“Your middle name is Gatsby,” I say, my words breathy from running.
He nods. “It is.”
“I love it,” I tell him.
“Well, you and my mom have something in common, then. I used to hate it, but now I think I kind of love it, too.” He takes a step toward me, and I take one toward him.
“You’re here,” I say, and then furrow my brow. “How did you find me?”
“Scout,” he says, chuckling.
“You came all the way here to tell me your middle name?”
He looks me in the eyes, a smile on his face. “That, and I also wanted to tell you I love you.”
I blink, rapidly. The tears are back again. Makeup and hair are going to hate me today.
“You love me?” I ask him.
He nods, moving even closer. “I’m not sure what got into me yesterday when you came to see me, but it was the wrong choice and I’d like to try this thing with you and see where it goes.”
I’m struggling for words right now, still not believing he’s here, standing in front of me.
“I’m prepared to use the daft prick line from Notting Hill if necessary,” he says.
I laugh amidst the tears streaming down my face. “You don’t need to,” I say. “Because I love you too, Briggs Gatsby Dalton.”
And then he’s kissing me; his hands are in my hair and then on my face, and this stupid armor I’m wearing is a ridiculous barrier, but I don’t care. Briggs is here. Briggs Gatsby Dalton is here, and he loves me and I love him.
The beginning of this summer started out as possibly one of the worst in my entire life, but it’s somehow morphed into my best summer ever, and I have the man who currently has his arms wrapped around me, his lips moving against mine, to thank for it.
I know we’ll have some things to work through, different sorts of barriers in our way, but after we’ve kissed properly and we walk hand in hand back onto the set, I know I’ll do whatever it takes to make it work, whatever I have to do.
Because he’s worth it.
Briggs
The next couple of months go like this: I visit Presley as much as I can while she films Cosmic Fury, and we go to a few places in the United States I’ve never seen before. Places like the Badlands in South Dakota, with its unique rock formations and barren expanses, and White Sands National Park in New Mexico, where the endless white sands will end up looking like a desolate, icy planet in post-production.
I feel bad for the cast, who have to wear winter clothes in the high temperatures, but not bad enough to come out of Presley’s air-conditioned trailer.
The Redwoods in California are probably my favorite thing so far—all those towering, monstrous trees and the morning fog weaving through them like a ghostly blanket. We go on walks during her breaks, enjoying the cooler weather, and talking about future plans, which right now seem distant since Presley won’t be done with this shoot until next March, at the earliest.
“I think I should buy a place on Sunset Harbor,” she says, wearing a light jacket and a black knit cap over her dark hair. Her arm is linked through mine and she leans against me as we walk, pine needles and leaves crunching under our feet.
“I bet my mom would sell you the princess apartment,” I tell her.
She looks up at me, her eyes widening. “Really?”
“I was kidding,” I say, reaching up and fiddling with my glasses. “You’d actually want to buy it?”
She nods. “I have a lot of fond memories in that apartment.”
I chuckle. “So do I.”
I’m still living in my mother’s childhood dream above the bookshop, at least for another couple of months while Jack and I try to figure out office space. It looks like it will most likely be back in Fort Lauderdale. For now, we’ve been working on our own and having meetings on Zoom. Things are going well and moving quickly, so I don’t anticipate our current setup lasting much longer. If we want to grow this business—and that’s the plan—we’ll be better off in the same office.
Until then, I’ll continue to work from wherever Presley is, using her breaks from filming to help her run lines and getting in trouble when I mess up her hair and makeup after kissing her soundly.
Getting to see her in her element has been captivating. I knew she was a great actress because I saw her perform on screen, but to watch her live, to see her fall into the role of Callis like it’s something she’s been doing for years, is incredible. And I get a front-row seat for all of it. I don’t love that front-row seat as much when she has to kiss Landon West, though. I’d prefer a back-row seat. Something very far back. Another time zone would be preferable.
She rarely has downtime long enough to go anywhere, but when she does, we take advantage of it. One weekend in August, Presley went back to Sunset Harbor with me for a wedding, and a couple of weeks later, I attended a charity gala and an awards show with her.
Being by her side on the red carpet is not my favorite thing. Don’t get me wrong—I love being there with her and enjoy watching her pose for cameras and answer questions with ease, but I also feel a bit like a cat at a dog show. I’m awkward, and it’s obvious in the pictures. Jack has made a computer screensaver out of a particular shot of me with wide eyes and triple chins. What a jerk.
I’ll keep taking terrible pictures by Presley’s side for as long as I can. Once we get the office up and running, I won’t have as much opportunity, and I’m savoring every moment I get to spend with her.
Presley
When Briggs has to go back to the office for AssistGen, I become a stage-five clinger. A long-distance one, but that doesn’t stop me from texting and calling and wishing every waking hour that I was with him instead of on this stupid movie set. A month goes by without seeing him in person, and all I want to do is kiss his face off, but I have to wait until our break for Thanksgiving to get the opportunity. When the holiday finally comes around and he’s there waiting for me at the Fort Myers airport so we can take the ferry to Sunset Harbor together, I not only kiss his face off, I also cry like a big idiot.
Thanksgiving is perfect, just Briggs and me with his mom and sister. Marianne usually likes to invite other Sunset Harbor residents to join them, but she keeps it small for me, which I adore her for doing. She makes the most incredible turkey with a white gravy that I’d honestly like to drink, but I hold myself back since I’m still having to dress up like Callis and those costumes are not that forgiving.
For the short duration we’re on the island, I find time to close on the house I bought. It’s right on the beach and has a wraparound porch where I plan to spend as much time snuggled up with Briggs as I can, once our schedules slow down. Which won’t be until February for me, and for Briggs . . . well, we don’t know when that will happen. I try not to think about it or I get twitchy with anxiety.
A month later, production takes a longer break for Christmas, and I spend every minute of it with Briggs. I introduce him to my dad, who, like everyone who meets Briggs, likes him instantly. We have dinner on Christmas night with my dad and my grandparents. Rounding out the party like some weird Hollywood dramedy, my mom and Declan Stone join us. They’re still going strong, which is just . . . great. But having them there was not as weird as I was anticipating, even if on paper it all sounds very strange.
