20. Theo
20
THEO
W e’re finally back on the mainland, and I’m still buzzing with that strange mix of excitement and exhaustion that only comes after a long, chaotic trip.
Grace walks beside me, her hand loosely intertwined with mine, and it feels like we're still wrapped up in our own little world.
But my phone’s been vibrating non-stop for the past few minutes, ever since I turned it back on, buzzing angrily in my pocket like it’s on fire.
I ignore it at first. Everyone else can wait. I just want to bask in the glow of solitude with my fiance for a little while longer.
I know that I will have a list of things to do—meetings, press interviews, script readings—but I’ve been savoring the peace we had on the island, the quiet moments where it was just me and Grace.
Still, the buzzing won’t stop. One call after another—message after message.
“I think your phone’s going to explode,” Grace says with a laugh, her fingers brushing against my arm.
“Yeah, it’s Camille or Fiona, I’m sure,” I say with a sigh, finally pulling it out of my pocket. “I should probably see what she wants before she comes hunting me down.”
Grace smirks, but her attention shifts to her own phone, which starts buzzing in her purse at the same time. “I think Devon’s trying to get ahold of me.”
We exchange a look. Maybe we both knew this moment was coming, but neither of us expected it to hit the second our feet touched solid ground again.
With a reluctant swipe, I answer Camille’s call.
“Theo!” she shouts before I can even say hello. I can practically see her pacing her office, her headset barely hanging on. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours! Where have you been?”
“Just got back from the island,” I say, glancing at my beautiful fiancé, who’s doing her best to juggle Devon’s call. She mouths ‘good luck’ to me before turning away. “What’s up?”
“What’s up?” Camille repeats, incredulous.
“Theo, I don’t know what kind of magic you and Grace have tapped into, but you’ve become the it guy, the it couple—and you don’t even realize it.
You’ve had dozens of film offers come in just in the last week alone.
Dale can’t keep up. He’s been throwing them at me because he’s drowning in requests.
Every studio wants a meeting.
They want you—no, scratch that—they need you.”
I pull the phone away from my ear, just slightly, so Camille’s voice doesn’t blow out my eardrum. I blink, trying to process everything she’s saying, but it’s coming at me fast.
“Wait, slow down,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose. “What are you talking about? We’ve been off the grid for a few days. I haven’t even?—”
“Exactly!” she cuts me off, her voice sharp.
“You’ve been gone, and yet the buzz around you and Grace has exploded!
It’s like the world’s been waiting for you to come back.
I’ve got directors—ones who never even considered you before—practically begging.
Some of the assholes who shunned you after Alexia’s bullshit? They’re now singing your praises and begging for forgiveness.
You have no idea what a plethora of gifts are piling up in my house for you right now.
It’s insane. Literally just bonkers, Theo.”
“I don’t understand. What changed?”
“They see that the beast can be tamed, I guess.
They want you in rom-coms, dramas, action flicks—you name it.
And it’s not just films, Theo.
There are screening requests, interviews with all the hot late-night shows, daytime special appearances...
Everyone wants to know about you and Grace—the story, the chemistry.
You’ve become the golden couple.”
I glance over at Grace again, who’s having what seems like a parallel conversation with Devon. Her eyes are wide, and she gives me a look that says, ‘Are you hearing this too?’
“Camille, slow down. This doesn’t make any sense. I’ve been getting steady work, sure, but nothing like this before. What’s changed?”
There’s a pause on the other end, but then she exhales sharply, and I can hear her calm down—just a little.
“Theo, you and Grace... what you two have, people see it.
I don’t know how to explain it.
There’s this... spark between you. It’s real, and people feel it. They want more of it.
It’s all over social media—those photos of you on the island, the little moments between you two at the last premiere.
They’re eating it up.
And now that you’re back, every entertainment outlet wants to be the first to get the inside scoop.”
I sit down on the bench outside the terminal, still processing. “They… what ? Social media?”
“Yeah, and the engagement rumors? Don’t even get me started.”
Camille sighs, like she’s juggling a million things at once.
“The public’s already obsessed.
And that’s without you even confirming it!
Imagine what’ll happen when you two officially announce it.
It’s going to be a madhouse.”
Grace’s voice cuts into my thoughts. She’s off her call with Devon and looking just as shell-shocked as I feel. “Theo… they want to pitch rom-coms. For both of us.”
I blink at her. “What?”
She sits down next to me, still clutching her phone like it might jump out of her hand.
“Devon just told me people are asking for interviews—me and you, together and separately.
Rom-coms. Can you believe that?
I’ve barely done any acting, and now they want me to star in one... with you.”
