Page 76 of Tinsel & Tools
“Are you sitting down?” she replied.
“Oh, no. Is something wrong?”
“Not unless you consider Hallmark wanting to turn Tinsel & Tools into a movie a bad thing.”
My knees nearly buckled, and I dropped onto one of the chairs on the porch. “You’re serious?”
“I’d never joke about this. The offer’s in your inbox. It’s generous, and they’re open to your input on the script and casting. Look it over tonight and call me in the morning.”
“Okay.” I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “Wow. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” she said kindly. “You’re the one who wrote a bestseller.”
We hung up, but I stayed where I was, my heart hammering. I’d spent months wondering if I’d ever write again. Now my story was going to be on-screen.
“Everything okay out here?” I looked up and found Cole standing in the doorway. Whatever he saw on my face made him rush over to my side and kneel. “Baby?”
I laughed, breathless. “I got a movie deal.”
His eyes widened. “What?”
A huge smile spread across my face. “Hallmark wants to turn Tinsel & Tools into a movie.”
Cole stood and pulled me into his arms. “Holy shit! That’s incredible. I’m so damn proud of you.”
He leaned forward and kissed me. Everything faded away, and I got lost in the moment as I often did when his lips touched mine.
A throat cleared behind us and forced us apart.
“You two keep that up, you’re going to scare away the guests,” Allie teased.
“Like we don’t catch you and Ryan doing the same thing,” I said, remembering how just last week they left The Tap after one song during karaoke because they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
“Whatever,” she huffed. “And why do you two have those goofy grins on your faces?”
“What do you mean?” I tried to act nonchalant, but I couldn’t stop my smile from widening.
“Gavin Michael Price, you better not be keeping things from your best friend,” she grumbled.
“I got a movie deal for Tinsel & Tools,” I shouted, unable to contain myself.
Her squeal could probably have been heard in the next county over, and she threw her arms around me. “Oh my god, that’s so amazing.”
We continued our own little celebration until Cole said, “I know we’re all happy about this news, but if we’re going to get to my parents’ in time for dinner, we need to leave.”
Every Thursday, we had dinner with Cole’s parents, sister and her family, and sometimes his cousins. I’d been nervous the first time I walked into their house, but they welcomed me with open arms, literally. He’d given me something I hadn’t had in a long time—a family. His family wasn’t a replacement for the one I’d lost, but it felt good to be part of a new one that shared so much love.
We went inside and shared the good news with Mrs. Ross, who gave me the biggest hug before we grabbed our apple pie and cookies. After saying goodbye to everyone, we climbed into Cole’s truck and cranked on the heater.
“Do you want to check your email before dinner?” he asked, buckling his seatbelt.
I shook my head. “I think I need to let some of the excitement wear off before I try to make sense of a bunch of legal documents.”
He nodded and pulled onto Cedar Street as I connected my Bluetooth to the radio and selected one of my playlists. The first few notes of “Rewrite the Stars” started to play.
I rested my hand on Cole’s thigh. “Remember when I sang this at karaoke?”
He glanced over at me. “How could I forget? The crowd loved you, but it felt like you were singing only to me.”
“I was,” I admitted.
He lowered one hand from the steering wheel and laced his fingers with mine. “Do you think we rewrote the stars?”
“Maybe. Or maybe we created our own story and didn’t let fate dictate the plot for us.”
He smiled. “Either way, I’d say we did all right.”
“Better than all right.” I pulled his hand to my mouth and kissed it softly. “With a little tinsel and a lot of tools, we were able to build our very own holiday romance with a happily ever after.”
The End.
