“So, what’s the verdict?” I ask the heads of my various departments after Lucía and her team have left. They just finished pitching their script, presenting their story and giving updates on their timeline. I think they knocked it out of the park. They’re seventy percent done with the screenplay and anticipate that they’ll completely finish in less than three weeks. The story arc is fantastic. They’ve brought the book to life but they’ve added to it and trimmed it to make the story one that can be told well in one hundred and twenty minutes.

I face my team and feel a rush of nerves that I haven’t experienced in years. I’m asking them to green light a screenplay. To give it a budget, build a crew, and start casting. It’s a big ask because of the nature of the project and the timing; it’s earlier in the production process than we normally make decisions like this. I asked them to consider it now so that if there are problems, we’ll have time to fix them without throwing off the project’s timelines. This is the moment of truth. I know they’ll be fair, but just as tough on me as I am on them. I’m not an asshole, but I am anal retentive when it comes to the decision to greenlight.

Sophie, my Head of Casting speaks first. She is the most opinionated member of our team and has been pissed with me since she found out that she’d have to give Lucía the right of refusal on casting. So, I expect her criticism to be stronger than the others.

“I honestly can’t believe I’m saying this, but I already have actresses in mind to play Azalia and Julio. She’s making great progress, and listening to them go over the script today makes me want to read the book.”

“Is this Invasion of the Body Snatchers?” quips Zev. “Who are you and what’ve you done with Sophie?” The rest of the team, including Sophie, laugh good-naturedly.

My marketing director, Joshua says, “You’ve got to convince her to do some promo. We won’t find an actress or actor who can sell the characters the way she does. You’d think she knew these people instead of having conjured them from her imagination.”

I smile at him. “I’m going to work on her. She’s reluctant to do it, but I think she might be convinced.”

He nods at me and says, “Then, I don’t have any qualms about giving her the go ahead now. Let’s find a director and get casting going.”

I look at the rest of the team and they all nod in agreement. And just like that, it’s happening.

When our meeting is over and everyone is gone, I stick my head out to ask Liza to get Lucía on the phone.

“Okay, but I think they left the office. I heard them saying something about heading back to Los Feliz?” Thank goodness for my nosey eavesdropping PA. “Do you want to have them come back?” It’s almost five in the afternoon. Rush hour traffic is a nightmare and Lucía looked tired towards the end of the meeting.

“No, don’t worry. I’m going to go check on my dad and then head home.” Or to Lucía’s, says the devil on my shoulder.

“Tell your folks hi. And give your dad a hug for me. I’ve been praying for him.” I promise to pass on her message. My parents are well liked across the company. My dad’s hospital room was so full of flowers that it took two carts to get them out.

When I leave my office, I head to Beverly Hills to see my parents. I want to spend time with Dad, but now I can’t wait to get to Los Feliz, give Lucía the good news and celebrate with her.

By the time I leave my parents, I am in desperate need of a long hard swim and a session of yoga.

My dad is being stubborn and won’t stay in bed. My mother is frazzled. I’ve never seen her like this. She’s snapping at everyone, except my dad. When she screamed at me for chewing too loudly, I knew it was time to go. My dad’s going to be fine. He needs to take some medication and watch his diet, but otherwise, he’s in really good shape.

It was a minor heart attack. But, my mom is acting like he had a quadruple bypass and brain surgery. You’d think she’d been told he was dying. And as crazy as she’s making me, I like seeing this side of her. Generally, she’s not a warm person. Although I know that she loves my dad and that she loves me, she’s very pragmatic and doesn’t let love get in the way of what needs to be done or what needs to be said.

There are times when I’ve wished she was warmer. But she’s one of the most amazing women I know. She’s the real star in our family. The brains behind the entire operation. Our family is well regarded, widely respected and influential. She’s built that and she protects it fiercely.

My dad doesn’t care about these sorts of things, but her family is even older Hollywood than his. They founded this town. She believes that marriages should be alliances. And that children should be raised to take over the family dynasty. Appearances are important and must be kept up at all costs.

