met you.”
“Greer!”
“Shh. Let me finish. You stepped out of a book and showed me reality was better than fiction. You’re the real deal, Fisher. And there’s no other man in the world who could be Penn. There’s no other man like him because he’s based off of you. I used to say he was you, but that’s not true. He has nothing on you, you’re way better.”
“Can I say something?”
“No. Wait. You would slay this part. You’d be amazing. Hell, I’ll even tell the world I wrote the book off of one night with you. Then I’ll spend the rest of my life beating off women with a stick. Just please think about it. Don’t say no.”
“Are you finished?” he asks.
“Yes.” I lower my head, defeated.
“I tried to say yes the minute you got on your knees, but you wouldn’t let me. Don’t ever get on your knees in front of me again unless we’re being intimate. You should never, ever have to beg me to give you anything. Everything I have is yours, including my heart.”
“Really?” I jump up and tackle him on the bed. “You’ll do it?”
“If it’s what
you want and you’re sure it will never come between us.”
“It’s what I want.” I kiss his face repeatedly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
He laughs as he spins me around so I’m underneath him. “Just promise me that if anything is bothering you, you’ll tell me. And there will never be any need to beat anyone with a stick. I only want you.”
I lift my head and kiss his lips. I try to deepen the kiss, but he breaks it. “I guess I’d better get dressed. Looks like I’m coming with you.”
I gaze into his eyes and see my love for him reflected back at me. “You’re definitely coming, but I think I’m okay with being a little late after all.”
He presses his lips to mine and all is right with the world. Maybe the law of attraction is true after all. I wrote an amazing man and the world one upped me. I can live with that.
Time doesn’t heal all wounds. But Patrick Fisher is the best Band-Aid I could have ever hoped for.
Book boyfriends are fun, but real men are even better.
The End
One year later
Fisher
“Babe, are you almost ready?” I glance at my phone. We walk the red carpet in a little over an hour. Luna and Fabian want us there early for pictures.
“Give me a minute. You’re lucky. You have no idea how hard it is to do hair and makeup.”
“Oh I don’t know about that. I’ve sat in many a chair being made camera worthy. But you don’t need any of that. You look your hottest first thing in the morning if you ask me.”
“Yeah, well. I think you’re biased. I don’t need pictures plastered all over the globe of People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive and his frumpy, just rolled out of bed girlfriend.”
“I’m sorry, but who almost punched a reporter for commenting on your tight ass just last week?”
“You.” She rounds the corner and my heart almost beats out of my chest, I grab ahold of it to keep it inside. “Holy fuck, Greer. You’re a vision.”
She twirls around in a floor-length red dress that makes her sexy skin radiate even more. “Goddamn.”
“You’re too good to me. And that suit?” She fans herself. “I’m going to peel that off of you with my teeth tonight.”
“I’m going to hold you to that. But right now, we need to go.”
Marcus is waiting for us outside the door of the penthouse suite where we’re staying in L.A. I nod to him as we exit, and he holds the elevator door.
When we first asked him to help us out during filming, he gave me major attitude. But now that we’ve spent some time together, I think he knows I’d do anything for Greer and he respects that.
Filming went off smoothly and the production house worked their asses off to get the premiere timed for the release of the final installment of Greer’s trilogy. It was originally supposed to be just one movie, but when the second book was an even bigger hit than the first, they signed us up for all three. Her final book comes out next week and she won’t be able to stop me from reading it when it’s finally on the shelves.
She said she wanted me to be surprised and that it had to be perfect. She should know by now that I think she walks on water. I’d read her chicken scratch on a napkin and love it. She’s the most talented woman I’ve ever known.
When we get to the lobby, we’re joined by additional security. Marcus ushers us off to a room for pictures. Luna and Fabian are inside.
“Excited?” Fabian asks as he shakes my hand.
“Nervous.”
“You have no reason to be. Early reviews are coming in and they’re off the charts.”
“What’s a woman gotta do to get a little attention around here?”
I turn in time to see Chloe make her grand entrance. She rushes over to Greer and hugs her before me. I’m okay that they talk more than we do now. It’s important to me that my two best girls get along.
“I’m not one to usually go for blondes, or women for that matter, but there’s something about her. Wow. Will you introduce me?” Fabian asks.
“Absolutely. Chloe, this is Fabian.”
“Well, hello there, handsome. Come here often?”
“I’d come here all the time if you were here.”
Chloe laughs and winks at me as Fabian ushers her toward the bar.
“Hey.” I feel a nudge and know who it is without looking.
“Hey yourself, moon girl.”
Luna leans her head on my shoulder as we watch Greer get her picture taken. “I feel like my baby is all grown up.”
