I nod at him. “It does.”
And there’s that smile again. That world-class, happy-go-lucky, rob-me-of-my-breath smile. “Do you know I’ve never had the chance to try to fix things on my own before? It’sfun. I like it. I think that’s some of what I always loved about acting. I get to learn something new with every role.”
“Sounds fun.”
“That part was. But the Razzle Dazzle films—they started to get old. Monotonous. Wasn’tnewanymore. Wasn’t anything left to learn. Even the biopic on Darwin? Once I learned everything I could about his life, it was still just acting. The idea of renovatingand fixing up an old house? Turning it into a home? For you and Bash? Yeah. That would make me happy.”
My pulse cranks up to eleven. “What about when it’s done?”
He glances out at the lake again, then back at me. “Seems like there might be another thing or seventy-six to learn around here. Anything in the world, Emma. Big or small. No limits. What would you do?”
I don’t know what Emma of yesterday would want.
I don’t know what Emma of tomorrow might dream up.
But Emma of right now wants one thing.
And I’m not ready to ask for it.
Not directly.
I look down at Bash and brush his light hair off his sleep-warmed forehead. “Can you really keep the media away?”
“Not completely, but—”
I try to suppress a small shiver and don’t quite succeed.
He notices.
I know he notices because he scoots closer and links his hand in mine.
“But,” he continues, “I have all of the resources in the world to help make it more bearable.”
“Private jets and homes on every continent,” I murmur.
He squeezes my hand. “Yes, but I meant media specialists and coaches and therapists.”
I glance back up at him. There’s no judgment, no silentyou were too weak last timecoming from him.
Just a man getting caught glancing at my lips before he lifts his gaze back up to meet my eyes.
“I’ve had media training since I was born,” he says quietly. “My parents knew if I was going to be in the spotlight, I needed to be able to handle it mentally. They gave me all of the tools I needed. They did the same for Hayes, but we’re built different. Just are. Complete opposites, the two of us. No matter whereyou and Bash fall on that spectrum of what you can, will, can’t, and won’t tolerate, I’ve got you covered.We’vegot you covered.”
We.
I haven’t met his parents, but his brother and sister-in-law have welcomed Bash and me. They’ve supported us too. The same way I’d expect Theo and Laney to welcome anyone into my life. The way I expect them to welcomeJonas.
So long as he keeps passing all of the tests and not raising red flags.
“You still ran away from it too,” I whisper before I can stop myself. “You ran away from the press to hide in Fiji.”
“Didn’t say that’s never an option. Just that it doesn’t have to be the only tool in your tool kit. What you went through was awful. If it’d been me in your shoes then, evenwitha lifetime of being trained to handle that kind of attention, I would’ve been on a private jet going somewhere even more remote and secluded the minute I left the altar. It won’t be that bad again, Emma. And if it is, we have those houses on every continent to escape to while the noise dies down.”
My pulse has climbed onto a wild horse and is racing erratically.
Can it be that simple?
Not that coaching and counseling and training issimple. You can’t just become unafraid of something because someone tells youoh, just ignore it.
