“The same thing could’ve happened even if Mario was my agent,” she argued, stepping close and wrapping her arms around my neck. Her eyes held an odd mixture of excitement, anxiety, and happiness as she stared up at me. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but those stories aren’t going to go away any time soon.”
“I know,” I sighed. “If only you weren’t so damn gorgeous, maybe they would’ve gotten over their fascination by now.”
Her lips curved up in a grin of pure feminine satisfaction. “I think it’s more a case of their obsession with the confirmed Hollywood bachelor who slid into the role of a married man as though he’d been born to it.”
I brushed my lips over hers before bragging, “Can you blame them? I am kind of awesome.”
“There’s no kind of about it, but that’s not why I think the stories aren’t going anywhere.” Her breasts pressed against my chest as she took a deep breath and let it out. “It looks like the gossip rags finally got it right.”
With her body so close to mine, my brain was slow to register the point she was trying to make. “Got what right?”
“Baby bump watch is going to turn into baby watch.” She took a step back and moved my hand to press it against her belly. “I’m pregnant.”
“You’re pregnant?” I echoed in shock.
“Yeah. This time, I made Allie go out and buy the pregnancy tests because I wanted it to be a surprise to you. But it looks like there’s no way to fool the paparazzi because they still caught me touching my stomach right after Allie commandeered Dane’s office so I could use his bathroom to take the test.” Her smile was so bright, she almost glowed. “Spoiler alert—it was positive.”
“We’re pregnant!” I picked her up and twirled her around, only to stop abruptly when I realized what I was doing. “Shit, I shouldn’t do that. You might get sick, or dizzy, or something.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “You aren’t going to be one of those impossibly overprotective husbands who tries to wrap me in bubble wrap while I’m pregnant, are you?”
I gave her my most innocent look, widening my eyes and pressing a hand to my chest as I said, “It’s like you don’t even know me.”
Of course I was going to be impossibly overprotective. Morgan—and the baby we were having—were my entire world. She’d be lucky if I let her out of my sight for the next nine months . . . or if I was being completely honest, the next fifty plus years.Epilogue 2Morgan
4 years later…"Daddy, tell me again how many old years I have to be to be on TV."
I covered my mouth and bit back a laugh as I stood outside Maya's bedroom door and listened to her talking to her daddy. She was obsessed with the idea of being an actress, and poor Gage was beside himself. No matter how many times he tried to point her in a different direction, she wouldn't have it. Despite his best efforts, she continually asked him how old she had to be before she could be on TV.
"The law says you have to be twenty-two," Gage answered.
"But them girls on the shows I watch wasn't twenty-two," Maya pointed out.
"Well, those girls are from another state. In California, the law says you have to be twenty-two before you can be an actress."
I swear, I often wondered how he kept a straight face. The tall tales he told our daughter were quite something.
"That's more fingers than I has to count on, and I don't wanna wait that long, Daddy. Can we move away from California so I can be on TV now?"
"No, baby. This is our home."
"But I wanna be on the TV," Maya pouted. "It's my dream."
Our daughter came by her knack for drama naturally. I was starting to believe that someday she would win awards by the armload, in spite of the fact that her father was hell-bent on making sure she chose a career that wasn't acting.
"Maybe you could also dream about being a librarian," Gage offered.
"But I don't wanna be 'brarian, Daddy."
"Well, then what about becoming a doctor?"
"Like how Uncle Jasper plays one on TV?" Maya asked, her voice hopeful.
"No, baby. I mean you could be a real doctor who works at a real hospital."
"I don't want to be a real doctor. I just wanna pretend."
"Keep your options open," Gage said. "Maybe you'll change your mind."
Maya giggled. "You silly, Daddy. I'm gonna be an actress and win those gold things that you and Mommy keep on the shelves in your office. First, I'll be on TV like Mommy, and then I'll be in movies. Then someday when I'm tired of doing that, I'm gonna be a director like Auntie Gloria."