4 months later…
Lights flashed, blinding Victoria as she took Nate’s hand and stepped out of the limo. The long skirt of her gown flowed, the empire waist unable to conceal her eighth-month belly as she walked toward the theater’s entrance.
Reporters shouted questions at a rapid-fire rate impossible to respond to, and Victoria didn’t even try. Their picture told their story—Nate and her happy smiles, her rounded belly, a diamond flashing on her finger.
The lobby was crammed with elite attendees, cast, and crew all there to watch the premiere of their movie. Victoria spied her parents through the crush. She waved but knew she wouldn’t be reaching them any time soon, as she and Nate were surrounded.
It wasn’t hard for her to notice one person was missing from the group. Byron wouldn’t be attending the premiere or anything, for that matter, for a very long time. A small part of her regretted he was missing the fruits of their labor, but the bigger part—the ninety-nine-percent part—would never forgive him for what he had tried to do.
She placed a protective hand over her stomach, shuddering at how close he’d come to succeeding. The police had contacted Nate and her a few days after the incident just as they were leaving for Vegas. The lab reports had come back, confirming high traces of Misoprostol in the coffee. The same drug the police had discovered in Byron’s car which he had a prescription for to treat his stomach ulcers. Surprisingly to Victoria, was doctors also use Misoprostol to trigger abortions and induce labor. A very dangerous drug for a pregnant woman to take, making Byron’s premeditation that much scarier.
She’d refused to let the news dim her excitement as Nate whisked her off to the marriage license bureau as soon as their plane had landed in Las Vegas. She’d become Mrs. Nathan Reed not two hours later in a quaint, little chapel a mile off the Las Vegas Strip then honeymooned for two weeks in the swankiest hotel Victoria had ever been to. If she hadn’t already been pregnant, Victoria was positive she would have been by the end of their trip, spending the majority of it in bed and only coming up for air to spend one evening with her parents and one with River and Alec.
As she’d predicted, Nate and Alec had hit it off when Nate had turned off his caveman attitude and relaxed. It had taken a while, but seeing Alec only had eyes for River, helped. Not to mention, seeing Alec’s protectiveness as he hovered and doted on River who had recently recovered from being shot by a sleazy loan shark. A story, that when Victoria had heard it and then had shared her own, had brought the two women closer together.
“Victoria, darling, you look absolutely radiant. You’re practically glowing,” April said, giving Victoria an air kiss.
Victoria smiled at Nate’s manager. While she and April weren’t BFFs, they now had a mutual respect for each other. After Byron’s shit had hit the fan, April had shown her support, working like a bulldog, weeding through the media, debunking false news stories and reporting the facts, and Victoria couldn’t help but be grateful to the woman.
And April’s attitude had changed toward Victoria when she found out about the baby. No longer fighting their relationship, she rallied to Victoria’s camp, calling her weekly for health updates, and even inviting her to lunch a time or two. Who knew the hard-assed business woman had a soft spot for kids. Already the baby’s room at home was filled with gifts from Aunty April—a title she’d given herself, not the other way around.
“Thank you, April. You look lovely as always.” And she did. Dressed in a skintight red dress, showing off her curves, such a far cry from her usual business attire, the look was jarring in a good way.
“And Nate, you’re your usual handsome self.” April came up on her toes, giving Nate an air kiss, as well. “Not to mix business with pleasure, but seeing as this technically is a business function, I thought we could go over a few things before—”
Nate held up a hand. “Victoria and I are here to enjoy ourselves, and that’s what we plan to do. If you’ll excuse us.” Nate wrapped an arm around Victoria’s shoulders and led her deeper into the crowd away from a sputtering April.
“That was pretty slick, Mr. Reed,” Victoria said as Nate steered them in the direction of her parents.
“Many years of practice, Mrs. Reed.”
“Shush, not so loud, you’ll blow our cover.”
“I’m sick of all this sneaking around. When are you going to make a public honest man of me?”
