Miss Congeniality (34 page)

“So, what do we do now?” Brea was drawing circles on his chest tattoo, comforted since she was back in his arms again. Lance ran his hands through her hair; he hadn’t stopped touching her, as if he couldn’t get enough of her.

“I’m going to keep on loving you.” He pulled her up by her hair, kissing her. “I missed you, babe; it sucked not being here for you while you were going through everything.” She folded her hands over his chest, her chin on her hands while she looked at him.

“I understand why you weren’t. I told you to go. It gave me time, to think about my mom, my job, and my identity.”

“And what did you decide?”

“That I am sick of hiding about my mother, for one. I can’t keep avoiding my past, which is something I was already beginning to understand after I came home with you the last time. And as far as my reputation, I figured out I don’t really care.”

“Oh, really?” He cocked his eyebrow at her statement.

“Yes, really.” She swatted his chest. “I had a long conversation with Raquel and Clare, and basically, our reputations have just become this world of their own, and we can’t seem to get away from it. But I’ve decided I’m an adult, and I’ve done nothing wrong. If they don’t like it, they can kiss my ass.”

Lance slapped her ass. “Atta girl, that’s what I like hearing.”

Brea chuckled. “I think you’re rubbing off on me.”

He pressed his semi-erect penis against her leg. “I’ll rub something else on you.”

She tweaked his nipple. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation, and you always bring it back to sex.”

“When we’re lying in bed naked, everything’s about sex.”

Brea rolled her eyes with a smile. “As I was saying, before you interrupted me with something irrelevant…”

“Sex is never irrelevant,” Lance insisted.

“Good point. But we were talking about my job.”

“Right, carry on.” He made a ‘move along’ gesture with his hand. “Have you heard from anyone?”

“No, and I don’t believe I will. But I figure it’s not every day I get four people unemployed in the same day. However, I don’t know if that’s a record to brag about.”

“I would become unemployed anytime for you, babe.”

“Now, that’s love.” She grinned and lifted up to kiss him, letting him roll her over to make love to her again.

Brea listened to Lance’s soft snores later on, blissfully happy with the path her life had taken. She had no job, but she could find another one which showed her more respect than the one she had before. Her brother was handled, but she would never stop begging him to come live with her. She wanted him away from their hometown because the memories threatened to overwhelm him with darkness; the darkness attributed to their mother, as long as she was still doing drugs. Brea wasn’t holding her breath for her to stop, but she was always praying for a miracle. The Misses had her back, more so now that all the stuff went down with the studio.

And Lance
, she thought as she kissed his chest. He was her reward for sticking through it all those years. He would never help her with a spotless reputation, but he would love her, support her, and serve as her rock. Because as he said during their blowup, ‘life was messy, and the only thing you would wish for was someone to hold onto.’ She had found her someone, and she would never let him go. And if he ever tried to leave her, she would hunt him down and wear him down until he came back to her.

One Year Later

“B
rea!”

“Lance!”

Here we go again,
Brea thought ruefully as she and Lance smiled brightly while they walked arm in arm down the red carpet of Lance’s latest movie premiere. The lights were blinding, but they always were, and the thrill of screaming fans vying for their attention never got old. Brea thankfully was still doing what she loved, and she was proud to support Lance in his latest venture.

“Is that an engagement ring on your finger?” someone shouted. She glanced at Lance, who smirked and straightened his tie, letting her know it was her news to tell.

“Yes, it is!” She winked and wagged her hand. The clicking cameras were deafening, and they gathered around like sharks in a feeding frenzy. Lance laughed at her, kissing her softly on the cheek. The last year had been amazing; she and Lance had grown stronger every day. They had gone back a couple of times to visit his family and hers, and each time she considered it a blessing. While the proposal wasn’t completely unexpected, the manner in which he did it was true Lance fashion. She should have known something was up when he arranged for a romantic dinner for two last week on their vacation to the Dominican Republic, but she was completely blown away by the words he spoke, with promises to love and cherish her forever. It still brought tears in her eyes when she remembered.

“This has been amazing.” Brea leaned her head back on Lance’s shoulder when he put his arms on either side of her and gripped the yacht railing. They were on a private sunset cruise Lance had chartered, completed with dinner and an adventure in whale watching. It was on Brea’s bucket list, and she didn’t realize Lance was paying attention when they discussed it a couple months before until he whisked her away to Punta Cana as their last hoorah before they started working again. He had thought of everything: breakfast in bed, a couple’s spa package, a candlelit dinner on the beach, and turndown service every night. It was the last evening of their vacation, and Lance said he wanted to surprise her, which he had in spades.

“Hmmm,” he hummed his agreement, kissing the side of her neck while they watched the sunset before them.

“Did you get enough pictures?” he teased, because she had taken about a million pictures since they started the cruise, not wanting to miss any of the whales. She turned in his arms, looking up at him and pouting her lips while she drilled her finger in his side.

“Yes,” she answered, smiling when he leaned down for a kiss.

“Good,” he said when he pulled back. “But I have one more surprise.”

“What is it?” she asked, part anticipation, part fear. He still liked to do stuff for shock value; it always kept her on her toes.

“This.” He stepped back and kneeled in front of her. Brea gasped, her hand covering her mouth as her eyes watered. She shook her head, not believing what she was seeing. In his hand, he held a ten-carat cushion diamond ring, complete with two carats of diamonds on the side and band. It could poke someone’s eye out, and it was simply breathtaking. She and Lance had been doing amazingly, and though she knew they were heading toward marriage, never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined this was his surprise.

