Page 86 of Lucky Star

Hadn’t I had the same exact thought?

We were relaxed here, happy and carefree in a way we could no longer be back in Los Angeles. No one here cared that Cameron was the star of a major movie, and they certainly didn’t treat him any differently for his celebrity status. To our friends in Eagle Harbour, we were simply Cameron and Sarah, a happy couple who enjoyed spending time outdoors and hanging out with people who were like us in the ways that mattered most in life.

But it wasn’t just the people of Eagle Harbour. When we walked through the ancient cedar and spruce rainforests, the sodden pine needles squishing beneath our feet, or stood out on the beach watching a storm roll in, the foamy waves breaking out to sea and then rolling angrily in, we felt a measure of peace.

“I don’t want you to go to work for Shanna,” he spoke into the top of my head as he played with a strand of my hair. “I want us to live here, permanently. When I’m off who-knows-where shooting a movie, I want you with me. But when I’m in between projects, I want Eagle Harbour to be our home. If you can’t come with me for whatever reason, I like knowing you’d be surrounded by people who want only good things for you. Alex, Drea, Hal, Stewart, and Shea are our people, and I think you recognize that as much as I do.”

We could have a life here, away from the glare of Hollywood and the tainted associations the city now held for me. I’d felt it when I’d gone back, and as I’d locked up my house, I’d had the overwhelming sense of stepping away from a life that wasn’t my own anymore.

“I love it,” I said into the protection of Cameron’s loving embrace.

He pulled me closer and held me tight as happy tears fell, washing away all the fear I’d felt over what our future would hold once we’d said our vows and returned to the soul-crushing intensity of our life in Los Angeles. Cameron kissed my forehead, then my cheeks, and my eyes, wet with salty tears, before pressing his lips to mine.

“You’ve given me the best Christmas gift ever,” he murmured, the words filling my mouth, before he lowered me down and covered my soft, pliant body with his larger, stronger, one.

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