“Oh wow, I’ll tell my son you’ll be there. He’d probably show you all around, if you wanted. He has a great group of friends there, too. They love it.”
“That sounds wonderful, thank you. I can imagine they feel like they hit the jackpot getting stationed there.”
“Oh, absolutely. And since he wants nothing to do with the movie business, he’s happy to be far away from California. He’s the reason my husband and I moved to San Diego. He was stationed here when he first joined, so we moved down from LA and never looked back.”
I looked around the trendy restaurant and out to the city streets beyond the glass windows. “It’s a beautiful place to live. I can definitely see myself moving here from LA.”
Sandra wagged her brows. “To be closer to your boyfriend?”
“It would be nice not to be a helicopter ride away from him.”
“Be grateful you have access to the helicopter. Us regular folks have to drive on the I-5,” she teased, gesturing at me with her fork.
“Oh, I am, I am. It’s definitely a blessing.”
“So, tell me about the show. What’s the real deal?”
I took a deep breath. “I want to leave the show. My dad is my manager, and he and my agent, and even Chase, want me to keep doing it for their own reasons. But it’s been eight years, and I’m ready to move on. It’s not even about this super-special young doctor anymore. It’s just a normal medical drama.”
She tilted her head from side to side, considering my words as she chewed. “Well, yes and no. It’s still about that young savant, she’s just grown up now.”
“True.”
“There are other layers you need to think about here. This show has had epic success. I mean, phenomenal. It’s made a huge impact on how women are seen in the medical community, in my opinion. Well, not just mine—other smart people have said it, too.”
“You think so?”
She nodded emphatically. “Absolutely. Before Young, MD, most of the doctor shows on TV featured women as nurses and men as doctors. There were always cheesy relationships that conformed to all of the stereotypes that already plague the medical community.”
I’d known there was an equal number of female doctors on the show, but I hadn’t given much thought to the real-world implications about that. And the relationship arcs weren’t just male doctors with female nurses and the usual issues that come with dating a subordinate. If anything, even though they were both doctors, the on-screen relationship between mine and Chase’s characters had Dr. Young in the senior role.
“Paige, Young, MD inspired so many brilliant young women to go to med school and become doctors, or even surgeons, despite the odds being stacked against them. I think seeing that in the early years and then watching your fictional career continue not just as a young doctor but as a brilliant surgeon is very powerful.”
“Wow,” I said, digesting her words.
“What you need to do is find something connected to the show that will remind you of the bigger purpose you’re serving by starring in it,” she continued. “Find something that’s going to make it easier for you to get out of bed and do your job. You’re great at it, and the young girls in this country who watch you smash the glass ceiling deserve it.”
I blinked. No one had described the impact of the show to me like that before, and I really shouldn’t have been surprised that Sandra would. She was known for her thought-provoking, cerebral films that featured women in gender-norm-bending roles. Of course, she thought highly of Young, MD. I felt silly for minimizing it in my mind just because I was tired of it. Here I was thinking I was trapped under a glass ceiling in real life, unable to break out of this role and do something “more,” when all along I was doing something more with my character and the show itself.
“Sandra,” I said, “thank you for that. You’re so right.”
She shrugged. “The first hour’s free.”
I laughed at her joke and took another bite of my salad, then frowned. “Wait, are you convincing me to stay with the show instead of doing your film? Because I have to say, if you don’t choose me, I’ll accept it and head back to the show feeling less crappy about it now that we’ve had this talk. But I really did want to do your movie.”
“Oh, you’ve got the part. Don’t even sweat it.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yep. I knew within the first five minutes of this meeting that you were perfect for the role. I’m just trying to help you understand why you need to do both the movie and the show. You’re making an impact with this platform, Paige. Own it.”
I sighed. “I don’t think they’ll let me do both. If I sign on for another season, I’ll be agreeing to only do the show. Something about scheduling. It’s all outlined in the contract.”
“Have them draw you up a new contract that includes your right to work on other projects. Have you ever fought them on the contract?”
“Rich, my dad and manager, always said he tried but they wouldn’t bite.”
Sandra smirked. “Oh, please. Honey, I didn’t get where I am now by letting men do the talking for me. I’m not saying your dad isn’t a good manager, I don’t even know the guy. But sometimes if you want something done right, you need to do it yourself.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” Noah said, taking my hand and leading me down the beach.
“Me too,” I replied.
I took a deep breath of the salty air, grateful for the chance to spend time with him, even if it was only for a couple of hours. He had to work in the morning, and I had to head back to LA tonight so I could work on my plan for my new contract.
“Sandra sounds really cool, I’m sure you’re going to have a blast working with her. Not that I know anything about how closely actors and directors work together, but she seems like a down-to-earth person to take direction from.”
“Yes, definitely. After that conversation today, I’m sure I’ll respond well to her direction.”
He squeezed my hand and pulled me close, surprising me enough to make me almost fall in the sand. He caught me, bringing my lips to his in one smooth move. If he weren’t completely supporting my body at that moment, it definitely would have made my knees weak.