“Brea Richards, when I met you I wanted you, but that was pure lust because you were hot as Hell.” Brea chucked, wiping the tears as they fell before Lance continued. “Never in a million years would I ever believe what started as a simple flirtation would turn into so much more. You are loyal, loving, and one of the most amazing women I have ever known. You challenge me, you complete me, and I couldn’t imagine walking through this life with anyone but you. Would you do me the immense pleasure of being my wife?”

“You know I will,” she smiled, wiping the happy tears falling down her cheeks. Lance got up from the floor before he slid the ring on her finger, complete with a bruising kiss to match.

“You know what this means, right?” He grinned like a Cheshire cat while he continued to hold her with her hands on his shoulders.

“What?” She studied the ring where it sat on her finger, loving everything about it. She wanted to ask if he had help picking it out, but she didn’t want to ruin the shine of the evening.

“I finally one-upped you. You didn’t even see this coming!”

“You did not one-up me.” She slapped his arm so he knew she wasn’t amused, but he was correct when he said she didn’t see it coming. She simply kissed him, figuring her own surprise could wait until tomorrow. The baby wasn’t going anywhere for eight months.

“That ought to keep them occupied for a while,” she whispered into his ear.

“Good call,” he agreed, rubbing her side lightly. To anyone watching, it would look like he was lovingly caressing his fiancé. Only a handful of people knew he was actually caressing their baby. She was only two months along, still too early to show, but she figured if they threw the media a bone with their engagement, they would leave her alone.

“Let’s get this show on the road,” she said, eager to get beyond the flashing lights and prying eyes. They still had too many paparazzi for her tastes, but at least they stopped coming by incessantly taking pictures. As far as the other stuff, everything worked out in the end.

Alex had another six months on his probation, and then he was moving to LA. She had finally convinced him he would have more opportunities here and had even offered to front him the money for his shop. Alex told her he couldn’t accept, but she kindly reminded him who provided the money for her to leave all those years ago, and sent her away on a wing and a prayer. She told Lance it was fate. He told her it was because she was so damn annoying when it came to something she wanted, she wore him down. He didn’t get laid for a couple days after that, her most effective form of how-to-get-Lance-to-do-what-I-want.

And as far as
Maggie Beach
and The Misses, it was set to premiere in two weeks. Brea had to hand it to the higher-ups. They really tried to stick to firing her and letting the other three go, but the backlash was so severe they knew
Maggie Beach
was essentially over if they chose not to rehire them. Plus, they decided the evil you know was better than the evil you didn’t, which is what they would be going through if they tried to have a completely new cast. Besides, after being in a ratings war for months,
Maggie Beach
was able to pull it out at the end, winning in the ratings and raking in the awards. Brea won the best actress award again, one of only a couple handfuls of people ever to do so, and the show won the award for best series.

“What did you think of that meeting?” Lance asked later when they were lounging in bed, referring to the meeting they had with Garrett the previous week. He had told them in no uncertain terms they had received a reprieve last year, but the higher-ups wanted them to lay low and keep their newsworthy actions at a minimum. Then he asked if there was anything they should know about before it hit the papers, but unsurprisingly no one spoke up. It was none of his business anyway. For once, he was staring at Brea and not Raquel, who those talks were usually referring.

“I don’t know.” She rubbed her foot up his leg, not wanting to talk about the show. One of the side effects of her pregnancy was her bottomless libido. Lance didn’t seem to mind, so she told him to keep the orgasms coming.

One Week Later

“W
e got a problem.” Raquel sounded strange, like she’d been crying. But Brea often joked she had an icy heart, so that couldn’t be right.

“What’s wrong?” Brea asked, concerned.

“My…sister…” Raquel started sobbing uncontrollably and Brea couldn’t have gotten a word in if she tried.

“Raquel, calm down, and tell me what’s wrong.”

“This is horrible! She’s twenty-three!” Raquel started raging, but Brea felt like she was missing an important piece of information. Raquel’s sister, Ainsley, had recently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing. She had just gotten a job at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center working in Pediatrics, and Brea knew she was going to be a compassionate, dedicated nurse. Ainsley was gorgeous like Raquel, but with a bright and bubbly personality, which made all those around her happy.

“What’s wrong with your sister?” Brea asked one more time, hoping to get better answers.

“She’s pregnant! She’s pregnant and alone, and the dad skipped out when she told him.”

“Oh,” Brea said, sitting on the couch. “Well, Raquel, this isn’t the end of the world.”

“I know. She’s just so young to have to shoulder so much responsibility. I want better for my sister.”

“We’re all here to support her.”

“Thanks,” she sniffled. “I knew I could count on you. I just want to make sure Ainsley is okay. My mom flipped out when she told them the other day, and my brother isn’t speaking to her.”

“They’ll come around. I’m sure it was just a shock.”

“I know,” she sighed. “Thanks.”

“Hey, how’s everything else going?” Raquel had recently met with her spin-doctor; the meeting had been a year in the making. Apparently, he was so mad she refused to follow his orders, he told her she could wait until he had time for her. Raquel, being Raquel, said fuck it and ditched him, but after the latest incident, her agent said she didn’t have a choice. Either she needed to get her shit together or he would no longer represent her.

“The meeting was…interesting. He’s going to be a pleasure to work with; he’s a very pleasant man.”

Brea laughed. “I know what that means.”

“What?”

“It means you wanted to claw his eyes out, but couldn’t because you need him.”