Vegas Love (24 page)

“Oh, that felt good.” I say, setting my phone down and letting out a happy little squeal. I can’t wait to get back to the hotel to fill everyone in on the news.

As we’re heading to the airport, I get a daily dashboard.
 

This time, everything is in the
Positive Press
column as Mrs. Ellison made one of her first ever statements to the press, setting the record straight.

I look at the ring sparkling on my finger and the handsome man sitting next to me and know that the press is never going to have anything else bad to say about me—unless it has to do with a movie or an outfit—because my life is going to be perfectly, romantically, wonderfully boring.
 

Finally.

Believe in Me

Cash

I get a call from Cade just as I’m unpacking from our trip.
 

“I’m just getting ready to call Ashlyn, but I wanted to give you a heads up first.”

My heart drops into my stomach, wondering what now. I thought all the drama was behind us. “Okay,” I say slowly.

“It’s good news, Cash. I have two offers on the table for her. The one the studio rescinded on was re-offered.”

“What’s the other deal?”

“The movie with Palmer.”

“Ashlyn read the script on the plane. She loved it.”

“The timing works out that she can do both roles if she chooses to, and she’ll have about three months off before the next one starts. That would give her time to find a house and get settled, so things seem to be working out for her. You’ve done a good job, Cash. And speaking of that, I think you’re ready to start taking on clients of your own. You’re going to make a good agent. I even have a few potential clients lined up for you to meet next week.”

“What about Ashlyn?”

“What about her?”

“Will I still be working with her?”

“Not as long as she stays out of trouble.”

“Oh, okay,” I say, hanging up. And although all of this is really good news and I should be excited, I’m not.
 

I should unpack, but instead I grab my phone. I’ll give Cade a few minutes to talk to her and then I’ll call her. I dropped her off at her house all of about fifteen minutes ago and I already miss her. I scroll through my emails to kill time, finding one for a new real estate listing. I scroll through the photos and am in awe.
 

I don’t think twice. I call the realtor and ask to see it right away.
 

When I get there, the realtor starts his sales pitch. “This is an outstanding property. Two acres of land set on a hill overlooking the Pacific.” As we walk up to the entry, he continues, “The double entry doors are antiques imported from Italy.”

I close my eyes, trying to drown out his voice.
 

Finally, I say, “Would it be okay if we skipped the sales pitch and I just look around? If I like it, we can go over all the details later.”

“Sounds good,” he says.
 

I walk into the house, instantly feeling at home.
 

After I see the property, I call Ashlyn and tell her I’m coming over. I can’t wait to tell her I found her dream house.
 

Hopefully,
our
dream house.
 

But when I pull into her driveway, she’s standing outside.
 

“What are you doing out here?”

“Waiting for you. I assumed you were coming over, so we could both go to Cade’s office.” She flashes a huge smile. “He has two deals for me!”

“That’s awesome,” I say, even though I feel disappointed.
 

I quickly shake it off.
 

I’ll tell her later.
 

Business before pleasure, right?
 

It’s better this way. She’ll be excited about what’s next in her career, and I can finish off the day perfectly by taking her to see the house.
 

She holds my hand the whole way to the office, but quickly drops it when we pull into the parking lot.
 

I look down at my empty hand and feel nervous. Like it’s a sign of something yet to come.
 

Is she going to be on location somewhere and I won’t see her?

Will this movie deal break us up?
 

Before we go inside, Ashlyn wrings her hands. “I’m nervous.”

“Why? You’ve done so many movies. This should be old hat.”

“I know I should be grateful they offered me the sequel, but the fact that they rescinded the offer in the first place upsets me. It’s like they didn’t believe in me.”

“I know I’m new to the business, but here’s my take on it. Acting is a career for you, but it’s still personal. What you do is an art. It’s in your soul. For the studio, it’s about the money. The bottom line. No matter what any studio says or does or offers, you’ve already had great success. If you want someone to believe in you, then you need to believe in yourself first. Be proud of what you’ve accomplished. I saw the stats from the first movie. They know you are talented. They know you draw crowds to the theaters and you sell videos. They pulled their offer because they were worried about your future. If you know what you want—if you believe in yourself—the negotiations will fall into place.”

She takes a step toward me, getting as close as she can without actually touching me. “I know what I want, Sexy. I want you in my future.”

I lean so close that our lips almost touch. “I want to kiss you so bad right now.”

“I want to kiss you so bad right now too. Thanks for the pep talk. I needed it. You really are going to make a good agent. Maybe I’ll fire your brother and hire you.”

