“Unfortunately.” He sounds sad and that breaks my heart. I know he was close to Matt and Jason, but they’ve done things to him that haven’t been in his best interests. Josh comes to me as I lean up against the counter, watching him.
“You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me,” he says, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“That’s not true. If you hadn’t become an actor, I doubt our paths would’ve ever crossed.” My hands rub up and down on his chest until I lock them behind his neck.
“Is that what you think?”
I nod. “We’d have to have a lot of stars align for us.”
“Not necessarily. Can you imagine if I signed up for the show and we were matched. Would you still have fallen for me if the circumstances were changed? If I weren’t the Joshua Wilson that hangs in poster form on your wall?”
“Would you have the same personality?”
He laughs. “And the same looks.”
I run my fingers through his hair and lean forward to kiss him. “Then yeah, I’d fall for you. Aside from your job, once I got to know the person you are in the inside, it changed everything for me.”
He lifts me up onto the counter so we’re eye level. Smooth fingers push my hair behind my ear and beautiful brown eyes gaze deep into mine. “You make me want to be sappy and profess feelings that I never thought I’d feel. And that all started when I kissed you the first time. Even though I thought I could be strong around you, all you have to do is say my name and I’m putty in your hands.”
“Good knowledge for the future.”
“Speaking of,” he says, sighing. “I know it’s not only my choice, but I’d really like for you to go off the pill. We really haven’t discussed it and I don’t want you to think this is in reaction to the whole Jules saga. When I saw you with your family I knew that it’s something I wanted to give you.”
“When you say it’s not a reaction to Jules, do you mean because she was pregnant or because the baby isn’t yours? I don’t want to get pregnant and have a baby only for you to realize months down the road that you truly don’t want to be a father.”
Josh cups my cheek and holds his hand there for a moment before kissing me lightly. “When I found out Jules was pregnant, the first thing I thought was it should’ve been you even if I didn’t want it. You should’ve been the one to have my baby. That inkling turned to desire, and before I knew it I was picturing you with a small bump and saw us shopping for the perfect crib for our baby.”
A smile spreads across my face, causing Josh to step back in what I’m assuming is in confusion.
“I went off the pill about a month ago.”
“You did?”
I nod, biting my lower lip.
“How long does it take?”
“I don’t know, but practicing will help I’m sure.” I wink teasingly. He scoops me up and I squeal, wrapping my legs around him. We’re only halfway down the hall when the doorbell rings. We both groan, but know that we invited people over so we don’t have a choice but to answer the door. That’s one of the beauties about where we live—you can’t show up unless you’re on our list. Security is twenty-four seven and everyone must check in.
“I love you, Mrs. Wilson,” he says, kissing me chastely before putting me down.
“I love you, Mr. Wilson.” We’re silly and ridiculous with how we act and we don’t care. We didn’t get that year long—or longer is some cases—courtship, and almost everything we do is new.
Josh opens the door to let Bronx, Rebekah, and Rob in. It’s funny how they arrived at the same time, but whatever works. Bronx and Rebekah give me a hug, and Bronx hangs on a bit longer until Josh is clearing his throat.
“Come on, let’s get outside,” Josh says, showing Rob the way to go.
“Wow, your house is amazing.”
“Thanks, man. It feels good to be a homeowner.”
As soon as we step out onto the patio, Josh is getting us all beer. He pops the tops and calls us all in.
“Joey and I want to thank you for being here tonight. Not only are we celebrating our last days away from the camera, but we also found out today that I’m not the father of Jules’s baby. Bronx, I want to thank you for everything.”
We all click our bottles together and take a drink.
“You dodged a bullet there, man,” Rob says, patting him on the back.