Lights, Camera, Lies

The studio’s makeshift meeting room was at a round table made from an old clothing store sign that had been a set piece in a game show years ago. The dim lighting and rickety chairs didn’t make this meeting feel very official, but it was the first time Taylor had been open with the fact that we were a real couple.

Even as we filmed the finale for Lights, Camera, Lies, we made it seem like we were just a random team who got along well together. Now that I was seated at the table with his family, I felt like our relationship was official.

I stayed silent as Taylor went over the details from the lawyers. Since he was the oldest of the three cousins, he had sort of taken charge.

Darlene had done some research, and there was no specifically educational studio space in the city. Television stations were having their budgets slashed, as tiny online spaces were popping up. There was no medium sized studio for people who needed a larger space on a small budget.

“So if Darlene and Darrell run some educational programming in studio A,” Taylor was saying, “Gary could coordinate with local content providers, and rent out studios B and C to them.”

“And what are you going to do?” Gary asked.

Taylor chuckled. “I’m going to kick in the cash to have the entire building cleaned and upgraded.”

“Plus,” I said softly, “Taylor and I are going to donate our winnings from the show to the development of some local children’s educational programming. There are some university students with incredible ideas who are already putting together pitches.”

Gary nodded. “So we’ll be seeing some income fairly quickly, as they spread the word. That’s good.”

“I’d appreciate your help in choosing the programming,” Darlene said to me. “Other than picking my weird cousin as a boyfriend, you seem to be pretty smart.”

Taylor pulled my hands from my lap and set them on the table, then pointed to the large gleaming round solitaire.

“Holy shit, that’s huge,” Darrell laughed. He clapped Taylor on the back. “Congratulations to both of you.”

Darlene jumped up to hug me. “I’ve never had a sister,” she whispered in my ear. “This will be close enough.” I was touched by how quickly I was welcomed into the group, even though I still didn’t know what to think of the others.

“Hey,” Gary said thoughtfully, “When we repackage our first online series to pitch it to streaming services, can we tell them that our crazy little show resulted in a marriage? It’s great publicity.”

I looked to Taylor, who shrugged. “If it’s all right with Alice, it’s all right with me. As long as it’s tasteful.”

“Then we’ll leave Darrell out of it,” Gary quipped, earning himself a smack on the shoulder.

“The psychologists from the wrap-up episode had plenty of ideas for future shows,” Darlene said. “More harmless experiments in human nature and behavior.”

“University students would be all over that,” I said. “Wanting to prove their studies, and gather evidence.”

“But you can stay out of that until you get your degree,” Taylor said, as his hand landed heavily on my knee. “Your education comes first. The rest of this can wait.”

“Bossy,” I whispered, raising my eyebrow. “And pushy. So, so pushy.”

“I don’t want my gorgeous girl to be stressed,” Taylor grinned. “Remember, the wedding planner is arriving tomorrow.”

For the millionth time in the past month, I felt completely spoiled rotten. “Thank you,” I whispered, leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek. I didn’t care that it was clearly unprofessional in a business meeting.

After we finished the meeting, we went out to the parking lot and I slipped behind the wheel of my luxurious burgundy car. “Straight home?” I asked.

“Yes,” Taylor practically growled. “I haven’t had you naked in over ten hours.”

Thank goodness my new wheels had a lot of pickup. With all of the amazing things that Taylor had done for me, I certainly didn’t want to make my new fiancé wait.

For anything.

Epil ogue Two

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Taylor

* Six Years Later *