Page 46 of Hollywood Fairytale

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it yet. I guess, when I’m not planning a wedding, I hope to watch them film the movie, see the sights with Mason, and enjoy the beach and ocean. Hopefully, Luke will be able to join us some.”

“Sounds like the perfect way to spend summer,” Taylor sighed wistfully.

“I hope so.”

“I hate to let you go, but Jack just walked down stairs and it would be nice to spend a little time with my husband before he has to go back to work.”

“Don’t worry about it. I understand. Send my love to Jack and Ben, and I’ll keep you updated on the wedding plans.”

“Talk to you soon.”

“Talk to you soon.” I answered back.

She made a kissing sound into the phone before disconnecting.

After I got off the phone, Luke and I were quiet for a few minutes. I leaned against his chest with my head resting back on his shoulder, looking out over the pool area. His arms were still around me, hugging me to him.

Breaking the silence, he cleared his throat. “It sounded like you had a good talk.”

“We did and I’m sorry.”

Moving me to the side so that we could see each other better, he asked with his brows drawn. “What are you sorry for?”

“I should’ve talked to you about how I was feeling. I was sick and I just… I don’t know how many times I’ve been sick and alone, but this time I wanted so badly to be with you. I’m not used to feeling that way.”

“Alex,” he pulled me closer, kissing my forehead. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting me here. Do you think I’m weak for coming early because I wanted to take care of you?”

My brows pulled together, forehead scrunched tight. “Of course not. I think it’s sweet.”

Luke dipped his chin, looking down at me seriously. “It’s right for you to want me here, with or without you being sick. I know it’s not something you’re accustomed to, but in time you’ll learn that its normal. Never have I hidden how much I missed you while we were apart. I was stuck in LA far away from you, but at least you had Mason here with you almost every day. No one is going to think you’re weak.”

Nuzzling my head underneath his chin, I laced our fingers together. “Most will think I’m a gold digger or a witch that put a spell on you to make you fall for me.”

“It doesn’t matter what they say as long as we know the truth. There’s always going to be someone out there spouting ugly things about me, you, or our relationship. That’s not going to stop, but we can’t let what they say get to us otherwise we’ll always be miserable, and doubt will start to surface.”

“What about my engagement ring?” I asked as my thumb rubbed over the diamond.

“I think for now you should wear it. Maybe if you’re at the store or feel someone’s eyes on you turn it so they only see the band. On flights, you should probably take it off. I love seeing that ring on your finger.” He laughed to himself, his lopsided grin appearing as his thumb followed mine over the diamond. “I bought that ring the first day I had free when I got back after Mexico, and I’ve been waiting ever since to find the perfect time to propose. I don’t want our special moment to be ruined by the paparazzi or a noisy fan, so as much as I hate to say it, maybe leave it here when we go to Hawaii or only wear it around the hotel room.”

Staring down at my gorgeous ring, I thought of how much it sucked I couldn’t wear it because of crazy fans and paparazzi, but I had Luke and he was worth all the shit they put us through. “Does it ever make you want to stop acting and live a normal life?”

“Hey,” he called, tipping my chin up to look at him again. “I do have a normal life here with you and Mason. It’s just that I have an abnormal job for someone living in the Midwest.” He grinned, and my heart swelled in my chest. “But to answer your question, yes, there are days when it doesn’t seem worth it. When I couldn’t leave a hotel without security unless I wanted to be mobbed. It’s strange that now I don’t have to worry about it so much. I’ve been around and made my stance known that I want my life to be as private as possible, but I have no problem taking a selfie or signing an autograph for a fan if they respect me and my space. Unfortunately, Liam never put those ground rules out there, and he gets mobbed when he goes out unless he’s very careful.”

A shiver racked my body thinking of a crowd of people trying to get to Luke. “That’s scary.”

“It is, but I promise you that you and Mason will never be put into a situation like that. If I even remotely think that the public or paparazzi will be a problem, then I’ll make sure you have security. I think that the statement we put out about not wanting Mason’s picture to be taken or posted on the internet was received well. We have more to worry about from the people here than Hollywood taking his picture and posting it.”

Giving Luke a knowing look, I frowned. “Yeah, you are going to be a hot commodity around here for quite some time. I can’t even count the number of women who decided that they wanted to be my friend after seeing you at the sock hop. As long as you don’t wear those glasses out of the house we should be fine.”

Licking his lips, Luke’s eyes became hooded. “I feel some eye strain coming on.”

Running my hand up his sculpted chest, I kissed the dimple on his chin. “We can’t have that now can we. You should put your glasses on before it gets too bad.”

21

For the last half hour,I nervously waited until Mason arrived home. Decker demanded that he bring Mason home and up to the door no matter what I came up with for why he shouldn’t. I knew I couldn’t keep him away forever, but it had been a nice run. He even threatened to not let Mason go with us to Hawaii if he didn’t see that Mason was living in a suitable home. We knew that was bullshit because you could see some of the houses in our small neighborhood from the gate and they were all spectacular.

Decker was always unpredictable, and I knew he would blow his top once he saw the house that Mason and I now lived in. What I wasn’t sure of was if he would internalize it and wait until an opportune moment to lash out at me, or if he wouldn’t be able to hide his displeasure that we were living better than we ever had when he provided for us.

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