Epilogue
AN A-LISTER WITH A HAPPILY EVER AFTER? WE’RE SHOCKED. AND THRILLED. AND, FINE, MORE THAN A LITTLE JEALOUS.
Greer
FOUR MONTHS LATER
Ineed to get out of here.
Filming for Summer was in full swing, and it was everything I knew it was going to be. Better even. Scenes weren’t shot sequentially, and I couldn’t attend nearly as much as I would’ve liked, but since I’d read the script, I could follow along.
I’d spent the morning in court while my dad had his sentencing. Tripp had wanted to be there for me, but we both knew that would’ve turned it into a circus. Instead, Hank had been there at a distance for silent support and obvious security.
I’d only gotten to set a bit ago, but I knew I should leave.
It was finally time for the romance to come into play.
It was… not going well.
Tripp took his job seriously, and it was usually perfection. He’d even taken private lessons with an Italian chef to learn how to properly prepare carbonara without it scrambling rather than have the dish edited in. But after that meal, he was supposed to kiss his co-star.
And he had.
But not well.
All his flawless acting became stiff. Unlike the way he looked at me, there was no believable heat in his gaze. No passion in his touch. He didn’t look like Cash, the hotshot chef who was tired of fighting his feelings for his sick neighbor.
He looked like a man who was being tortured.
They called cut again, and the intimacy coordinator rushed over to talk to them.
I used the lull to sneak away from the apartment. One that was located in a ginormous soundstage with some of the other key locations because movies really were magical.
Well, I thought I’d snuck away.
But I’d barely stepped outside when Tripp slammed out after me. He scanned the lot before his eyes landed on where I stood to the side. Concern was all over his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Why?”
“I looked over, and you were slinking out here.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t slink.”
“Skulking.”
“That’s worse.”
“Whatever you want to call it then. Did something go wrong today? Are you okay?”
“I’m good. It went fine. And shockingly quick considering how slow everything else has gone.”
For all the buildup, the deal was accepted without any pushback.
Dad forfeited his medical license. His lawyer—who was as good as he’d claimed—said that his case was helped by the fact he’d never involved insurance companies for any of the fake elective procedures.
If he had, it would’ve been a way bigger deal.
As it was, she said there was a good chance he wouldn’t serve the full sentence.
My words didn’t reassure Tripp. “Talk to me. Is it the kiss? I can tell them I won’t—”
“No. I mean, yes, but not for the reason you’re thinking.” I put my hands on his chest and craned my neck to look up at him.
Like every time he saw my hand—or more specifically, the engagement ring adorning it—a possessive heat flashed through his eyes.
I liked it.
And the ring.
I did my best to stay on topic. “I thought you may be feeling a little… awkward with me watching. That’s the only reason I came out here.”
“You’re not mad at me?”
“I would’ve been if you’d immediately gone after her until they had to break out the hoses to separate you two. But after the dozenth or so take with you looking more and more miserable, my jealousy was soothed.”
“I am miserable. I was from the start, but about halfway through the takes, she ate a piece of the raw garlic from the kitchen set and made it worse.” He lifted a shoulder. “I think I wounded her pride.”
Ouch. Seeing all his acting ability, and then him not being able to muster any of it for a kiss would definitely sting.
And also, eww. Raw garlic kisses won’t help.
I tapped my ring. “I have you. Inside is just work, Sir. I know that. Picture kissing me if it helps you finish this scene.” I trailed my hands slowly down, stopping at his waistband. “And then we’ll go to Gilded, and you can do a lot more than kiss me.”
“Christ, I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now hurry up.” His nostrils flared at me giving an order, but I held up my hands. “We’re at work. That means I get to control things.”
“Fine,” he relented, but he didn’t listen.
He took off in the opposite direction.
“Where are you going?” I called after him.
He turned around and walked backward. “You touched me and talked about our plans for the night. I’m taking a walk while I think about baseball stats before I make shit more awkward in there.”
Sitting at Gilded later that night, I waited anxiously for Tripp to wrap up his conversation with Atlas at the bar. It was never-ending.
I got the feeling he was adding the torture as payback for my bossiness earlier.
With a disgruntled sigh, my mind and my gaze wondered.
I was looking toward the door just as a big man in a suit walked in.
