He laughed, not his cocky, self-assured laugh, but like a little boy giggling in embarrassment. "Really?"
"Sean," I scolded. "You are the most amazing man, husband, lover, and father in the entire world. But on top of all that, your dedication and focus and desire to put your heart into a character are just—I'm just so proud of you." My voice shook like a tree in a hurricane, and the tears were rushing down my cheeks.
"How do you do that?" His voice was shaking almost as much as mine. "You just—you make it all mean more."
"Mr. Wilder," a polite voice said in the background. "You need to return to your seat."
"I love you, Morgan. Give Vivi a kiss for me, and I'll call you in a bit."
"We'll be waiting for you." As I turned off the screen on my phone, Vivi started moving around, making me a little uncomfortable. I put my hand to my belly and smiled. "You heard what I told your father—we're waiting for him. I meant it Vivi. You can come early if you want to, but you better not come before your daddy gets home, or we'll both be very upset with you."
Cerise laughed. "If she has your stubbornness or Sean's constant ability to be up for any challenge, you know saying that to her will only make her want out of there sooner."
She certainly had a point.
"I told you!" Anthony shouted as he came through the door from the basement.
"No, I told you," Nathan argued. "You owe me twenty bucks."
"Like hell, I—"
"Anthony," Cerise scolded and pointed at me. "No cussing in front of the baby."
He looked immediately apologetic although he knew I personally didn't care. Cerise was in protective aunt mode where the baby was concerned and refused to allow cussing, discussion of disturbing current events, or anything remotely mentioning danger to Sean's safety. I didn't pay attention to most of it, but the guys were all on board. It was humorous at least, to see the guilt on their faces when they said anything close to a curse word.
"What are you two arguing about anyway?" I asked curiously.
"I told Anthony Sean would give you his Oscar," Nathan explained as he picked Cerise up, sat down in her spot, and pulled her onto his lap. He was always holding her or carrying her. It was cute, and she obviously enjoyed the way he manhandled her or she wouldn't have agreed to marry him. I loved seeing her happy.
And speaking of happy, Annalisa smiled down at her cell phone before swiping her finger across the screen. The diamonds encircling her gold wedding band sparkled in the light. "Nathan, Stewie says he'll give you your twenty bucks when he gets back."
I turned to Nathan again. "Stewie was in on the bet too?"
He shook his head. "No. Stewie bet me Sean would lose it and cry on stage. He came close, but I knew he'd hold it together." He ran his fingers through Cerise's shiny blonde hair.
Sarcastically, I said, "I'm sure Sean is so happy that he was able to assist you both in this gambling obsession. I can't believe he doesn't make you stop this constant betting."
Nathan laughed loudly. "Who do you think started it?"
I shook my head, not believing it yet knowing Sean well enough to know it was exactly what he would do with his friends. "Well, he has plenty of money to be betting. He could place every bad bet you guys make and he'd still have more than enough money."
"True," Nathan replied absent-mindedly as he kissed Cerise sweetly. "Well except for the one where he put down all his money and everything he owns."
"What?" I fairly yelled. "What the hell would he put all his money on?"
Anthony walked over to stand behind the couch, leaning over to place his folded arms on the back. He looked down at me. "You."
"Me?" I didn't get it.
"He bet all of us that he'd never want another woman the way he wanted you for as long as he lived, and he put his entire fortune on it."
I laughed and put my hand on my belly where I could feel the hard bump of Vivi's head. That sounded like my Sean. "When was that?" I expected it was likely the day we got married or around Christmas when we talked about our future together.
"When you—"
"Anthony," Nathan warned and shook his head. "Tell her when Sean gets back."
Anthony looked at him with confusion all over his face. "But it's a good thing. Why—"
"Trust me," Nathan said, his eyes wide. "She doesn't react to things like a normal girl, and she's all crazy emotional right now." He smiled at me. "No offense, Morgan."
Cerise poked him in the chest. "Tell me, and I'll tell you how she'll react." When he whispered in her ear, she smiled sweetly then looked over at me and let the smile fade. She turned back to Nathan. "Wait until Sean gets home."
Nathan nodded and bounced his eyebrows up as if to say, "See?"