Victoria laughed, patting his chest. “Sorry, stud, but you’ve got to wait at least six more months before I even contemplate getting into a wedding dress.”
He leaned over kissing her temple. “You’d be beautiful wearing a potato sack.”
They’d reached her parents. “Mom. Dad. I’m so happy you guys could come.”
“Are you kidding, we wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Mason Lee said, stealing Victoria from Nate and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.” Victoria moved to her mom’s side, giving her a kiss.
“Nice to see you again, Nate,” her dad said, holding out his hand.
Nate clasped it. “Nice to see you, as well.” Nate gave her mom a kiss on the cheek. “Did you two have a good trip?”
“We had a blast,” Shannon Lee answered. “Who knew RVing would be so much fun.”
Victoria was just as surprised as anyone when her dad purchased an RV and coaxed her mom into traveling the states. So far, they’d only hit the West Coast, but they planned a trip cross country for their next adventure.
“If I can have everyone’s attention,” a man dressed in a tux said into a microphone from the outskirts of the crowd. “Please file into the theater and find your seats, the movie will start shortly.”
Victoria grabbed Nate’s hand as waves of excitement coursed through her.
Nate kissed her knuckles. “Ready to go see us fall in love on the big screen?”
Victoria gave him a grin. “I’ve been ready for this my whole life.”
The lights dimmed, and Victoria squeezed Nate’s hand. This was it. Her first starring role on the big screen for all to see. Her stomach dipped, and her palms started to sweat. She hadn’t even been so nervous her first day of filming.
“Easy,” Nate whispered in her ear, and she took a deep breath. The opening credits filled the screen and the sound of clapping filled her ears. This was it, for better or worse, there was no backing out now. She squeezed Nate’s hand, again, and he gave her a reassuring squeeze in return. She had this.
No, together, they had this.
8 months later…
Nate stood, gazing across the expanse of the beach—past the rows of their seated family and friends—to Victoria, draped in white lace to the tips of her bare toes that peeked out from the hem of her gown as she made her trek across the sand to him.
His breath caught and held.
Wanting this day to be perfect for her, he’d rented a small private island to ensure no press or paparazzi could invade either by land or air and hired a wedding planner to take care of all the troublesome details, so Victoria could fully enjoy all of their son’s first moments.
They’d had a boy, but all joking aside, they didn’t name him Nate Junior. After many long, nightly debates, they’d finally agreed on Lucas Alexander Reed. Luke for short. Nate couldn’t believe how much he enjoyed being a father and couldn’t wait to get started on more. He thought three sounded like a nice number.
Victoria’s smile was radiant as she neared. He couldn’t drag his gaze away. She had him deep in her spell.
Reaching him, he held out a hand, and she took it without hesitation. “You look incredibly handsome, stud.”
He wore cream linen pants and a white shirt, untucked with the sleeves rolled up his forearms. As far as wedding attire went, he couldn’t have asked for anything more comfortable.
“And you look,” his eyes swept her from head to toe and back again, “breathtakingly beautiful.”
“Shall we begin?”
They turned to the minister and nodded in unison. Although she’d been legally his for exactly one year, to the day, he was eager to spread that knowledge to the world, so there would be no doubt, she was his.
“Happy anniversary,” he said, bringing her knuckles to his lips for a kiss.
She flashed him another heart-stopping smile. “Best present ever. I don’t know how you’re going to top this next year.”
He gave her a wink. “I guess I better start planning now.”
She tipped her head back and laughed. Fuck, he loved his wife.
“You tired, baby?” Nate reached for his wife’s hand and kissed her knuckles.
It had been a long day and an almost equally long night. The chateau on the island filled to capacity with family and friends, made for one long and boisterous party. They’d done the traditional cutting of the cake and first dance, and now it was a free-for-all. Their little man had crashed hours earlier and was safely tucked away under the careful eye of his grandma. The rest of the night was theirs.
“Just a little. But I’m not ready to go to sleep yet. I’m having too much fun.”
