“I can do that,” he murmurs against my lips, on top of me, inside of me, ever so slowly pushing in. He makes love to me, giving me all of him, in no rush for it to be over.
All night long, again and again, he brings me to the edge, leaving me a sticky, trembling mess. Daylight is already trying to peak through, the sky outside starting to lighten. I lay here, staring at the ceiling. My muscles no longer care to work.
Jonathan’s still at it, going strong, his lips trailing along my stomach, going lower and lower and lower, as he strokes my inner thigh, the light touch making parts of me tingle. I don’t know how he does it. Just when I think I’m done, when I think I can’t take anymore. “Oh god.”
His mouth is on me, his face buried between my thighs. I grasp his hair, shifting my hips, unable to stay still. A minute, maybe two, before he’s got me seeing stars. I squeeze my eyes shut, crying out as pleasure flows through me in waves.
Once I relax again, breathing heavily, he kisses along my inner thigh before biting down gently. Laughing, I swat him away as I clamp my thighs closed. I don’t even have the energy to put up a real fight.
“You’re definitely forgiven,” I whisper. “That was… wow.”
Laughing, he collapses onto the bed. “Thank god, because I’m exhausted.”
“So am I,” I say. “I don’t even think I can make it to the shower.”
“Me, either. Hell, I don’t even have any clothes I can put on. Can’t call Jack to make him get my stuff since I don’t have my phone.”
“Hmm, well, I know one way you might get ahold of him,” I say, grabbing my phone from the bedside stand. “I’ll call your sister.”
Before I can even try to make the call, Jonathan snatches the phone from my hand and tosses it behind him, throwing it right on the floor. “I don’t even want to think about him being somewhere with my sister at this hour. I’d rather stay naked.”
I laugh, snuggling against him, pressing a light kiss to his chest. “I love you, Jonathan.”
“I love you, too.” He wraps his arms around me before whispering, “You’re the queen, baby.”
Click. Click. Click.
The incessant flash of bulbs was bright and blinding as camera shudders went off in rapid succession, taking dozens of photographs every few seconds, immortalizing the moment. Hundreds—maybe thousands—of fans lined the metal barricades along the street in front of the famed Hollywood theater. People camped out for days, desperate to be a part of it, desperate to be there for the Breezeo red carpet.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Jonathan’s erratic heartbeat thumped and echoed in his ears. He had done enough events over the years that this should’ve been a breeze, but he found himself nervous. Not for himself, no… for her. The little girl who clung tightly to his hand, wearing a pretty pink dress her mother had picked out. It was her first time in Hollywood, first time being involved in that part of his life.
He didn’t want her to be overwhelmed.
“Johnny! Johnny! Over here!” People shouted from all around them, trying to get his attention. “This way! Turn to the left! On your right! Johnny, wait! Stop right there! Look up!”
They stopped to pose for more pictures after walking a few feet, and Jonathan bent down to her level, giving her a smile as the cameras continued to flash.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
She nodded, grinning, her blue eyes twinkling under the lights. “I’m being a snowflake again, so I can’t hear nobody.”
“Good girl,” he said. “Just keep smiling.”
Jonathan leaned over, kissing her cheek, as a chorus of oohs and ahhs surrounded them. She’d stolen the spotlight the moment they exited the limo, capturing everybody’s attention, this beautiful little girl with stars in her eyes.
Click. Click. Click.
They continued to walk along the carpet, posing, before the handlers steered them toward the media outlets. Interviews. This was the part of it that he hated most—being forced to answer questions, some of them uncomfortable.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, the man you’ve been waiting for, the star of the night—Johnny Cunning!” The petite blonde reporter smiled dazzlingly as he stepped up on the circular platform to join her for a live stream. “How are you doing tonight, Johnny?”
“Wonderful,” he said. “Happy to be here.”
“Well, I must say—you look truly amazing,” the reporter declared. “You have a glow about you, and, my word, might it have something to do with this precious little girl with you?”
“Without a doubt,” he said. “I’m the luckiest man in the world tonight.”
Questions. So many questions.
He answered everything he could.
“Now before you go, you know we have to ask,” the reporter says. “It was announced this morning that the Breezeo comics were being re-launched. Any chance we’ll see you slip back into the suit for another movie?”
He smiled. “Right now, I’m just trying to enjoy my family, but I’m certainly not going to rule anything out.”
Over and over, the questions flowed—some personal, but most not. He moved from reporter to reporter, a dozen of them total.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Jonathan looked down as Madison tapped his leg to get his attention after they’d cleared the media section. Next, he would sign autographs for the fans, and then they’d head inside the theater to watch Ghosted. “Daddy, look, it’s Maryanne.”
He turned, looking the direction his daughter was facing, seeing Serena Markson posing with her date—Hollywood’s new ‘it’ guy, Gerard Jackson. Clifford Caldwell lurked near them, watching. Jonathan had officially severed ties with the man a few weeks earlier, the moment his contract gave him an opening, and he’d signed with someone else—someone who understood that his family took priority.
Jonathan turned away, signing those autographs, chatting and letting them snap a few quick photos, before leading Madison along the carpet to the theater entrance.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
Madison’s dress shoes clattered along the marble floor as they approached a group gathered in the lobby, the sound announcing their arrival. His team of people, all of them new—new management, new PR, even a new lawyer. He kept his agent, and he still had Jack, but everything else required a clean slate. Too much had been tainted by Clifford Caldwell.
The man had once tried to taint the woman he loved, too. Jonathan learned that while reading a long-ago story scribbled in an old spiral notebook. He read every word, no matter how painful. Everything he hadn’t known... he knew it all now.
Kennedy stood amongst the group, wearing a simple black dress. The diamond on her left ring finger shimmered under the theater lights as she absently tinkered with it.
She was nervous... too nervous to walk the red carpet.
It made her sick to the stomach when she thought about it.
Jonathan had sold his mansion in LA and built a house in Bennett Landing, down the road from the Landing Inn, making them McKleski’s neighbors. He’d proposed on a whim, although he’d had the ring for a while, and to his surprise, she’d said yes without even needing to think about it. He worried for a moment that they might be moving too fast, but he realized it didn’t matter.
He’d lost too much time as it was.
He wasn’t going to waste another second.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
“Can we talk for a minute?” Kennedy asked when he slid into the crowd beside her. People steadily streamed into the theater. They needed to find their seats soon.
“Of course,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her to him, holding up his free hand to tell his new manager to wait when the man nearly interrupted them. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said, smiling, a glow on her flushed cheeks. And before she could even open her mouth again, before she could say the words, he already knew, but it still didn’t fail to shock him to the core when she whispered, “I’m pregnant.”