by Ali Parker
The pretty girl smiled and put her hands on her hips. "I want whatever makes you happy, and this guy seems to be doing the trick. Now, if he stops-"
Jace butted in as he carried a big box out of the closet. "I'll kill him."
"Love you too, buddy." I winked at him and got up to start helping.
Riley sat up and moved to the edge of the bed as Charlotte dropped down beside her.
I ignored them and let them have their moment as I worked beside Jace to get everything loaded. It took less than an hour, which was great. I was right on schedule. Now to stay that way.
"Come on, baby," I called out from the living room to Riley.
"Coming." She walked around the corner in a cute black skirt and pink tank top with flip flops and her hair in a short ponytail. "Do I need to dress nicer?"
"You have all of your clothes in those boxes?" I pointed over my shoulder.
"Yeah."
"Then, no. We'll change for dinner later." I extended my hand to her. "Come on. We have a full day ahead of us."
"Alright. Let me say my goodbyes." She walked over and handed me her purse before kissing me several times. My body woke up and leaving her at her place for me to sleep alone the night before suddenly seemed like a stupid idea. I could have spent the night buried balls deep in her, and yet... here I was now with a million things to do trying to figure out how we could squeeze in a little bit of sexy time.
She walked back toward the house, and I turned and walked out into the mid-morning sun, jogging down to the parking lot and pulling out the keys. I got up in the moving truck and waited for her. I could have easily hired someone to do everything for us, but I wanted to give her the full experience, and if I were being completely honest with myself, I wanted the experience myself too.
I'd been sheltered all my life, which was alright, but it was time to bust out.
She walked down the stairs and glanced up, a smile touching her lips as she found me watching her. She got in the truck beside me and laughed. "You're just full of surprises today, aren't you?"
"You haven't seen anything yet." I leaned over her and pulled the seatbelt into place before kissing the tops of her breasts. "I missed you last night."
"Me too." She let out a contented sigh. "Your stomach didn't hurt, did it?"
"No. I lied. I'm an actor, so I'm pretty good at that shit." I pulled out and headed for the freeway. "You want to make any stops before we head home?"
"I don't think so. I'm still trying to wake up. I can't believe you planned all of this."
"Why not?" I reached for her hand and gripped it tightly.
"Because we were in the middle of trying to wrap up the movie and stuff. That's a lot of transition, plus all the stuff with Deza and Darren." The love in her eyes left me lost to her.
"And you know the best part of Deza getting back with Darren?" I asked her before pulling her hand up to my mouth and kissing at her fingers.
"Tell me." She scooted closer to me on the bench seat, undoing her seatbelt and getting into the center seat one instead.
"She didn't text me once this morning." I glanced at the clock. "Hell, it's almost eleven. My phone would have been blowing up at this point."
"She's focused on him?" Riley asked.
"I would think so." I pulled onto the freeway and headed toward the water.
"Where are you going? I thought we were going back to your place in the city." She ran her hand down my thigh and glanced at the road and back to me as I held my tongue. "Ethan. Tell me."
"You'll see." I gripped her hand and stroked myself with it a few times before wrapping my free arm around her and smiling over at her. "I love you. Have I told you that enough to where you believe it?"
"This isn't the actor talking, right?"
I laughed. "No, and it's not the same line I give all the girls. You're actually the only girl I've given it to."
"Then I'll take it, and believe it too." She leaned against me and closed her eyes. "I'm a little scared about all of this change."
"Good. It means you're alive." I kissed the side of her head before reaching up to turn the radio on. We sang several songs as I drove down the freeway, feeling alive for the first time in my long life. She had a way of doing that to me.
I prayed like hell that she always would.
Chapter 18
Riley
Butterflies danced in my stomach as we drove along the coast and finally pulled up to a white castle that overlooked the water. A maroon Lexus convertible sat in the driveway.
I glanced down at my clothes and gave Ethan a look. "Really? Why didn't you tell me to dress up? Whose house is this?"
