Now they were walking the red carpet for the movie premiere, a barrier wall on one side of them, security and more barriers on the other, the flash of cameras nearly blinding him. Blake went first with his hot model date followed by the Happy Endings Book Club members, and then Jake, Claire, and an unobtrusively hovering Frank. Jake had a whole new appreciation for Frank once Claire told him all of her horror stories of aggressive and, frankly, nutso fans.
Hailey waved and smiled at some screaming Fierce fanatics, hamming it up for the cameras and holding up her signed copy of Fierce Longing. She claimed credit for him and Claire getting together and had been lobbying to plan the wedding ever since their secret engagement (need-to-know basis), but he and Claire wanted something private. It would be at an undisclosed time in an undisclosed location with invites going out only two weeks in advance to a select few, including his family and closest friends, her family, and the book club. Truth was, they’d been waiting for the holidays and the return of his blood brother Parker Shaw. Park was heading home, for good, now that his air force service was up.
Mad elbowed Hailey, and they had a brief harsh discussion. Those two, surprisingly enough considering their differences, had become close. Mad had let Hailey glam her up with hair and makeup for tonight’s event, but insisted on a pants suit instead of a dress. Next to all the other dresses of the book club women, his sister stood out even more than she normally would with her dyed fire-engine red hair.
“Claire! Claire! Over here!” reporters shouted.
Claire stopped at the turn in the carpet in front of the theater, smiling and shifting subtly in her shimmering silver gown while the cameras went off. Jake let go of her hand so she could do her thing, and just watched her, lit up, gracious, laughing. He found himself smiling what was probably a goofy lovesick smile, but he didn’t care. It was real, and he’d never been so happy.
They went into the theater to watch her movie together for the first time. Julia, the famously reclusive author, had a private viewing of the movie at home. Claire didn’t even try to get her out to LA because Julia was all gaga for her newborn daughter, Grace. He and Claire would be starting a family just as soon as she wrapped the Fierce trilogy.
After they took their seats, he whispered in his fiancée’s ear, “I want a repeat performance of any and all simulated sex scenes in this movie, Mrs. Jake Campbell.”
She smiled, and turned to him, eyes bright. He loved that “Mrs. Jake Campbell” always made her smile. Though it wasn’t official yet, he’d been calling her that ever since he proposed. To the public she would always be Claire Jordan. That was a bankable brand that would keep going as long as she wanted.
He grinned and added, “You owe me that for watching you with this homely pretend lover.” He gestured at the screen. Never mind that Blake had just been named Sexiest Man Alive. It was Jake who’d pushed to make him so. All part of the Fierce movie marketing campaign. If the fans couldn’t have Claire and Blake together, they could obsess over Blake and imagine themselves with him. Win-win.
“I don’t think so,” she said in a teasing voice.
“And why not?”
“Everything we do is one hundred percent real. No simulations, no pretending.”
He brought her hand to his lips and grazed her knuckles. “Yes.”
She quirked a brow, a devilish gleam in those hazel eyes. “Besides, I’m not sure you can take it to this level of alpha.”
“Oh, it is on.”
They gazed into each other’s eyes, grinning like idiots.
The theater lights dimmed. He gave her a quick kiss and settled in for what he was sure was the first of many movie premieres. He still owned Dat Cloud, but he’d cut back his hours, taking more time off to travel with Claire. She was at the top of her game, and he was all in for wherever the ride took them. They’d settle down, eventually, and raise a family, but for now it was all about the next big opportunity. He liked the business side of her production company and had launched a massive online advertising campaign and a slick website.
The movie title, Fierce Longing, flashed on the screen, and he knew what those words meant on a heart level. That longing to fill the empty ache of loneliness deep inside. Something he and Claire had both felt before they found each other. And he knew soul deep what the final installment, Fierce Loving, meant too. To love wholly, completely, fiercely. Forever.
~ ~ ~
Dear Readers,
What do you think about Hailey and Josh? Will they or won’t they? I think they’re enjoying the frenemy thing too much to stop. LOL You know who really needs a happy ending? Mad Campbell. That tough chick has a secretly mushy heart for the man she worshipped as a teen. Would you like an exclusive sneak peek at my next release? Just click to sign up for my newsletter, and you’ll receive sneak peeks, excerpts, and subscriber-only giveaways. Next up is Mad Campbell’s story, Inviting Trouble, book 2 in the Happy Endings Book Club series. Join the club and get your happy ending!