Sean called me an hour later when he was leaving the awards show. By then, it was after midnight, and I couldn't keep my eyes open. I remembered being on the couch, and the next thing I knew, Anthony was carrying me to bed and Cerise tucked me in, sitting next to me until I fell back asleep. They were so good at hovering over me when Sean wasn't there. We'd only been separate ten or fifteen times during my pregnancy, but the last month had been really bad in terms of my emotional state. I couldn't do anything without crying or feeling overwhelmingly needy emotionally. I pulled Sean's pillow to me and thought I'd never fall back asleep but was out almost instantly.
"Morgan," a strange voice called me away from my dream. "Morgan, I want to meet you since I belong to you. Morgan?"
Slowly, I opened my eyes and focused on the shiny gold statue being held in front of me.
Sean pulled it close to his ear and glared at it, speaking again in his normal voice. "Don't you get any ideas. She's mine." He looked back at me and rolled his eyes. "He says you're hot."
I yawned and looked at the clock next to the bed. It was a little after eight in the morning. I patted the statue on the head. "You're cute, and I'm proud my husband earned you, but you're not the man I need right now."
He smiled, put the Oscar on the nightstand, and pulled me into his arms as much as possible with my huge belly. "It's so good to have you in my arms, love. I've thought of little else since I left here yesterday morning."
It was so comforting being in his arms and knowing he'd be by my side when Vivi decided to make her appearance that I finally felt myself relax. "How was the red carpet?"
"Red. All the interviewers asked about you. You've made quite an impression on most of them that I think they wanted to talk to you more than me. Stewie says he'll never go anywhere with me ever again while you're at home pregnant. I think I made him just a little crazy. Mel says she has to tell you about the new guy she's dating. She thinks you'll approve of this one."
Mel and her jerk of a husband had separated for six months before divorcing. Still, it took her another six months to actually start dating again. Sean was obsessive about checking every guy out that she was remotely interested in, and I tried to reassure him that her instincts would be much sharper this time around. The only reason I hadn't approved of the last two guys she'd dated was that she was never super excited about them. She was settling for safety, and I wasn't going to let her pick an Alvin when I knew her Sean was out there.
Sean pulled back the sheets and lifted my nightgown, pressing he cheek to my belly. I patted the other side to show him where I could feel her head resting. "She doesn't beat the crap out of me as much when you're talking, you know that?"
His eyes sparkled at me, and he looked so happy. "I know how to calm down my girls." He kissed my belly. "You have to be gentle with Mommy. She's tougher than anyone I've ever met, but she's only got so much room to give you. One more week then Doctor Nash says you're in the safe zone, and you can come out and meet everyone. Just stay there for one more week, Vivi." He grabbed my hand and held it close to his cheek. "The boys have a bet going that she'll hold out for another month."
I rolled my eyes, but the mention of betting brought the conversation with Anthony and Nathan back to my mind. "When did you bet
your fortune against the idea that you'd never want anyone as much as me? Was it our wedding day?"
He was completely still, and the smile fell from his lips. He looked really sad, and I caressed his cheek, trying to comfort him and figure out why it made him so sad.
"Who told you about that?" he asked quietly.
"Anthony. He was going to tell me everything about it, but Nathan told him he should wait until you got back and Cerise agreed. Why? When did you make the bet?"
He moved back up to lay beside me, staring deeply into my eyes with so much love and emotion that it made me want to be as close to him as possible. "I was drunk, love."
I laughed. "I could have guessed that. What man in his right mind bets away hundreds of millions of dollars. You're just lucky it was your friends that—"
"No, Morgan. Uh—I—when I first said it, I was really drunk, which you know I never do. I don't like feeling out of control like that. But when Anthony reminded me of what I'd said the next day when I was sober, I—I don't know why. I had to prove it to them and to myself. They thought I'd get over you, and I had to—I had the lawyers draw it up in a contract as legal as they could make it."
"You did what?" I sat up on my elbows and stared down at him in shock. "Why would you—when did you do this?"
"When you left me in L.A.. I knew I couldn't be without you. I knew no one would ever shake me up as much as you do. I knew I'd miss you and want you and love you for the rest of my life. The bet sounds stupid, but you wouldn't answer my calls, and I just had to do something to make myself feel like—I don't know. I needed to reassure myself that I wouldn't go chasing after some dumb chick. It sounds stupid, but—"
I kissed him and cuddled back into him, pressing my lips to his neck as I breathed him in deeply. "You're crazy, but I'm glad you're crazy and stubborn and that you loved me enough not to give up. I can't imagine my life without you in it."