He laughed and pulled behind another large moving truck. "Ours, baby."
"What?" Shock raced through me as he got out of the van and left me sitting there. "Ours?"
Did he buy a house on the beach? I'd just mentioned wanting one the day before. Late in the day on the day before.
I got out and jogged to catch up to him as a bunch of guys I didn't know walked out of the house.
"Alright. Just bring everything in from the garage, and Riley will tell you where it's going." He reached back and took my hand, half-pulling me into the house. I'd never seen anything like it in my life. I was majestic. Huge. White.
"Ethan." I was breathless, and my heart hurt in my chest. "Did you buy this place yesterday for us?"
"For you, but I'd like to share it with you if you're okay with that?" He touched the side of my face softly.
"No, you didn't." I swallowed the overwhelmed feeling that was building up at the back of my throat. I turned around in a circle and back to him, reaching for him, clinging to him. "You bought this place for us?"
"Yeah." He smiled and leaned in to kiss the tip of my nose. "You said you wanted a place in Santa Barbara on the beach. The truck we rode in has your stuff, and I cheated a little and had movers pick up and pack my stuff. I figured it would be-"
I wrapped myself around him and kissed him hard. The kiss deepened, and he picked me up and toted me to the master bedroom downstairs, kicking the door shut. He pressed me to the wall and ground against me before breaking the kiss.
"You like it?"
"I love it." I kissed him again and pushed at his chest. "Let me go check it out."
"No way. This is the part in the movies where the hottest sex scene happens. Don't you know these things?" He smiled and released me.
I laughed and walked around the room, moving to the floor to ceiling glass windows and pressing my hands to them. "Wow. You can see the beach. It's like right here."
"It's a private beach, baby." He kissed the side of my neck. "Come on, let's take the car and go down to the fish market. We'll get something for dinner, and you can pick out some new flowers seeing that you left yours for Charlotte."
"The car?" I remembered the Lexus in the driveway. "Did you buy yourself a new car?"
He moved back and reached for my hand as I turned around. "No. I bought you a car. You like it? If not, we'll go get you something else."
"I love it." I balked as we walked back through the house.
Ethan stopped beside the guys that walked in and shrugged. "Just make the house look like my old one, and if my girl wants it changed, we'll bring you guys back out next week."
"Yes, Sir." One of them nodded and smiled over at me. "Were you surprised?"
"I haven't caught my breath yet." I laughed and followed Ethan out. The smell of salt and sand filled my nose, and I breathed in deeper, taking as much of it as I could handle.
He tossed me a set of keys, and I caught them and stopped by the car. "You want me to drive?"
"Man, you're slow today, baby." He got into the passenger's side of the car, and I got into the driver's side and gave him a look.
"I'm still trying to figure out what the fuck is going on. Last I knew, you had a stomach ache and didn't want to sleep together last night." I started the car. "I wake up, and you're there with a moving van, but we're not going back to your place in
L.A. because you bought this beach castle after we left each other last night."
"That's about right." He rolled his window down and pulled his sunglasses out of his pocket, putting them on his handsome face. "I had to move quick, but I had lots of help."
"Charlotte and Jace?" I pulled out and headed toward what I assumed was town.
"And Liam and Deza." He reached over and ran his fingers up my arm. "I hope you like it, and if you don't, just say so, and we'll move again. I wanted you with me."
"You didn't have to do all of this, Ethan, but I love you for doing it. It's the best present anyone has ever gotten me." I took a shaky breath. "It's the only present anyone's ever gotten me."
"Well, then I'm glad it was me that did it." He squeezed my shoulder and pointed ahead. "Take a left up here, and we'll park in the lot across from the fish market."
"I haven't been down here in years." A smile spread across my face. "I love this so much."
"Good. It's our new life when we're not filming." He kept his hand on me, and it was hard not to press into it. I wanted to be at home, on the couch, snuggled up together so I could take my time thanking him properly.
