CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Chelsea
I pulled the sweater tightly around my shoulders. The wind whipped off the water in sudden gusts on spring evenings like this one. I inhaled the salt and the last bits of sun coming off the wooden railings. If she peered hard enough I could make out a trawler rounding the channel, headed in for the night. In a few minutes, the ship would be at the docks unloading the day’s catch.
I looked down at the lyrics I had on my notebook. Funny how as soon as I sat in the hammock, they popped into my head. They were clear and certain. I missed this. Writing for fun, not because I had a deadline.
I kicked off the porch.
“Chelsea, I think we’re done for the day.” Jimmy Hazelton poked his head out the sliding door.
“Really? The countertops are done?”
“Come see.” He held the door open for me.
I laid the lyrics in the hammock and walked inside. What used to be my kitchen was now a living room. The wall that separated this part of the house from my bedroom was gone. In its place were sturdy pillars. I followed Jimmy to the far side of the house.
The kitchen now overlooked an entirely glass view of the ocean.
I ran my hands along the marble. “These look great.” The surface was smooth.
“I’m pretty happy with how they turned out.” He patted the countertops. “The master bath upstairs is done too. I’ll be back to finish up the guest bath, and I think that’s the last thing on the list.”
“It is.” I smiled at the gray-haired contractor. “I can’t believe the house is finished.”
“Well, you all said you wanted to be in by summer, so May was about the best we could do.” He picked up his clipboard. “I’ll see you in the morning. You might want to leave the doors open for an hour or so. Get some cross-ventilation going in here.”
“Ok.” I walked to the opposite side of the room and cracked the new French doors.
“Have a good night.” He collected a bag of tools and tossed it over his shoulder.
I walked him to the door. “Thanks, Jimmy. You too.”
“And tell your mama I said hello.”
“I will.” I listened for the sound of the door to close.
My mother was on a trip with her sisters to tour historic homes in Charleston and Savannah. My father returned from his winter getaway in Florida with Eileen. I had only seen him once since he had been back, but he didn’t look happy. Maybe things with his girlfriend weren’t going smoothly. I could only hope.
In the meantime, my mom was spending more time in the store, and my parents had seemed to work out an arrangement to take turns managing the office. I didn’t know how long things would stay amicable, but for now it made life easier.
I retraced my steps to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of wine from the wine fridge.
A cold wet nose bounced off my bare leg.
“Cowboy!” I looked down at the puddle of sand and salt water dripping on the hardwoods. The black lab looked pleased with himself. He dropped a tennis ball at my feet.
“And are you going to clean up this mess?” I searched for a towel. With the doors wide open, the six-month-old puppy had easily found a way in. He had spent most of the day on the porch with me, but wandered down to the shoreline for a few minutes.
I stooped to his level to wipe the wide planks of the floors. The puppy lapped at the side of my face.
“You are gross, you know that?” I laughed and tried to towel him off in the process. He wagged his tail as I patted his chunky paws, brushing more sand to the floor.
Cowboy seemed like a fitting name for the dog. Ben thought it was the perfect tribute to one of his favorite John Wayne movies, but it also fit the pup’s rebellious personality. Whether at the ranch or the beach, he liked to venture out on his own.
We had picked him up in Shiner on a fall visit to see Joe and Patty and deliver the promised Quinn Jansen CD.
“Darlin’, you here?”
“In here,” I called. I stood upright and watched Cowboy run toward Ben.
“Hey, boy. You been swimming?”
He strolled through the new great room with the puppy on his heels. “Man, look at these countertops.” He grabbed me by the waist and hoisted me on top.
I giggled. “Hey, you. I didn’t think you were going to be here until tonight. This is a good surprise.”
“I am officially done. Very last Love & Bondage interview was this morning in New York.”
“That is what this wine is for.” I held up the bottle. “I was going to start my celebration a little early.”
“Yes, I’ll drink to that.” He pivoted on his heels and reached for two wine glasses. He fixed the corkscrew to the top of the bottle and freed the cork.
