Part 23
”What do you mean you are not getting married this summer?” Mrs Gregory looks at us angrily with her lips pressed together.
”Mom please,” Matt begs. ”Don’t get upset.”
”I thought you two were already halfway in the planning!”
We are standing in her hallway, I am carrying Lilee and she is looking curiously at her grandmother.
”It’s my fault,” I admit. ”My job will be hectic this summer since we decided that Matt should stay home with Lilee. It will be better to do it next year when she is a bit older.”
”If you are working, then you can buy a house. I refuse to let my grandchild grow up inside an apartment building. She needs a garden to play around in.”
”Your right,” I say guilty. ”I always lived in a house, we will start looking as soon as possible for a good house.”
”Wait what?” Matt exclaims happily. ”Are you really going to buy us a house?”
”We, Matt. We are buying a house. Is that a good compromise Mrs Gregory?”
She nods.
”But I am still disappointed. I was really looking forward to your wedding this year.”
”Well mom, we can always go to Las Vegas if you want me married that badly,” Matt says mockingly.
”No absolutely not!” his mom yells horrified.
”Don’t be so mean Matt!” I punch his shoulder with my free hand and he just leans in to give me a quick kiss that makes me weak to my knees. Lilee starts whining and I start heading to the door. ”Thank you for looking after her, we better go home so she can have her sleep.”
”Anytime Molly. Just drop her off, I love having her here.”
”Bye, mom,” Matt says and we leave the house.
We get into the car and Matt starts driving us home.
”Do you really want to buy a house for us?”
”Of course, why not?” I ask him confused.
”You never said anything, you are so happy with the smallest things even though you live a luxurious life.”
”I can’t be selfish anymore, you two need to have some use of it too.”
”It doesn’t feel right to use your money Molly.”
”It’s not dirty money, they won’t bite you,” I joke. ”It’s not like I can use them all alone. Tell me what your dream house looks like.”
I look at him curiously. It takes a few minutes before he answers me.
”I want an indoor swimming pool. For you it would be better with a private gym and have a private instructor coming over. A workplace for you and maybe a small studio where you can work with your songs.”
”That house is going to be quite huge and expensive. It sounds perfect for me, but what about you?”
”Don’t you get it? I live for you, I only want what you need.”
His answer almost makes me cry.
”I am going to find the perfect house for us where we can live as a family,” I promise him.
”I can’t explain what it means to me to have you in my life, Molly. Thank you.”
”Why are you thanking? I’m the lucky one! I never thought I would find love.”
”And I never thought you would love me back.”
I shake my head. Matt is gorgeous, why wouldn’t I fall for a man like him?
-
I am nervous. I have been running around the apartment all morning, I have dusted, polished and scrubbed everything so the whole place is sparkling. Matt is just quietly observing me through my craziness. He didn’t lift a single finger to help me because he thought everything was good as it was. Maybe it was good enough but I want it to look at the best, putting every single thing where it belongs and double check that everything is in its right places.
”Honey, dear. You are going to kill that vase if you keep molesting it.”
I step backwards sheepishly. I look at my fiancé who is sitting on the couch reading the newspaper.
”I’m sorry. Jamie likes it clean, I don’t want him to think that I can’t clean. Ahhrg! That sounds just as stupid in my ears as it does to yours.”
”That’s alright as long as you don’t abandon us for him.” he says dryly.
”In your dreams Matthew. You will not get rid of me that easily.” I snort. I glance at the clock with a sigh. Why is he late? I plop down next to Matt and put my arms around him.
”I’m trying to read, get off!”
I fight with him a while but he wins and looks at me really annoyed.
”See you almost ruined the whole paper.”
”Oops,” I smile not really sorry for his bruised paper.
”Don’t look at me like that.”
”Like what?” I ask innocently.
He pins me on my back with one swift move and I make a surprising yelp before he kisses me senseless. I can’t hold back on anything and I love the way he tears his hands through my curly hair. My whole body is burning and I can’t think a straight thought. I hear a doorbell in the distance and I grunt disapprovingly when Matt stops kissing me.
”I believe your guest has arrived, sweetheart,” Matt says with a teasing grin.
”What?” I pant. ”Oh my gosh, Jamie!”
