“Remind me not to put them in charge of the grocery list, like ever,” Tinsley teased.
“I think they did great!” exclaimed Lucas. “I can’t believe I’m sitting around having dinner with all the Falconi guys. My friends at school are never going to believe this.”
“We’re going to be in your life for a long time little dude,” said Kai.
“Really?” Lucas asked. “How’s that?”
“We’re going to be an extension of your family,” said Michael.
“Like uncles?” Lucas questioned.
“Kinda, sorta. The guys and I all want to be there for you and your mom. You two are super important to us. We want to be there for you through thick and thin. If you have a problem, we want to be the people you call,” said Thiago.
“How does that sound Lucas? Can you stand to have us around for a while?” Kai asked.
“I could stand to have you guys around forever,” said Lucas.
Tinsley looked at each of us. Tears filled her eyes for the millionth time in the past two days. “Look at this beautiful site. All my guys. I love you all so much!”
“We love you too!” we all said in unison.
EPILOGUE: SIX MONTHS LATER
Tinsley
I couldn’t believe that this day had finally come. My world had changed so much in the last six months. I remembered sitting in my car that first day before heading to the studio to meet the Falconi team for the first time. I was so freaked out about seeing Ryan again.
Now my life had completely changed. I was sitting here on the day of my commitment ceremony surrounded by dozens of people who loved Lucas and I.
I had my own successful PR company, Lucas and I moved in full time with Ryan, and there was so much more on the horizon. How had I gotten so lucky?
I thought about my first big client break outside of the studio and Falconi franchise, Evelyn D’Angelo. She’d seen the work I’d done to help save the studio and turn around the reputation of Lee Wynn. She’d been wronged by the industry, and she needed me bad.
Evelyn had been the “it” girl right before the world shut down. While the rest of us were masked and huddled in our homes trying to keep sane, Evelyn had kept right on working. She’d agreed to take on a big project which required her to be quarantined with the entire cast and crew during the entire length of filming.
It was a big commitment but she had been willing to take it on because she felt it was important to keep entertaining people during such a wild time in the world. What she didn’t know was that one of the pervy members of the support staff had put cameras in every nook and cranny of her hotel suite.
Evelyn’s entire quarantine experience had been recorded, including an on-set romance with her castmate Luke Heatherly. Luke portrayed the image of a bad boy turned good for the paparazzi, but it turned out he was a giant jerk. He’d lied to Evelyn saying that he and his wife were separated. In actuality, Luke and his wife weren’t just together, they were pregnant.
When the footage from their time together was leaked, manipulated, and sold, Evelyn had come across as a full-fledged seductress trying to lure a happily married Luke away from his loving, pregnant wife, while being forced to be locked up with the temptress the entire length of filming.
The studio she’d been working with had cancelled Evelyn and she’d been trashed in every media outlet worth paying attention to. That was until she’d been smart enough to hire me.
Saving Evelyn and transforming Lee’s reputation had made metheHollywood fixer. I was now considered the person you came to when you had an impossible problem. I did things the right way which is part of the reason my business had blown up.
In six short months I had hired a staff and had a client list that would shock even the most seasoned Hollywood professionals. Katie and Stephen had joined me on staff when my business had taken off and my assistant, Alex, from the Lee blow up had joined me as well.
I was super choosy about how I went about my business and hiring and it had served me well. The Grant Chaswell’s of the world didn’t bat an eye anymore when I whipped out my contract and pricing. They knew I was worth it.
Lucas too had blossomed over the last several months. I already knew I had the world’s greatest kid but having a dad like Ryan around full time had really been great for him. Those two were practically inseparable.
Early on, Ryan and I had realized that if we were going to do this right we needed to live together and that transition had gone super well. Of course, that meant that Ryan and Adrienne had to “break up” for good but she was grateful for the chance to spend more time with her men.
Since our relationships were unorthodox, for the sake of the press, Ryan and I appeared in public as a couple. I accompanied him to all the important events. The press loved our story, college sweethearts reunited that already had an adorable kid that Ryan had “kept hidden” from the press until recently.
We hadn’t wanted Lucas in the spotlight but since he and Ryan had bonded so well, it was impossible to continue protecting that secret. Lucas was practically Ryan’s shadow now and with every waking minute they looked more and more alike.
Behind the scenes my men and I kept going strong. I had never been so incredibly adored, so taken care of, so happy. The men took care of my every need, mentally, emotionally and of course physically. We had found an easy rhythm that worked for all of us.