Page 108 of Perfect Composition

I nod toward the television. “I just did.”

Jesse cackles as Mitch, my on-duty shadow, slips his cell from his pocket. His lips twitch, but he doesn’t say anything. He just slips his phone back into his pants, and we all watch this play out on television.

Finally, Beckett and Austyn reach the last reporter. I can feel his frustration, and I’m halfway across the country. “This should be fun,” I remark.

And it is. The reporter, from the glossy magazine StellaNova, asks what the hoopla is all about. Beckett replies directly into the camera, “I just got some news I’m thrilled to hear. Soon, I’ll be able to share it with the world. Until then, I’m keeping it close to the heart.”

“And he pulls out a save, ladies and gentlemen!” Ethan announces.

Jesse, always more circumspect, just starts applauding.

But I can’t wipe the ridiculous smile from my face. Just a few more days and I’ll pay for that little stunt.

I can’t wait.

PAIGE

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

February

Ever since the Grammys, Beckett Miller and DJ Kensington are in each other’s back pockets. Is this a potential collaboration or something more? I wouldn’t mind more of either of them, if you take my meaning.

— Moore You Want

“You can move that hutch to the master,” I inform the movers two days later. I blush slightly when I recall the conversation with the moving company where they said I could just leave things in there. Yeah, no. I put all my personal items into plastic bags before the movers came. Now, I want to grab everything tucked inside and begin loads of laundry before everything touches my skin again.

“Yes, ma’am.”

It’s been two months since I’ve seen Beckett. And now I’m counting down the hours until he’s done showing Austyn Los Angeles so I can give him a tour of my new home. And I can’t help but wonder if this won’t just be a temporary stop to a more permanent one with him. The home we were meant to have together all those years ago if my father hadn’t intervened.

I hear the doorbell ring and rush to go answer it. I glance outside the big bay window, and my excitement rises when I recognize the local cable company logo. I fling open the door. “Hi!”

“You arranged for a Comcast installation?”

I swing the door open wide. “Come on in.”

My excitement continues to rise as more furniture and boxes are brought through the patio doors. I direct the movers to place things in particular rooms. Fortunately, I arranged for the home to be mostly furnished by the Realtor, so when I moved in, she had the necessities put away and it was professionally cleaned. The things being delivered are personal items and mementos as well as a few cherished items. I’ve made separate arrangements to store Austyn’s piano until we decide what to do with it. But this also means I’ll be settled in more quickly and able to dive headfirst into the life that’s been waiting for me all these years.

I can hardly wait.

Deciding to leave the cable guy to it, I follow the movers upstairs when they enter with a wardrobe box. “To the master, guys.”

“Absolutely, Dr. Kensington.” We all trample up the wood staircase to the second floor.

I love the house that’s a combination of a Tudor and a fairy’s playhouse on the outskirts of Collyer. Painted a bright yellow, it’s tucked behind oak and pine trees and has a trail of Pachysandra. “Hope you like gardening, ma’am,” one of the movers said after I asked if he knew what the lush green plant lining the walkway was.

I pull out a pocket knife and quickly undo the wardrobe boxes. I hang my carefully packed suits up in the master walk-in, critically examining them. “Thank God I have a steamer.”

Just then, the mover pops in with the very item I mention. I make a grab for it. “Thanks.”

“No problem. The rest of the boxes are marked with anA? Where do you want those?”

“The third bedroom, please, Steve. Thank you.”

He nods, leaving me to my unpacking. And daydreaming.

Pulling out a silk sleeveless walk-through jumpsuit I bought with an enormous bow as its only clasp, I wonder if Beckett’s and my reunion will happen at a place where he’ll have a chance to see me in it. And take me out of it. With a private smile, I hang it up near my suits and continue to remove items from the boxes. I dump out shoes as fast as I can, knowing I can arrange them later. Besides, I packed my new Louboutin heels in my suitcase, I reassure myself over my mistreatment of my clothes.