Page 139 of Late Harvest

“And, for the very clear record, I’m going to spend the rest of my life loving her. Nothing can take that away from us. Also… Leave her the fuck alone. She’s a beast with a scalpel, saw, and drills.”

Applause and laughter filled the studio.

Bash smiled at the camera, imagining he was looking at Arabella. “I can think of no better way to wrap this than by sharing Feste’s last words in the play.” He proceeded to recite from memory.

A great while ago the world begun,

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain;

But that's all one, our play is done,

And we'll strive to please you every day

“Arabella Remington, my queen, as your liege man of life and limb, I will strive to please you every day. I love you.”

And as the stage faded to black, Bash grinned in the darkness.

Chapter Seventy-Four

You’ve got the energy of a storm and the focus of a sniper.

—From Remy’s Affirmations from a Badass

Remy

“Nervous?” Walt nodded toward her tapping foot.

Remy smiled, embarrassed. For a woman who prided herself on generally keeping her shit together, the last months had thrown Remy for a loop more times than she cared to count. But, in this instance—really, in any instance where Sebastian was at the heart of it—it seemed to be worth it. “Maybe a little,” she admitted. A lot.

Next to her husband, Walt’s wife Mira smiled knowingly. “That’s a good thing. We’re only nervous when it really matters.”

Remy nodded. In the last day, Walt and Mira had emerged as parental figures—a welcome and comforting discovery. It was as if she’d always known them. And their love for each other—even forty years into marriage—was vibrant and encouraging.

“We’ll be there in ten minutes,” Mira soothed, patting Remy’s leg.

Remy watched the Nashville landscape race by through the tinted windows of the spacious town car, reflecting on the white lies she’d told and the arms twisted. First, she’d sworn Honor and Brinder to grudging secrecy before heading to LA. She didn’t want Sebastian to know about her hail Mary attempt—unless she was successful. Same pledge of secrecy for Nashville, only this time they were happier to comply, sensing a happy ending on the horizon. So, after wishing her safe travels from LA to Tennessee, Honor and Brinder had zipped their lips.

That didn’t mean she and Sebastian hadn’t connected. They’d talked briefly on the phone as she’d headed to the airport to fly to LA, but Sebastian sounded hurried. Distracted. Remy had tried not to let that worry her. He was probably hammering out a PR battle plan with Melody and Slash.

So when she’d gotten a call from Honor at eight thirty Pacific time to tune in to the late show with Liam Blum, she actually thought her sister-in-law had finally lost it to sleep-deprivation-by-newborn. The last thing she’d needed was to hear any rot about her or Sebastian and their relationship.

But Honor had insisted, so Remy—tucked into the coziest guest suite ever—watched in wonder, and then in love, as Sebastian poured his heart out on national television, silencing the naysayers. And touching her heart.

Tears had poured down her cheeks. At some point, Mira and Walt came in, sitting on either side of her, each gently anchoring an arm around her. And Remy had to wonder…is this what it would have been like? Having parents who loved her?

Just before her phone rang, a favorite picture of her handsome husband gracing the screen, Walt had softly suggested a plan. One that would assure Sebastian of his lock on the role of Bram in Paradise…and also give her the stage, so to speak, to reveal her own heart.

Wily, dear man.

During a brief, but tear-drenched call—Remy uncomfortably lying that her screen was cracked from dropping her phone so he wouldn’t see her location over FaceTime—they whispered reassuring words and promises. Sebastian told her his plan had been to fly directly from Manhattan to Virginia, but Walt had just contacted him via Slash and told him he expected Sebastian on the set.

Remy felt guilty for his obvious worry—she, of course, knew his role was safe—but trusted Walt to give her the right space to reveal her own truth.

And so she found herself headed toward her liege man, ready to give over the last piece of her heart.

Jared grinned at her, his pink paisley bow tie bobbed along with him as he pointed toward the set. “Bash is over there. He’s just working on his blocking for the next scene.”

Remy cleared her throat, her insides a jumble of nerves and exhilarated anticipation. She’d barely slept for two nights—truly hadn’t slept well since Sebastian had left for filming. Their bed seemed too big and lonely without him.