“Are you up for an adventure?”
A sly smile tugged at her lips. “You know I always am.”
He led her out through the patio doors to the terrace, saying goodnight to well-wishers as they passed. Their feet hit the sand, and he saw, in the distance, the giant white tent he’d had erected.
“What’s this?” Victoria asked as he swept open the entrance.
“This,” he pulled her inside, “is our honeymoon suite.”
A makeshift bed overflowing with pillows filled half the space. More pillows of all shapes and sizes were piled in clusters on the floor. A small table sat in the corner laden with sweets and fruit and a bucket keeping a bottle of champagne on ice.
She took it all in, a look of astonishment on her face. “Wow.”
“I imagined this is how the wealthy pirates once lived. What do you say, shall I plunder your booty?”
She laughed, twirling in a circle before coming to a stop, her fingers finding the zipper at the side of her dress and slowly inching it down. “Aye, Cap’n.” She slipped out of her dress, letting it puddle at her feet on the floor.
He sucked in a breath. Victoria in her gown was a sight to see, but in the little scrap of lace she wore under it, she was fantasy inducing.
His dick hardened instantly, coming to full attention. “Come here.” His voice sounded gruff, and he lost the ability of intelligent thought, his littler brain now ruling the show.
She didn’t listen, instead, climbing on the bed, kicking and pushing pillows out of her way.
He unbuttoned his shirt, shrugging it off then did the same with his pants. Down to his boxer briefs, he walked to the table and poured them each a glass of champagne.
“A toast,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed and handing her a glass. “To the most beautiful woman in the world, and to me, the lucky bastard who snatched her up.”
They clinked glasses and took a sip.
“My turn.” She raised her glass. “To the man who wouldn’t stop until he had the woman he wanted, and to me, the woman lucky enough to be that person.”
His lips were on hers before either of them could seal the toast. He tossed his glass to the side, hearing the muted thump as it met the soft ground. He heard her glass hit the bed, falling from her fingers.
Free now, his fingers sliced through her hair on either side of her head, tipping it back to deepen the kiss. He wanted to consume her. Make her a part of him, him a part of her—one unit—so there would never be a doubt they belonged together.
He felt her hands graze his back, her nails biting into his flesh. Nate trailed kisses along her jaw, and down the length of her neck, stopping where it met up with her shoulder and lightly biting into the tendon there.
She threw her head back, moaning, shoving her tits forward. They overfilled the cups of her bra, the scrap of lace barely covering her nipples. It wouldn’t take much to free them. And it didn’t. With an index finger, he pulled down on the material, and her breast spilled out. A feast for his eyes and mouth.
He sucked on her nipple, drawing it deeply into his mouth, and her hands moved from his back to latch onto his hair, not pulling him away but pushing him impossibly closer. His face was smothered by her breast, but he didn’t care. Who needed to fucking breathe, anyway, when they were in heaven.
His hand blindly found her other tit, freeing it, too, before his fingers rolled the hardened tip. She gasped, gyrating her hips, giving him a hint of where she needed some attention. Working his way down her stomach, he paused to lick around her navel, continuing down to the edge of her transparent, lace panties. They needed to go. Grasping the thin strings at her hips, he tugged, snapping them.
A small gasp left her lips, and she wiggled her hips, the unobstructed material falling to reveal her pussy. That’s all it took for his mouth to descend, groaning as his tongue licked through her folds, lapping at her as if it were the finest ambrosia. And to him, it was, and he could never get enough.
She spread her legs wider, opening herself to him, and greedy as he was, he took her offering, adding his fingers while his mouth found her nub, sucking it in, and flicking it with his tongue.
“Oh, God.” Her voice was a husky purr.
Her hands clenched the sheets in her excitement as she bucked against him, and he placed a hand on the flat of her stomach to still her movements. She was close, but he didn’t want her coming yet. He wanted to feel her squeezing his dick.
