B01EU62FUC (R) (12 page)

Jesse grinned. “We agreed to get married not an hour later.”

“I can see why!” Matt shook her head. “That’s why people tune in for your show. You two have some incredible chemistry. I hope they let your characters marry soon.”

“I’m just glad we didn’t have to wait for the writers to decide it was time!” Jesse said with a wink at Valerie.

Matt got to his feet and shook hands with first Jesse and then Valerie. “I want to thank Jesse and Valerie Savoy for joining us tonight.”

Valerie lifted a hand in a wave to the audience as they exited the stage. As soon as they were behind the curtain she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “We did it!”

“You were awesome! You didn’t seem at all bothered by the questions he asked.”

She rested her head against his shoulder. “Thank you for lending me your courage.”

He wrapped his arm around her, and they walked out to the car the network had waiting to take them to their hotel. “Do we really have to play tourist this weekend?” he asked as they settled into the back seat.

“One play is all I ask.”

He nodded. “Sure.” He didn’t mind taking her to a play on Broadway, but he felt much safer when they stayed in. He’d take care of her, though.

CHAPTER 8

T
he next week’s filming went by without incident, and Friday evening Jesse and Valerie flew to LA for their week off. “I’m really nervous about going back to LA.”

“Why?” Jesse asked. “All of your stuff is at my house now, and Curtis doesn’t know where that is.” He didn’t want her to worry about her ex. That was his job.

“It’s not that hard to find you.”

He shrugged. “I live in a house with a wall surrounding it, and there will be security guards posted at the gate by the time I get home. My agent arranged it. He’s not going to risk anything happening to either of us.”

“You don’t think?” She didn’t trust Curtis. She’d known him to do some crazy things.

“No, I don’t. I think he’s going to try to get at you on the set.”

“Does that mean I don’t need a babysitter in LA?” she asked. She loved the time they got together, but she hated to feel like she needed to be watched at all times.

Jesse sighed, moving her hand to his lips and kissing it softly. “It’s only for a little while.”

“Why?” She looked at him in confusion. “Do you think he’s going to give up soon? Or do you think he’s going to make a move?”

Jesse shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t think he’ll ever give up. I think you’ll be hiding from him for the rest of your life if he isn’t caught.”

Valerie sighed. “I hate that. I’ll be an old grandmother someday, and still watching over my shoulder for him.”

“Nope. He’s up to something. We just have to wait him out.” He turned to her more fully. “But about children…are you wanting kids right away? We’ve never talked about it.”

She shrugged. “I haven’t thought about it a lot, but it wouldn’t upset me to have them. I love kids.”

“Well, it’s something we need to talk about, because I’m not using any protection, and I’m assuming you aren’t either.”

She shook her head. “I guess I never thought of that.”

“We’ve both had a lot on our minds lately.”

“Yeah, ending a relationship of eight years, getting married, working every day, and flying all over the country every weekend can do that to you.” She rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand. “Do you realize we have been on both coasts and in the middle of the country all in the space of a week?”

“You were the one who wanted to be a famous actress…”

She shook her head. “Actually, I’m not sure that I ever wanted to be famous. Small parts here and there were all I was really looking for. I wanted to make a living with acting, but I figured I’d have the kind of role Amber does.”

“Ah. Yeah, the kid sister to the star. Didn’t work out that way for you, did it?” He rubbed his thumb over her lips, wishing they were alone.

She recognized the look in his eyes and patted his shoulder as if to tell him to calm down. “No, but I think it would have if you hadn’t been there auditioning the same day I was.”

He shrugged. “I’m not so sure. You’re a wonderful actress.”

Valerie smiled at that. “I’m decent. But the magic we create onscreen together is what everyone wants. If either of us left the show, it wouldn’t last another season.”

“We have three morning talk shows this week,” Jesse told her casually. “We’ll film them Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings.”

She groaned. “Mornings? Can’t we do the late night shows?”

He grinned, loving that he’d found her ultimate weakness—mornings. “I’ll make the coffee while you shower.”