"I've won two Oscars and a bunch of other awards for acting—for being able to imagine myself in someone else's shoes—and when I try to think of what I'd be like without you, it's blank. I'd be nothing, sweetie." He reached for the Oscar again. "This is yours not just because you support me and help me relax and be normal enough to keep acting, but because every gut-wrenching moment in that movie where I was asked to be Brian Moss and be in love with that girl who was mentally incapable of loving him back—I imagined it was us. Critics say they felt the pain, that his emotions were so real, and that's because they were, Morgan. Everything I feel for you went into that film." He held up Oscar again. "And if this guy is any indication, everyone who watched it felt those emotions from me too. So he's here because of you. What will you do with your own Oscar?"
I laughed lightly. I still wasn't used to all the attention or the extravagant gifts or the fact that my name was on all of his checking and savings accounts, but I had completely adjusted to the intensity with which he loved me. "Well, I guess I can't be angry about the bet since you're never going to break it. As for this guy, I think I might make him some clothes. Poor guy is standing there naked."
He laughed, and it bounced me lightly against his chest. "I love the way you think, sweetheart."
"And I love you—all of you—Hollywood's Sean, your family's Sean, your friend's Sean, Vivi's Sean, and especially my Sean."
"I think I should write my own script." At my quizzical expression, he continued, "About an idiot of a man who thinks he has everything he needs in the spotlight, but has no idea that he's missing his other half, until one day when fate steps in and gives him a wrong number."
I smiled and pressed my lips to his. "I can see it now. Accidental Texting: Finding Love despite the Spotlight."
He pulled me closer to him, and we were both content to stay there together, wrapped in each other's arms for the eternity we vowed to on our wedding day—just two puzzle pieces meant to complete a large, intricate puzzle made up of our family, friends, and the perfect little puzzle piece growing in my belly. A lifelong masterpiece born of one stray text message.
Acknowledgments
I want to thank the following people for helping me get this book to where it is:
Tricia Homer, who helped decide what happened to Sean and Morgan.
Ted Montague, who fed me and didn't get mad when I gave Sean and Morgan more attention than I gave him.
Krystal Zitek, for always being willing to crack open another one of my stories and give me comments.
April Frank, for her amazing feedback, detailed reading, and assistance with my indecisiveness on cover and title.
Kaitlyn Catenacci, for the excellent job she did beta-reading this book and giving me a helpful critique.
About the Author
Kimberly Montague was born and raised in the Bay Area of California before moving to North Carolina with her husband where they now live with their three dogs and oversized cat. When she's not teaching, reading, gardening, spending time with her family, or antagonizing her pets in creative and loving ways, she can be found with some form of electronic device mounted on her fingers as she tries to keep up with the large conference of characters battling for individual dominance in her brain.
This is one of several adult romance novels Kimberly has published. Be sure to check out Racing Outside the Line: A Love Story at 190 mph and her adult paranormal romance titled Until the Morning Sun. She also has a young adult romantic suspense series which includes:
Altered: Setenid Blight Book One
Divided: Setenid Blight Book Two
Coming Soon Uncontained: Setenid Blight Book Three
And a stand-alone novel set in the same Setenid Blight universe, Manipulated: A Setenid Blight Novel.
Contact Kimberly Online:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kimbermontague
Website and blog: http://www.kimberlymontague.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorKimberlyMontague
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Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Mr. She Meant Nothing
Morgan… Not Michelle
Sean—No Last Name
Non-refundable Deposits
Sean the Stalker
Stewie
You Wanna See How this Plays or Walk?
The Friend Hat Slips
Getting in Deeper
Background Check
Thanks—giving?
Digging
Sean Freaking Wilder
My Sean<
br />
Why Me?
Sean Freaking Wilder's Bedroom
FDA Approved
More than Twenty Million?
Panic Button
Confessions
The Red Carpet
The After… Party?
Vultures
Brent
Home Sweet Home
Not your Typical Girl
I Should Have Known
Rebuilding
Trying to Figure You Out
You Deserve Better
Between You and Me
Who the Hell is this Chick?
I'll Always Choose You
Back to Work
Something to Talk About
Psycho
Christmas Dinner
Thing
Melding
Tomorrow?
Not Gonna Make This Easy
Personal Reminder
Puzzle Pieces
Fitting Together
Sealing the Vows
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books
Accidental Texting: Finding Love despite the Spotlight Page 47
