Authors: Alexx Andria

Falling From Grace (11 page)

BOOK: Falling From Grace

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Any other time Dani might’ve been devastated but instead, she felt a weight lift from her shoulders and she laughed. “Well, good for you but this meal ticket just expired.
And if you’re stupid enough to sell those pics…I will slap a lawsuit on you so fast it’ll make your head spin. By the time my lawyers are finished with you, you won’t own the thoughts in your vapid little head.”
Chew on that, you little bitch
. Dani was done with being blackmailed, used, and treated like shit by anyone, least of all a gold-digger opportunist like Raina. “Later.”

Dani
clicked off and started giggling. Unbelievable. How stupid had she been to think that Raina was a true friend? How blind? She grabbed her towel and headed for the beach. She had a few things to say to Miles — the biggest being an apology. She only hoped it wasn’t too late.

-11-

Miles was sitting in the sand
watching the surf, his thoughts bouncing between morose and pissed off, when Dani plopped down beside him. “You lost?” he asked, not even bothering to sound less rude. He’d been a fool to let her into his heart again when he knew it wouldn’t work. He’d put himself in a craptastic spot and now he was screwed because he couldn’t live with her and certainly hated the idea of living without her.

“Can we talk?”

“About?”

She took a deep breath.
“Okay, I’ll let you have that one; I deserve it. I was a jerk when you were trying to help and I’m sorry.” She took a risk and looped her arm around his, leaning against his shoulder. The sudden contact shocked him and although he wouldn’t push her away, he remained guarded. She sighed against him, the sound heavy with reflection. “Miles…I’ve been wrestling with the feeling that leaving you was the biggest mistake of my life and not knowing how to deal with it. I’ll tell you, being pushed and pulled by your own thoughts is enough to make a person crazy.”

Yeah, he could relate. He touched her hand lightly.
“And what conclusion have you come to?”

“That I still love you,” she
answered simply, before asking in earnest, “How do you feel about that?”

He
exhaled a tight breath, wishing it were as simple as saying the words and traipsing into the sunset together. “I love you, too,” he said softly, grazing his knuckles against her tan skin. “But we’re both smart enough to know that love isn’t enough. Especially in a career like yours.”

She nodded. “I know. But I wanted you to hear it from me. I never should’ve pushed you away. I should’ve trusted that you would help me with Richard. But I didn’t and here we are. Raina is out of my life, by the way,” she added. “She trashed my house and she admitted that she’s the one whose been selling me out to the tabloids.”

“Worthless piece of crap,” he muttered. “I knew it.”

“Yeah. Sucks to admit that your judgment was so off but facts are facts. And if I’m going to take Lindy’s advice, I’ve gotta stop living with blinders on just because I don’t like what I see.”

He turned to regard her, surprised at the clear-headed statement. “You mean that?”

“Yeah. I want to be taken seriously. I want a career like Lindy’s, one
that includes Broadway shows and Oscar-award winning parts. I won’t get that by running around in the clubs. I see that now. I think it was fear that made me listen to someone like Raina because now that I’m not afraid anymore…she seems like a lunatic.”

He laughed in spite of the gravity of the conversation. “Lunatic is a mild word for a woman like her but I agree and I’m glad to hear that you’re ready to grab onto your destiny. You deserve it, sweetheart. You really do.”
He shifted in the sand to face Dani, gazing at her beautiful face, committing every nuance to memory because he felt a goodbye was coming. He’d done his part and helped her, just like Lindy had asked. Except he’d let his heart get involved – again. Whose fault was that? Only he could take responsibility for that one. “You heading back to L.A.?”

She nodded. “I think it’s a good idea to tie up loose ends. I want to put my house on the market —
I never liked that fucking house anyway. Too big. — and I want to start looking for a place away from L.A. sort of like Lindy. She lives in the Bay and only flies into L.A. when she has to. I think that’s smart. Trying to preserve your sense of self while living in Los Angeles is like setting up shop near a toxic waste dump and not expecting to get radiation poisoning at some point…it’s just unrealistic. The circles are too incestuous and closed off to reality. I don’t want to get to the point where I believe my own bullshit and that happens when you have too many people telling you how great you are. There’s no sense of grounding and I feel human beings as a species need that.”

“That’s a profound bit of wisdom,” he told her, very proud of her epiphany. “So where are you thinking of relocating?
Maybe Big Bear Lake, up in the mountains or something,” he suggested.

“No, reminds me too much of home and that makes me miss my dad. I’m thinking somewhere warm…somewhere laid back where the humidity is a killer and the boiled bananas are to die for.
A place where one of the local doctors is too cute for words and a genuinely good guy with a heart big enough to fit the world inside.”

He caught her gaze, unable to believe
he’d heard correctly. “What do you mean? What are you saying?”

She grasped his hand and pulled it to her mouth, brushing a sweet kiss across his knuckles as she smiled up at him. “I’m saying, Dr. Miles Lassiter…would you consider marrying me so we could buy a house
here
, something cute and not overly large but big enough to house the kids we might have someday?”

The spit dried in his mouth and all he could do was stare. His heart beat faster and tears burned behind his eyes. “Please don’t toy with me, Dani,” he warned, hating that he sounded like a frightened little kid but hell, he couldn’t take a let down like this if she were joking. “Not about this.”

She sobered and leaned forward, sealing her mouth to his. They kissed long and hard, tongues twining in an urgent exploration that fired his blood immediately and sparked a wild hunger to taste and possess. When they broke apart, she met his hungry stare and asked in a husky tone, “Did that feel like I was playing around?” He shook his head slowly and she grinned. “Can I take that as a yes, you’ll marry me?”