“You really
do
love me,” she said softly, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him down for a kiss.

He laughed. “If all I have to do to prove my love is make you coffee, you can expect it every day for the rest of your life.”

“Well, I need chocolate on occasion as well. Chocolate and coffee make a woman feel very loved.”

“What about flowers and diamonds?” He kept his face serious, but she saw the twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

“Well, flowers and diamonds are all well and good, but coffee and chocolate? I’ll fall into your arms any day for coffee and chocolate.”

He laughed, touching the tip of her nose with his finger. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

They hopped into a cab together after rushing through the airport. They both left enough clothes in each place that they didn’t have to take suitcases back and forth, so there was no checked luggage.

After Jesse gave his address, they leaned back against the seat, her head on his shoulder. “I can’t believe how sleepy I am.”

“It’s been a long couple of weeks.”

“I’m excited to see your house. I never had the chance.”

“You were invited to a party when I first moved in.”

She shrugged. “I think you know what happened there.” She’d asked Curtis to take her, and he’d become violent. Thankfully he hadn’t bruised her anywhere that couldn’t be covered by her clothes.

His hand rubbed her thigh. “Of course, I know. You’ll see it tonight. Or tomorrow if you’re too tired.”

She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, liking that she felt comfortable enough to lean on him.

His house was big, but not huge. It was surrounded by a white wall for privacy, and there was a gate that looked to be new with men stationed at it. The driver stopped at the gate.

Jesse opened the door and stood up. “Thank you for stopping us.”

The guard nodded. “Mr. Savoy, it’s good to meet you.”

“You too. Your duty has been explained to you?”

“Yes, sir. No one gets in or out without your consent. Mrs. Savoy is our primary focus.”

“Exactly.” Jesse got back into the cab and they drove up the drive to the front of the house. He paid the driver, and took her carry-on from her. “Come on.”

When he’d bought the house two years before, he’d had her comfort in mind. He hadn’t done a lot of decorating, because he’d known he wanted her to be able to do it. He’d lived for the dream of marrying her one day. As he unlocked the door and led her inside, he watched her face carefully. He desperately wanted her to be happy with his choice.

When Valerie stepped inside the house, she felt as though she was coming home. “I love it,” she said softly.

He smiled at that. “I hoped you would.” He dropped their bags and took her hand, giving her a quick tour of the downstairs. The last room he took her into was the kitchen, which was huge and made with a cook in mind.

“Oh, I can’t wait to cook here.”

He raised an eyebrow at that. “You cook? More than sandwiches?”

She made a face. “There’s not much you can cook in one of those trailers with only a fridge, sink, and microwave. You wait. I’ll make you a meal you’ll never forget.”

He grinned, opening a door to the backyard. There was a pool with a built-in hot tub. “I know how much you love water.”

She smiled at him. They’d never talked about swimming, but they’d filmed a couple of pool scenes together. He seemed to have catalogued her reaction to everything they’d done in the four years since they’d met. How could she have missed his love for all that time? Now that she knew it was obvious in the way he touched her, the way he looked at her, but most importantly, in the little things he remembered about her.

“I love it. It’s almost like you bought this place with me in mind.”

His eyes remained steady on hers, as he waited for her to come to the obvious conclusion. When she didn’t seem to comprehend immediately, he said so softly she could barely hear it, “I did.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I’d have broken up with him if I’d known. I would have come to you.”

His hand cupped her cheek, a smile transforming his face. “Really?”

She nodded. “Really.”

When he kissed her, there was no passion involved. Only sweet tenderness. Her heart was full as she held his shoulders, clinging to him.

“You’re tired,” he whispered, kissing her forehead. “Let’s go to bed. There’s plenty of time to explore tomorrow.”

She nodded. “Thank you for always caring so much about what I need.”
I love you.
She couldn’t say it yet, but she knew she did. Why, she’d probably loved him for as long as he’d loved her. She just hadn’t been able to show it.

