Page 223 of My Five Daddies

I lean back in my chair and grin at her. “So it’s done,” I say. “We’re brokenup.”

She shakes her head, totally mystified. “You just gave up a lot of money,” she says. “And you’re stuck still working on this movie for months. All forwhat?”

“All to try and make up for a mistake I made a long time ago,” Isay.

“You’re something else, Jackson Hendricks.” She grins at me. “I should have locked you downsooner.”

“You had no chance. Now go away. I’m calling some agents to try and find new representation. And I’m dumping yourass.”

“Fine by me.” She stands and heads to the door. Before she can leave, she calls out Tara’sname.

I sit up straight. She was the next person I was going to find once this was all straightened out. I’m sure she’s pissed and I don’t know what to say to apologize, but I don’t have achoice.

Tara walks into the room, looking a little pale. I stand up as soon as sheenters.

“I’ll leave you two kids alone,” Holly says, andleaves.

Tara stares at me and I stare back. “Hey,” I sayfinally.

“You asshole,” she sayssoftly.

I walk toward her. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t in the country. I couldn’tcall.”

“You could have emailed. You could have done a millionthings.”

I walk toward her and stop close. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I had to do it, but I wasn’t leaving you.” I smirk at her. “I hear you hitHolly.”

She cocks her hand back and slaps me right across the face. It stings, but I know I deserveit.

“Just like that,” she says. “You asshole. You left me again without aword.”

I turn back to her, hanging my head. “You’re right,” I say. “But don’t you want to know where Iwas?”

“Fine, I’mlistening.”

And so I tell her everything. I start with Mickey and I end with the Skype conversation I just had. By the time I’m done, we’re both sitting down at the conference table, and her mouth is hangingopen.

“Did you seriously just sacrifice that much money?” she asksme.

“I did,” I admit. “But I still have a ton left over. And I’m not out of thegame.”

“Jackson…” She trails off, shaking her head. “That’sinsane.”

“Holly won’t be an issue now,” I say. “She won’t blackmail me. In fact, she seems really happy. The producers and the studio aren’t going to blacklist me, though Mickey is still dead in my eyes. So I have to work for free on this piece of shit, so what? Holly and I are broken up, for real thistime.”

Tara stares at me and for a second, I think she’s going to cry, but she looks away instead. “You’re such anidiot.”

“I’m sick of living a lie,” I say to her, moving closer. I tip her chin toward me. “You understand that, right? I’ve lived a lie for so long now, but I’mfinished.”

“You can’t do that again,” she says. “Seriously, I thought you left me all over. I was…” She trailsoff.

“I know,” I say. “Tara, I love you. I’m never going to leave again. It’s over. We can do this forreal.”

Her eyes go slightly wide and I kiss her before she can say anything. I don’t want to hear her respond. I just want her to know that I love her, that I’ve loved her for so long now, and I’ll do anything in the world to make thingsright.

I’ll sacrifice anything, I’ll move any mountains, I’ll do what I have to do to make her happy. I’m done fucking around. I’m done running away. I’m done going for things that aren’timportant.

Tara is important. She’s all that Ineed.

---