Victoria groaned in protest when he left her, but he was only gone long enough to kick off his underwear before his mouth found her clit again, giving it one last flick before he surged up, filling her in one smooth motion.
Grasping her legs behind the knees, she made more room for his hips as he slammed into her. Over and over he pounded into her, his balls hitting her ass, and her tits bouncing to the rhythm of his thrusts until they were both breathing hard and sweat collected on his brow.
They climaxed together, hers the accelerator for his own. He felt her pussy clutching at his cock until he lost the fight. His balls tightened, and he emptied himself deep inside her.
“So which wet spot do you want? The smaller slightly grosser one, or the larger champagne scented one?”
“I get a choice?” Nate asked, raising a brow.
She grinned. “After that fantabulous orgasm, I’m feeling generous.”
He pretended to ponder for a moment. “How about,” he rolled off the bed, taking her with him, “we just pull up the comforter. It’s warm enough to go without, but I’ll keep you warm if you get cold.”
She fluttered her eyelashes. “My hero.”
They climbed back on the bed and got into their usual position—him on his back, her curled into his side with her head in the crook of his shoulder. Her finger made a pattern on his chest, spelling something, but he couldn’t make it out.
They were silent for a while before he said, “What’s on your mind?” He always knew when something was troubling her.
She took another minute to answer. “I’ve come to a decision.”
He knew what she was talking about. There was only one decision she needed to make.
She didn’t drag out the suspense. “I’ve decided to take the part.” She popped her head up, staring at him. “Are you upset?”
He chuckled. He couldn’t help it. “Of course not. I think it’s wonderful.”
“You do?”
She sounded so uncertain he couldn’t help but chuckle, again. “Tori, all I ever want is for you to be happy. Acting is your lifelong dream. And you’re so good at it. You shouldn’t give it up.”
“You’re my lifelong dream,” she said conviction in her voice.
He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Who’s to say you can’t have two lifelong dreams.”
“Is that being selfish? You’ve decided to stay home.”
“No, you’re not selfish. I’ve been acting years longer than you. I’ve lived my dream, and now I’m ready to live a new one. I’m having fun being home with Luke, so much fun that maybe after you wrap up shooting, you’ll agree to add another rugrat to the mix.”
She smiled. “I’d love that.” She traced something else on his chest, and this time he made out the shape of a heart. “So, you’re planning to retire, permanently?”
She sounded surprised, but he knew she wasn’t. They’d talked about this before. But he knew what she was doing. In her own subtle way, she was giving him an out if he wanted to change his mind. And he loved her even more for that.
He shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve been thinking, maybe in a few years I’ll try directing. I’ve always been interested in that.”
She nodded, agreeing. “You’d be a great director.”
He positioned her back on his shoulder and snuggled her close. “We’ll cross that bridge later on down the line. For now, I’m happy the way we are.”
It wasn’t long until he heard her breaths even out, and he closed his eyes, drifting off to the peaceful sound, knowing everything he’d said was true. His wife made his life perfect.
“How are we getting all of this home?”
Nate, sitting on the bed with his back propped against the headboard, looked over the top of his computer to his wife. She stood across the room, staring at the mountain of gifts they’d received. Some from guests that had come, others from people that couldn’t make it and had been shipped there. “I’ve got it handled, don’t worry.”
“Oh, look. Here’s one we forgot to open.” She paused a moment. “That’s weird. It doesn’t have a tag.”
He frowned watching her turn the box this way and that.
He saw her shrug. “Maybe it fell off.”
He got off the bed, a sick feeling filling his stomach. “Don’t open it.”
She looked over her shoulder at him, raising her brows. “What?”
He walked over to her, holding out his hands. “Let me see it.”
She handed it over. A sense of déjà vu overcame him. The box was the size of a shoebox, but instead of a happy birthday theme, it was wrapped in lace print paper stamped with silver bells. He took it to the desk and carefully opened it. He felt Victoria at his back, watching from around his shoulder.
