Page 20 of After the Red Carpet
He gently wiped her tears. “There’s still more to see. The outside is my favorite,” he said, leading her to the newly installed French doors. “Go on.”
Ella opened the doors and stepped onto the veranda. There was a hand-painted mural covering the entire wallthat depicted landmarks from around the globe—the Arc de Triomphe, the Tokyo Tower, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, the Empire State Building, the Hollywood Sign, and more. “See?” he said. “Paris and LA are represented, but so is the rest of the world because I hope that we can see it all together.”
“Finn . . .” she mumbled.
“You told me that you moved around a lot growing up, but that your mother made each new place feel like home by painting colorful murals on your bedroom walls.”
“I can’t believe you remembered that.”
“Oh, this is the best part. Flip that switch,” he said.
She flipped the switch, and the entire veranda was illuminated by twinkly lights. She smiled through her tears, sheer wonderment on her face.
“You also said your mother would string up twinkly lights.” He paused for a moment and asked, “So, what do you think, sweetheart?”
She looked deeply into his eyes and said, “It’s not a room; it’s a love letter.”
“I know you, Ella. Everything that matters. I love you with all my heart.”
She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close, and whispered, “I love you.” Eventually, she pulled back and said, “Come here. I know it’s not what Lorraine intended, but let’s go make good use of that couch.”
FINN SIGHED DREAMILY, HIS LIMBSentwined with Ella’s. “That was so beautiful,” he whispered, kissing her softly.
“I feel so impossibly close to you,” she said, tracing her finger along his eyebrow.
“Me too.”
“Finn, when are we going to get married?”
He smiled. “I was waiting until you were ready. I’d marry you today, this instant. When should we do it?”
“The sooner, the better.”
“We’ll get back from my Boston film shoot by early September, so we could easily do it any time after that.”
“How about the first of October?”
His face lit up. He kissed her again and said, “Let’s do it. What kind of wedding do you want? Where should we have it?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. We can figure it out. The details are unimportant. All I know is that I love you and can’t possibly live without you.”
“Me too. The first of October it is,” he said.
“I’m so excited. I have to tell my mother, to make sure she can come in from Spain. Do you mind if I call her?”
“Call her now! Tell her I’ll send my jet and take care of everything. Then I’ll call my parents.”
“Okay,” Ella replied, leaning down to retrieve her sundress from the floor. She pulled her cell phone out of the pocket and dialed her mother’s number. “Hi, Mom. I’m calling . . . Yeah, Mom, that’s great. But listen, I’m calling with news. We set the date for our wedding. We’re getting married in October, on the first. You can make it, right? Finn said he’ll take care of the arrangements . . . Yay! I can’t wait for you and Alejandro to meet him.” She glanced at Finn and he squeezed her shoulder, a wide smile across his face. “We can put you up at a hotel if you prefer, but there’s plenty of room at Finn’s house. Oh, Mom, wait until you see the office he created for me. It’s magical. It’s the most beautiful room in his house.” Finn’s heart sank, but Ella looked at him smiling and he smiled in return. “Okay, yes, we can go over all the details later. I just had to call and tell you right away. Tell Alejandro I said hi . . . Love you too. Bye.”
She put her phone on the tea table and nuzzled into Finn, resting her head on his chest. He enfolded her in his arms, caressing her hair.
“I’m so happy. I can’t believe this is all real,” she said.
“Me too. Ella . . .”
“Yeah?” she asked, looking up into his eyes.
“I love you, that’s all. Forever. I just want to make sure you know that.”