He looked like an action star, even if I didn’t recognize him.
Or maybe an athlete. He was muscular enough to be either.
With his shaved head and full beard, he was attractive and all, but it was the stunning woman on his arm that drew my focus.
She also could’ve been an actress or a model. Her black hair was the length I always wished I could grow mine to, and it contrasted so captivatingly with her big blue eyes.
With their looks and size difference, they made a striking couple.
If I were to make a snap judgment—something I was getting better about—I would’ve guessed the big guy was mean.
I would’ve been wrong.
His touch was gentle as he pulled out a nearby chair and helped his date sit. “Wait here, sunshine. I’m going to talk to Atlas, and I’ll be back.”
She grinned up at him with the same idolization he gave her. “Okay, Daddy.”
Sunshine, so cute.
And Daddy? Not my thing, but still… Hot.
I watched him move to the bar, my brows lowering when he greeted Atlas and Tripp.
I glanced at his date to see her taking everything in with a wide-eyed stare.
“First time here?” I asked, knowing I wasn’t supposed to talk but wanting to be friendly anyway.
“Yes. My husband and I are visiting from Vegas.”
“Fun. Maybe? Unless you’re here for boring work.”
“Nope. I mentioned last night that I’d always wanted to go to Disneyland when I was a kid, and we were on a flight this morning.”
The name.
The way he looks at her.
The attention to detail.
He is good.
Half a year ago, envy would’ve eaten at me as I told myself that I was fine being alone because it was better than being ignored.
But I wasn’t alone. I had Tripp. He never ignored me.
He never made me feel like I didn’t matter.
He was better than good, so I felt nothing but happiness for the stranger.
“Did you go to Disney yet?” I asked.
She shook her head. “That’s the plan for the next couple of days. Though now that I’ve been here, those plans may change. I’m beginning to think this is the happiest place on Earth.”
“You’re probably right, but you should still go. If for no other reason than to eat a churro. They’re sinful.”
“I’ll make sure I get one.”
“Ready?” her husband asked as he approached.
“Yes.” When she stood, the slit on her pretty dress parted to reveal intricate ropes tied around her thigh. “It was nice to meet you.”
“You, too,” I forced out, relieved it sounded as friendly as I wanted.
I kept staring at the chair where she’d been until Tripp returned.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, lifting me to stand.
“What do you know about, uh, rope kink?”
His eyes darkened. “I’ll start researching.” He tugged me closer so I could feel how into that idea he was. “And you know I’m a quick study.”
I did know.
It was one of the few quick things about him.
Tripp
TWO YEARS LATER
“I need to talk to you, wife.”
Greer looked up from her favorite spot in the back room that was saturated with natural light.
After the drama a few years before, I’d wanted to move to a new place with new memories.
She’d put her foot down about staying.
And since I loved her, I would always do whatever made her happy. I’d just done it while making our house safer than a vault—along with making it feel like a home. She and the designer Easton recommended had handled that last part.
The once empty room was filled with the comfortable furniture I’d ordered the day we’d run lines for the first time, and the decorative touches that made it Greer’s space.
Including framed prints of some of my photos.
Not the ones of her, though those were my favorite.
She glanced from me to her laptop on the table. “Personal talk or work talk?”
“Both.” Moving to the oversized chair she was curled up on, I lifted her to stand and took her spot before positioning her on my lap.
“I was comfortable,” she muttered.
“And you’re not now?”
“Will you hold me tighter if I lie and say no?”
I wrapped my hand around her throat and felt her pulse kick up beneath my palm. “Lie to me and find out what happens.”
“Never mind.”
“Smart, siren.”
“Okay, so what’s going on?”
“I’m going to have to let you go as my assistant.”
“I’m getting fired by my own husband?” she cried.
“If it makes you feel any better…” I paused and adjusted our positioning so she could feel my hard-on. “I have a severance package for you.”
She rolled her eyes. “That was bad. And it makes it sound like you’re going to cut it off, so it’s also gross.”
I grimaced. “You’re right.”
“In case you’ve failed to notice, you haven’t let me be your assistant in a long time. You’ve got Malcom for that.” She put the back of her hand to her forehead. “First, you replaced me, and now you can me.”
“Technically, you hired him,” I pointed out. “You replaced yourself.”