He pulled off the lid and frowned at what he saw. Pictures of him with a photoshopped Chrissy, tons of them. And that wasn’t all. What looked to be love notes, written to Chrissy from him, only not in his handwriting but in hers, as if she’d written them and then pretended they were from him. Trinkets and what looked like keepsakes—movie ticket stubs, dinner receipts, some dried flowers—also filled the box.
“What the fuck?” He didn’t know what the hell he was looking at.
But apparently, Victoria did because she started laughing.
“What’s so funny? What in the hell is this?”
She was hanging on his arm, her face pressed against his chest. “It’s a…” she kept laughing unable to get her sentence out. “It’s a breakup box.”
“A what?” He honestly had no idea what she was talking about.
She took a deep breath trying to calm herself, but her eyes were glassy, and a big smile still stretched her lips. “A breakup box. Chrissy has broken up with you and sent you everything from your time together.”
He frowned. “We were never together.”
She placed a hand on his arm. “But she thought you were. This is her way of telling you it’s over.”
“Well, thank fuck for that.”
She gave him a sassy little smirk. “I’m sorry you got dumped. Do you need a pint of ice cream?”
He felt his lips twitch but only shook his head at her. “Sweetheart, if you’re offering to console me, at least make it worth my while.”
“Soooo, what are you saying?” And there went that little smirk again.
“I’m saying, we have one more night here and grandparents on babysitting duty. Let’s make the most of it.”
“Another adventure?”
“Baby, with you, life is one big adventure.”
Five years later…
“And the Oscar goes to… Victoria Reed.”
Applause filled her ears, none louder than the man’s sitting one seat away from her. Victoria sat, unmoving, stunned that her name had been called. She looked to her right, and a pair of warm, brown, smiling eyes were gazing back at her.
Nate gave her a head jerk. A signal to get her ass in gear.
Her eyes fell to her twin girls, sitting on their father’s lap, amidst a sea of pink lace both girls had insisted on wearing. Ammy had her thumb in her mouth—a habit they’d been trying and failing to break—and her head resting on Nate’s shoulder. Emma was wide-eyed and alert, in awe of her surroundings. They’d be three in a few months and, on a good day, were a handful. Both had their father wrapped around their little fingers even though he swears he doesn’t spoil them.
Sitting next to them—in the seat beside hers—was her little man. Just turned five, he looked so grown up in his tux. He was clapping enthusiastically, his small body dwarfed by the large, padded chair he was kneeling in.
She leaned over Luke, Nate meeting her halfway. “Congratulations,” Nate whispered before his lips sealed hers in an exuberant kiss. Pulling back, he smiled and said, “I love you, baby. Now go get your Oscar.”
Victoria stood and gingerly passed three people, trying not to knock into their legs as she made her way to the aisle. Hitting the stairs leading up to the stage, she looked over her shoulder, taking another look at her family. Their smiles filled her heart to bursting. She was one lucky lady. Raising the hem of her gown, she carefully climbed the stairs and made her way across the stage to the podium where she was handed the most coveted award in Hollywood.
She leaned into the microphone, her heart galloping, and said, “Thank you so much.”
She waited for the applause to die down before she tried to speak again. After quickly thanking the people associated with the movie and her manager, April, she took a deep breath and said, “There’s one person in this audience who without him, I don’t think I’d be standing here tonight. He lifts me when I’m down, pushes me when I’m ready to give up, and loves me even at my most unlovable. He’s given me the courage, the means, and the support to fulfill each one of my dreams of wanting to be a wife, mother, and actor. My husband, my lover, my very best friend, Nathan Reed.”
Her eyes scanned the crowd, locking on Nate—five rows back, center of the auditorium—and spoke directly to him, a single tear falling down her cheek. “You never once doubted I’d be standing here one day, I love you so much. Thank you for believing in me.”
Holding her award high, she stared right at Nate and the three beautiful children they’d made together, and with the love she was feeling clearly filling her voice, she said, “Babe, we might have started off as a pair but ended up with a full house.”