Mr. Hollywood (Celebrity #1) (37 page)

Quietly, I walked up the steps to the porch, pausing
near one of the windows when I caught sight of my little family sitting in
there with their loved ones. I only had eyes for Aubrey and Dustin, who were
snuggled together on the couch, watching the award show. They looked so happy
together. I wanted them to always look like that
—
even
if that meant it was without me. Their happiness was more important to me than
anything
—
even my own.

Moving to the door, I knocked and shoved my hands into
my pockets, waiting.

“
I
’
ll get it!
”
I heard Dustin shout, followed
quickly by running footsteps. The door swung open and I squinted as the porch
light was flipped on, illuminating me.

“
Hey
there, kiddo,
”
I said with a smile.
“
Got a hug for your old man?
”

“
Dad!
”
he yelled so loudly it hurt my ears
and he launched himself through the screen door so fast I had to step backward
to avoid being hit by it.

Laughing, I crouched down, holding my arms out to him
and he ran into them, hugging me tightly. Words left me as I hugged my son for
the first time since I
’
d left for Paris. I blinked several
times, trying to man up and get rid of the tears sneaking into my eyes.

“
I
missed you!
”
Dustin said, not releasing
his hold on me.

“
I
missed you, too, kid. You have no idea how much.
”
Glancing
up, I saw Aubrey appear in the doorway, shock on her face.

“
Zane?
”
she whispered, her hand going to
her throat, and she glanced back at the television.
“
Aren
’
t
you supposed to be in LA tonight? We
’
ve been watching to see if you won.
They
’
re almost ready to announce it.
”

Releasing Dustin, I stood.
“
I couldn
’
t wait one more day to see you, so
I changed my ticket and came straight here. Shall we watch the ending together?
”

I couldn
’
t tell if she was happy to see me
or not. She seemed .
 
.
 
. stunned.

“
Sure,
come on in.
”
Holding the door open for me,
I stepped inside and glanced around the room at the others.

“
Hi,
ladies. Good to see you both, again.
”
I nodded and smiled.

“
Well,
Zane McCartney!
”
Aubrey
’
s Aunt Ida spoke up, rising and
coming to give me a hug.
“
We haven
’
t seen you around these parts in
years. Looks like time has treated you well. You
’
re
even more handsome than you were before.
”

“
Thanks,
”
I replied with a laugh.
“
It
’
s
good to see you, too.
”

Daphne stood as well, coming to give me a hug and I
was surprised. It was the first time she
’
d ever hugged me since seeing me
again. It warmed my heart and I hoped that it meant she was coming around.

Releasing me, she stepped away and there was a moment
of awkward silence, as we all tried to figure out what to do next.

“
Where
’
s Brent and Jim?
”
I asked, making small talk.

“
Oh,
they
’
re off down the road at the Johnson
’
s helping to bring in a new foal
for a mare that
’
s having a difficult time.
”

“
Well,
Brent always was one of the best when it came time to foal. Hopefully it will
all work out.
”

More awkward silence as everyone stared at me.

Ida moved first.
“
Here, let me turn this noisy TV off
and we can all catch up.
”

“
No!
”
Almost everyone shouted in unison,
causing her to pause.

“
We
want to see if Dad wins the award first!
”
Dustin said, bounding over to
the couch.

“
And
maybe afterward we can talk?
”
I asked, staring at Aubrey
and she nodded. The fact that she
’
d made no move to hug me didn
’
t settle well with me. My arms were
currently aching for her.

“
And
now, it
’
s time for Best Actor in a Motion
Picture,
”
a man
’
s voice said, causing us all to
turn and stare. I couldn
’
t have timed my arrival any better,
even if I
’
d planned it.
“
The nominees are as follows: Blake
Denton, for The Mystery of Mrs. Pike.
”

Cheers sounded and the camera switched to Blake
Denton. He was a great actor, and I
’
d enjoyed getting to know him over
the years.

“
Brady
Ford, for A Man Named Raoul,
”
the presenter continued to
more applause.

“
Ethan
Sauntry, for Make Me.
”
The camera flashed to Ethan.

“
And,
last, but not least, Z McCartney, for Unveiled.
”
A
picture of me popped up on the screen before cutting back to the presenter.
There was a slight dramatic pause as a prettily dressed young woman handed the
man an envelope. He opened it, quickly scanning the contents inside.
“
And the winner of the Golden
Academy Award is .
 
