Score (Gina Watson) (10 page)

In the morning, she showered and dressed and then drove over to his apartment. She pressed the doorbell and his cleaning lady answered. She remembered Cal had called her Mrs. Hall.

“Well, Chloe Mills, come on in.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Hall. Do you know where Cal is?”

“He’s out of town. Utah. For a film festival. Most of the family went with him.”

“When did he leave?”

“I’m not sure about that, but I’m pretty sure he loves you. He couldn’t stop talking about you. Did you know that?”

Chloe smiled at the middle-aged woman. “Yes, I believe I did know that. Thank you.”

Chloe did a little sleuthing—she found out from Alyssa that the festival was in Park City—and then she called the airline and bought a ticket to Utah. She hoped she wouldn’t be too late to see Cal’s début. She hoped that all the way there, in between bouts of figuring out what she’d say to him.

Once the plane landed, she called Cory. He helped her arrange a taxi to Park City and a hotel room in Salt Lake. Their plan was simple: Cory would save her a seat at the premiere and she would surprise Cal. In her hotel she primped and waxed, wishing she could have saved time by doing it on the plane. She had her hair professionally done at the hotel’s salon. And then she carefully pulled on a peach-colored lace cocktail dress, pairing it with strappy sandals. She hurried to the waiting cab and arrived at the theater with thirty minutes to spare. She texted Cory, and in only a few minutes, he joined her in the lobby.

He gave her a warm hug. A strong brotherly hug.

“You look beautiful.”

She smiled at him. He looked a lot like Cal tonight. But admittedly, the whole group of them were knockouts.

“Thanks, Cory.”

“You know Cal’s been a mess without you.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been a mess too.”

With a raised brow, Cory asked, “So how do you want to play this?”

“Is he in there now?”

“Na, he’s somewhere backstage tending to some last minute stuff.”

“Well, I guess we could take our seats?”

Cory nodded. “As good a plan as any.”

They walked down to the front of the small intimate theater. Cal’s entire family had turned out and literally front and center, Clifton St. Martin stood beaming with pride. It had been a while since Chloe had seen the entire St. Martin clan. Cash had been winning big playing poker in Vegas—she’d actually seen him on television. And that’s why Cal had been in Vegas that fateful night—to watch his brother play. Camp, Cash’s twin, was busy working with his father at the St. Martin Contracting Company. Clay, the oldest brother, was a firefighter in Baton Rouge. She hadn’t seen him in years. He’d always been muscular, but he seemed to fill out his suit even more now. Each brother hugged her and kissed her cheek. All of them seemed proud to be sitting in the theater to support Cal. His mother was seated at the far end of the row, next to the only other girl in the family, their sister, Clara. She was still in high school. Chloe waved because she couldn’t get to them before the lights went down, and then the master of ceremonies came out on the stage.

Chloe took a seat next to Mr. St. Martin. He whispered in her ear, “Did you hear about my boy? I have a gut feeling about this. Without a doubt he is going to win this thing. He’s too good not to.”

His unwavering pride and confidence in Cal made Chloe’s eyes fill with tears. “I couldn’t agree more,” she said.

He patted her leg with one of his large hands and turned to the stage.

The lights were turned down so quickly that it was difficult to see. But Chloe felt the energy from the body that dropped into the seat next to hers. She turned and whispered, “Cal.”

He reached for her and roughly pulled her into his arms, lifting most of her body over the armrest. “God, Chloe,” he whispered into her ear with a low, raspy voice. His hand snaked up to palm her head, loosening her professionally coiffed hair, but she didn’t care. Cal’s lips landed on hers with a ferocity that rendered her speechless. His tongue parted her lips, and he tasted her deeply. Chloe was glad the lights were turned down but even if they weren’t, she wouldn’t have stopped him. When their mouths relinquished one another, he continued to hold her close. “I need you. I knew you would be here.” He squeezed her. “Thank God you’re here.”

“I’m here. I love you.”

His breath escaped on a gasp, and he didn’t hold back the lone tear that slid down his cheek. Chloe saw it glint on his face and wiped it away.

“I’m sorry for the things I said. I didn’t know what I was saying. I believe in you, Cal. I trust you unconditionally.”

“I know you do. I didn’t explain. I should have explained.”

“The “Thin Air” video you made… I can’t—I don’t—There are no words to tell you how much that video means to me.”

They were forehead to forehead now.

“Chloe, you’re here. That’s all that matters. I love you. Always have. Always will.”

≈

The video started with a description of ALS. Medical specialists explained the disease’s progression. After a brief history, including manifestation of the disease in its namesake, Lou Gehrig, current research in the field was explained. Cal had interviewed countless specialists, neurologists, and pathologists and clipped together segments about disease management and about the research still being done and the necessity of funding support to keep that research going.

Forty minutes into the documentary, clips of Steve were introduced. Still pictures of his early life played across the screen while facts about the disease ticked across underneath them—average survival time once diagnosed, average age at first diagnosis, percentage of people diagnosed each year. The facts were staggering. The effect of pairing a man’s life and his experience with the disease
with
those facts was even more dramatic. Toward the end of the film, video clips of Steve in the hospital, with his family, played out.