“I think I’d rather be your husband than your agent.”

“Let’s go back to Vegas tonight. Tell your family. Hop on a plane and just do it. ”

“No way. The next time we get married, it’s going to be the wedding of your dreams. Let’s meet with a wedding planner and set a date, then we’ll tell them.”

She beams at me. “That sounds like a great plan.”

My brother kisses both of Ashlyn’s cheeks in greeting then slaps me on the back. “You look like you’re going to be sick. Don’t worry, I’ll handle the negotiation. You can sit back and watch the master work.”

He chuckles then gestures toward the conference table for us to sit then he goes over the first contract with Ashlyn.
 

“So this is for the sequel to
The Spy Games.
Preproduction will begin in three months. Filming will all be done at the studio here.” He goes over the terms of the contract in detail, telling her the items he believes are negotiable and those that aren’t. Once he’s gone through the whole thing and has a list of points, he starts on the next offer.
 

“Wait,” she says, grinning at me. “No.”

“No, what?”

“I want more money.”

“But this is a very substantial—”

“I don’t care, Cade. I’m worth more than that and we all know it. And, honestly, had they not pulled their offer when I was going through what was one of the worst weeks of my life, I might have taken it. But, now, I want more across the board. If they don’t like it, they can find a replacement for me, and I will happily take some well-deserved time off.” She glances at me. “I believe in me. They need to show me that they do too.”

I know we’ve been talking about telling my family about us getting married again but the way she just looked at me, was almost like she was telling me that she needs to know
I
believe in her.
 

And I don’t think she’s talking about business.

What can I do to show her that I love her? That I’m serious about marrying her? That I’m serious about her?

She wore the engagement ring in New York because she said she could get away with it there. She’s not wearing it today.
 

That’s it!
 

She needs a serious proposal, not some drunken one.
 

As soon as we’re done here, I’m going to show her the house. I’ll take her out onto the balcony overlooking the Pacific, get down on one knee, tell her why I love her, and ask her to marry me again.

Then I’ll tell her that I’m buying the house. For us.
 

Hands On My Ass

Ashlyn

After we get confirmation the studio agreed to my contract terms, Cade asks to speak with me alone.
 

“Ashlyn, can I talk to you freely about something personal?”

“Like what?”

“Cash.”

“Oh.”

“Oh, what?”

“What did you want to say?”

“I just want you to know that if he ever acts inappropriately toward you, you need to tell me.”

“Inappropriately?”

“The other day after the whole Bart thing, I saw the way he hugged you. When he took this job, I told him he needed to be professional. If he’s not being professional toward you—”

“I get what you’re saying, Cade, and everything is okay. I wouldn’t be making all these changes if it weren’t for him, so we should both be thankful for that. He’s helped me more than you know, and I value his friendship.”

Among other things.

“That’s a relief. Congrats on your new deals. They are big ones.”

I smile. “I know. I owe you a big thank you too. I feel like I’m finally getting my life in order and under control. It feels good.”

I meet up with Cash in the lobby and when he pulls me into the elevator, he kisses me.
 

“What did my brother say?”

“He wanted to make sure you have been behaving appropriately toward me.”

He smirks and grabs my ass. “Have I been?”

“Guess that depends on your point of view. I’m pretty sure Cade would not consider your hand on my ass appropriate.”

“And from your point of view?”

“I love it.” I give him a kiss back. “Were you serious about the whole wedding planner—doing a big wedding thing?”

“That depends if you want to marry me again.”

She looks at the ground. “Cash, I’m sorry I snuck out that morning, but I got scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“I promised you it was just a one-night thing. That’s what you signed up for.”

“I agreed because it’s what you said you wanted. But by the time I had proposed, I was already crazy about you.”
 

“Well, I freaked out when I got home. I texted Harper on her honeymoon trying to find you. Got the guest list and everything. I told myself I needed to give the ring back but, really, I wanted to find you. To see if you were as amazing as I remembered. Or if I was just drunk.”

“You were drunk. We both were.”

“Do you think we’re even legally married? We gave fake names.”

“I refuse to answer that question on the grounds it might incriminate me,” I say, knowing that whether or not we’re married might be the least of our worries.
 

“What does that even mean?” she laughs.
 

“It means I don’t care if we are legally married or not. I love you. That’s what matters. And I want to marry you again. Soon. In front of my family and friends. And then I want to go on an amazing honeymoon with you.”