I jump onto my feet, let my fingers through my messy hair before heading to the door. Damn Matt to steal my focus. My knees are still shaking from his attack and I bet my cheeks are deep red too. I open the door and I feel a surge of happiness inside me when I see the blonde guy waiting outside.
”Jamie!” I smile and give him a fast hug. ”Please come in.”
”Hi Darlene, you look different,” he says and hugs me harder, those kind of hugs he never gave me. It feels awkward and I let go off him so he can come in. I close the door behind him and look into his deep blue eyes.
”Well, I hope different is better?”
He nods while he studies my completely normal self. We used to be a couple, but I didn’t dress out of my Darlene manners a lot back then.
”You look really happy.”
”I have a life now, a family,” I answer seriously. ”Well don’t be shy, come in and say hello to them.”
I lead him to the living room where Matt is waiting. Seeing them greet each other is a very weird feeling. I compare them with critical eyes. It’s just so… they are both gorgeous and I love them. I can feel the undeniable pull towards Matt and I walk up and let him put an arm around me. I smile up to him and give him a fast peck.
”It’s not everyday I get to meet a famous actor like you,” Matt says politely. ”My Molly sure knows how to pick her friends.”
”Yeah well, the whole world wants to be her best friend,” Jamie answers him smiling at me and I smile back.
”I have to admit that I am worried that you are going to steal her from me.”
I stomp really hard on Matt’s foot.
”Ouch!” he moans.
”You are masking your jealousy pretty damn well,” I complain to him. ”Stop talking nonsense.”
”Don’t worry, Darlene and I are just friends,” Jamie says convincingly. ”Where is your little girl, I’d love to meet her!”
”This way!” I command and drags Matt with us to the baby room.
My little darling is asleep in her bed. We are all watching her quietly for a while before returning back to the living room.
”She’s really cute,” my friend says. ”And how on earth did you manage to get back into shape in just two months?”
I look down on my body, I am wearing a tight blue comfortable cotton dress and it is hugging my curves. It doesn’t make me look like a supermodel but who cares?
”I am not down to my usual weight yet, though I don’t think I have to go down there again.”
”You look perfect to me,” Jamie says and Matt holds me tighter.
”We are going house hunting soon, I think we are going to end up with a pretty amazing house.” I smile and I have to ignore Matt’s protectiveness.
”That sounds great!” Jamie says excitedly. ”I heard this town has some amazingly extravagant new built houses. You might want to check them out.”
”Thanks for the tip, we definitely will.”
”It will definitely become easier to visit you, it took me ten minutes to get here from parking my rent car down there.”
”Haven’t you ever heard of using a disguise?” I tease him.
”A what? That’s stupid, I’m sure they would recognise me anyway.”
”Well they never noticed me and I can walk anywhere without being recognised.”
”It’s because you don’t look like a Barbie when you are like this.”
I chuckle at his comment and Matt is just silently watching us talk.
The next hours were quite bizarre. I tried to ease the tension between the two guys but Matt wouldn’t stop guarding me. Normally I would have been happy to see him like this, but it ruined Jamie’s visit. Finally I kicked him out of the house and told him to take Lilee to meet her grandmother.
”Trust me,” I tell him sternly. He looks at me with a deep sigh.
”I’m a jerk I know.”
”Hey, don’t talk bad about the man I love!” I smile and wrap my arms around his neck.
”It’s different to meet him in reality, maybe you should see him when I’m not around. You are the sweetest girl I know, I trust you Molly.”
I wave them off and close the door. I have to calm down before returning to the kitchen where Jamie is waiting.
”He is usually not like that, I’m really sorry,” I apologize to him.
”Don’t worry, I can understand him perfectly.”
”So now that we are alone, how is everything?” I take a seat in the kitchen chair so I can face him over the table. I let my fingers play with my locks and he gives me his wonderful smile.
”Since my confession where you threw me out of your life? Just prefect.”
”Oh really?”
”It’s weird seeing you like this. You are a mom and you have a normal boyfriend.”
”Oh yes, my life is perfect and my mother in law is not a monster at all,” I tell him with sarcasm in my voice.
”You moved on and it was wrong of me to treat you the way I did. I’m sorry.”
