Page 118 of The Love Lie
“Fine,” she says, then jabs him in the center of his chest. “Butyoucan’t keep winning arguments like this either.”
“Why not?” He twists his baseball cap backward with a wild grin. The fucker is taunting her. He knows how sexy he looks. “It works.”
Before she can say anything back, he throws her over his shoulder and starts running.
“Where are you going?” Nina calls. “Stop! Wait!”
Sandals flap on pavement, but it’s no use. Cooper has a foot on her and he knows where he’s going. After about ten seconds, the pursuit stops.
“Don’t just stand there, you idiot,” Nina snaps instead. “Get a camera. Follow them. Now!” Then she shouts, “You assholes are going to be the death of me!”
Sam looks up from her perch and calls, “I thought Satan was immortal?”
Nina flips her an exasperated middle finger.
The sight is almost worth what’s about to come next.
Almost.
Cooper turns the corner and there it is—her personal death trap, otherwise known as the official Kelley & Dunne helicopter.
I can’t believe I’m willingly stepping foot in this thing again.
But the promise of an hour alone with Cooper before the film crew arrives is too good to pass up. He slides her into the passenger seat and tightens all the buckles before hopping into the pilot’s chair. They’re airborne before the film crew has time to set up. Even from this distance, Sam can tell Nina is muttering expletives as she lifts her phone to take a video while thecameraman fumbles over an open travel case. Sam wiggles her fingers in goodbye as they bank left, leaving the airport behind.
Cooper threads their hands together. “Home?”
Strange how that single word has the power to calm the nervous pounding of her heart. She turns to meet Cooper’s eyes and squeezes his palm tight. “Home.”
Finally, Sam silently adds, staring out at the rolling plains with fresh eyes. As part of the contract she signed with Nina, she had to delay her move to Nebraska until filming began so every single moment could be captured on-screen for the new show. Oh, she’s visited. But it’s different, flying over these grassy hills, taking in the expansive blue sky, studying that unmarred horizon with the knowledge that this gorgeous, untainted, untamed view is going to be her new normal.
Saying goodbye to New York was surprisingly easy. Sure, she’ll miss the restaurants, and the nightlife, and the never-ending surprises that come with living in an ever-changing place like Manhattan, where every day carries the chance of discovering something new. But after seven years of leaving her apartment every morning with no sure sense of where the hours would lead her, she quite likes the idea of knowing that every night for the foreseeable future will end in the same perfect way—next to Cooper.
No, the only thing she’ll really miss about New York is Winnie. They spent half an hour crying and hugging in their empty apartment after the moving trucks were gone, then got greasy dollar slices from the pizza place down the street before heading to the airport for the same flight to LA…but that’s another story.
“Oh, I forgot to mention my dad wants us over for dinner tonight,” Cooper says as the main house comes into view.
Sam gasps. “Does that mean he’s forgiven me?”
“Forgivenmay be a strong word…”
She snorts and drops her head back. Needless to say, Frank Kelley was not exactly thrilled to learn his ranch was about to become the epicenter of an entirely new television show. He was even less enthused when the trailers arrived and he realized it meant an entire production team would be moving in for at least eight weeks. According to Cooper, he spent a solid month muttering about it underneath his breath, but—and this is a bigbut—he didn’t say no, especially if it meant his son would be here too. And apparently, when the first check hit those bank accounts, all signs of mumbling stopped. Turned out money was just as good a motivator as Sam predicted. While the payout for the new show wasn’t much, becoming a public figure has been a different story. Cooper’s already signed two six-figure sponsorship deals, one with a hat company and one with a jeans company, and he’s in talks with some literary agents about a possible coffee-table book pending the success of the upcoming season. The old man is still having trouble wrapping his head around the idea of publicists, and brand ambassadorships, and the fact that his son now openly carries that Canon EOS 5DS with him everywhere he goes, but Sam is confident he’ll come around—just as he came around on her. It took three dinners at the main house, and more afternoons on horseback than she cares to admit, but eventually, even Frank Kelley couldn’t resist her charms.
“Did you tell him the news?” she asks.
“News?” Cooper frowns.
Sam can’t hide her rueful grin. “The Best Kiss nomination?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “I thought that was a joke. You can’t be serious.”
“Nina wants us in LA for the award show in May.”
“Dear god. I’m never going to live this one down.”
Sam snorts. Turned out that little conversation they shared while Ty was being announced as the new lead wasn’t exactly asprivate as they thought. Nina had a camera on them the whole time, capturing a rather racy backstage makeout session the network decided to surprise them with the following morning during their customary appearance onWake Up, America!The woman is clearly an evil genius, because the hot mic moment went absolutely viral. It was the most watched clip fromWake Up, America!for the entire year, and it’s been in every single teaser promo for the new show. The network already made an offer to extend their contract for another season, and they’ve been nominated for “Best Kiss” at the KTV Movie Awards this spring. Eventually, they both agree, they’ll step away from the limelight. But for now, they’ll keep riding that wave as long as it’s working for them. Sam’s never been one to turn down a good deal.
And one benefit to living in the middle of nowhere, she thinks as they touch down in the front yard, is that aside from the film crew probably speeding toward them far faster than local traffic laws allow, the media can’t touch them here. It’s up to them how much they want to post online, how much they want to be seen, how much exactly they want to share. The lines between public and private are drawn, and right now, as Cooper takes her by the hand and leads her inside, the distinction couldn’t be clearer.
