CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Amy sidled close to Paige as Nate and Mike waited in line for popcorn, drinks, and candy. No movie was complete without Paige getting her salty and sweet fix.
“What’s up with Nate?” Amy whispered, her gaze on the man standing next to her husband. “He looks like someone peed in his breakfast cereal.”
Indeed, Nate did look like he’d had better days. His expression was cold, his answers to every question short and curt. He hadn’t calmed down at all from the conversation earlier.
“He’s upset,” Paige sighed. “We had a little fight before we left the house. He’s mad at me because he thinks I’ve done something stupid and I don’t agree. His last words before we left the house were that the discussion isn’t over. I have so much to look forward to.”
Amy and Mike were good friends – and actors themselves – but she wasn’t comfortable revealing that the studio executives didn’t want Nate for the movie. Unfortunately, her keeping it a secret might be for naught if that blind item was anything to go by.
Amy’s brows went up in amazement. “Did he actually use the word stupid? Because if Mike did that, he’d be regretting it.”
“He did,” Paige confirmed with a grimace. “I know why he thinks that way but I’m upset that he doesn’t trust me. He doesn’t trust…us. I know this is all new to him but it’s frustrating.”
“Nate’s amazingly naive when it comes to relationships,” Amy agreed. “In the last six years I’ve seen him with dozens of women but never like he is with you. He worships the ground you walk on, my dear, but he’s also a trifle dense about how things work. Like how he shouldn’t call the woman he loves stupid, unless of course he’s contemplating celibacy.”
“Technically he didn’t call me stupid. He called my decision stupid. I can’t go into the details but I do understand where he’s coming from, but he refuses to see my side of it. He thinks I’m making some huge sacrifice for him and I don’t feel that way at all.”
Amy nodded, a smile playing on her lips. “It’s these Shakespearean actors. I’ve got one at home myself, you know, but it can be hard for us American girls to truly understand. Our boys read all these classics and they start to think the stories are some sort of documentary instead of what they are. Dramatic entertainment for the masses. Nate is simply playing his hero’s part. He thinks the only one sacrificing anything should be him and you’re the beautiful lady-in-waiting that needs rescuing from the dragon. That’s how they see themselves, for heaven’s sake. Like knights in shining armor slaying the enemy and writing poems to their lady-loves.”
Good Lord, was that true? Did Nate think he needed to be some romantic hero for her?
“I’m no damsel in distress.”
“Neither am I,” Amy declared. “And I hear that chain mail chafes. But that doesn’t stop our handsome heroes from wanting to save the day, then lift us onto their white charger and ride off into the sunset with us looking up at them with stars in our eyes.”
Holy crap on a cracker. That was one ridiculous scenario.
“So what do I do? My late husband wasn’t like this at all.”
If anything, Noah had wanted Paige to save him, not the other way around. Everything in their marriage had somehow been her responsibility.
Amy glanced over at Mike. “After ten years of wedded bliss to my knight, I find that it’s just easier to let him save me. Or at least let him think that he has.”
Paige shook her head. “That’s not really an option, I’m afraid. His version of saving me is my version of giving in.”
“Then you might be screwed.”
There had to be a part of Nate she could reason with. “Life is not a Greek tragedy. He has to get over this. I’m sure with time he’ll see both sides.”
Mike and Nate were headed their way, arms laden with snacks.
“Men are known for their reasonableness and flexibility,” Amy deadpanned. “I’m sure Nate will see the error of his ways and admit that he was wrong. It happens so often in relationships.”
Crap.
* * *
Nate took another long swallow of whiskey, feeling the burn all the way down to his stomach. It had been two days since he and Paige had fought about the movie deal and she’d dug in her heels. She wasn’t going to change her mind even though he’d tried to convince her this might be the only chance she’d ever get to make the movie. There might not be any other opportunities. Period.
The only reason she wasn’t upset was because she didn’t understand Hollywood, but he did. In her writer’s mind she’d pictured another studio stepping up to the plate, giving her all the control she wanted including Nate starring and directing, and they’d all get their happy ending.
Just like all of her stories.
Nate feared there would be no happily ever after for this tale. As time passed, she’d come to resent and then eventually hate him when it hit her all that she’d given up. For him. Him.
“You’ve been glowering for the last half hour,” Max said, slapping his beer down onto the table and jarring Nate from his dismal thoughts. They were having a drink at the pub and catching up. “What’s going on?”
Nate’s first inclination was not to talk about what had happened but this was Max, his best friend and even more, a person who was in the same business. A few years older than himself, Max had walked in Nate’s shoes. Hollywood could be nasty, cold, and unkind and Max had been its victim a few times so of all the people Nate knew, Max would understand. Hell, he might even be able to give some good advice.
