Chapter 7 #2
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, making sure that only he could hear her.
“I know how much this means to you, but I just… I can’t do it, Grant.
I can’t relive it over and over again for the next year or however long it takes to make the movie.
Just reading the screenplay was almost too much for me—and that’s a huge compliment. It’s brilliant and I love it. But—”
“I know, honey.” Listening to her and hearing her, really hearing what she was saying, removed all thoughts of a dilemma from his mind. “I’m going to step aside as a producer.”
She drew back to look up at him. “Wait. You’re going to do what?”
“I can still be involved without being there—”
“No! You have to be there.”
“Not without you.”
“Grant, you’re talking crazy. This movie is your baby. You have to be there to make sure it gets done right.”
“I trust the team we have in place, or I wouldn’t have signed with them.”
“I’ll go. I’ll go to LA with you, and we’ll figure something out for the restaurant and… I’ll go.”
“But you don’t want to.”
“It’s not that.”
Taking her by the hand, he led her out of the fray in the dining room, through the kitchen to her small office, shutting the door behind them. Turning to her, he propped himself on the corner of the desk and drew her in close to him. “Tell me.”
“It’s silly.”
“No, it’s not.”
“No, it really is.” She hesitated and seemed to force herself to meet his gaze. “You know I’m excited for you about the movie and all the interest in the story, right?”
“I think so.”
“I am. I’m so proud of you and the amazing job you did with the screenplay. Charlie and I both are,” she said of her stepfather.
Though he loved to hear her say that, he couldn’t get past the fact that something was obviously weighing on her. “Then what is it?”
“I’m so happy now. The years of Charlie being in prison and me trying desperately to get him out seem like a bad nightmare that happened to someone else.
Our lives have changed so much since you and Dan came along and fixed everything for us.
The thought of reliving it…” She placed her hand over her belly. “It makes me feel sick, Grant.”
“Come here.” He put his arms around her and tucked her into the nook below his chin, where she fit like the other half of him.
“I understand how you feel, because I’ve had the pleasure of watching you blossom since all that terrible stress was removed from your life.
The last thing I want is to see you regress back to that.
I promise if you come to LA with me, I’ll keep you far away from what’s happening with the film. ”
“And what kind of wife does that make me, when you can’t talk about your work with me?”
“The best kind of wife, because I can talk about everything else with you. After Evan’s wedding, I want to spend the rest of the winter in Southern California with you. I want you to see my place at the beach and work on your tan and shop in Beverly Hills.”
She snorted with laughter. “As if I’d even know how to shop in Beverly Hills.”
“You’re married to a very successful screenwriter,” he said with a smirk.
“It’s probably time you figured that out.
By the time the spring rolls around, I should have all my ducks in a row for the film, and we can come back here to open the restaurant for the season.
And we’ll probably see Dan and Kara out there, too.
He told me yesterday that snow doesn’t look good on him. ”
Stephanie laughed. “I can hear him saying that.”
“We’ll have fun. I promise.”
She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “It’s always fun when I’m with you.”
“I’ll protect you from the past, Steph. I’ll always protect you.”
“The last time you took a woman with you to LA, it didn’t work out so well.”
“That’s because Abby and I weren’t meant to be, and because I had a lot to learn about what it takes to make a relationship work.
I won’t make those mistakes again, not when there’s so much at stake.
” He framed her face with his hands and kissed her.
“And not when there’s nothing else I’d rather do than be with you. ”
“So I guess we’re going to LA for the winter.”
“Are you sure, babe? I meant it when I said I’d turn the project over to someone else.”
“I’m sure. It needs to be you. You’re the only one I trust completely to make sure the story gets told the right way.”
“I’ve never told a more important story, and I probably never will again. I want the whole world to know what you did for Charlie, how you fought so tirelessly for justice.”
“And I want the whole world to know how you—and Dan—finally got justice for both of us.”
“Best phone call I ever made,” Grant said, smiling.
“Years and years of struggle and a small fortune spent on lawyers, and all it took was one phone call from you to Dan to change both our lives. I’ll never stop being grateful to both of you for what Charlie and I have now.
He’s so happy with Sarah, and me… Well, I get the rest of my life with you.
If there’s anything better than that, I haven’t found it yet. ”
“Me either, sweetheart.”