Publicity Stunt (Hollywood Knights Book Two)
Page 14
She was quiet again, her silent gaze studying his face. “Why did you come, Trayce?”
There was no way around it. “I wanted to see you.”
His admission seemed to take her by surprise but she held her ground despite the waver in her eyes, waiting for him to continue.
“I didn’t want either one of us to be able to run off. Not like I did before. I’ve been regretting leaving you like that and. . .I’m sorry,” he told her.
The apology brought a look of momentary satisfaction to her face. “You could have called,” she suggested.
“With what I have to say, it felt like I should be here in person.”
“And what is it you have to say?” she asked him, her head tilting curiously.
It was a good question. While it felt like he had thought of a million things on the ride over, now that he was standing in front of her, he was drawing a blank. He just wanted to skip over everything and hold her in his arms, but she was staring at him as though she was not only expecting his explanation, but that she wanted it. He figured he owed her that much as well.
“I think I was just scared,” he said, half telling himself. “Scared of how much I wanted you already. So I ran. I knew you didn’t want to be with your ex, and I used that as an excuse, even after I realized it. I told myself we were too different to be together, that we lead different lives, but now. . .” His voice trailed off, leaving a canyon of unsaid words between them.
“What?” she prompted. “Now what?”
He matched her gaze. “I don’t think I can picture my life without you.” He shook his head. “And I had just gotten used to everything that makes you you, and told myself I could live with it. And now you’re here in this different house and you’re selling your dresses, and you don’t even have your Oscar on display.”
“It’s upstairs,” she murmured. “And are you upset with me for acting less like a celebrity?”
“I’m not upset with you,” he said. “I still want you. No matter what.” He stopped talking and looked at her. “If you want me.”
She didn’t respond, not right away. He readied himself for the worst, a vision of her throwing him out and him riding away in defeat forming in his head. He supposed he deserved it for the way he had treated her.
“Trayce,” she said finally, her words measured. “I think I’ve always wanted you. In fact, I think you’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a man.” She took a step toward him. “You’re tall, you’re handsome, you’re brave. You have a way of rocking a leather jacket like nobody’s business. You make me feel safe, and cared for, and wanted. But most of all, I feel free. Free to be myself. These past few weeks, I feel like I’ve learned more about myself than I have in the past decade. For so long, I let myself get sucked in to wherever the tide of this business would take me. I’d always be swimming to stay afloat and it was exhausting. But now, I feel like I can do anything.” She smiled, taking another step forward until they were standing toe to toe. “I’m ready for the next chapter of my life. And I’d love to write that chapter with you.”
He reached forward, taking her into his arms. “No matter what,” he told her. “You’ll always have a starring role in my life.” He leaned down to meet her lips, only realizing how much he had been craving her kiss when he finally tasted her again. Wrapping his arms around her further, he lifted her feet from the ground, holding her and never wanting to let her go. Lost in her, he let his lips trail from her lips down her neck before setting her on the ground.
She gazed up at him, her eyes speaking volumes and her hand wrapping around his to pull him forward. “Now that you mention it,” she said, a flirtatious smile spreading across her lips. “I think I’m ready for my close-up now, Mr. Bradford.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
“Here they come!” Mia squealed excitedly, her voice raising even above the boisterous crowd waiting at the finish line. Even without hearing her, Olivia would have been able to tell what was going on by the enthusiastic tugs on her arm.
Craning her head, Olivia focused on where the runners of the annual LA Half Marathon were coming up over the horizon. “Where?” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“There!” Mia announced. “There’s Layton! Come on, baby, you can do this!”
Olivia couldn’t help but grin. Even for a new couple, the cuteness factor between Mia and Layton was off the charts. She had introduced them at a party a couple of months before, and ever since then, they had been nearly inseparable. Now that Mia had wrapped up her scenes for Blossoms of the Pacific, the time they spent together was sure to increase. If that was even possible.
“I’m so proud of him,” Mia gushed.
Olivia clasped her hands together. Everyone who knew Layton was proud of him for how far he had come, one person in particular.
“Ooh,” Mia said again. “Here comes Trayce. Yes! I told Layton he could beat him.”
She watched as Trayce sped along, keeping up with Layton but trailing just a few paces behind. As the two brothers neared the finish line, he met eye contact with her and sent her a knowing smirk. She returned the look. The fact that he had been willing to put his competitive nature aside to give Layton a much-needed boost of confidence, and a coveted win over him, was yet one more reason why she had fallen more and more in love with Trayce over the past year.
She and Mia hollered as the men crossed the finish line in quick succession. Breaking away from the crowd, they ran forward to meet them. “You almost had him,” Olivia said, wrapping her arms around Trayce’s neck.
“Almost,” he said, his chest rising and falling against hers. “Maybe next year.”
She smiled. She couldn’t wait to see what the next year would bring. With a producing credit now under her belt, and more projects on her desk than she could count, she was poised to have her best year yet. But what she was really looking forward to was taking her relationship with Trayce to the next level. Building a home together. And maybe more. . .
“Oh,” she heard Mia yelp. “Should we take pictures together at the Winner’s Circle? Come on, they’ve got a professional photographer over there and everything. And I think I know him!”
As Mia trotted forward with Layton in tow, Olivia and Trayce trailed behind. “Well, she definitely doesn’t mind the extra publicity,” Trayce noted.
“She never has,” Olivia said, lacing her fingers through his. “It can be both a blessing and a curse. Trust me.”
“Oh, I’ll take your word for it,” Trayce said with a grin. It wasn’t as though he still shied away from the camera himself anymore. Since they had gone public with their relationship months back, he had accompanied her to a number of red carpet events, so much that now he was practically unphased by it all. “Should we head up for pictures?”
“Sure,” Olivia said with a nod.
Stepping up near an already posing Mia, Layton’s arm wrapped around her waist, they got into position. “Everyone say cheese,” Layton instructed with a tongue-in-cheek authority.
“Babe, that’s the photographer’s line,” Mia chided. “Okay, we’re ready.”
“Are you ready?” Olivia heard Trayce say from behind her.
“Ye-eees!” she exclaimed as she felt him lift her into his arms, her feet swinging skyward. Laughing, they smiled for the camera as it flashed.
“Wonderful!” the photographer announced.
“Oooh, how about one more?” Mia suggested. “Come on, guys, please!”
As Trayce set her down, Olivia felt his arms circle around her waist from behind, pulling her close to him. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear.
This time, Olivia’s smile was for more than just the camera. “I love you, too,” she told him, her heart feeling so full it could burst. As she posed for the final picture with Layton, Mia, and most important of all, Trayce, her eyes watered with happy tears. For the first time in her life, she was part of the family she had always wanted.
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