Roommates Box Set #4-6

32. Epilogue I

32

EPILOGUE I

SIERRA

One month later

“More toast?” Tristan asked. The four of us were eating breakfast on the balcony of Carter’s townhome. Except he insisted on referring to it as our townhome now.

I smiled at Tristan and then lifted the half piece I still had left. “Can you just refill this one instead?”

Tristan grinned. Yesterday, after meeting with one of the suppliers for the guys’ soon-to-be-in-business new business, he’d stopped in a gourmet store and found some strawberry preserves that were unbelievably good.

My men knew what I liked. And spoiler alert: it was them. They were what I liked. They were who I loved. But damn, those preserves were incredible.

“Just have another piece,” Drew said. “You’re a writer now, not an actress.”

I sighed, feeling torn. “You know, it’s a shame that writers get an extra slice of heaven while actresses have to watch every calorie… but hey, since that currently works in my favor, I’ll take it.”

“You don’t have to watch your figure,” Carter said as Tristan went into the kitchen. “We’ll do it for you.”

That seemed kind of paternalistic. After all, these guys were my lovers, not my agent or keeper or?—

“He means he likes watching your sexy body,” Drew said with a wink.

Oh. That was a different story.

“Isn’t that what I said?” Carter drained the rest of his coffee, and I couldn’t quite tell if he was that oblivious or if he was just messing with me. Usually, when you looked closely, there was a sexy glint in Carter’s dark eyes when he was messing with you. It was hot as hell.

Tristan returned with a thick slice of toast piled high with butter and the amazing strawberry preserves.

I beamed him a smile of thanks. After indulging in a few bites, I gave a sigh of contentment and looked around. “I love it out here.”

“Me too,” Drew said. “So nice to get some sun in the morning, and feel the fresh air, and?—”

“No, I like it because you guys wait on me and cater to my every need.”

Tristan chuckled. “Such a spoiled little thing.”

Carter raised an eyebrow suggestively. “Maybe you’d feel less spoiled if I took you to my bedroom and let you cater to my every need.”

I grinned. “Later.”

But he’d reminded me that I enjoyed giving in this relationship as much as I enjoyed receiving.

“Can I get anyone more coffee?”

“I’m good,” Drew said. “How are the revisions on your screenplay going?”

“Pretty well.” I’d finally broken down and enlarged the role of the single mom’s friendly male neighbor. He could probably be properly termed a love interest by this point, but I’d made sure that first and foremost, he supported the female lead.

Still, that didn’t stop my guys from doing charming or clever things, and then asking if I could have the guy from my screenplay do that. Right now, he was an intriguing mixture of characteristics from all three of them.

The three of them who were currently exchanging glances around the table. Hmm. I’d seen them do that many times before. Usually, that meant they were planning a surprise for me, but maybe I was just imagining it.

Then Carter spoke up. “Do you know what a grand romantic gesture is?”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course. I used to work in the movies, you know.” I gave him a good-natured poke in the ribs. “But that’s not the kind of script I’m writing.”

“No, but we’re just asking if you know what it is,” Drew said.

“Of course,” I repeated. “Why?”

“It’s romantic, right?” Carter asked.

I bit back a laugh at the serious expression on his face. “Yes, it is. By definition. It’s right there in the name.”

Tristan cleared his throat. “But it’s not always practical, right? I mean, sometimes it’s better to make plans with the person you love instead of for them. Not everything is best as a complete surprise.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Where were they going with this?

“I’ve got an example,” Drew said, and he ignored the glower Carter aimed at him. “Suppose we invited you to meet us at our favorite farm-to-table restaurant for lunch.”

“You have a favorite farm-to-table restaurant?”

“Shh, he’s giving an example,” Tristan said.

“Right. So, suppose you met us there expecting it to be the three of us. So, you were only prepared to talk to us, and you dressed based on knowing you’d see us, perhaps that sexy little green dress you know I like, the one that leaves your shoulders bare and has the skirt so short that it?—”

“You’re getting off track, Drew,” Tristan said.

“Oh, right.” His face turned red. “The point is, you were only expecting us, but then you sat down and ordered, and then we all stood up and said we had to go to the bathroom?—”

“All together? That’s kinky,” I teased.

Carter leaned over and pinched my ass, making me yelp. “Be good,” he said sternly, before nodding at Drew to go on.

“Anyway, while you’re alone at the table, a woman comes up, and you think she looks familiar, and she sits down and introduces herself, and it’s Miranda Morales Sanchez, and she wants to talk to you about your screenplay.”

“Ooo, I like this story,” I said.

“That’s the very definition of a grand romantic gesture, right?” Carter demanded. “By surprising you with the thing you want most.”

“That would be an amazing surprise,” I agreed. “And a very happy ending to a movie, but yeah, that kind of thing isn’t very practical in the real world.”

“It’s not?” Carter asked.

“No. I’d be freaking out about meeting her, and probably too excited to speak. And I wouldn’t have any notes with me, and I wouldn’t have had time to perfect my elevator pitch. I mean, it would be incredible to meet her, but if I ever did, I’d want to be prepared.”

