Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 70551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“Are you?” He tilts his head to the side. “Are you even honest with yourself? Because the man I saw months ago was miserable, and the man standing before me now is alive.”
“Is this why you brought Natalie up here?”
“Partly,” he admits. “I wanted to see you skiing, to make sure the role’s a good fit. It is.”
“Not everyone gets the happily ever after that you got,” I remind him.
“They should,” he says with a satisfied grin. “Because it’s fucking great, kid. It’s better than any Oscar sitting on my shelf. I mean, did you see her?”
My lips twitch. “I did.”
“I would give it all up tomorrow if she asked me to, but here’s the kicker: she never would.”
Jenna wouldn’t either.
“Ah, there it is,” he says with a smile. “You get it. Enjoy the last few weeks here in your insulated bubble without press, where you get to be a man with a beautiful woman. But just remember that you don’t have to choose one life over the other.”
I push my hand through my hair. “Thank you.”
“You can name your first kid after me.”
I stare at him in horrified surprise, making him laugh.
“I’m kidding. Sort of.”
“I need more wine.”
Chapter Nine
~Jenna~
“THIS IS SO NICE,” Natalie says from the lounge chair next to mine. We’re sitting in the tranquil area of the spa at the Lodge, drinking hot tea, wrapped in fluffy, white robes.
“I’m glad you talked me into it.” I sip my tea and sigh with happiness. “I don’t remember the last time I did something like this.”
“You strike me as being a bit of a workaholic,” Nat replies. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as long as you take care of yourself.”
She smiles softly. Natalie has an air of absolute calm about her. With four kids and a celebrity husband, I would expect her to be more frantic.
“I lose track of time.” I shrug and sip more of my tea. “But maybe I should just have a standing appointment once a month for a massage.”
“Atta girl,” she says with a nod. “I approve whole-heartedly. Now, let’s get to the good stuff. Tell me about Christian.”
I laugh and set my tea aside, then snuggle down in my robe, thinking about the sexiest man alive.
I mean, People magazine dubbed him that less than six months ago.
“He’s a nice guy.”
Nat wrinkles her nose. “I mean, tell me the good stuff. I promise, I’m a vault.”
“He’s everything I never expected.”
“That’s more like it.” She rubs her hands together and wiggles her eyebrows. “He seems so nice, and Luke has great things to say about him.”
“He is nice. And he doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder like I thought a super famous guy would have.”
“That’s a plus because, trust me, there are plenty of those. Not that I’ve met many. Luke keeps me and the kids separate from the professional stuff as much as he can.”
“Really?” I tilt my head, watching her with interest. “How is that possible?”
“Luke had already set a lot of boundaries when I met him,” she says, rubbing a finger over her lips as she thinks about it. “He was done with acting by then, and he still refuses to do much press. He’s fiercely private. I think the paparazzi give him anxiety, and now that he’s not been in front of the camera for years, they pretty much leave him alone.
“I will go to award ceremonies with him, like the Oscars, but we never take the kids with us.”
“I think that’s awesome,” I say quietly. “That he’s managed to balance both family and a demanding career.”
“It’s not easy. If I weren’t so laid back, I don’t know if it would have worked.” She narrows her eyes at me. “You don’t seem like a laid-back kind of girl.”
“I’m more type-A,” I reply with a grin.
“If you’re going to make it work with someone like Christian, there will be times that you’ll have to just go with the flow. Schedules change, life is interrupted, and it can be inconvenient.”
“Go with the flow,” I murmur. “That actually makes sense.”
“Also, if you’re a jealous person, this will not work.” She stands to pour herself some more tea.
“I’m not a jealous person, but I’m also not the kind of woman who is okay with being hidden.”
Nat raises a brow as she sits back in her chair. “You’re hiding?”
I explain how the press thinks that Christian is with Serena for the sake of the movie release, and how careful he is not to touch me in public.
“I’m not okay with being his dirty little secret.”
“Agreed,” Natalie says immediately. “That’s not okay. He needs to stand up to the studio and make it clear that they don’t get to dictate who he’s seen with. I’ve heard of them doing those things before. I know that Luke had to deal with some of that, and after he put his foot down, he was much happier.