I run a hand through my hair, trying to absorb everything Camille and Grace are saying. Camille’s still on the line, rattling off more names—directors, producers, even talk show hosts who want us to come on their shows.
It’s wild.
We haven’t even told anyone about the engagement yet, and suddenly, we’re Hollywood’s new obsession.
“Camille,” I interrupt her list, my voice firmer now. “I get that this is exciting, but we just got back. I need a minute to wrap my head around this.”
“I know, I know,” she says, her tone softening, though the urgency is still there.
“I’m sorry if I threw it all at you at once, but... damn, I’m just so happy for you.
You’ve always deserved this kind of attention, and I’m so glad it’s finally happening for you.
But you need to understand—this is happening now.
You and Grace... you’re hot right now.
There’s a window, and we need to take advantage of it.”
I look over at Grace again. She’s staring at me, her lips pressed into a thin line.
We haven’t even had time to breathe, to figure out what this next chapter looks like for us, and already the world’s trying to pull us in a thousand different directions.
“Can we just… take a beat?” I ask Camille.
“Grace and I need to talk. We haven’t even announced anything yet, and we need to do this our way. Not because everyone else wants us to.”
Camille is quiet for a moment, then sighs.
“I get it. But Theo… just promise me you’ll think about it. I don’t want you to miss out on something big.”
“I’ll think about it,” I say, and I mean it. “But right now, I need to talk to Grace.”
We hang up, and I lean back against the bench, staring up at the sky. It’s all happening so fast.
The engagement, the island, and now this tidal wave of opportunities that neither of us saw coming.
“It’s crazy, right?” she says, her voice quiet.
“Yeah,” I agree. “Crazy.”
We sit in silence for a moment, the noise of the city around us feeling distant compared to the whirlwind we’ve just stepped into. I take her hand, squeezing it gently.
“How do you feel about all this?”
She looks up at me.
“I don’t know. It’s a lot.
Part of me is excited, you know? All these offers, people wanting to see more of us.
I like that people are finally seeing the enigmatic, talented part of you and that you’re getting the opportunities you deserve again.
But at the same time… I don’t want it to change everything.
I like what we have.”
“Same.” I run my thumb over the back of her hand, grounding myself. “I don’t want us to lose this—what we’ve got. This… peace.”
“I think the peace part may look extremely different now,” she smiles, leaning her head against my shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. Together.”
I kiss the top of her head. Camille’s right—there’s a window here, an opportunity. But Grace is right, too. We need to navigate this on our own terms without letting it change what matters most.
“Do you want to tell people about the engagement?” I ask, my voice soft.
She tilts her head up to look at me, a playful smile tugging at her lips. “Depends. Are you ready for the world to freak out even more?”
I laugh. “I think they’re already freaking out. Might as well give them something real to talk about. We can do this on our terms, in our way.”
She grins, and for a moment, everything else fades away. It’s just us, sitting on a bench outside the terminal, figuring out our next step together.
“Well then,” she says, “let’s do it. Let’s tell them.”
“How would you feel about announcing it on the Rand Davis show?” I ask her.
“Odd question, why him?”
“During all of Alexia’s attacks, he called me and helped me through a lot of it.
I’d been on his show a few times to plug movies, but we were never really friends.
Still, he went out of his way to connect me with some great people—to help me navigate it all.
I think I’d like to let him be the one to reap the rewards of our announcement.”
“I like that. Devon can set it up for us; I know he has a good rapport with him, too. I can text him.”
“I think we’re going to have to hire you an assistant, too,” I chuckle. “Things are about to get wild, and I don’t want you to deal with things that you can delegate.”
“I…I don’t know if that’s necessary.”
“Let’s just try it, give it a trial period of sorts,
and if you don’t like it, then you’re not locked into anything.
I worry that all this hoopla may get us to a point in which you can’t even go out to get coffee alone.”
“Shit, I didn’t even think of that.”
“Always expect chaos and be prepared,” I chuckle. “I’ll have Camille work on getting you one.”
“It sounds like she has a lot on your plate right now. Are you sure we shouldn’t look on our own?”
“Trust me, if it’s too much for her, she’ll tell me—no sugarcoating,” I laugh.
“She started out as my assistant, but then the requests started piling up.
She knew she couldn’t handle them all on her own, so she started her own business—vetting and training other celebrity assistants.
Now, she’s got an entire pool of people she’s meticulously checked and cultivated.”
“You should have led with that,” she giggles. “That’s amazing.”
“We’ll get it figured out, and I feel confident that she’ll find someone perfect for you.”
“You already fill that spot.”
She leans up and kisses me softly.
“Let’s get back to the house before we’re rushed by photogs,” I tease as I stand and put out my hand for her.
Life is about to get crazier for us, but I’m grateful that I get to navigate it all with her.