This book? It’s her grand gesture, the grandest of all. A love letter dressed as fiction, and what do I have to offer in return? A plastic sword and a few rehearsed lines?
She deserves more. My Amy deserves everything.
And maybe I can’t give her the world right now, not the way I want to, but what I can offer is something real… solid and unwavering.
A promise that I’m done pretending. That I’m done letting fear dictate my choices.
That she is it for me.
Always has been. Always will be.
So I shower, dress, and try to eat something and failmiserably. My stomach is a knot of nerves and caffeine, but I don’t care. I have no script for this—no character to hide behind.
It’s just me now. And I need her to see that.
She flew halfway across the world and handed me her heart in a paperback.
Now it’s my move, and I need to get her here for it. I can’t do the exact grand gesture I wish to do, but I can give her a piece of her fantasy.
I reach the set, and Maggie is there, already dressed as Celandine.
“Wow,” she says, eyeing me over her coffee. “You look like you haven’t slept. Or is this just the makeup for your dramatic betrayal reveal scene?”
I shake my head, a small smile tugging at my lips. “Lack of sleep. Busy plotting.”
“World domination?”
My smile widens. “Something like that. Would you help me if I did something totally unhinged?”
She tilts her head, intrigued. “Does it involve the surprise package from yesterday?”
“You knew?”
She rolls her eyes. “Will is many things. Subtle? Not one of them. I’m surprised you didn’t know first.”
“Yes. It does.”
She leans in, a grin forming. “Alright. I’m listening.”
I rub the back of my neck, suddenly a little self-conscious. “You know those grand gestures fools in love always do?”
She gasps and claps her hands. “Oh! You’re going for your ‘You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you’ moment?”
“My what now?”
“Mr. Darcy!” She laughs, eyes sparkling. “Pride and Prejudice? Come on, don’t tell me you’ve never read it.”
I laugh. “Actually, with my Amy? I think I’m going more for my Anlon ofPersefiamoment.”
She lights up. “Even better! That’s perfect.”
Her excitement is contagious, and it lifts some of the weight I’ve been carrying. Maybe, just maybe, this could be our turning point.
“Okay, I’m your helper; tell me what we need to do.”
“Nothing right now, but when we get in the field scene, that’s when it will all go down. For the moment, I need to get my ducks in a row fast enough.”
I’m honestly impressed by how much I’ve managed to pull off in under three hours since I texted Amy, telling her a PA would pick her up and bring her to set.