Seeing her go without her precious beauty sleep, miss meals and workouts and allow herself to be seen in less than full makeup has been a revelation.

The only person not surprised by my mother’s behavior is my father. He only smiled and said, “She loves me,” when I mentioned her transformation.

My father is the exact opposite of my mother, but he’s encouraged her to be who she is. He’s reveled in her career accomplishments. Her ambition is one of the things he loves most about her. So, while everyone else sees her as a stone-cold executive with no heart, my dad sees the woman he loves daring to be as great as she’s capable of.

He just loves her. She’s given him everything he’s ever wanted; a partner and a son. And they haven’t tried to change each other. That kind of unconditional love gives you wings, and that’s why they both fly so high.

The prospect of losing the person you share that kind of love with . . . it shakes you. And my mother has come undone. I hate that my dad had this health scare, but I feel like I’ve really gotten to know my mother in the last few days. I see how she and I are similar. People think I’m cold, pragmatic, calculating, too. But, when I care about something, or someone, I don’t hold back. And the way I feel about Lucía, is a full body experience. All of my senses are engaged and I feel completely in tune with her.

During the meeting, I watched her, so poised, so prepared, and in control. She completely mastered her presentation. I hope that as she reaches for her dreams, she’ll always be the bold, fearless, unstoppable woman she was today.

I want to be the only one that gets to see her completely undone. I remember how she fucked herself on my fingers. How she screamed when she came. That’s how I always want her when we’re alone. Moaning, coming, begging. Fuck if the past, the unchangeable past, is going to stop me from being with her.

I pull up to her house and as soon as I step out of my car, I can hear the music playing in the backyard. It’s a crooning Bob Marley, telling me not to worry about a thing. Yeah, Bob, easier said than done.

I ring the doorbell and Jessica comes to the door.

“Reece, hey!” she shouts, her blue eyes huge, her blond hair moving with the rest of her as she leans out to grab my arm and yank me inside.

“We’re out on the deck, cooking and having a drink. Lucía said the meeting went really well,” she says over her shoulder as she walks back down the hallway that leads to her kitchen and then out onto their deck. The music is loud. They’ve got the remains of a meal they obviously enjoyed scattered all over the table. Several empty bottles of wine, the sight of Todd bent in half laughing, Dan and Lucía dancing along to the music.

Lucía spins around in the middle of her dance and stops abruptly when she sees me. Her laughter dies on a gasp of delight, her eyes widening and dancing happily. Her expression settles the disquiet in my mind. Yes, we’ve got hurdles to clear. But, when I look at her, all I see is a walking embodiment of every single one of my dreams.

“Hey, Reece. What’re you doing here?” says Todd turning the music down, but still moving to beat. Dan motions for me to have a seat, and so I do. I smile at them, glad to share some good news.

“I thought I’d come and tell you in person that you guys have been green lighted. You killed your presentation today.”

They all start shouting at once. Jess runs into the house screaming, “Hold on!” over her shoulder. Lucía, Todd and Dale form a group and hug for a long time. To see them sharing this moment as comrades in arms is gratifying when I recall what a discordant start they had.

Jessica comes running back out with a bottle of very good champagne in her hand. “Let’s celebrate!” The pop of the champagne cork is followed by a chorus of cheers from the triumphant trio.

Lots of screenplays are written. Very few of them are actually green lighted for production. This is a big deal. But I’m feeling like I’m interrupting. I hadn’t expected her to have company and I decide I should just call it a night.

“I’m happy for you guys. I just wanted to come and tell you in person. I’ll let you get back to your evening.” I say as I stand and turn to leave.

“Reece, wait, stay. Please. We have more food and we’re going to be up for a while.” This is from Jessica who looks like she probably drank more than she ate. She’s very close to wasted. Dale and Todd are a little better off. Lucía in contrast, is completely clear eyed as she looks at me from across the room.

She approaches me from the edge of the deck where she’d been standing. The well-lit deck makes her look like she’s glowing against the backdrop of the twilight’s violet-hued sky. She’s wearing all black—a pair of slacks and button-down blouse. She didn’t offer even a glimpse of skin today. Her bandaged hand was the only indication that she’d been rushed to the ER just a few nights before. She’d come dressed to meet with executives. Now, I want to strip her and put my mouth on every inch of her body, and then make love to her.