I smile. “You did an amazing job with her.”
“Right? I’d make a great mom. I just need a sperm donor.”
“Did I ever say thank you to you for speaking to her on my behalf?”
“Only like twenty times. But just so you know I’m still watching you. I always will be.”
“I’m counting on it.”
I feel another head on my opposite shoulder and it’s oddly familiar. “Oh, Patty, you’re such a manly man. Can I get your autograph?”
I shake my head and push my younger brother with my hand. “Hey, asshole. Who invited you?”
“Your hot girlfriend. By the way, does she have a sister?”
Luna clears her throat. “Hi, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Luna, Greer’s twin.”
I watch as he takes her hand and kisses her knuckles. “I’m Paul, hotter brother of the sexiest dickhead alive. Can I buy you a drink?”
“Drinks are free,” she replies.
“In that case, I’ll buy you two.”
I roll my eyes as they walk off to the bar. Fabian rushes over to me. “Hey, just in case you forgot, after this movie tour is over you have two weeks until filming starts again.”
“I’m going to need that time. I have a book to bring to life.”
“What? Does Macy know what you’re up to?”
I grin and shake my head. “What fun would that be?”
“I swear you two could have a movie based on your movie. Did you read the third one yet?”
“No, she won’t let me.”
“Hold on.” I watch as Fabian scrolls through his phone. “I just sent you the pre-release I got. But if she asks, you didn’t get it from me.”
I nod and pat him on the shoulder. I open my email and there it is. The sequel to Book Fiancé is Book Husband. I’m relieved to know she keeps me around. I skim the first few chapters and stop when I get to the wedding.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Greer yells. “Come get your picture taken with me.”
I stroll over to her and kiss her on the cheek. She looks at me with so much love and adoration that I feel the need to thank my lucky stars once again.
I lean over and whisper in her ear as the cameras flash. “So now do you believe in fate?”
She smiles. “Yes, I do. I also believe in tacos. Can we get dinner after this?”
I smile. “Two steak and one chicken.”
“And guacamole.”
“Only if you wear a tomato in your hair.”
“Why not! It matches my dress.”
“Fisher, over here, please.”
We turn and realign our bodies in the direction of the loudest photographer.
“What were you and Fabian talking about?” she mumbles through a smile.
“Oh nothing.”
“Hmm. I don’t believe you.”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
As the camera flashes again, I wrap my arm around her and smile to myself. She wrote an amazing sequel and I plan on making every one of her dreams come true. If a proposal and husband is what she wants, a proposal and husband is what she gets.
Penn Fitzgerald will strike again.
Acknowledgements
There are so many people I need to thank. I hope I remember everyone. Let me start off by saying thank you to all my friends and family who have supported me on my never-ending journey.
To my father, Dave. Dad, I don’t know if you know what’s been going on with me all thes
e years or not. I like to think you’re watching over me and the boys and that you know what’s in my heart. Thank you for teaching me to dream and to want more. I will always be a Chiletz through and through and I hope our family name continues on through my books long after I’m gone. I love and miss you daddy.
To my mom, Diane. I miss you every single day. Thank you for showing me how to be strong and how to continue on when things are at their worst. There are still days I reach for the phone and wish I could hear your voice one more time. I love you.
To my boys, Tyler and Ryan. This has been a rough year for us, but I want you to know how proud I am of you for staying brave and strong when things get tough. I couldn’t have gotten through this without you. You will always be my true loves. You are my heart and soul.
To Kim Hurschik. I don’t even know what more I can say that you don’t already know. You’re my person. Thank you for listening and always encouraging me. Your faith in me and my potential has seen me through more days than I can count. I’ll love you forever, sister.
To Dorrie Cortesi. Thank you for helping me try new things and for getting me better than most. I’m blessed to have you in my life and I will always be there for you no matter what. We’ve got this. Love you, girl.
To Cheri Rubocki. Even though you hated me for being a goody two shoes growing up (LOL—for a little while anyway) you are still one of my dearest and oldest friends. Thank you for listening without judgement, for laughing at my stupid jokes, and for always making me feel that I’m not as crazy as I think I am. You have been an amazing support to me this last year and I want you to know how much I admire and love you.
To Brenna Leigh. How can I put this into words? I know I’ve told you all this before, but I hope you truly know how much you mean to me. You are beautiful inside and out and I thank God that we found each other. Thank you for being the fastest reader/ proofreader in history and for always being willing to tell me the truth. Even though I gave you a hard time about it, it was exactly what I wanted and needed to hear. Thank you for being my friend. And Brenna is not like you in any way other than the fact that she has an amazing heart. I flove you.
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