Past Heaven (45 page)

I kissed his cheek and added butter and milk to the mashed potatoes. Our huge dining room table would be filled with family in a matter of hours. Stirring the potatoes, I sprinkled in salt and pepper. The past months had been a whirlwind. After the
People
article was published, I was no longer the pariah of society. The public had accepted that we were in love and that I hadn’t forced myself onto Reynolds. In fact because we were so deeply in love, we were no longer interesting. The paparazzi had faded away as Reynolds had promised. We had moved into our home and had made it a space filled with love. Pictures of Jack mixed in with pictures of Reynolds, both of our parents, and the boys. The best part of all was that Reynolds and I were free to be a normal couple. We shared a bed and made love whenever we liked.

And we liked it often.

Once all of the food filled our table, we sat to eat. This year, Reynolds sat at one end of the table and I sat at the other. I tapped my wine glass with my fork to get everyone’s attention. “Reynolds, would you make the toast this year?”

He smiled, a surprised, but pleased look on his face and stood up, holding his glass. “Thank you all for being here with us today in our new home. It’s been another year of change for everyone. Looking around, I wonder what Jack must think. He’d see his beautiful, amazing Liz.” Reynolds gestured toward me, his eyes warm. “His incredible boys.” Reynolds rumpled Hayden’s hair and smiled at Griff and Grayson. “His devoted parents.” Nancy and Ed grinned lovingly. “His loving in-laws and brother.” David’s face erupted in a smile as Jim patted his back. “And his friends.” Cindy gave Reynolds a cheeky thumbs up. “We are here to share a meal together. You have all welcomed me and my parents into your life wholeheartedly.” Reynolds’ eyes glistened, and he cleared his throat. “I’d like to think he’d be proud of that. We should be especially thankful for Jack today. We should also be thankful for each other and the blessings that each of us brings to the other. Happy Thanksgiving, you wonderful people. Cheers.”

“Cheers!” We responded and clinked our glasses together.

“Reynolds, are we having pancakes for dinner? The sap is flowing like syrup around here.” Cindy snickered, and the rest of the table joined in her laughter.

“Oh, Cindy, you know you love me.” Reynolds couldn’t have wiped the smile from his face if he tried. We were truly his family.

This was a day of abundant blessings.

“I MUST ADMIT, of all the holiday traditions you’ve introduced me to, the assembly of tiny toys is my least favorite.” Reynolds and I stood back looking at the bountiful piles of presents under the tree. The antique grandfather clock in our family room struck twelve. It was no longer Christmas Eve.

I squeezed Reynolds’ hand. “Thank you. You made all of this possible with your generosity.” I leaned up and pressed my lips against his. He pulled back, and I pouted.

Chuckling, he led me over to the fireplace. “Sit here and enjoy. I want to pour us one last drink before bed.” He returned with two glasses of champagne and sat beside me. We sipped the bubbly cocktail and watched the fire.

“Oh Reyn. It’s snowing. Look.” Peering out the windows of our family room, we saw a dusting of snow cover the fields. “I dreamt about this when I saw the fireplace. I pictured sitting in front of it with you, watching the first snow of the season.” I set my glass down and ran my hands up his chest. The tip of my tongue traced my upper lip, and I watched his eyes darken. Leaning closer, I kissed his neck, dragging my tongue slowly up to his ear. Heat coursed through my body until I had to press my thighs together. We needed to be upstairs.

Reynolds’ breaths were hard and fast, but he knelt in front of me, taking both of my hands in his. “I never imagined a woman like you existed, Elizabeth.” I listened to him, unable to stop smiling at hearing him use my full name. “I never thought I would find a woman who loved others more than she loved herself. A woman who believed in the good in the world even when she was shown darkness. That was the stuff movies were made of. But then I did meet you, and you were real. My own life turned into something not even Hollywood could replicate. I could never ask for more.” Reynolds smiled, and I stilled, holding my breath. “Well, that’s not completely true. There is one more thing.”

Reynolds got on one knee and pulled a baby blue box from his pocket. My trembling hands covered my mouth and tears filled my eyes. He opened it, and I gasped. Reynolds wanted to marry me. My heart knocked against my chest, and my eyes widened at the sight before me. It was the biggest sparkling vintage diamond ring I had ever seen.

“Marry me, Elizabeth. Please do me the honor of becoming my wife. Please make me the happiest man on the planet.”

I threw my arms around him, tears streaming down my cheeks, as I knocked him onto his back.

“Is that a yes?” He chuckled as I crushed my lips against his.

“Oh my god, yes! Yes, I will. I mean, I do. It’s about time! What took you so long?” We kissed again, laughing at the same time.

“Those were Grayson’s words, too,” Reynolds whispered as he kissed my ear.

“Wait, the boys know?” I leaned away from him and narrowed my eyes.

“Of course.” He raised one eyebrow at me as he turned off the fireplace and shut off the lights. “I had to get their permission first.”

He pulled me into his arms, the only light coming from the Christmas tree. I ran my fingers down his face, so dear to me, so full of love. “Reynolds Carter, you are the most wonderful man in the world. Now take your fiancée to bed and have your way with her.”

“Yes ma’am.” He laughed as he scooped me up and carried me to our bedroom.

