Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
“Is everyone coming?” Willow asked, holding up her hair so I could pull the zipper of her dress to the top.
“Everyone,” I confirmed. For once, every single one of my close friends was going to be there. Con and Lily, Landon and Cami, Garrett and Destiny, and Dominic and Selina. Everyone was in town, and everyone had figured out childcare. It still blew my mind that in the span of just a few years, we’d all gone from bachelors to family men, but here we were, taking up half the nannies in LA for a night out.
We had a hard time leaving Lydia, even though we’d looked forward to the premier all week.
“One day we’ll have to show All the Dying Light to her,” Willow murmured, handing Lydia back to her mom reluctantly. “It’s why she’s here.”
“One day, but not yet,” her mom said firmly, ushering us out the door. She liked babysitting, and according to her, we didn’t let her do it enough. She’d even stopped traveling as much so she could be around.
At the premier, we walked the carpet behind Dana and Shelly before going inside and finding the others. Garrett was in the middle of theorizing that I’d snuck aliens into the screenplay.
“I mean, has he ever done a movie without aliens?” he was asking the group.
“Dozens,” I said dryly, coming up behind him.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Garrett clapped me on the back and leaned in to hug Willow. “I heard you’re about to be busy.”
Willow laughed. “About to be? I feel like I haven’t had time to sit down in a year.”
“You haven’t,” I said. All throughout her pregnancy, she’d worked as second AD on All the Dying Light, and then we’d had a newborn. In a couple of months, she was going to be first AD on Miller’s next project. I was planning a vacation for us between now and then, but I wanted to surprise her with it.
I had another surprise in store, too. My anticipation grew as we shifted from the lobby to our seats. Miller was there, and so was Callum’s agent, but unsurprisingly, the author himself had stayed in Oregon.
“It’s nothing personal,” his agent explained. “He just doesn’t want to know if you fucked this up.”
I laughed. It sounded personal to me, but it didn’t bother me. I knew that we’d put his book in excellent hands, from the scriptwriter through to the soundtrack, and I’d seen the final cut. It was everything I’d known it could be. And it had brought me more than I could have ever imagined.
As the lights dimmed, I reached over and entwined my fingers with Willow’s. Our eyes met in the blue-washed darkness. Her eyes, the same color as our daughter’s, glimmered with the same emotion I knew was in mine.
“I can’t believe we’re here,” she whispered.
I nodded. I knew what she meant. Sometimes I couldn’t believe it either. I’d set out to get the rights to a movie, and I’d gotten an entire life. It made my original goal of bringing an Oscar home for Lewis Productions seem trivial. Whether this movie won Oscars or Razzies, it had already brought me everything I ever needed.
There was just one more thing left.
From start to finish, in my unbiased opinion, the film was a masterpiece. Even Garrett, who swore up and down he didn’t like movies, was riveted. Landon, who only liked who-done-its, didn’t try to sneak a look at his work phone once. When the final scene faded to black, there was a long pause, and then thunderous applause. I didn’t put too much stock in that since people at premiers usually felt obligated to applaud–the cast and crew were in attendance after all–but this was louder than I’d heard before, and it went on longer.
“Oscar material for sure,” Willow said, her lips right at my ear in order to be heard over the commotion.
I wrapped my arm around her waist and held her to me, soaking it all in. Just now, everything felt perfect. I had Willow, and a daughter with Willow’s eyes. I had my closest friends at the premiere of what was going to be an Oscar winner. Personally and professionally, things had never been better.
But they were about to be.
As the audience began to file out back toward the lobby where they’d all disperse to various afterparties, I stayed put, keeping Willow anchored to my side.
“Ready?” she asked, looking up questioningly. We weren’t going to any afterparties. She thought we were going to a late dinner with our friends, but I had something else in mind.
“Not yet, there’s an after credits scene.”
Willow snorted, thinking I was joking. “Come on, the others are leaving.”
That was because the others knew we weren’t going to the restaurant with them. “No, I’m serious. We have to stay.” I pulled her against me with one arm. My other hand drifted down to my pocket to make sure the small box I’d slipped in it earlier was still there.