His performance completes with a slow strip tease where he stays mostly clothed and lots of energetic hand gestures. By the end of it, I don’t think it’s possible to laugh any harder.
Completely winded and out of breath, he takes a moment to pause with a big grin before bringing the mic to his lips again.
“Paloma, despite embarrassing myself with that performance and giving Wylie a story that I'll never live down...”
“Not a chance, brother,” Wylie calls out behind me.
Dallas grins, “In all seriousness, I meant every word. I’m really lucky,underneath it all, to have met a woman like you so long ago and forged a friendship that I feel defies the odds. I left for bootcamp nine years ago a pretty immature, privileged, conceited kid, and came back, aslightlymore mature, but broken man searching for some peace and solitude. I gravitated to Lonestar Junction for you, but I could never have anticipated that I'd find so much peace being in a relationship with a world-famous rock star. It’s the steady security and silent confidence that we have that speaks life and commitment into our relationship. The confidence for both of us to be wholly ourselves when we are together and apart.”
I smile at him as he steps towards the couch and bends down to give me a kiss. Clay cheers loudly from next to me as Wylie lets out some expletives.
"So, though I want this to be a proposal, it isn't. God knows I don't want to overshadow your star by tying you down to a guy like me for the world to see, especially with your upcoming tour. This is a promise—I'm committed to you, completely. I don't need marriage to tether you to me because I'm all in, babe."
I stand up to meet him, reaching up to grab his face for another kiss. "I've never cared much about my reputation, but the fact that you're considering what marriage would mean for my career means everything. My heart has been committed to you since the first letter you wrote, when I first questioned if your name was really Dallas. And when the time is right, I hope you’ll propose because I know I want to be your wife."
Dallas grips my hips, dips me low, and kisses me with suchintensity that I can’t imagine feeling happier. Surrounded by friends I’ve known for most of my life and people who care deeply about our happiness—those who loved me before the fame—I feel my heart forever tied between two worlds. But I also know Dallas will never make me choose between them, which is why this will work.
If only I could bottle up this moment to draw on in the challenging months ahead...
Chapter 29 – Dallas
Six months later…
“The room’s all made up for your stay this weekend. Is there anything else you’d like me to grab from the store that might make Paloma feel more comfortable for her visit?” my mom asks.
“Thanks, mom. We should be fine. She has an apartment in town that we can go to if she's forgotten anything. We're planning on laying low and I might take her down to the beach to watch the fireworks tonight.”
I’ve just landed in Los Angeles after a morning flight for the Fourth of July weekend. Dove performed the night before and is taking the rest of the weekend off to spend it with me and meeting my parents at their home in the Santa Monica Mountains for the first time.
Their house is even more ridiculously large than I remembered growing up. Perhaps it was because I was young and didn’t know any better, or because everyone I surrounded myself with in LA was also filthy rich, but I never recalled it feeling so much like a museum and less like a home. But the stunning ocean views and wraparound porch with a stone terrace provide the perfect setting for my plans tonight and I was excited for Paloma tofinally meet the two people who were the biggest influence on my life.
“We can’t wait to meet her. Your dad will be home in about thirty minutes. He said he got caught up in filming late for the new show they are making for FKR.” She gives me a hug and kisses my cheek before retreating back into the kitchen where she’s preparing dinner.
My mom was thoughtful like this, always excited for me to bring home friends but given the fact that this was the first woman I’d ever brought home to meet her and my stepdad, she’d gone a bit over the top. Fresh flowers on every countertop, a catered meal that required hardly any prep-work and champagne she’d flown in from Italy. I loved her, but it was just a reminder of the privilege that I’d grown up in.
I twist my hands nervously. It’s been three weeks since I’ve seen Paloma during her last break to visit Lonestar Junction. And during that stay, we decided to pick out wedding rings.
After six additional months of exchanging letters while she toured South America, Paloma was the one to bring up that she was ready to tie the knot, even if it meant a temporary dip in her reputation and career. She was confident that marriage wouldn’t change a thing—in fact, she believed it would show the world how love could flourish alongside ambition, especially with someone who wholeheartedly supports you. I’d been ready to propose to her since the day we first met in the elevator, but I knew I wanted our engagement to be special.
Although we got the ring—a sleek, all-black diamond set in a row of rose gold accents—the surprise would be the proposal location and timing – what I had planned for today. I’d arranged for the moment to unfold with my parents at our home, overlooking the breathtaking Pacific Coast sunset and culminating with fireworks along the ocean.
Between Dove’s hectic schedule and my infrequent visits to Los Angeles, she hadn’t yet had the opportunity to meet my parentsdespite all of the time I’ve been spending with her family in Lonestar Junction.
Prior to flying to LA, I’d asked her father for his blessing to propose. I knew it was a bit old-fashioned, but I wanted her parents—the people who had chosen and cherished her throughout her life—to see my commitment to loving and supporting her just as they always had. I wanted them to know that I was dedicated to accepting every part of her and her career, without trying to change a single thing about the extraordinary talent she’d been blessed with or the demands of her schedule.
Her parents meant the world to her, and mine to me, so it felt only right to propose tonight with the sunset as our backdrop, bringing together the people who shaped our lives in such meaningful ways in a town that helped both of us get our starts.
“Dallas, son, how are you?” My stepdad Jackson Roe enters the room.
He’s quite a bit older now, well into his 70s, but still the same handsome man I remember sweeping my mom off her feet when I was just four years old, shortly after my dad left us and tried to ruin my mom’s career and reputation in Hollywood.
Jackson has been a blessing to our family in more than one way. In addition to protecting my mom’s career and us physically, he eventually adopted me, and I’ve called him Dad ever since. Always supportive, showed up to any of my school activities, he was the only father I’ve ever known.
I extend a cigar to him with a grin and hand him a glass of his favorite brandy, freshly poured from his hidden stash.
“I’m nervous as hell.”
He smiles widely and nods towards the stone terrace to the side of the home where I’ll be proposing to Paloma in just twenty minutes.