”You don’t have to apologize anymore, Jill. I understand that you are sorry.”
”Well I wanted to do it face to face.”
”Are you looking forward to your next movie?” I ask him to change the subject.
”Not really. I accepted it more so I can reach a broader audience and show that I can do more than I did before.”
”It sounds awesome! Make sure to bring me to the premiere.”
”I promise.” I smile happily and look down on the table.
”I can see how much you love him. You are glowing.”
”Thanks,” I respond warmly. ”He’s just so perfect and he’ll do anything for me.”
”He deserves you then.”
I nod. Gosh I miss him already.
”Are we done with the serious talking? Let’s have some fun!”
-
Fun includes being seen together in town. This is my first public entrance in many months and I feel a bit rusty to meet all the crowds hording us. I guess we are signing equal shares of autographs and even more people are photographing us. Well the whole point to go out is to meet our fans. We are just walking down the main road, the sun is shining and I just need to wear a spring jacket to keep myself warm. It is nice to dress up as a celebrity again, Jamie helped me pick the clothes at home and he was devastated that I actually had everything packed down in boxes in a storage room. Not for long though, I will make sure my house has a walk in closet. Auntie is keeping most of my stuff locked in her basement.
”Do you want to find somewhere to sit down for a hot drink?” Jamie asks me when we are finally being left alone for a minute.
”As long as they have donuts!” I crave.
”If Darlene asks for a donut, Darlene will get a donut,” he teases and I grab his elbow and I drag him to a good spot close by. We didn’t get followed by fans thankfully. The place is located in a basement and is very cosy. All the furniture is made of dark wooden tree, the walls are made of mossy green wallpaper and red candles are burning on every table. Not many are in here at the moment and I’m not sure why I brought him here. This is where I first met Matt. I let my eyes drift to the table where we shared our first words. A family with two children are sitting there today and I smile as they notice our presence. The air smells of wonderful food. I am really hungry for a real meal too.
”This is more like a pub,” I explain to Jamie. ”Pick a seat for us and a servant will help us.”
Of course he chose a more secluded area, the benches with high backs. They are very comfortable to sit on and I take my seat in them across Jamie. A servant shows up immediately with green work clothes and a white apron around his hips.
”What can I get my famous guests?” he asks not really impressed by us, but that is also the reason why I keep coming here.
”We want the special and milk to that,” I tell him sweetly before my friend can say anything.
”Coming right up!” the servant says happily and disappears into the kitchen door. The whole order took like ten seconds in all.
”What was that?” Jamie says a bit surprised.
”You must try the special,” I tell him calmly. ”It is fried potatoes, fillet of pork and a creamy sauce that makes all star restaurants look pale in comparision.”
”You have to be kidding me,” he says and raises one eyebrow at me. ”You don’t eat that kind of food.”
”Of course I do! I just pick my favourite places to do it.”
”I can’t wait to taste it then.”
My phone is buzzing and I pick it up to read the text message.
Madam, shall we meet at your mansion as promised in the evening?
I laugh out loudly.
”Did I tell you that you are meeting my friend Eric later?”
”I think you mentioned something about it.”
”Great, then you will meet some real competition because no one can cheer me up as much as he does.”
Eric, we are picking you up wherever you are when we are returning back to my apartment. Keep your eyes glued to the phone =)
Yuppsikay.
I put the phone down and lean back into the bench.
”I have been working so hard lately. It is nice to have a day off.”
”Oh, I bet! Just take it easy, you can afford to slack a bit too.”
We are chatting for a while and I clap my hands when the servant returns with two overfilled plates.
”This Jamie, has five times more food on the plate but cost almost three times less than your favourite restaurants can offer.”
”Are you trying to win me over?”
”Well I did tell you it taste better. Give it a try?”
I pick up a potato with my fork and dip it into the sauce. I moan as the taste explodes in my mouth when I slowly chews it. Jamie is making the same expression across the table.
”Damn girl!” he exclaims. ”Why do you always find the diamonds where no one is looking?”
”With no one you mean you? This is a popular pub, try to find a table here in the evening without a reservation. Not even your name will give you one.”
We continue eating and I hope he isn’t planning to finish the whole plate because the dessert is even better and of course I’m going to force him to eat that too.