Nate sure as hell didn’t know what to do about the situation. Paige wasn’t going to budge and he wasn’t going to change his mind either.
“Paige and I had an argument and we haven’t quite resolved it,” Nate said, easing into the heart of the disagreement. It was a touchy subject for him, talking about how the studio didn’t think he was good enough. It was a blow to the ego.
“Give her whatever she wants,” Max said bluntly. “Whatever it is, Nate, give it to her.”
Easy enough to say but did he mean give her what she should want or what she said she wanted? Those were two different things.
“It’s not that simple–” Nate began, but Max cut him off with a wave of his hand.
“Whatever she wants, mate. You will never find another woman like Paige. Your number one goal should be to make her happy.”
She was one of a kind. The kind of woman Nate had dreamed of finding all his life but had given up hope. Max was right. Her happiness had to be his number one responsibility.
“All I want in the world is for her to have everything she wants,” Nate replied, desperation in his voice. He’d wracked his brain trying to figure out what to do. “I don’t want her to have to give up her dreams because she’s with me.”
Max’s eyes narrowed. “Her dreams? Nate, never take those from her. Never.”
“I’m not trying to but it’s complicated.” Nate bowed his head. “The studio doesn’t want me. They told her no movie deal unless she chose another lead and director.”
Inhaling sharply, Max fumbled for his beer. “Jesus, I’m sorry. That had to be tough to hear. There will be other movies though. If this film does well for her, she’ll get more say on the next one.”
Even Max assumed that Paige would go ahead with the deal sans Nate.
“That’s just it.” Nate groaned and scraped his hand down his face. “When they told her she couldn’t have me in the lead, she walked away. She and her agent said no to the deal and walked out of the meeting. She said there would be other studios and that we were a team. That we’d make the movie together or not at all.”
He would have laughed at the shocked look on Max’s face but it wasn’t that funny. His friend was so astonished his mouth was moving but no sounds were coming out.
Nate pointed to Max. “That’s about how I reacted but then I got angry. She gave it all up for me. She said she doesn’t care, but eventually when she realizes what she sacrificed she’s going to wish she hadn’t done it. She’ll hate me and I don’t think I can wait around for her love to turn to loathing. I love her too much to let that happen. I want her to have her dream and that’s the movie.”
“I don’t– I don’t know what to say. I’m…stunned, frankly.” Max took a deep drink of his beer. “That she was willing to give all that up for you speaks of great love. Shit, you’re one lucky son of a bitch. I’ve never been loved like that.”
“For how long though?” Nate asked hoarsely. “I can’t take this from her but I can’t convince her to get rid of me and move forward with the deal. She’s all about us doing this together and I can’t talk her out of it. She’s ruining what might be her only chance and here I sit idly by watching and doing nothing. I’ve tried to talk to her these last few days but she shuts me down immediately.”
Max drained the last from his glass and signaled the waitress for a refill. “If you can’t change her mind then all you can do is support her decisions.”
“Even if I know that sooner or later she’s going to wish she hadn’t sacrificed her dream for me? She’ll see that I’m not worth it eventually. Fuck, few men would be worth giving up what she’s worked for. Nothing good is going to come from this.”
Another beer was slid in front of Max. “Damned if you do…”
“And damned if I don’t,” Nate finished. “Either she hates me now or hates me later.”
Max shook his head. “She doesn’t hate you now. She loves you.”
“It’s that love that’s keeping her from making the deal.”
His brows pinched together, Max shook his head. “Are you suggesting that Paige fall out of love with you? That’s not going to happen. I’ve never seen a woman so devoted to a man. You two are truly in love. The real, forever kind.”
Yes, Nate would love her forever. He’d be an old man in a rocking chair reminiscing about the love of his life.
The love he’d die for if he had to.
This movie was his dream too. A handpicked role and a chance to direct. It would revive his career and that was something he’d worked his whole life for. His success was riding on this part. So was hers in a way.
One of them could have it though.
What was Nate willing to sacrifice for the woman he loved?
“I love her, Max. More than I love myself, and that’s fucking saying something, because I’m a selfish, self-centered git who has put everybody second to my precious career. Friends, family, and definitely relationships. But there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.”
“It doesn’t seem like there’s anything you can do. The decision is hers to make.”
Throwing back the rest of his whiskey, Nate made his own decision. He’d promised her son Jason that he would put her first and that was exactly what he was going to do. For once in his self-indulgent life, Nate Mason was going to think about someone other than himself. There were worse things than being alone. The one person he loved above all others could hate him. That would truly be painful.
“It is her decision to make,” Nate agreed. “But I can show her what she’s chosen.”