CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Dani
Three months later
It was hard. I always hated movies that ended with "And they lived happily ever after," because that was never how the real world worked. Going through hell didn't automatically give you a free pass to happyland. But having Linc by my side? It made it better, easier, because I finally had someone who understood and accepted me.
"No way!" a girl shrieked next to me. "I think that's Lincoln Greene!"
The friend started fanning herself. "Seriously, tell me he isn't the hottest thing you've ever seen?"
"I heard he's basically engaged to some local girl back in Oregon. Damn, there must be something in the water over there. Did you know AD2 both got married to local girls too?"
"Well." The girl with dark hair rubbed her hands together. "That's settled. I'm moving to Oregon!"
They busted up with laughter until Linc grabbed our coffees and made his way in our direction. Then, absolute silence.
He handed me my coffee, brushed a soft kiss across my forehead, and whispered, "You ready?"
"Sure." A satisfied smile crossed my face as the three girls dropped their jaws in unison and watched me walk out the door with his hand on my hip, shoved into the back pocket of my jeans.
Eat your heart out, ladies. He's all mine.
"So…" Lincoln threw on his aviators and gave me that perfect movie-star grin that had my heart thumping loudly against my chest. "… where to?"
"Well…" I tapped my chin. "… we have to meet Zane for dinner, so we only have a few hours. I say Disneyland."
Linc gave me a thumbs down.
"Put on a hat!" I laughed. "Please?"
"Oh, what? What was that?" He handed me his coffee then dug two tickets out of his pocket. To Disneyland.
"LINC!" I shouted.
"Pris said your parents always promised to take you and never could, so I'm yours and Mickey's for the day. Demetri, Lyss, Alec, and Nat are meeting us along with baby Ella. It's her first trip, too."
"Aw, we can get matching ears."
"Great." Lincoln chuckled, but his excitement matched mine, I could tell.
"Thanks…" I swallowed the lump in my throat. "… for doing this on the anniversary of their death."
"Baby…" Linc took his coffee from my hand and kissed me on the cheek. "… I will always be here for you. Always."
I stared hard into his grey eyes. "I know."
"Good." He brought my hand to his lips. "Now let's go get this over with so I can take you back to my house. We only have three weeks before we need to go back to Seaside to re-shoot the last two scenes that your drama king of a brother-in-law is convinced will look better if we just used a different camera angle."
"Genius, you mean?" I arched my eyebrows.
Linc refused to admit it, but this movie had so much buzz that people were even saying it might gain a few Academy Award nominations for the soundtrack alone, not to mention Best Director for Jaymeson, which was pretty amazing for someone so young.
We walked hand in hand back to his car.
And it felt better, not easier. I still struggled in crowds and with strangers. The last interview Linc had done had me looking like a lunatic because I couldn't even answer yes or no questions, but he hadn't cared and, oddly enough, neither had the reporter.
Life, I was starting to figure out, was never going to be easy. There would be hard days, and there would be great days, but the most important thing to remember was that I was given those days.
And my parents weren't.
So my new goal was to live them to the fullest, and thank God, I'd had them in the first place.
EPILOGUE
Zane
"Hey, you're famous, right?"
"Nope," I lied then steered my way out of the grocery store line, brown paper bag in hand, my vision blurring already from the extreme concentration it took to walk into a stupid public place by myself.
By the time I reached my Range Rover, I was already sweating.
My hands shook as I tried to hit unlock on the key fob. I struggled, missing it with my thumb at least three times before my lights blinked and the car opened.
I secured the package in the passenger's seat and put on my seatbelt, then drove across town to the beach house.
Everyone was asleep, or I would have begged, maybe even bribed someone to come to the store with me. I always made a joke out of it. "Come with me so I don't get sexually harassed."
When really.
It was fear.
It was always fear.
The door to the house was unlocked. I turned the knob and walked inside, then softly closed the door behind me, making my way into the large gourmet kitchen so I could put my stash in the pantry.
I was almost home free when the kitchen light flickered on.
Linc was sitting at the table, a glass of scotch in front of him, a bottle next to the glass, and an empty glass in front of that.
"So…" He scooted the full glass toward me. "… I think we need to talk."
I rolled my eyes, shaking off the fear from being in public and presenting myself with my usual armor. "One kiss, Linc. To prove a point. Get over it, better yet, get over her, and when I say over I mean in bed, then call me later and say thank you."
"Thank you," Linc said quickly. "But not what I'm talking about."
I frowned. "Then, I have no idea what we need to discuss."
"You're one of her best friends. She worries about you. Therefore, I worry about you. She doesn't sleep… I don't sleep, so sit your ass down and tell me why you're really here."
"Because God hasn't taken me home yet?" I offered sarcastically. "How much of that scotch have you drunk? Be honest."
"Zane."
"Get laid, call me in the morning, things will look… up."
"Zane."
I nearly growled as I turned and gripped the counter hard with my fingertips. "What?"
"Why are you here?"
Loaded question. And I would lie. I would continue to lie as long as Jaymeson allowed it. "Because. I find the sea breeze positively… exhilarating."
"Truth?"
"Yup." I choked on the lie more because I actually liked him.
"I'll believe it when I see you actually visit the ocean."
Caught. I stared at him dumbly. "I visit."
"By yourself?"
My entire body seized.
"That's what I thought." He knocked on the counter. "Night, Zane. You know where to find me if you need me."
"My best friend's bedroom?"
Linc's body tensed. "Don't make me punch you. Again."
He walked away.
Which was good, because had he stayed any longer, he'd have seen the sweat pooling around my temples, the tremors that wracked my body, and the twitching hand. With a curse, I stomped back into the pantry, grabbed an entire bag of marshmallows, and dug in.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching "The Bachelor".
She keeps her home in Idaho with her husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers. She loves to hear from readers.
You can connect with her on Facebook at facebook.com/rachelvandyken or join her fan group Rachel's New Rockin Readers. Her website is www.rachelvandykenauthor.com.
ALSO BY RACHEL VAN DYKEN
The Bet Series
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Elite (Forever Romance)
Elect (Forever Romance)
Entice
Elicit
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Ember
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Seaside Series
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Pull
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Forever
Fall
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Eternal
Wallflower Trilogy
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Ruin Series
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Toxic
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The Consequence Series
The Consequence of Loving Colton
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Other Titles
The Parting Gift
Compromising Kessen
Savage Winter
Divine Uprising
Every Girl Does It
www.rachelvandykenauthor.com
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