"Right there, baby." He pointed, and I slammed on the breaks before passing it up.
I offered him a sheepish grin. "Sorry."
"No need to apologize to me. This is your baby. Drive her how you want to." He unbuckled after I parked and got out, moving to the back and offering me a hand. "You look good, by the way. Why the hell were you worried when we pulled up to the house?"
"Are you kidding me? That's the nicest house I've even been in. And that car is way too much car for me." I shook my head and snuggled against the side of him as we made our way across the street into the crowd that had gathered around the outdoor market. "I figured we were going to see the president of Eon or something."
He laughed. "No way. That guy lives in San Fran, and he has a flat that wouldn't comfortably fit me, you and him at the same time. He's a minimalist."
"Oh." I walked toward the fresh flowers. "Look how pretty these are."
"Get them." He pulled his wallet out of the back of his shorts and turned his attention to the lady selling the flowers.
I ignored their exchange and found several bundles that I wanted. I took the time to stop and smell each one of them. It was almost like I was stuck in a dream. Everything was so surreal. I'd grown up broke, moving from shelter to shelter, hoping that one day my mom would get her shit together and provide for us, but she never did. She couldn't figure it out.
And had I somehow figured it out? I didn't know, but I wasn't wasting one minute of the life I'd been given, especially not a minute that belonged to Ethan. His kindness and generosity stunned me.
This was the man I knew under all the drama and showmanship. And he's the one I fell in love with. Not that I didn't like the other parts of him, but this part left me really swooning.
A little boy ran by and tripped in front of us, and Ethan dipped down and picked the little guy up and setting him back down. He knelt in front of the boy and wiped at his legs.
"You alright, man? You gotta be careful. The sidewalk is bumpy."
"Bumpy?" The little boy's blue eyes sparkled as he wiped at Ethan's hands over his legs. "Bumpy?"
"Oh jeez. Thank you so much." The mother jogged up and scooped the little guy up in her arms. "I'm so sorry." She paused as her eyes went wide. "Oh my God. You're Ethan Lewis and Riley Phillips. I love your movies," she pointed over to me, "and you were beautiful in the Spring play at UCLA. You're in the next Eon movie together, right?"
"Yeah, we are." I smiled over at Ethan, but he was too busy watching the little boy. Did he want kids? We'd had a short conversation about it, but I couldn't remember his response. His own upbringing had been as bad as mine, if not worse.
Poverty sucked. Not being loved was way worse.
"Baby." I tugged on his hand.
"Oh. Sorry. I got lost there in my head for a minute." He reached out and patted the little guy on the head. "Take care, hmm?"
"Thank you again." The woman turned as the little boy chirped the word, 'bumpy' a handful of times.
"You want babies?" I turned to face him and slid my hands up his strong chest.
"Yes. Three of them, but not for a long time." He leaned down and kissed me softly. "I do like the idea of practicing making babies though. We should start tonight."
I laughed and cuddled the flowers he'd bought against my chest. "Let’s get your fish and get back to the house. I want to explore."
"It or me?" He touched my lower back and guided me over to the fishmonger.
"Both." I wagged my eyebrows and moved back a little to let him up front.
"Hi there. We'll take a pound of salmon for dinner, please?" Ethan glanced back at me. "Salmon good?'
"Yeah, I love it." I smiled at the older gentleman helping him.
"Did you want us to fillet it for you?" He winked at me and turned back to Ethan.
"Yeah, I'm not a caveman hunter by any means. I'd probably end up more filleted than the fish."
We all laughed, and I took it all in. The moment. The feelings. The memories it would create.
Ethan reached up and grabbed the fish before putting a protective arm around my shoulders and walking me back to the car. He kissed the side of my face and took the keys from me.
"Want me to drive your baby already?"
"I'd let you drive anything of mine that you wanted to." I got in and set the flowers in the floorboard before buckling up. "I'm still a little bit in shock. This is all happening, right?"
