After All

Chapter 23: Stress Points

Later that evening, I'm pulling a chicken casserole out of the oven for a late dinner when Jamie comes in whistling. He smacks a kiss on me and gives my ass a squeeze as he reaches for a corkscrew to open a bottle of wine. "You seem perky. The read went well?"

He nods and smiles, "It did. Really well." He pours us each a glass and continues, "It's a great story, and Dixon has such a calm style, but gets her points across clearly. I really like her a lot." He chuckles, "And the chemistry between Madison and Darla is electric. And let me just tell you, our sweet little Madison can sure show some claws when she's playing the witch."

I chuckle, "That doesn't surprise me. She's a good actress. I'm more curious about how Darla plays the sweetheart – that seems like a reach for her."

He chucks me gently under the chin, "Speaking of claws...."

I snort, "I speak the truth and you know it. That woman is no sweetheart, she is a conniving bitch."

We sit down to eat and he lifts his hands in surrender, "I'm not disagreeing with you. All I'll say is that she did a great job and Dixon was very happy with the entire cast. And by the way, you made quite an impression. You were a huge hit with everyone."

I snicker, "Everyone except Darla. And I can certainly live with that."

I serve us up and he moans as he takes his first bite. "This is great, baby. Thanks for cooking." He tips his fork at me, "Tell me about your meeting with Lana. Or am I not allowed to ask?"

I smile, "Of course you can ask. And it went extremely well, thank you very much." I pause in eating so I can explain, "I have a vivid idea for a sequel for Undeniable, but Lana owns the characters and the premise, so I reached out to her." I can't help but bounce a little in my chair, "Jamie, she LOVED my ideas and suggested that we co-write it."

He looks a little shocked, "You and Lana would write a screenplay together?"

I nod firmly, "Yes. That is exactly what I was hoping for. And when it's done, well bring it to you to see if you want to produce it."

He keeps his face absolutely blank. Now businessman Jamie is sitting across from me. "And if for some unforeseen reason I don't take it?"

I shrug daintily, "Then I'll produce it myself."

He grins and I see a glimmer of pride in his eyes, "You certainly could. Or, we could get married and make it a joint venture."

My eyes snap to his and my whole body clenches. This is not the first time he has mentioned marriage, but he's never come right out and asked me. And to be honest, I'm glad. I feel like we are just getting into a groove and are still learning each other. And I haven't spent any time with the girls yet, although we are headed to Belfast next weekend and we're supposed to have them with us for a week while we're there.

He accurately reads the look in my eyes, "Don't panic, love. I'm not going to rush you." He takes my hand in his and smiles gently at me, "I didn't press you for sex, and I'm not going to press you for this. But at the end of the day, I will have my ring on your finger."

I try to lighten the mood and giggle snort, "Yeah, well, you'll have to get through Daddy first."

He takes a sip of wine and tilts his glass to me in a salute, "Already done, sweetheart. Way ahead of you."

I'm speechless. He has no scars and he's still walking, so Daddy gave his blessing? When did all of this happen and how did I miss it? He was encouraging me to date Scott for God's sake! Damn, my own father played me.

I smile through my blush and shake my head in befuddlement. Of course I want to marry this man, but we are still new and raw and have a lot to go through to season this relationship. I wave my hands, "We got off track. So, I wanted to let you know that I'm planning to go visit Scott this weekend." Before he can blow up I add in, "Stella and Grace are going with me. I figure I can referee while they duke it out over him."