Her smile becomes suggestive as if she has just read my thoughts. She puts her hand on mine and says in a soft voice that makes my dick wake up. “Yeah, Reece, stay. I want to talk to you anyway. Come into the house with me.” And then she walks inside without looking back.

I follow her in with a wave to Jess and the guys. The three of them return the gesture, all wearing knowing grins.

I find her in the living room. The wall that separates it from the kitchen makes it so we’re totally out of the view of the group outside.

“Answer my question,” she says as soon as I step into the room.

“What question?” Confused.

“Do you still have feelings for Fabienne? Are you guys going to get back together?”

I remember that she was asking me these questions when she fell. I’d totally forgotten that this was actually a concern of hers.

“What would give you the impression that I’m reuniting with my ex-wife?” I’m incredulous.

“Reece, she showed up at the guesthouse like her dropping by unannounced was normal. And she looked angry when she saw us together.” She crosses her arm and winces slightly and uncrosses them.

“Whoa. First, Fabi and I are very much broken up. I haven’t seen her again since that morning. I only gave her a ride to the offices so that I could have someone take her back to her car and make sure she really left the estate. We’ve also changed the code at the gate. Does any of that sound like we’re going to reconcile?” I don’t know why this question exasperates me so much, but it does.

“Okay,” she says. She walks toward me slowly like she’s not sure whether or not it’s safe to approach.

“I was just asking. I needed know,” she says as she continues to approach me.

As soon as she’s close enough I extend my arm and grab her waist and pull her toward me. She comes willingly. When our bodies connect she nestles into me. I’m hard and she can feel it.

“Is that all you need to know, Lucía?” I say cautiously.

“No. But that was the only one that couldn’t wait.” She leans her head off my chest and gazes up at me. “If you had feelings for someone else, then there would have been no hope.” She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, as if she’s gathering her courage.

I can feel her wanting to ask more, I decide to pre-empt her. “We were married a long time. But, we were too young when we got together. Our life experiences were so narrow. We both thought we could build a marriage out of a hot weekend hookup.” I roll my eyes as I remember how stupid we were.

“It was drama, all the time. I wasn’t a great husband. I wasn’t unfaithful, but I thought about it. And I didn’t love her. Our divorce was messy only because she’s messy. She’s only sniffing back this way because her professional football playing boyfriend was just injured and is probably going to lose his contract. She’s looking for a way to keep herself in the news. Don’t take anything she does or says seriously. Some fool with more money than sense will scoop her up soon and she’ll go away. Really. That’s over.”

Her eyes fly up to mine. “Really?” Her husky voice resonant with her emotions.

“Do you trust me?” I repeat the question I asked her last night.

Her eyes fly open and she looks up at me and says, “Of course I do.”

I smile down at her. “You’ll never regret giving that to me.”

She smiles back.

“Let’s promise to be honest with each other. You can tell me anything and it won’t change the way I feel about you.” She makes all of this feel so effortless.

“Promise,” I murmur against her temple. I run my nose down the side of her hairline, and I inhale. I feel our energy—all need and impatience—moving between us like a rope. With each pass, it binds us closer to each other.

Her hair smells like peaches and it reminds me of how her pussy tasted after I fingered her the other day. I kiss the top of her ear, and her head falls onto my chest, her stomach forms a cushion for my hard cock, her hard nipples rubbing my torso through the thin cotton of her blouse.

“You’re mine,” I whisper.

She lets her head lilt backward, her eyes still closed. Her full lips are devoid of lipstick, they’re pink and soft and I can’t stop myself from bending down and sinking my teeth into the bottom one. She hisses, but doesn’t pull back. I release her lip and say, “To hurt.” And then lick the sting away. “And to heal.” She moans. I put my hands into her hair, and thread my fingers through the feather soft, thick mane. She looks up at me, her eyes are glazed but focused on me.

“I’m yours, Reece, and you are mine.”