Page 127 of Reel Love

The picnic seems to be restoring our homeostasis. As always, time together on Marbella makes everything else seem small and insignificant compared to my feelings for him and the deepening connection between us.

After we finish our lunch, I’m sitting between Stevens’ legs, leaning back on him and he’s got his arms propped behind him to hold us up. We’re facing the ocean, watching the waves roll in.

“I used to come here as a boy,” he says.

“To the North Shore?”

“To this cove. And …” he pauses, kissing the top of my head. “There was a curly blond haired girl …”

I pivot so I’m facing him. He looks me directly in the eyes.

“Her name was Gwendolyn.”

It takes me a few beats. My ears feel like they’re ringing with my childhood name and the ramifications of him saying it.

“Ren?” I feel my brow crease as I search his face for similarities between the man in front of me and the boy I knew.

He nods. “I’m Ren.”

“But … you’re Stevens now?”

“And you’re Alana.”

“I changed my name for the business. I’ll tell you the story later. But why wouldyouchange your name?”

“If you knew what Ren was short for, you’d have told me to change it.”

“Oh, now I need to know.”

“There are some things in life that are destined to remain a mystery.”

“And your real name is not one of them. But we’ll get back to that. How did you know I was Gwendolyn?”

“I saw the photo.”

“In my hallway! The photo of me and Ren on the beach. My nanny took that.”

“I couldn’t believe it.”

“Why didn’t you say anything yesterday?”

“Your phone rang and then Kai needed me. And … I didn’t know if you’d think I had stalked you. I mean, what’s the probability?”

“It’s not as improbable as you might think,” I tell him. “I loved this island. It’s where some of my fondest childhood memories happened. So, when I started earning enough to afford multiple homes, I bought one here. Marbella became my refuge all over again. Just like it was when I was a child. You’ve never left. I came back. We have a pretty small population of locals. The probability is in our favor on this one.”

“I love it when you talk all science-y,” he teases, leaning in for a kiss.

I turn so I’m on my knees, facing him, with my legs folded beneath me, and I kiss him back. I’m not one to believe in luck or destiny. But I can’t deny the way we feel meant to be … from all those years ago, to finding one another on the game, to him being my water taxi driver, to now. Stevens is my person. I’m sure of it. And my heart has known it for longer than my head was willing to fully admit.

I cup his jaw with my hand and he cradles my cheek. Our kissis soft, nearly reverent. Then I collapse back into him and we spend the rest of the afternoon lying on his blanket, running in and out of the water, and collecting shells.

For the past few days I’ve been back in Los Angeles at my Hollywood condo.

Rex and I had a ComicCon appearance this weekend. We also had radio interviews on KROQ and KISS FM radio stations.

Brigitte is here with me and I’ve been unloading on her about my situation. I need to stop.

“I miss him. Is that weird?” I flop my head back onto the sofa in the living room of my condo.

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