We stayed like that for a moment or two, our mouths moving in a slow and luxurious rhythm, matching the ocean at our feet. It was amazing to me how all of the years we’d spent apart absolutely faded away whenever I was in his arms like this. I might as well be eighteen again, especially considering the fact that I felt like a giddy schoolgirl whenever he was around.
“Congrats again on getting the movie,” he said against my lips. “I’m really happy for you.”
“Thank you for your help,” I replied.
He turned and took my hand again, leading me down the beach. “So, when she said you need to find something to do to remind you of the show’s bigger purpose, what do you think she meant by that?”
I blew out a breath. “I’m really not sure. I loved what she said about the young girls who were inspired to go to med school because of the show. We used to get letters all the time from parents of girls who wanted to be a doctor like Dr. Young someday. We might still get them, but they haven’t shown me any of them in a long time.”
“That’s really cool. I wonder if there’s some kind of outreach program you could start. You know, to help those who can’t afford to go to college? Med school is like a hundred grand or something isn’t?”
I nodded. “I think so, yeah. I bet there are a lot of girls out there who want to go but don’t have the money.”
“That was the first thing I thought of,” Noah said, shrugging. “I know I wouldn’t have been able to afford college if it weren’t for all of those scholarships I was offered, let alone med school. And student loans are a beast that not everyone is able to take on.”
The wheels turned in my head so fast I could barely keep up with them. Ideas about scholarships, school assemblies, awareness campaigns, and fundraising galas filled my b
rain.
“Noah,” I squealed, wrapping my arms around him and giving him a huge kiss right on the cheek. “Thank you so much, that is such a good idea.”
“Sure, anytime.” He let out an exaggerated gasp like he’d just had the best idea ever. “Hey, you can call it something like Young Minds. Get it? Young, MD?”
I laughed. “I get it. And I love it.”
“I love you,” he said, so easily that the words practically fell from his lips.
“I love you, too.”
16
Noah
Paige’s assistant was a miracle worker in disguise. Not only was she successful at booking our Friendsgiving event at one of Hawaii’s most exclusive resorts for twenty people, but it was only with about a week’s notice. She also arranged for a BBJ, or Boeing Business Jet, to pick up our East Coast friends first, then swing down to Texas for the Murphys, then pick up the rest of us in San Diego like it was no big deal.
The BBJ had room for more than forty passengers, so there was plenty of space to spread out. We had a few kids in the group, so that was good for them to play and nap without being disturbed by the rest of us. Instead of rows of seating, there were living rooms—complete with tables, couches, and TVs—and two bedrooms with queen-size beds.
Most of us hung out in the main living room in the middle because it had the most room to socialize. I felt like I was in a private lounge rather than on a plane. The plush seating areas didn’t seem like they belonged inside of a moving object in the sky. There were snack baskets on every table, and a server took care of us for drinks now and would serve dinner when the time came.
The bedrooms were perfect for the tired kids, and I could tell the moms were grateful. I didn’t have much experience with kids, but it was visible in their eyes when Paige showed them the private rooms where they could feed them or rest with them.
At eight years old, Finn O’Malley was the oldest and freaked out when he saw that there was a Nintendo hooked up in the game room. That was a good spot for some of us to spend time trying to beat him—and each other—at Mario Kart. Overall, the long flight to Hawaii went by in a blur, and after spending those hours in the sky, doing the kind of stuff we’d be doing on the ground anyway, we arrived feeling pretty relaxed.
I’d been on a lot of planes with Marines, but that one was definitely the most fun. And it was all thanks to Paige, who blended right in with the rest of our crowd, wearing casual clothes and eating snacks as if she weren’t making like twenty-million dollars per year. Was this what life with her would be like?
She had wealth that was unimaginable to regular people like me. Something my parents salivated over like dogs, so the idea of it always made me edgy. But now that I was with Paige, I understood that it didn’t have to be bad just because it existed. It could be shared. It could be donated. It could be wielded to create futures for people who otherwise couldn’t afford them, like with the Young Minds Foundation. And the more in love with her I fell, the more she changed my perspective on the money thing.
Since our destination was so far away, we were grateful to have gotten an extra day of leave approved for travel. It’s not every day you get flown to Hawaii on a private jet with a celebrity for Thanksgiving, so our commands were pretty cool about not standing in our way.
We departed San Diego on Wednesday, had Friendsgiving planned for Thursday, beach day on Friday, the O’Malley wedding on Saturday, and would travel home on Sunday. All of this had to be explicitly detailed on our leave paperwork, and I couldn’t wait for what would probably be one of the best weekends of my life.
Paige’s director had passed along her son’s contact info since he was stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kailua. We’d reached out to let him know who we were and he invited us to hang out with him and his friends at one of the base’s four beaches on Friday.
I honestly hadn’t expected Paige to want to do that, considering she had the money to do whatever she wanted while we were there. But when I told her how beautiful the base was and explained the history of the place, she seemed genuinely excited about exploring my world for a change.