“
I don’t have a ring or anything,” he murmured in mild distress. “You deserve more than this.”

“I don’t need a ring…I only need you.”
She met his gaze and said with complete honesty, “I can’t promise it’ll always be easy. You got a taste of what it’ll be like with strangers dogging our every step and intruding on our personal moments. Do you think you can handle that?”

“I won’t like it,” he admitted
, then grinned as a newfound joy filled his soul that made him realize that he’d stand by Dani no matter what obstacles were thrown their way. “But we’ll figure it out. If you can put up with my long hours at the clinic, I can put up with your paparazzi.”

She grinned through a wash of tears and caressed his face, her voice breaking to ask, “So does that qualify as a yes?”

A well of emotion burst from his chest, choking him up and rendering him unable to speak so he did the next best thing, he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, churning up sand and causing her to squeal as he kissed her again and again until neither could breathe and the realization skidded across his brain that the bungalow was much too far away and the beach wasn’t private enough. “I will marry you, Danielle St. Claire. I will marry you right this second if that’s what you want but first,” he helped her up as they stood. “We have to make a pit stop,” he told her, determined to add a little tradition that would mean something to them forever.

Dani laughed and followed him as they practically ran to the Jeep, hand in hand. “Where are we going?” she asked, her gaze sparkling with the mystery.

“You’ll see,” he promised, his heart as light as hers. He drove too quickly and possibly a bit recklessly but within moments they were out of the car and walking back into that jewelry store in the plaza. He went straight to the larimar display and motioned to the jeweler. He pointed at the ring that Dani had first admired and said, “We’ll take this one, please.”

The jeweler murmured, “nice choice,” and then pulled the ring and gave it to Miles, sensing something big was happening.
Miles turned to Dani, his heart in his mouth and his hands trembling. “I know it’s not a diamond and I know this is kinda backward but…”

“I love it,” she whispered, her eyes swimming with tears as he slipped the ring on her finger. “And perfect.”

And it was. Everything was perfect, even if it wasn’t, it didn’t matter. He knew they had issues but they were stronger together than they ever were apart. Too bad it took them over a year to figure it out.

“I love you, Miles,” she said against his lips as they twined their fingers together, completely in their own world, no matter that they were still in the jewelry store and certainly not safe from prying eyes but neither cared who saw. “I love you so much. Thank you for not giving up on me.”

“I’ll never give you a reason to doubt me ever again,” he vowed, loving her desperately. “Ever.”

From that moment forward, he would always have her back and together they could face anything.

Even the paparazzi.

-Epilogue-

Miles clasped Dani’s hand as she trembled with fear and anticipation. He caught her chin and smiled with love and adoration but it was the pride that she needed most. “You got this,” he said with complete confidence. “It’s yours to lose. And I’m not just saying that because I’m sleeping with you.”

She giggled at his joke and nodded, trying not to fidget and keep her smile fixed while the announcer fumbled with gilded envelope. A year ago, she never would’ve imagined that she’d be here, sitting beside the love of her life, a man so good and kind and true that he made her a better person every day, and unbeknownst to anyone but she and Miles, a tiny life grew inside her, the fluttering heartbeat in her womb, a delightful secret that she carried beneath her breastbone as she waited the answer printed on that envelope.

“And the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress goes to….Danielle St. Claire for her portrayal of Hattie Rollins in the screen adaptation of the novel,
Falling From Grace
!”

The music swelled as the applause thundered and the announcer overhead stated “
This is Danielle St. Claire’s first Golden Globe win…”
and Miles kissed her sweetly before whispering, just for her ears, “But not her last…” and she could barely hold back the tears as she rose on unsteady feet to walk to the stage, the music from the iconic movie playing as she ascended the steps and took her place at the microphone as it rose from the floor soundlessly. The teenage Golden Globe girl, the daughter of some celebrity, handed her the statuette with a sweet smile and then faded into the background.

The lights blinded her but when she spoke it was directed to the one person out there that mattered —
the man whose heart beat in time with hers and was the second half to her wayward soul.

“There are so many people I need to thank but it would take all day and I know no one wants to spend their time listening to me yammer on. But in all honesty, I can’t leave this stage without
dedicating this award to my husband and best friend, Miles Lassiter…a man who is as giving as he is loving because without him, I wouldn’t be here. He is, and always will be, the man of my dreams and the keeper of my heart. Thank you Miles,” she rose the statuette and gave it a small celebratory salute, “we did it!”

The music swelled and she realized in that moment, the lights of fame would never blind her ag
ain because her one true light and grace, would always shine brighter and would always lead her home.

-Author’s Note-

Dearest Reader,

Some characters live inside your head and heart — and that’s exactly where Dani and Miles resided, even while I was working on other projects. I knew there had to be a story for them because a love story like theirs deserves a happy ending. I hope you enjoyed their journey as much as I enjoyed writing it. As a writer, it’s a fun challenge to find new and interesting ways to throw two characters together, only to rip them apart so you can piece them back together again. We writers…such a sadistic lot
.
Anyway, I’m incredibly proud of the way this story ended and, yes, I cried a little. Is it bad that I hope you cry, too? Well, even if you don’t cry, I hope this story touches you emotionally.

As an interesting sidebar, there is an entire series featuring the island retreat of Larimar on St. John and the three sisters who run it so if you want to know more about their stories, the titles are:
Like One Of The Family, Playing The Part, and Something to Believe In
by Kimberly Van Meter (my alter ego).

This has been an incredible trip and I’m so blessed to have readers like you who share their enthusiasm for my work. Without you, I am nothing and I truly mean that.

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