Epilogue
Chase knocked on the door to Emma's condo while trying to hold on to two take-out bags from the Italian place down the street that had become a favorite of theirs. He was rewarded with a huge smile from his girlfriend.
"Please tell me you got garlic bread."
He stepped into her place, giving her a warm kiss that she easily returned.
"I got garlic bread."
Emma's eyes fluttered closed for a moment and Chase could've taken her right there on the floor of her condo if it weren't for his hands being full of food.
Instead, he headed to the kitchen, gingerly placing the bags on the counter as Emma started to unpack one of them while he grabbed food containers out of the other.
This has become a habit in recent weeks with Chase in between projects.
Without anything on his schedule, he would head to Santa Monica on some nights and pick up dinner and time it just right so he would arrive as soon as Emma got home.
Other nights, he would use his key to let himself in and start cooking dinner so it would be ready when she got there.
Yes, he had a key to Emma's condo now. It was kind of a big deal.
"Oh, the lasagna!" she exclaimed as she grabbed a container from the bag. "You got enough food to feed an entire football team."
"Since I have that press stuff the rest of this week, I figured I would get some leftovers for you for later."
He turned to see her smiling at him as she leaned against her kitchen counter with the lasagna in her hand. "You really are a great boyfriend."
She stepped up on her toes and gave him a kiss on his cheek before walking over to the kitchen table with her food.
Chase couldn't help but watch her go, still wondering how he got so lucky to find someone like Emma.
Sure, he knew he had Nana to thank for playing matchmaker in her own way, but there was something about Emma still being a part of his life after all that challenge stuff that left him in awe sometimes.
She would compliment him in a way that made him feel like she was being honest with him and it was some ass kissing like most of the people he would get stuck talking to in Hollywood. She always treated him with respect and love.
She had become friends with Marcus and started trading books with Vanessa with Chase serving as a messenger between the two.
Emma never asked for any favors to take advantage of his celebrity like his other girlfriends. She was just Emma and she was a perfect fit in his life in a way that was so natural.
"Hey, can I ask you a favor?" Was he going to have to rethink the celebrity favors thing? "Can you grab the Parmesan from the bag?"
He smirked at his own stupidity and grabbed the extra cheese, dropping it down on the table next to her.
He knew she would want to dump the whole thing on her lasagna because she loved the stuff, but she only took half.
She knew he liked it too and she made it no secret that she didn't mind sharing with him.
Then again, there were more things lately that she didn't mind sharing with him. She loved sharing her red couch and would let him snuggle with her but only if he didn't climb under her blanket with her. He knew he exuded way too much heat when he was that close to her.
And at his place, there were multiple tea cups and saucers in his kitchen cupboard that she brought over to share along with a fancy box of herbal teas.
Marcus bought a tea kettle and would usually have hot water ready in the mornings when Emma stayed over.
They would drink something fancy and fruity while Chase would stick with green tea because it was supposedly good for his work out routine.
She still worked at the library even though she had officially taken control of Nana's inheritance after successfully completing their challenge.
She said she still loved being a librarian so Chase loved that she was still a librarian.
Emma also signed him up for a library card and was nice enough to return his books when he would actually check one out.
Emma just made everything better, and there were times when he wondered if that was why Nana set up that crazy challenge in the first place. Maybe she knew that her plan would be good for Emma and Chase, both on their own and together.
"Hey, so I have questions about next week," Emma said as she added more cheese to her lasagna.
Next week was going to be a big deal for them.
The Project Lyonheart movie premiere at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood was their "big debut" as a couple, or at least that's how his agent had described it.
To Chase, it was just him sharing his life with Emma albeit the strange dazzling Hollywood part of his life.
Chase looked up waiting for Emma but for some reason she seemed a little hesitant to ask. "Uh, so what question?"
She gave him an awkward smile and looked back down at her food. "It's probably stupid, but I wanted to wear my navy blue dress from our dinner for the premiere. Do you think that's too formal?"
He couldn't help but smile at the memory of her sitting across from him at The Fish Fry eating that expensive hamburger with the gold-leaf bun in that fancy dress. It wasn't the best start to a relationship, but it still worked out OK.
"It'll be perfect," he told her.
"I mean, I've worn it before and you've already seen it and I took it to story time again last week and—"
"Emma." He put his hand over hers and she instinctively looked up at him. "You always look gorgeous in that dress no matter where you wear it and it's perfect for next week."
The smile that spread across her face was one he would never forget. It was the best. He would never get over it.
She pulled her hand away and started poking at her lasagna again, the moment gone and replaced with just the two of them casually eating dinner at her kitchen table. He liked moments like this with her too.
"So tell me about this premiere. And please tell me that Hunter Price is going to be there. He's so dreamy."
Chase rolled his eyes at the mention of his co-star, knowing damn well that Emma was teasing him. But he didn't care. Chase knew she didn't love him for the money or the fame or the movie premieres. She loved him for him, and that's why he fell in love with Emma Colton.