Epilogue
Tate
One year later…
She walks onto the set and looks over at me behind the camera. The look she’s giving me nearly makes me blush. She’s proud of me and I can feel it. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt someone be this proud of me in my life.
When she reaches me, she smiles, and it lights up her whole face. I cup her jaw in my hands.
“So, we’re, like, doing this for real, huh?” she asks, grinning from ear to ear.
“We’re doing this,” I confirm.
She looks around us. “I’m nervous,” she whispers.
“Not as nervous as I am,” I laugh, my voice low.
She giggles and wraps her arms around my waist. “We can be nervous together,” she says as she leans up and plants a soft kiss on my lips.
“Alright, you two, let’s make a romantic comedy,” Rex says from behind us as he claps his hands together.
We pull away from each other and turn to face my friends. Rex takes his seat next to Penn and Jordan. They are all producers on this film. Our studio’s very first film baby.
Anissa and Lex are also here today to support their bestie. It’s nice having everyone here.
I walk Sophia over to her chair. I had a special one made up just for her. I hope she’s going to love her surprise.
I look down at the woman I love. She’s perfect. We ended up building a new house near Mark’s so the kids can stay at their schools until they graduate. Summer vacations are out here in LA. It does mean I travel a bit more than normal, but now that Sophia’s book has become a hot commodity, she’s decided to leave her grants job and write full-time, which means, when the kids are off or at Mark’s, she can be with me no matter where I am. And when I’m not filming or directing, I can be with her. We’re figuring it out, and at the end of the day, being with her is all that matters.
“Hey, I decided to have some visitors on set today,” I say as I glance over at my friends who have been in on this surprise since day one. Rex nonchalantly pulls out his phone.
“Oh?” she asks. “Readers?”
I shake my head. “No. Not today. I wanted it to be a little more…personal.”
She smiles and I can see the confusion on her face. I turn and motion to my assistant who opens a side door.
Mark and his wife come in with Cal and Lizzie. Lizzie runs over and jumps into my arms while Cal saunters over trying to play it cool. He greets me with the secret handshake…well, not so secret…that we created over the holidays last year.
Both kids then turn to their mom. “This is so cool, Mom,” Cal says as he takes in the set.
Lizzie leans forward. “Tate says we can be extras in a scene later!” she whispers but it’s more like a quiet scream. Several crew members laugh as they continue prepping things.
“He did, did he?” Sophia raises an eyebrow at me.
I shrug. “I thought it’d be fun to have you and the kids in the background of the restaurant scene,” I say sheepishly. “Mark agreed,” I add quickly and Mark laughs.
“Thanks for throwing me under the bus,” Mark says.
“Anytime,” I reply. Mark and I get along well, which is great. At first, I thought it might be a little awkward, but it never has been.
I look around at all the important people in our lives. Even Sophia’s parents, sister, and brother are hiding in the back of the room. I knew if she saw them here, she would know what I want to do. It’s something I started planning as soon as I left her house after our road trip. It’s taken a whole year to get us here, but the greatest of grand gestures take time. Forming our studio took time and getting this film together and funded took time. But all that time has brought Sophia and me even closer together. She’s my everything, my forever home.
I look around, watching our loved ones again and the set in front of us. It’s not the way I planned my life going at all, but everything I ever needed is right here in this room. It’s absolutely perfect, just like my gorgeous girl.
* * *
Sophia
I hug Cal and Lizzie. “Thanks for coming,” I say to Mark over their heads. It’s technically his vacation week with them.
“No biggie. We’re going to do some touristy stuff here,” he says. “We’re proud of you, Soph.”
I blush. “Thanks.”
Tate nods to Mark and the kids as if they are sharing a secret. I raise a curious eyebrow at them, but no one says anything, even my kids which is pretty amazing because they are horrible secret keepers.
“I have one last surprise for you,” Tate says as he walks up beside me, and ushers me around to the back of my director’s chair.
“Take a look,” he says.
I look down at the words in white letters on the back of the chair.
Sophia Walsh
Executive Producer
AKA Sophie Price, Author
And soon to be…Mrs. Tate Anders?
I’m confused for half a second until Tate drops to a knee next to me. I turn and my breath leaves me. He’s holding out a ring made of Black Hills gold. It’s got rose and green colors around a single solitaire diamond. It’s beautiful. Simple. Not overstated. It’s perfect.
I watch his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows. “Sophia, I’ll never understand why I decided to just show up at your doorstep. It was crazy and, well, not well thought out.” A few people chuckle at that statement. “But I’ll never regret it. Because it led to our first road trip. And I fell completely in love with you during that week. I knew then that you were the one. The only one. I know we’ve spent time living in seemingly different worlds, but really, at the heart of it, our world is what we make it. I want to make a world with you. I want to stand side by side and experience all of it together. I want to go on family vacations with Cal and Lizzie. I want to sit next to Mark and Taryn and cheer on our hockey stars here.” He looks over at Cal and Lizzie and they grin. Shit, these kids definitely knew what was happening today, it’s clear by the fact that they are not the least bit shocked about what’s happening right now. “I’ll never stop chasing after you, Sophia. Because I want it all, and I want it all with you. Marry me?”
I feel the tears coming. I can’t stop them as they run down my face. “I need my markers,” I say as I look around for my bag.
“Soph, don’t leave me hanging here,” Tate pleads as he looks around, finding my bag next to the chair. He opens it and hands me a silver marker. I always keep some in my bag to sign books.
I lean down in front of him and write at the very bottom of the text on my chair:
Soon to be Tate Anders’s Baby Momma
And then I cross out the question mark on the line above. Leaning over, I place my forehead against his.
“Yes, of course, I’ll marry you. I can’t think of another movie star I’d rather be with,” I tease as I watch his eyes look at the words I’ve written and then at me and then back to my stomach as he continues to attempt to comprehend what I’ve just told him.
“Oh, come on, I’m pretty awesome,” Penn interjects and everyone laughs.
“Really?” Tate asks me, ignoring Penn, his eyes are glued to my belly.
I nod as tears continue streaming down my face. “Yeah. I just confirmed it three days ago,” I state as I bite my lower lip. “Are you…happy?” I ask.
He slides the ring on my finger and leans forward, pressing a kiss to my abdomen before he stands and pulls me up against him, spinning us in a circle.
“Fuck yeah, I’m happy. I’m the happiest fucking man in the world!” he yells to the laughter and clapping of our family and friends.
“Tate’s gonna owe like a hundred dollars in the swear jar! And what does baby momma mean?” Lizzie yells and everyone laughs harder. I realize then that my parents and siblings are behind me. I’m enveloped in hugs and kisses and congratulations from our friends, family, and crew.
Then, Tate and I have to explain what baby momma means to my kids. They are so excited when they figure out that they will be a big sister and big brother soon.
Once we’re done celebrating, Tate pulls me up against him.
“How did we get so lucky?” he asks as he places his hand on my cheek, his thumb stroking my cheekbone.
“Dumb luck?” I suggest.
“No, I think it was smart luck. We made our own luck, M. This is our world now,” he says as he motions around us.
“It is,” I agree as I wrap my arms around his waist. “How about we get back to filming the world I created in my head?” I motion to the set with a nod of my head.
“Well, we did change it a bit,” he says with a wink.
“I was inspired,” I reply, grinning.
He grins back, kisses me, and steps aside, nodding to his crew. “Let’s get this show on the road,” he yells. There’s a flurry of activity as everyone gets in their places.
A crew member hands the clapperboard to Cal and Lizzie who step in front of the camera where they hold it up and yell together, “The Road Trip Romance take one!”
I hope you enjoyed this story.