“Love you
, too, Millie. It’ll work out. I have a good feeling.”
We hang up and I fight the wave of emotions that are trying to sneak up on me. I can’t compare their relationship to Josh’s and mine. We aren’t pregnant, nor do we have parental involvement hanging over our heads. His parents probably don’t even know he’s married, while mine are eagerly planning a massive reception for when he’s done filming. The difference in our parents is night and day.
Only minutes after I hang up with Millie, I hear the door open. I sit up with my heart racing, waiting to see if I’m about to be mugged or if by chance my husband is home early.
“Did you get fired?” I ask, as I run across the room and jump into his arms. He catches me effortlessly, letting the door slam shut behind him.
“No, although sometimes I wish. My scenes are done for the day. Once I did my last cut, I hightailed it out of there so fast I don’t think they realize I’m gone.”
“And you came right home to me.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” He looks confused by my statement—as he should be. He sets us down on the couch, but situates us so that I’m sitting on his lap.
“I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. Of course you came right home. You know my mind, it gets carried away sometimes and considering I just got off the phone with Millie … well, let’s just say I don’t want to go through what she is going through right now.”
“Their problems aren’t ours, Joey.” Josh nestles into my neck and pulls me close.
He’s right. I shouldn’t let their problems become ours, but she’s my friend and my heart hurts for her.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for,” he murmurs, kissing my shoulder. “What do you say we go out to dinner, maybe do a little dancing?”
I lean my head into him and think that a nap would be just as nice, but getting out of here and being with my husband would be a welcome reprieve.
“I’d love that.”
He kisses me again and tells me to get dressed. As I stand, he swats me on my rear before he stands and follows me into the bedroom.
“Josh, this place is amazing.”
He somehow found this small little beachside restaurant that has the most perfect ambiance. We’re sitting at a table for two outside, under white lights with some music playing in the background.
Once our order is placed, he pours us some wine before taking my hand in his. “Have you thought about a date?” he asks me mid-sip.
I swallow quickly and shake my head. “I haven’t. I figured it would need to be around your filming schedule.”
“I have another movie after this one, then I’m taking a break. We can have a destination wedding. We can go somewhere like Greece, France, or even Australia. You can invite whomever you want. I’ll cover all the expenses. I just want to marry you in front of our friends and family.”
I lean forward and push his hair back, away from his eyes. “Josh, we’re already married. We can have a reception and eat cake.”
Smiling, he meets me the rest of the way to give me a kiss. “I like your cake, Joey. But I want to do this the right way. You need your dream wedding. You deserve the chance to be on that show about picking the right wedding dress. I want to see the excitement in your face when you find the perfect flowers and console you when the band you want isn’t available to play. I want you to yell at me when I haven’t picked my groomsmen and be there when we test wedding cake.”
“Really, you want all of this?”
“I do. I never thought I did, but being with you makes me want to experience the things I’ve shut myself off to for all these years.”
“Why the change, Josh?”
Pulling me to standing, he brings me into his arms. We sway to the music and the waves crashing into the shore. “You’ve changed me and I can’t even try to explain it. All day I find myself thinking about you, wondering what you’re doing and getting angry that I’m working and you’re not with me. I’ve already sent Matt a list of demands for the next movie, guaranteed breaks and whatnot so I can talk to you during the day because I miss you. And all of this should scare me because I imagine my parents were like this at one time in their lives, but it all changed. We have to promise each other that when we start sensing that change, we stop what we’re doing and make it out first priority to fix it.”
“Okay.”
“Okay, what?” he asks.
“Okay for everything. We’ll set a date. We’ll pick a color scheme and location. We’ll ask our best friends to be in our wedding, but I draw the line at another television show.”