"Yeah, baby. And the night's not over." He winked, and I was at a loss. What in the world did he think would top the day we'd already had?
In my mind, nothing could.
***
"This dress okay?" I walked out into the living room and twirled around, my white and pink dress new and not something I'd worn for him before.
"Mmmhmmmm." He stood from the couch and reached for me, pulling me tightly against him, and he swayed back and forth. "You look incredible. I'm the luckiest man in the world."
"You just might be." I kissed him softly. "But I'm the luckiest person. I win that one hands down. I have everything you have, plus I have you."
"We're getting sappy." He cupped my face and kissed me. "I like it. Now, come on... it's almost eight."
I breathed in deep, realizing the delicious smells in the air. Garlic, butter, and oregano.
"Are you cooking something?" I walked behind him out of the house onto the patio by the water.
"Nope. I brought in a cook." He pulled out my chair, and my heart almost stopped.
There were candles everywhere, and the patio had been decked out to look like heaven or a wedding. Something extravagant with white light, linen clothes and flowers everywhere.
"What is this?" I touched my chest as tears filled my eyes. The sound of violins caused me to turn, and I laughed as tears rolled down my face. "You brought in music too?"
"Anything for my girl." He reached up and wiped a tear away. "Dinner will be ready in a second. Dance with me. Let me feel you move up against me."
I stepped into his arms, and the rest of the world could have fallen into the sea. Nothing mattered but him. Me. Us. "I love you so much."
He leaned down and kissed me softly. "Good. Then don't make me do this shit alone anymore."
I stiffened. "The move? Or dinner?"
He laughed, and the sound of it helped me to relax. "No, silly. Life in general. I don't want to make more movies or do more conferences or go to another red-carpet party without you with me. I don't want to wake up without you or go to bed alone. I don't want to share my life with anyone else but you. Don't make me, Riley."
"Never." I leaned in to kiss him, but he reached up and pressed his fingers to my lips, surprising me.
"Save that for a few minutes." He pulled out a small black box and moved to his knees, lifting it and popping it open. "Be my wife."
&nbs
p; "What?" I pursed my lips together as emotions hit me from every angle.
"I know it hasn't been more than a month since we fixed things between us, but baby, when you know, you just know. You're the only woman for me. Marry me. I don't wanna date for years. I want to put this ring on your finger and start building a family together. Not in the future. Now."
I nodded, not willing to let another moment pass. I was completely head over heels in love with this guy, and he wasn't getting away again. No matter what.
"Yes. I want to. Please." I slipped my fingers into the ring, and he stood, wrapping his strong arms around me.
"Now give me that knee buckling kiss." He smiled and leaned in, kissing me like forever had nothing on us.
I was scared as hell, but I wasn't willing to take the journey of life alone if fate was offering up the best guy to play the part beside me, and it was.
Ethan was my soul mate.
No final call needed.
Epilogue
Two Months Later
Ethan
"Why did we decide to do this?" I narrowed my eyes and the pretty girl that sat across from me. The one that had my heart racing and body purring every time she walked into the room.
"Because." She lifted her eyebrow. I knew that look. "You said that we would get to where we could go out in public and do normal things for our age. We're in our early twenties. We're eating at the food court. Period."
"At a public mall." I glanced around and realized every-fucking-body was staring and pointing. I groaned and turned back to her. "If it's not bad enough that every tabloid has taken pictures of you and swollen your stomach for you with photoshop. It makes you look like you're pregnant with my alien twins. What more do you want?"
She laughed, and I forced myself to sit back and chill out. "Nothing, baby. I wanted noodles at the mall. I'm tired of being in the house or at private parties. I want to live where everyone else does. I want to shop at Old Navy!"
"They have online stories, sweetness." I lifted my hands as she growled. "Fine. Alright. I get it. You're new to this, but when it finally wears you down-"