.
 
. Z McCartney, for Unveiled!
”
Massive cheers and applause filled
the auditorium.

“
You
won!
”
Aubrey said, clapping her hands
together and smiling widely. She seemed truly happy for me.

“
Z
McCartney is unable to be here this evening, but he has sent a message via
video from where he
’
s filming his next movie, Soldier
Force, on location in Paris.
”

The video feed I
’
d recorded earlier, popped up on
the screen behind the presenter, and the camera zoomed in before clicking to an
actual feed stream.

Watching as I held up the trophy, I listened to the
words I recorded yesterday.
“
First off, I
’
d like to say that this award is
for all my fans.
”
Screams could be heard from
the theater.
“
You
’
re
the ones who put me on top and kept me there for so long, and I want to thank
you so much for all your support. But now I think it
’
s time for someone else to get
their turn in the limelight. As soon as I finish my current film contract, I
’
ll be leaving Hollywood
permanently.
”

“
What?
”
Aubrey said, her eyes moving from
the television to me, and then back to the TV before I could say anything.

The video continued.
“
I
’
ve learned a lot of lessons during
my time in Hollywood. Some of them were really hard, others not so much, but I
realized I could care less about money, glitz, and glamor. What I want most is
to be with the people I love more than anything else in the world. As many of
you know, my son was missing for several hours this week. I
’
d never been so frightened in my
life. It made me reevaluate things and I can clearly see what needs to be done.
So, that brings me to this next part.
”

I raised the object in my hand up to the camera.

“
Aubrey
Hart, I
’
m asking you to marry me on
national television and I hope to high heaven you
’
ll
say yes! Be my wife. I
’
ve been too long without you. I
need both you and Dustin to be with me for the rest of my life.
”

Spinning to face me, her eyes dropped to the ring I
was now holding out to her in person.
“
What he said,
”
I added with a grin as I sank to
one knee.
“
Will you make me the happiest man in
the world?
”

Hands over her mouth, the shock of my proposal was
evident. Tears flooded her eyes and she nodded.
“
Yes!
Yes!
”
Flinging her arms around me, she
both cried and laughed at the same time.
“
I can
’
t
believe you did this. You don
’
t have to do this for me.
”

Holding her tightly, I buried my face into her hair.
“
Yes, I did. What you said was true.
We need to know our son is safe. Trust me when I say there
’
s nothing more important to me than
the two of you.
”

“
I
love you. I love you so much!
”
Moving so she could stare at
me, her eyes were overflowing.
“
I love you!
”

Grinning as I stared into her eyes, I
’
d never felt so happy.
“
There
’
s
more.
”

“
More?
”
She appeared totally stumped, now.

“
Yeah.
I entered into some negotiations this week, and, well, I bought back your
parents
’
farm. I
thought maybe we could all move back here. They can live in their old house,
and I
’
ll build a nice, big brand new one
for our family, right next door.
”

Tears continued to flow as she stared at me in
amazement.
“
You got our home back?
”
she asked, her voice sounding
choked.

“
I
did. If you don
’
t want to live there we can sell it
again.
”

“
No!
No, that is our place. All the good stuff happened there. I definitely want to
live there!
”
Turning, she glanced at
Daphne who was sobbing tears of joy.

“
I
need to go call Brent!
”
Daphne said, quickly leaving
the room.

“
So
we get to stay in Montana forever?
”
Dustin asked, glancing
between the two of us, and I nodded.

“
If
that
’
s what you and your mom want,
buddy.
”

“
We
want,
”
Aubrey said again, placing her hand
out in front of me.
“
Now are you going to put that ring
on my finger, or what?
”

Smiling widely, I took her hand and slid the ring on.
It fit her perfectly.
“
Sorry I took so damn long to make
this happen. I
’
ll spend the rest of my life trying
to make it up to you.
”

Holding her hand out, she observed the massive diamond
ring in the light and it sparkled like mad. I was pretty sure she had no idea
how much money was wrapped around that finger and I wasn
’
t about to tell her, knowing she
’
d freak.

Stepping closer, she slid her arms around my neck.
“
I don
’
t
want you to try and make up for anything. You owe me nothing. Everything I ever
wanted is standing right here in this room with me.
”

Heart swelling with more love that I could ever
imagine, I kissed her again, this time not caring who was watching and giving
it to her like a man who
’
d been missing her for over a week.