LIZ SAUNTERED OUT of the bathroom of our hotel suite, and I drew in a sharp breath. The damn woman could knock the wind out of me ten times a day from just walking into a room. Her eyes took me in from head to toe.

“You look gorgeous, Elizabeth. I can’t wait to get you back here tonight. On second thought, let’s skip all the nonsense and stay here. I’m very
interested
in you right now.” I ran my hands over her breasts, feeling them stiffen under my touch.

“Reyn,” Liz murmured. “You look obscenely hot in that tux.” She shook her head back and forth as her gaze traveled down the length of my body. When she licked her lips, I growled in frustration. “But this is the Oscars, and it’s every girl’s fantasy to attend the Oscars. Besides, you’re nominated for Best Actor. We are sure as hell going. Now cool down your
interested
self and get your cute ass in the limo.”

Liz and I had been back and forth to L.A. for several awards shows. Our movie had won its share, and Michael Doogan had won every one he had been nominated for. I had been nominated, but had not won anything yet.

We climbed into our limo, and I poured us each a glass of champagne. Liz sat rigidly, fidgeting with her gold dress. “What are you thinking?” I asked, squeezing her hand in mine.

“I’m bracing myself for whatever comes.” Liz smiled sweetly, and I could see the unspoken anxiety in her eyes. “I know we’ve attended other shows, and nothing terrible has been yelled at me, but this is the Oscars. You’re up for one of the biggest awards of the night, and I’ll be on your arm. I’m worried people will be cruel about our relationship.”

She brought her other hand to her neck. The previous award ceremonies had gone smoothly. We had ignored Madeline at each event. We had even shared a table at the Golden Globes, but had avoided all contact with her. Liz and I had agreed that neither she nor Kylie were worth the hassle. They had hurt Liz and had started all the trouble with the press, but they were out of our lives now.

I kissed the back of her hand that I held and rubbed her knuckles with my thumb. Then, I pulled her other hand off her neck and pressed my mouth to her skin. She closed her eyes, her body relaxing. “No one will harass you tonight, baby. Trust me, they do not want to piss off a possible Best Actor.” My feet tapped on the floor, and my stomach clenched. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that I was nominated for a Best Actor award at the motherfucking Oscars.

Liz opened her eyes and leaned close, kissing me lightly on the lips. Smiling brightly, she took her thumb and rubbed off the lip-gloss she had left behind. “I’m so proud of you.” Liz told me constantly how proud she was of the movie and of my acting. I believed her, but she was biased. Tonight was a nod to my entire career in acting, and I was so freaking excited and honored.

When our limo pulled up to the red carpet, the door quickly opened and flashes went off. I slipped out of the car and held my hand out for Liz. She looked like a princess in her gown. She hooked her arm in mine and looked up at me with a bright smile and eyes that danced with excitement.

Fans lined up, calling out our names as we walked the famous red carpet. The tension eased off Liz’s body, and her grip on me loosened. She pulled her shoulders back and walked next to me, full of confidence.

“Ms. Atwater, Liz.” Liz froze, and I swiveled over to the voice calling out to her. “Who are you wearing? Your dress is fantastic.” I ran a quick hand through my hair, and Liz tipped her chin up and answered, “Versace. What do you think?” She posed for the reporter and flashes went off. Liz was working the red carpet, and I loved watching her do it.

“I never thought, in my whole life, that I’d answer a question about my clothing with the word
Versace
. Holy shit, pinch me.” She squealed as I discreetly pinched her ass.

“Are you nervous?” she whispered in my ear, as we settled in our seats. I nodded with a shrug. “When you’re feeling anxious, just think about the fact that I’m not wearing any panties. That should help.” She smirked at me and rubbed the inside of my thigh. My mouth tilted upwards in a playful grin and my dick instantly hardened.

“Fuck,
Elizabeth, now I’m nervous and
interested
.” I waggled my eyebrows at her, and she laughed. A moment later, she squeezed my hand as the lights flickered. The show was about to begin.

Just then Kylie walked past our section. She caught my eye and smiled, but looked at Liz with frigid hatred. Liz remained calm, smiling back and waving. Kylie’s jaw dropped open when she noticed the big ass ring I put on Liz’s finger. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing.

“I do love how you handle her.” I kissed Liz’s cheek and settled in to enjoy the show.

It was almost the end of the night before the Best Actor award was announced. As I waited for our names to be read aloud from the ballot, I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. I couldn’t help but wonder what Jack would say about all of this. I hoped that he would feel I had done him justice. I heard my name called with the other nominees and then watched the envelope being opened.

“And the Oscar goes to….Reynolds Carter.”

Liz screamed and clapped, and I reached over to kiss her before running onto the stage. “Wow! Thank you so much to the Academy for this honor,” I gasped. I was out of breath and having a hard time composing myself. “I have many people to thank in the production of
Life Changing
, but I’ll do that in private. What I want to do now is ask viewers and audience members to take the message from this movie and not lose it. Jack Atwater was a man just like any of us. What made him special was that he saw a wrong in the world and devoted his life to righting it. There are so many causes to fight for in the world. Just fight.” The applause was deafening as I took my next shaky breath and continued.