42. Chapter Forty-Two
And the news anchor laughs as she tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Have you seen the pictures coming off the set at the new Love Is in the Air movie? There seems to be something big and sparkly on Christina Malloy’s finger.”
* * *
Christina sleeps.
Loki snores on a blanket next to the bed.
I’m wide awake considering what it is that I have done.
My arms are wrapped around Christina, and the diamond I put on her finger catches the bit of moonlight coming in the window.
I haven’t signed anything with her father but the nondisclosure agreement. We’ve only talked about the opportunity—well, he talked about the opportunity. I didn’t say much in our short meeting.
Charles Malloy told me he wanted me. He told me what would be expected. And only a minute before his wife and daughter walked up on us, he’d told me he’d heard rumors that I was dating his daughter, and that she would not be getting involved with anyone in the industry, and that we wouldn’t be having a relationship.
There was no time for me to tell him about the publicity we were gaining from the relationship, or the fact that we were no longer pretending.
And now, we’re engaged.
What can Charles Malloy do about it now? Won’t this be better? We’ll be family now, and I won’t have to give up Christina.
I understand it’s a gamble. I might have just lost the biggest role of my life—but I’ll get the girl.
Christina shifts in my arms and rolls to face me.
“Why are you still awake?” she whispers, her breath warm on my chest.
“Just thinking,” I say and then kiss the top of her head.
“Jean-Claude is going to flip.”
I run my hand over her hair. “We’re almost done with him. Besides, it should be good for this film, don’t you think?”
She lets out a low hum. “I don’t care. The only thing I care about is that I have you.”
I pull her to me a little tighter. That’s right. We have each other.
* * *
Loki is going to the set with us this morning. With only a week left of filming, they’re just going to have to deal with him.
As we walk back into the condo, after Loki’s morning walk, as the sun comes up, Christina is packing up her day bag.
She smiles at us as we let ourselves into her home. It’s comfortable to be in her space now and have the codes to freely come and go through the gates.
“I packed up his blanket,” she says, pointing to a bag by the door that leads to the garage. “I thought it might make him more comfortable on set.”
I move to her and place a kiss on her cheek. “I love you.”
She smiles up at me. “I love you too,” she says, resting her hands on my chest.
I notice her hands are bare, and I take hold of her left hand.
“Where is your ring?” I ask.
“I put it in my safe. I don’t think wearing it to the set is a good idea.”
I shake my head. I need her to wear it. This needs to be the next rumor, even before she tells her parents.
I had the conversation with my parents about proposing a week ago. My mother cried, though she promised they were happy tears. My father shook my hand and pulled me in for a hug, but he didn’t say anything.
Milo picked up the ring from the jeweler. With my mother’s help, we’d picked out something suitable for Christina, but something she could customize later.
I knew if I walked out of a jewelry store, she’d know about it before I had the chance to pop the question.
Ideally, I would have waited. I’ve known her for years, and this affection, though it always simmered behind the crude comments, is new. But if I’d waited—well, I’m afraid I would have lost her.
“I have a safe in my trailer. You can leave it in there while we film,” I say, lifting her fingers to my lips and kissing them. “I want you to wear it.”
The corner of her mouth curls up. “If I wear it, someone will see it.”
“I don’t have anything to hide,” I say.
Her eyes are wide and bright as she considers it before she walks to her bedroom, and a few moments later, returns wearing her ring.
She holds up her hand, and the ring sparkles on her finger.
I take her hand and pull her to me. “I can’t wait to marry you,” I say.
“I suppose we’ll need to talk about that. You know my mother will turn this into a circus.”
I chew the inside of my cheek, considering that for the first time. “I’d marry you in a drive through chapel in Vegas.”
She laughs easily, and I’ll never tire of the sound.
“And wouldn’t that be a spectacle of its own?” she says, moving into me and placing a warm kiss on my mouth.
* * *
Penny is the first one to notice the ring when she meets Christina at the car to take her bag. She doesn’t say anything, but her eyes go as wide as saucers, and she looks at me.
Christina is talking about the day ahead, but as I get Loki’s leash on him, I give Penny a smile and a small nod to let her know that what she’s thinking is true. The love of my life, Christina Malloy, said she’d marry me.
I don’t know who else noticed the ring on our walk from the car to our trailers, where Christina tucked it into my safe, but Jean-Claude has been alerted to the engagement, and the fact that I brought Loki for the day.
He is pacing when Christina and I make it to the set to start filming.
“Are you kidding me?” Jean-Claude shouts, and the entire set grows quiet and stills. “You’re engaged now?”
Christina reaches for my hand, and I give hers a squeeze to let her know we’re in this together.
“I don’t see that there is an issue that should include the entire crew,” I say.
Jean-Claude moves to us. His face is red, and his hands are fisted at his side. “You’re fucking this up for everyone.”
“Anything between me and Christina isn’t anyone’s business. If you have a problem, let’s take it somewhere private. Your shouting at us is only giving this the attention you don’t want us to have.”
Jean-Claude’s jaw tightens as he looks between us. He leans in toward Christina.
“Your father won’t have this,” he whispers to Christina.
“It’s not my father’s decision,” she says firmly, and I wonder if everyone in this town knows Charles Malloy’s policy on who his daughter can and can’t date.
The grip she has on my hand tightens.
“We need to finish this shoot,” Jean-Claude says. “This crappy movie isn’t going to help any of our careers.”
Jean-Claude marches back to his chair, and everyone on set begins to move about, going back to their tasks.
“This isn’t about us,” I say softly. “He’s just unhappy.”
“Yeah, but now my father is going to know before I can tell him. I don’t know what deals he’s made with you, but your involvement with me won’t help you.”
Her eyes have gone sad. I can’t even tell her what her father said to me.
“You’re more important than anything your father could offer me,” I say.
Christina worries her bottom lip. I don’t think she believes me.
“I love you,” I say as Jean-Claude calls everyone to get into place. “Don’t worry about your father.”
She nods, lets go of my hand, and walks onto the set.
I realize I might have fucked this up for both of us—career-wise that is.
I brush my hands over the suit jacket I have on, and I straighten my tie.
We’re about to film the scene where our characters go to blows in a corporate meeting after they’ve been intimate. It’s beginning to feel a bit surreal.