Page 25 of Cinematic Destinies (Red Carpet Romance #3)

“Shh . . .” Ella whispered, caressing her daughter’s hand.

“I understand that wild spirit all too well. It’s magical, and don’t ever let anyone try to tame it.

But if you find someone strong, who loves you for exactly who you are, with whom you can be more of yourself, not less, that’s a very special thing. ”

Georgia sniffled and said, “I didn’t think anyone would get it, least of all you. I was wrong. You do understand. Thank you for being here for me.”

Ella smiled. “Be happy, sweet girl. Whatever that means for you. Take some time. See how you feel in your heart of hearts. Trust yourself. Then you’ll know what to do.”

“COME HERE,” FINN SAID AS HE AND ELLA slipped into bed.

He extended his arm and she crawled into the crook, her cheek on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Seeing Georgia was a nice treat. She was awfully quiet, though. That’s so unlike her.

When dinner was over, she fled as fast as she could.

Didn’t even stay for that delicious tart you made. ”

Ella looked up into his eyes and said, “She’s going through a tough time. She’s in love.”

Finn started to smile, but it turned into confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“She came by this afternoon to speak with me. Apparently, she fell madly in love this summer. Thinks he could be the one.”

“That’s great. Isn’t it?”

Ella sighed as her gaze fell. “She got scared. Fucked it up. Now she doesn’t know how to make it right, or even if she’s ready to try.

” Finn rubbed her shoulder. She looked back up into his eyes and said, “Turns out you’ve been right all these years.

She’s just like me. If you ever use that against me . . .”

“I won’t,” he whispered, dropping a kiss in her hair.

“She knows that we broke up at the end of our first summer together. Jean told her. I guess the kids always thought what the rest of the world thought, that we fell in love on set and that’s why you proposed in Cannes.

Minus the messy bits.” She sighed and lamented, “We should have dispelled that illusion a long time ago. I’m afraid that one grand red-carpet moment has cast a big shadow that the kids have lived under. ”

“Even if that’s true, where there’s a shadow, there’s light.” She looked at him curiously and he explained, “The kids have seen how we live. The truth of our feelings for each other will outshine any shadow the media or public fantasy has created.”

She squeezed him tighter. “When Georgia asked why we never told them about our breakup, I felt bad, as if we had lied to them somehow.”

“We didn’t. We’ve been together longer than any of them have been alive. There was never any reason to tell them.”

“Finn, the reason would have been so they’d know that love can be complicated and messy. People make mistakes, screw things up. Things don’t always go perfectly, but that doesn’t diminish the love, or that it’s worth fighting for.”

“I guess I don’t really see it as messy or complicated,” he said. “Not with us. The truth is, I don’t regret a thing. I’m glad things happened the way they did.”

She raised her eyebrows. “How can you say that? Don’t you remember what it was like?”

“Sweetheart, losing you was the most painful thing I’ve ever gone through.

Even when I look back now and think about the other tough times in my life—the issues we’ve had with the kids over the years, losing my parents—none of it was unbearable because we had each other.

Leaving Sweden without you, those agonizing months that followed .

. .” He stopped to shake his head. “It was torture. The worst part was that as much as I was hurting, I knew you were in just as much pain and I couldn’t help you.

” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.

“But it was all worth it. You needed that time to be sure about us the way I was. When we got back together, you were ready. Thirty blissful years later, I’ve never looked back. ”

“Me either.”

“It all happened the way it was meant to, baby.”

Ella smiled. “From the moment we got back together, I knew it was forever. Do you remember how magical our honeymoon was?”

“Every minute of it. God, the Amalfi Coast is spectacular.”

“And that sublime house you rented us on the water with the views of those incredible rock formations.”

“You would run around topless on our private beach, so carefree. And we made love over and over again. On the beach, by the infinity pool, standing outside against the exterior of the house because we couldn’t make it to the bedroom,” he said, running his fingertips down her arm.

“I had never felt freer. It’s funny,” she said, crinkling her nose and shaking her head. “I was afraid that love, commitment, marriage would somehow make me less free, but it was just the opposite. There was one moment on that trip that . . .”

“What, baby?”

“Do you remember the day we went into town? We wandered around the shops and bought those beautiful hand-painted serving dishes and table linens, so we could entertain at home and bring our friends a taste of the Amalfi Coast.” He nodded and she continued, “We strolled around the old town eating gelato. Then you had arranged dinner at the chef’s table at that amazing little hole-in-the-wall.

When the chef learned I was interested in cooking, he gave me a lesson. ”

“I had so much fun watching you,” Finn said. “Flour across your forehead, trying to understand what he was saying through his thick accent. You were so into it.”

“And then we stumbled onto that little outdoor bar with that wonderful band. We danced under a canopy of stars. Do you remember?”

“You were wearing a short turquoise sundress, cinched at the waist, with a ruffle on each shoulder.”

She looked at him in surprise.

“I told you, I remember every minute,” he said.

“When we got back to the house, we undressed each other. You pulled me onto your lap, brushed my hair back, and we began making love. We looked deeply into each other’s eyes. It was so profoundly intimate, and that’s the moment I knew.”

“What, love?”

“The closeness between us was as certain as the sunrise. When we decided to share our lives, I was ready to take the leap. In that moment, I knew it wasn’t a leap at all.

” He smiled and she added, “From then on, anything was possible. If I were to fall, you’d catch me.

And I’d catch you. We could each be ourselves, forever.

Boundless. I felt entirely content, serene. ”

“Me too,” he said, kissing her softly. “I knew something had changed. The next day, on the beach.”

“You did?”

He nodded. “I have a confession, more than thirty years in the making.” She looked at him curiously and he said, “It may be ridiculous, but men want to make a certain impression when they’re wooing a woman.

Like we’ve got game. With you, I couldn’t even pretend to be smooth.

” Ella blushed. He pecked her lips and continued, “The first night we spent together in Sweden, it wasn’t about sex.

I wanted you to feel about me the way I felt about you.

I had fallen so deeply for you. I thought if we made love, you would see it, feel it, and maybe you’d allow yourself to love me that way too.

And you did, but I always sensed there was some part of you that couldn’t fully give into it.

Something you held back.” She started to lower her gaze, but he skimmed her cheek, and she looked straight into his eyes.

“On our honeymoon, the day after we went into town, I was relaxing on a lounge chair, and you were running around on the beach, splashing in the water with abandon. You looked back at me, giggling, and I could see it in your eyes. To my core I knew that you had finally allowed yourself to love me as much as I love you.”

She kissed him softly. “Thank you for marrying me. For waiting until I was ready.”

“Thank you for marrying me.”

They shared a quiet, intimate moment before Ella said, “Finn, do you think Georgia will be okay?”

“Yes. If it takes her some pain to get to the good stuff, in the end, it will be worth it.”

“I think she really loves this guy. You should have seen her eyes when she spoke of him. I’ve never seen her like that before.”

“That reminds me of something your mother once said. The night I met her, she told me how you’d gone to visit her in Valencia after our breakup. She said you were a wreck and that she’d never seen you like that before.”

Ella huffed. “Today with Georgia, it was almost like looking in a mirror at myself thirty-one years ago.”

He dropped another kiss in her hair. “If he’s really the one, it will work out.”

“How do you know?”

“I believe in love.”

She smiled. “Me too.”