“Exactly,” Tristan said.

I turned to Carter. “If you were meeting with a titan in the field of sustainable building, wouldn’t you want to have time to prepare for the meeting? To figure out what you’re going to say and how you’d approach them and to make sure you looked your best?”

“I always look my best,” Carter grumbled. I still didn’t know why we were having this hypothetical debate, but it was clear he felt he was on the losing side. “But okay, you’ve made your point.”

“Good.” I picked up my toast, but it was no longer warm. Setting it down, I realized that everyone was looking at me. “What?”

Drew smiled. “Sierra, would you like to meet us at our favorite farm-to-table restaurant for lunch?”

“Sure, that sounds good. I’ve got a couple of things to get done this morning, but then—” My voice abruptly ceased, and my mouth dropped open.

The men were all grinning.

“Y-you don’t mean…?”

“We do.” Tristan’s smile was the widest out of the three, but it was a close thing.

“Oh my god. But… how?”

“One of our Hollywood friends let us know that she was going to be in town,” Carter said. Evidently, he was still in touch with at least some of my friends down there, which was news to me.

“She’s really going to meet me for lunch?” Maybe she wasn’t. Maybe this was just another part of their hypothetical scenario.

“Really,” Tristan said.

“I’ve got to go get ready!”

I started to jump up from my chair, but Tristan grabbed my hand and pulled me back down. “Lunch tomorrow.”

“Oh. Thank god.”

He grinned. “We wanted to show you that we understand the pros and cons of the grand romantic gesture.” Then he smirked at Carter. “Or at least some of us do.”

“I know more about grand sexual gestures,” Carter growled, and I laughed.

“Hell yeah, you do.”

His face brightened. “So, here’s what we’ll do. We’ll work from home tomorrow afternoon, and when you get back from lunch?—”

“Your wildly successful lunch with a famous director,” Drew clarified.

“Yes. After that, we’ll have drinks out here and you’ll tell us every single moment of your wildly successful lunch.”

“Sounds perfect,” I told Carter.

“It gets perfecter,” he said. “Because after that, we’ll all take you into my bedroom and make you come so hard you forget your own name.”

“You're right, that does sound perfecter.” I flashed him a grin while delicious shivers of anticipation filled me.

“Are we sure one of the most talented directors in the country is going to want to work with a screenwriter who can’t remember her name?” Drew winked at me.

“Shut up and eat your toast,” I told him. “I have a very important meeting to prepare for.”

It went exactly as the guys said it would. Lunch with Miranda was amazing. She had so many fascinating insights about the world of moviemaking. And she didn’t just want to hear about my plot and the main character of my screenplay. She dove right in, asking me probing questions about the single mom, her life, and her motivation.

It almost reminded me of when I brainstormed with Tristan, but this was different. Miranda knew the industry. And she knew what it was like to be a woman in that industry. The meeting ended with her giving me her business card with her personal number scribbled on the back, and with me promising to send her my finished screenplay in two weeks’ time.

As promised, my guys were waiting with drinks on the balcony when I got home, and I was so damn excited that I probably didn’t make sense for at least the first half hour. But they listened anyway, and asked questions, and shared in my enthusiasm, just like I often shared in theirs.

They loved me and were genuinely excited for me. And I loved the hell out of them and was so grateful that they’d made this happen.

“You made it happen,” Tristan said, when I told them that. “You should’ve been able to talk with her when you were in Miami on the tour.”

My face fell. “I just couldn’t.”

He shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. Had that asshole Henderson not interfered, you would have met with her.”

“And don’t forget that asshole from room service,” Carter said. “I’d love a chance to teach him some manners in the most painful way possible.”

Tristan nodded and turned back to me. “Agreed, but my point is that you made this opportunity happen, sweetheart.”

“You could’ve quit writing after that setback,” Drew added. “But you didn’t.”

“Each one of us is incredibly proud of you,” Carter added.

I beamed at him, then at each of them. I loved them so damn much.

“I did my best,” I told Carter, not letting the playfulness that had suddenly come over me enter my voice. “But now it’s time for your part.”

“My part?”

“My name is Sierra Brogan, or sometimes Sierra Sloane. Weren’t you supposed to do something to make me forget that?” I couldn’t help smirking at him.

Carter’s dark eyes took on a dangerous gleam. “I was letting you enjoy your moment.”

“And I did.”

“Good. Because if you’re not in my bedroom in sixty seconds, I’m going to strip you naked right here on this balcony and make damn sure the entire neighborhood knows my name when you call it out, over and over.”

Excitement filled me as my heart rate spiked. I loved it when he got in this kind of mood, but I also loved it when he was gentle and caring. He was both in about equal measures these days.

I stood up, running my hands up my dress to lightly cup my breasts. It was gratifying to see three hungry sets of eyes watching my every move. “Race you!” I darted to the sliding glass door, closing it behind me to slow my three pursuers.

I wasn’t quite sure which one of us reached Carter’s bedroom first, but I do know that a very good time was had by all.

Again, and again, and again.