“How did it go today?” I watched him fill the glasses with wine.
“It was good. It felt good. Glad to get it over with. Rebecca says hi by the way.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course she did.” I readily accepted the glass. “I recorded the interview this morning, but I haven’t watched it yet. It was too loud with the guys in here. Jimmy just left a few minutes ago.”
“You haven’t seen it?” He eyed me, and for a second, I felt guilty I hadn’t tuned in this morning. I shook my head. “Then let’s watch it. I haven’t seen it either.”
“But you were there.”
He set me on the floor and walked to the couch. Within seconds, he had the interview cued on the TV. Cowboy pounced on the ball and ran out of the room, carrying it in his mouth.
I settled under Ben’s arm.
The interview started with the host introducing Ben and Rebecca, then showing a clip from the movie. It was still difficult to watch Ben like that—his hands on Rebecca, gliding down her back, along the curves of her hips. I tried to focus on other movie details instead, like the light fixtures they chose.
It didn’t matter how many times I had seen the movie or the posters. It never got easier. Trying to separate Ben from Jule was always a mental challenge. I was glad the majority of the press coverage was behind us.
Cheryl Cromwell started her questions as soon as the clip faded to black. “How does it feel to star in the number one movie in the world? It’s been number one for three weeks now and I don’t think it’s losing steam if you know what I mean.”
Rebecca smiled. “We’re happy. Just so glad people love the movie as much as we loved making it.”
“I think we’re still blown away by it,” Ben added.
“Did you ever imagine anything like this?” the host asked.
Rebecca patted his knee. “Never in our wildest dreams. It’s bigger than we could have imagined.” She looked at Ben. “Did you think anything would happen like this when we first worked together on Wanted?”
“Definitely not. It has been a surprise.”
“You two definitely know how to heat up the big screen. Everyone wants to know what it was like filming those love scenes. So, tell us, did sparks really fly on the set?”
Ben eyed Rebecca. She giggled. “That’s the magic of movie-making. Really, it’s just so technical. There were people telling us where to put arms and legs. It wasn’t really romantic, but it looks like it was.”
“Rebecca’s right. It’s more like a choreographed fight scene than anything else.”
“Fight scene?” Cheryl questioned and the audience laughed.
“Not that kind, but sort of what I’m used to preparing for in some of my other action films. There are a lot acrobatics involved.”
The audience laughed.
“Well, from our vantage point it looked sizzling hot.” Cheryl giggled and a shot of Ben’s mouth hovering above Rebecca’s navel flashed on the screen.
“Tell us, Ben, exactly how many marriage proposals do you get every day?” Cheryl flipped her hair over her shoulder.
He chuckled. “Plenty, that’s for sure.”
Rebecca touched him on the shoulder. “He’s off the market, ladies. Take it from me, this guy is unavailable.”
Cheryl raised her eyebrows. “Are you saying there’s a wedding in the future? This is breaking news.”
“Hold on, hold on.” Ben put his hand up. “I think Rebecca’s just trying to help me out.” He turned to his co-star.
“Because if that’s the case, hearts are breaking all over the world this morning.” It looked as if Cheryl might have one of those broken hearts.
Ben leaned forward. “No wedding to discuss right now. Actually, I do have an announcement I’d like to share, Cheryl. Not marriage related.” He winked.
“An announcement? We can’t wait to hear what it is. But first, let’s get this commercial break out of the way. We’ll be right back with Ben Baldwin and Rebecca Campbell, stars of Love & Bondage.”
“She’s really dragging this out.” I waited while Ben fast-forwarded through the commercials.
“Yep. Cheryl is dramatic. Ok, here’s the good part.” He pushed play.
Cheryl smiled onscreen. “If you’re just joining us, we have a special treat for you. The stars of Love & Bondage, Rebecca Campbell and Ben Baldwin, are here with us to discuss the most talked about movie of the year and hopefully give us some behind-the-scenes secrets we’ve all been dying to hear. But first, right before the break, Ben, you said you wanted to share an announcement. Why don’t we start with that?” She turned toward him.
