Luckily for me, Nolan knows just what to say to get them back on track.
“I love you. I love your big belly and in three months when it’s gone, I’ll love your new body and I’ll adore your new curves.”
“I’ll have stretch marks.”
“I’ll love those too. You’re carrying my child, Arya. You have no idea what that means to me. This beautiful body is our child’s home right now.”
He places a comforting hand on my stomach and I already start to feel better.
“Those stretch marks will be gorgeous because they’ll be proof that our child was safe and secure inside you. They’ll be there to remind me how brave you are. How amazing you’ve been. How strong and noble you are to have carried our child when he or she was too weak to carry themselves. I’ll never forget that, Arya. And a reminder of this time on your body won’t be looked at negatively by me. Ever. It will be the sexiest thing about you.”
I have tears in my eyes again, but this time, it’s for a different reason.
“You’re sure?” I ask as I squeeze his hands.
The stunning smile he gives me tells me that no matter what, everything is going to be okay. He’ll always find me sexy. He’ll always find me beautiful.
Besides, this man is way too obsessed with me for his feelings to sour.
I should know that by now.
“Okay,” I say with a sniff. “At least I’m not wearing that hideous Hawaiian shirt.”
He laughs as I wipe my eyes on the back of my hands.
“It’s not that bad is it?” he asks as we start walking toward the bar.
“I was going to wear sunglasses because I was worried my eyes would start bleeding.”
“Okay,” he says as he starts unbuttoning it. “How about I take it off.”
“That would be an improvement,” I say as my mouth starts to water with every inch of his chest he shows me. “Inappropriate, but an improvement.”
“Too bad,” he says with a laugh as he takes my hand again. “I think I’ve been naked in public enough for one year. Besides, I’m kind of liking it now. I might get a full suit made of this material.”
“I’d pay to see that,” I say with a laugh.
We walk around the beautiful luau with all of the torches and hula dancers setting the mood. The music is great and the drinks are flowing. Everyone is having a good time.
Including me.
Thanks to Nolan.
He always knows just what to say. Just what to do.
We’re going snorkeling with the turtles tomorrow and I can’t wait.
I told him that I spent more money than I ever had—ten fucking grand—to help save them, so I definitely want to see them.
Nolan thought the same thing. He donated a million to the cute little guys, which is way more than me, but at the time, was not even close in terms of our net worths. He had hundreds of millions, so one wasn’t a big deal. I had negative thirty thousand, so ten grand was huge.
But it was all worth it.
It got me here, with Nolan, and hopefully, I saved a few turtles in the process.EpilogueAryaSix years later…“Put the knife down,” Ryker shouts as I hold it up, ready to throw at any second.
“Let the girl go first,” I say in the best badass warrior chick voice I can muster.
He sneers as he glares at me. “You’ll find with me, Agent Kelly, that I don’t answer to—”
I launch the knife at him. It summersaults across the room, over the girl’s head, and lands right in the middle of his forehead—at least it will in post-production. Right now, we’re all just pretending I threw a knife instead of just waving my empty hand through the air. Gotta love CGI.
“Cut!” the director shouts. Ryker and the girl head straight to the buffet, chatting like old friends as they walk.
I search the crew until I find Nolan. He’s leaning against the wall, watching me closely with his arms crossed over his chest.
He helped finance the movie, so they let him on set. So far, he’s been here every day that I’m shooting. I know he’s itching to throw a blanket over this skimpy dress, but my obsessive husband is behaving himself. For now.
I’m nervous to see what he’s going to do when I have my kissing scene with Dr. Assassin tomorrow. Maybe they can use CGI for the kiss. Or at least to crop out my possessive husband as he charges onto the set, throws me over his shoulder, and carries me away.
I run a hand through my hair and then strut over to him. He never takes his heated eyes off me, which is saying a lot because there are about a dozen stunning twenty-year-olds in bikinis for the next scene standing nearby. He doesn’t even glance at them.