The base sat on a peninsula between Kaneohe Bay and Kailua Bay, making it probably the most beautiful base in the entire Marine Corps. I’d been there a couple of times throughout my career while we were passing through on deployment, but I’d never been stationed there. Hopefully someday. And if so, I wondered if Paige would be able to come with me. Could our relationship survive being separated by an ocean if the military moved me there?
I cast a glance her way as we sat in the large SUV on the way from the airport to the Turtle Bay Resort. She looked relaxed and happy, chatting with Rachel about her show. She didn’t have her chatting-with-fans face on (which I could spot from a mile away) and I was grateful for it. Because you could definitely tell most of the women in our group were fans. They did their best not to overwhelm her with questions, though.
It took six SUVs to get our whole group to Turtle Bay, including one for Paige’s ever-present security team and one for Molly and the luggage. I wasn’t in the other SUVs, so I had no idea what my friends’ reactions were when we pulled into the resort, but I was pretty blown away. Would that feeling ever go away? Was she still amazed by the beauty of the places she got to go or was it all kind of old hat to her now?
The SUVs pulled up to the hotel’s entrance and we all piled out. Paige told me the resort had been used as a backdrop for a hundred-plus movies and television shows, making it a natural choice for our trip because they were no stranger to accommodating those who wanted some space and privacy.
Molly booked us into two sets of beach cottages—the exact setting of one of my favorite movies, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Each set had six cottages clustered together with their back patios offering us easy access to each other’s rooms and a large grassy area with hammocks and tables to hang out in.
Everyone chose a cottage for either themselves or their family unit, and it was cool that we were able to spread out based on our needs but still be together in our own private section of the resort. The beach was only steps away, and I had to admit, the Kailua Marines might prefer it if we’d invited them up here for the day on Friday instead of the other way around.
We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the toddlers run around in the grass and sand, and Molly had them set up a small buffet of local Hawaiian foods in the grassy area for our dinner, then we all decided to crash early thanks to the time difference.
“Everyone’s pretty much settled in their rooms,” I said as I joined Paige on the beach.
She grinned at me, the sunset over the water giving her skin—and everything else around us—a warm, pink glow. The scenery at the resort was magical, don’t get me wrong. Something out of a movie, or many movies, as it were. But as I stood within arm’s reach of the woman who’d been only a pipe dream for years, I couldn’t help but feel like I was the one in the movie now. This wasn’t reality. This couldn’t be my actual life. I was probably about to wake up and find myself back in early November, before she’d reached out to me about the ball invitation.
“So,” Paige said, bumping me with her shoulder as we stood at the water’s edge, “how was your day?”
I shrugged. “Kinda boring. Nothing exciting.”
“Same,” she said, chuckling.
“No, but really, thank you. I know everyone has said it a million times, but it’s really cool of you to host us all like this.”
“You’re welcome. I love your friends so much. It’s my pleasure to share a piece of the fun with you guys. I know how you feel about wealth after what happened with your parents, but I hope you’ve been able to see that I’m … well … normal. Yes, this is how I vacation. I’m kind of known for going a little overboard on the travel plans. But I’m still the girl with a love of Hot Cheetos. If I have a wet wipe.”
I held up my hand, quoting the tagline from a celebrity gossip magazine, “Stars—They’re Just Like Us.”
“Stop it,” she teased, swatting me lightly on the chest. “I’m serious.”
I caught her hand in mine, bringing her close. The ocean air swirled around us, making her hair and flowery dress blow around her. I brought my other hand up to smooth her curls from her face and left my hand on her cheek. She was gorgeous. I had no idea how much I’d missed her until I’d finally been able to hold her like this.
“I know you’re not like my parents, PW. I’ve seen you do some really cool stuff over the years for less-fortunate people. I know you’re not gross with all this money, though you are making a pretty disgusting amount of it, if I’m being totally honest.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Yes, I try to do some good with it. I’d love to show you that kind of stuff. And maybe you can even help me get this new foundation off the ground since it was your idea.”
“I’d love that.”
I felt comfortable teasing her because I actually already knew she did a lot for charity, especially around Christmas. She was big into the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t swell up with pride anytime a headline caught my eye about her making some kid’s dream come true over the years. We hadn’t talked at all during that time, but I was still able to see glimpses of my Paige in the work of the superstar.
“Hey, you know what I just realized?” she asked.
“What?”
“You’ve been able to keep up with me over the last eight years, but I don’t know very much about what you’ve been up to.”
I snorted. “You make me sound like a stalker.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, laughing. “I didn’t mean it like that—unless you have a Google Alert on me so you’re notified about my headlines. Do you?”
I narrowed my eyes at her as if she were on to something, then I laughed and shook my head. “No, I’m kidding. I haven’t kept that close of an eye. I will admit to clicking on headlines with your name on it. Maybe browsing the occasional magazine in the checkout aisle if you’re on the cover. And of course, watching the show.”
Adored by You: A Sweet, Celebrity, Military Romance (San Diego Marines Book 7) Page 12