He shifted in his seat. “This is a project I’m excited to finally talk about. It’s been in the works for quite some time and now, with the movie out, I can share with all of y’all.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve made the decision that Love & Bondage is going to be my last movie for a while. I’m starting my own production company. I’m going to have more of a secondary role. Try my hand helping screenwriters, producers, directors.”
“That’s quite an announcement.”
“Yeah, I know it’s big news. But I’ve wanted to try some other creative outlets for a while, and let’s face it, what better way to go out than as Julian Love?” He looked at Rebecca.
“True. True.” Cheryl seemed to be struggling with the news. “I can’t imagine how your fans are going to react to this.”
“You know Ben is going to be incredible behind the camera. I’m just hoping he’ll consider me for his first movie. I’m dying to be in it,” Rebecca purred.
He laughed. “It’s yours, Becs.”
“Will you two stay with us? We’ll return in a few minutes with the stars of Love & Bondage. Viewer questions are just pouring in. I think we all need a minute to let this soak in.”
The show’s music cued, Ben hit pause, and turned toward me.
I looked at him. “You really did it. You really retired. This is happening.”
“I really did it. It is happening.”
I threw my arms around his neck. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
“How do you feel? Any regrets?” I nervously bit on my lip. “This is a huge life change.”
He looked around the room. “You kidding? Spending all my summers here with you at the beach, our falls and winters at the ranch? It’s a dream, baby.”
“Have you settled on the location for the studio?” We had spent hours with a U.S. map spread in front of us trying to decide on a location that would make sense for us when we were in Texas or North Carolina.
“Nah, I figure everything else has fallen into place, and that will too. Besides, I’m off this summer. Production company can wait until after my vacation. I’ll let Scott stress about all of that stuff. He’s good at stressing.” He pulled me into his arms.
“I still can’t believe this.” I listened to the words roll off his tongue, but no matter how many times he said it, I never thought it would happen.
“You want to watch the interview again? I just proclaimed to the entire world that I’m not starring in any more movies. I am done. Completely ready for my life with you.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. It was finally long enough to touch my shoulder again.
“And you’re positive you’re happy about this?”
“Completely.” He grinned. “But tell me, pretty girl, are you? Are you ok with our setup?”
I thought back to the night Ben’s father was in the hospital. I remembered the look of panic on his face, the pain in his mother’s eyes, the confusion Valerie tried to muddle through. I knew then that no matter what happened, I was a part of that family. Ben was my family. The only way to make sure we stayed together was to make changes—big, life-altering changes.
I had to give up the next Blue Steel contract. Brandon agreed to let me submit songs, but no more exclusive deals with Quinn or Mark. I missed my writing sessions with Quinn, but we stayed in touch and shared lyrics through email. The writing was still a part of my life—it was only slightly altered.
I couldn’t let Ben be the only one to make sacrifices, and I couldn’t expect him to change completely. He needed excitement and he needed a change of scenery every few weeks. Bouncing back and forth between our two states gave him all of that. A little piece of home wherever we went, but not enough to let us succumb to the mundane. Cowboy seemed to like ranch life as much as beach life. Somehow we had managed to find the perfect dog in the midst of the chaos.
“I’m happy, Ben.”
“That’s all I wanted to hear.” He kissed me. “Can’t believe I had to remodel an entire beach house and give you your own closet at the ranch to get you to move in with me, but I guess it was worth it.”
I shoved his chest. “You moved in with me here.”
“Right, right. I guess so. We moved in together. How’s that?”
I smiled. Nothing had ever felt more right. “Perfect.” I kissed him. “So, can we really watch that interview again?” I rested my head on his chest.
“Yeah, let’s do that.” Ben hit rewind, then play.
I settled against him. Tonight I would spend loving my very own ex-movie star in our own private paradise on an island far from everything that didn’t matter. And nothing felt more right.
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