Several moments of Chloe teaching Steve and his family to use the communication devices were included. Her voice filled the theater. The ticker on the bottom of the screen read:
Chloe Mills, Speech Language Pathologist, giving Steve a voice where otherwise he would have had none.
The documentary ended with video of Steve using the boards Chloe had made to tell his family he loved them. Using eye gaze, he communicated to each of his girls to give him a kiss and a hug. The video zoomed out on the image of Sarah and Riley, smiling, tenderly kissing Steve’s cheeks.

When the lights came up, those in the audience, including every one of Cal’s family members, were drying their eyes.

Cal and Chloe emerged from the theater, and people crowded around them. Several prominent actors asked where they could make donations. Cal looked to Chloe. She told them to make checks payable to the ALS Foundation. Several also made donations directly to the LeBlanc family. After the last patron left, millions of dollars had been raised for ALS research and to benefit Steve’s family. Chloe was so overcome with emotion and exhaustion that she slumped against Cal and he had to help her out of the theater.

They rode in a limousine back to his hotel suite. Chloe lay in his lap, and he stroked her hair while she rested her head under his chin. His video wasn’t exploitive at all. Chloe thought about what he’d said—she should have trusted him as a professional. She should have trusted him, period. She remembered what she had told him the night he left and winced at how truly horrid her words were. She’d maligned his work and his honor. She’d been bitchy and shortsighted and needlessly cruel. She’d let her insecurity hurt him.
She’d
hurt him.

“Cal, I don’t know how you can forgive me for what I said that night. I think the videos you make are beautiful and haunting. They tell a real story, a touching story. They break down walls and lay bare the raw emotion in every scene.” Tears escaped her eyes. Cal kissed them away.

“Chloe, that was a difficult time—you were grieving. You didn’t understand, and I didn’t try to help you understand. I just got angry. Just like I did when my father didn’t understand. You’ve taught me so much about myself, about who I am and what I value. You make me whole. Look at how different my life is now that I’ve let you in—I’m reunited with my father and he came to see my film. Steve’s story is heartbreaking but because of you, some good will come from his struggle. And because of you, I get to be instrumental in that. I can never make you understand what that means to me.”

“Cal?”

“Yeah, Chloe?”

“I need you.”

They were headed to Salt Lake City. Chloe knew they had about thirty minutes. Without speaking, Cal engaged the limo’s privacy barrier. He slid Chloe’s dress up her thighs to rest at her waist. He let out a groan when he looked at her.

“God, Chloe, you’re not wearing panties.”

She smiled. “Commando.”

He blinked at her. She shrugged.

“Can’t wear underwear with this dress.”

“We need to buy you lots of these dresses.” His voice was filled with lust.

She helped him unzip his trousers, and her small hands wrapped around his warm, full cock. She straddled his thighs and used her hands to guide him to her core. She rubbed his cock through her folds and inserted just the tip into her heat. He felt wonderful inside her, but she needed more. She pushed her palms into the limo’s ceiling for leverage and pushed, lowering herself on his erection. She always had trouble taking all of him, but damn, she enjoyed the fullness when she did.

When he was fully planted inside her, Cal exhaled long and low.

“You’re mine, Chloe. You belong with me. You—body, dreams, and heart—fit me like a glove.” He licked and sucked at her neck, then he grabbed her ass and took them down to the floor. With him on his knees, he lifted her ass and placed her legs around his waist. They fucked so hard the limo rocked. Within minutes, Chloe gasped and called his name. Their eyes were locked on each other as her body convulsed, drawing his orgasm pumping out of him.

E
PILOGUE

S
IXTEEN VIDEOS VIED for the top prize in the category of U.S. Documentary. He thought he’d heard his name but the scene played out as if in slow motion. Chloe elbowed him.

“Cal, it’s you. They called for you.”

He jogged toward the podium. He hadn’t prepared a speech, didn’t feel anyone should ever prepare a speech for an awards ceremony. He wanted to speak from the heart and since Chloe filled his heart to overflowing, he had an idea of what his speech would entail.

As he reached the podium with the glass award in his hands, he held it up and said, “This is for you, Steve.”

His throat burned and knotted with emotion. He cleared it and said, “Behind every great man is always an even greater woman. This, of course, is the case with this film. This project only exists because of Chloe. Because of her I now understand the value of life, the value of family in ways I’d never envisioned. Chloe, please come up here and stand next to me.”

Her smile looked a little shaky, but he guessed it was the emotion. She joined him and when he put his hands on hers, time stood still. It was just the two of them.

“Chloe Mills, I love you as I’ve never loved anyone or anything.” He dropped to one knee. “Marry me, Chloe.” He pulled a ring box from his pocket, cracked the lid, and offered it to her. Chloe’s hands pitched over her face as the tears started to flow. “ I’d give you my last breath if it would make you happy.” She grasped the box and threw herself into his arms. They kissed on a stage, with his family and hundreds of strangers watching, a public commitment a lifetime in the making. The audience cheered, and Chloe’s gaze scanned the audience. She turned her tear-stained face to Cal and offered an embarrassed smile. Cal angled them toward the audience and leaned into the microphone.

“I don’t know for sure, but I’m thinking that’s a yes?” His lifted his brow as he waited for her reaction. She moved toward the microphone and responded with a breathy, “Yes, I want to stand next to you forever.”

The audience erupted in whistles and cheers. Cal and Chloe exited the stage hand in hand, bodies touching and hearts linked. Cal understood the significance of her words and he contentedly smiled as his body hummed with warmth, as it always had when Chloe was near.