She let him lead her upstairs to his room. The only picture there was a shot taken of the two of them, laughing into each other’s eyes after a scene had been filmed. She remembered the day, but had never seen the photo. “Where did you get this?” she asked, walking to the dresser and picking it up.

He smiled. “Amber took it.”

“And she just gave it to you?”

“Oh, no. We negotiated for a long time on her price for that. I had to have it, though.”

“She charged you for it?” Valerie couldn’t keep the giggle out of her voice.

“Charged me in labor. I had to spend hours going over her lines with her for that play she was in a couple of years ago between seasons. Remember?”

She nodded. “I do remember. I knew you’d spent a lot of time with her. For a little while I thought you two were hooking up, but she said that you were true. Which made no sense at the time, but sure does now.”

He took the picture from her hands and put it back on the dresser. “Were you jealous?”

“Of course not!”

He laughed at her quick denial. “You could let me have my dreams, you know.”

Her hand went to his cheek, and she pulled his face down for a kiss. “You know I’ve felt more for you than any other man I’ve ever known. Stop being so greedy.”

“I can’t. I need to know I have all of you.” He turned and walked into the bathroom, closing the door and leaning back against it. It was harder to be married to her without her love than he’d realized.
Someday
.

They had a leisurely weekend. Valerie’s agent, Jessica, had done as promised and moved all of her things, and then she’d come over and unpacked for her, making certain things would be ready when she got there.

On Sunday afternoon, Valerie looked over at Jesse, who was sitting on the couch watching her as she explored the kitchen. “We need food. I want to cook you a nice dinner tonight.”

He shook his head. “You don’t have to cook. I know you’re as tired as I am after three weeks of intense shooting.”

“I want to cook. I enjoy it. It relaxes me.”

“So you want me to take you to the grocery store?” He made a face. “That doesn’t sound very romantic.”

“Real life isn’t just about romance.” She reached for his hand. “I don’t mind going alone, but I don’t think you want that.”

Jesse stood up, enfolding her tiny hand in his. He was always surprised at just how small she was. “I guess we’re going to the grocery store.”

“I guess we are.”

At all three interviews that week, they showed the same clip from the episode they’d been filming when Valerie and Jesse had decided to marry. Every time she watched the clip, she was astounded when she thought about how many times they’d done scenes like that together without her realizing how he felt. Or how she herself felt.

For four years, every time he’d walked into a room she was in, her heart had skipped a beat, and she’d never once considered she was in love with him. Every kiss they’d shared had been chronicled in her memory and replayed over and over.

She’d gone to sleep at night remembering the feel of his lips on hers. She’d wanted to spend every waking moment with him. If that wasn’t love, she didn’t know what was.

After they arrived back in Texas to start their next episode, Valerie was happy to see they’d kept up their vigilance surrounding the set. The extra guards were there, making her feel safer.

On Sunday night before filming began, she called her mother, making sure everything was still all right at home.

“Yes, of course everything is fine,” her mother insisted. “Curtis has been staying next door with his parents, but he hasn’t made any attempts to even come over here.”

“Good. I’m still worried about you guys. Don’t let Rikki talk to him. You know how she is. She’ll feel sorry for him, and think she needs to take care of him.”

“Rikki is smarter than that.”

“I hope so.” Her younger sister had a huge heart, and she was always going out of her way to help the injured. Valerie was afraid Rikki would see Curtis as injured and want to ‘help’ him, whether he needed it or not. “Just make sure she knows that I’m the injured party and not Curtis.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Valerie hung up the phone and looked over at Jesse where he was supposed to be studying his script, but was watching her instead. She got up and walked over to where he sat on the couch, climbing onto his lap and pushing his script away. “I’m a
lot
more interesting than that script.”

“You’ll get no arguments from me.”

She grinned, kissing him. “I’m worried my sister is going to do something stupid.”

“Why?”

“Curtis is staying with his parents, so he’s right next door to Mom and Rikki. She has this thing for injured people and animals. I’m afraid she’s going to think I was mean to Curtis, breaking up with him and marrying you so quickly.”