Page 108

But itishonestly perfect casting that he’s playing Connor.64

“Why didn’t you tell Tyler you didn’t have it?” Oliver asks.

“I tried to, but...I couldn’t tell him about all of it. I...” He hangs his head in shame. “He put me on a payment plan. Like I was some...some criminal.”

“Did you make the payments?” I ask.

“I did what I could. And Tyler’s not paying me for the film—he’s only paying scale. That’s one of the things we were fighting about.”

“What were you supposed to get for the film?”

“It’s a bit complicated because I co-own the option and have executive producer credits, but my acting fee was supposed to be ten million.”

I guess his quote went down after the disaster that wasJulius Caesar.

“So why was he still after you?” Oliver asks. “If he’s getting his money back?”

“And this morning?” I ask. “On the dock? What else was going on there?”

Fred’s eyes shift from Oliver to me. “He’s been extra pissed ever since he found out we were using the production as a decoy for the wedding. But it was the least he could do after everything. He told me he was going to rat me out to TMZ. I was...trying to convince him to keep it in the family, so to speak.”

“Did he threaten you?” I ask. “Say he was going to kill you?”

“How did you know that?”

“I heard him.”

“So you see? He’s lost it. Clearly.”

“Is that everything?”

His eyes rove around the group and rest on Emma. “Yes. That’s everything. Do you forgive me, Em?”

Emma’s standing very still, the way she does when she’s trying to absorb information. I know she’s struggling; we can all see it. But she also loves Fred; I know that, too.

“I don’t care about the money, Fred. I have enough for both of us.”

“You don’t need to pay my debts. I don’t want that.”

“I know. It’s...It’s you keeping things from me. That’s what I’m having trouble with.”

“Don’t we all have secrets? Things that knock about our hearts deep in the night. Things we can’t even admit to ourselves?”

Wow, that was eloquent. But wait, I recognize that...Oh.

He’s quoting from the movie he won an Oscar for.

Hmmm. I wonder if Emma will notice.

“Yes, that’s true.”

And now Fred is down on one knee, holding a hand to his heart. “I love you, Emma. Truly. I only kept all of this secret toshield you from it. I never meant to hurt you, and if you don’t want to marry me anymore, I understand. But it’s the thing I want most in the world. Not your money.You.Will you still marry me?”

I watch Emma melt and then she’s down on the ground next to him. “Oh, Fred, of course I will.”

They kiss with passion, then cling to each other, not seeming to care that they’re doing it in front of us.

Allison and David are smiling and indulgent. Harper looks wary. Oliver raises his eyebrows at me and smiles. Connor is watching them like this reunion might hold clues to José’s death, while Simone snorts again in disgust.