once. I wish we hadn't started this—us—on a lie, but we have the truth now. And maybe I'm speaking prematurely, because there isn't really an us yet, but—"
He put his fingers against her lips, not wanting to see the doubt in her pretty green eyes. "There's an us, Maya. There's been an us since I first saw your face. Your beautiful gaze sucked me in, and these pretty freckles…" He ran the tip of his finger down her nose. "They sealed the deal."
"I've always hated my freckles."
"I love them." He gave her a soft kiss. "I couldn’t look away from you the first time I saw you, and I don't think I can ever look away from you again."
She blinked back teary emotions. "That's so sweet, Jax. I haven't been able to look away from you, either. And I'm looking forward to getting to know you a lot better."
"You already know my deepest secrets. There's not much more to find out."
"I disagree. There's a lot more. But you can't lie to me again." Her tone turned serious. "You can say that you can't tell me because it's classified or whatever, but you can't pretend with me. Not again. Not ever."
"I can make that promise. I should have told you the truth before we slept together. It was selfish. I just wanted you so damn much, I couldn't let you go."
"It was an amazing night." She paused, wanting to be clear. "I don't want to rehash the past. We've both been living in the world of yesterday for the past week. I want us to be in the present and maybe think about the future."
"What do you see in our future?"
"Well, I don't have a crystal ball," she said with a smile. "But I see you and me." She cupped his face with her hands. "A lot of kisses and a lot of loving."
"And maybe a movie…"
"Maybe a movie." Then she pressed her sweet mouth against his.
Epilogue
Seven Months Later…
Maya looked out the limo window as they waited to pull up in front of the Starlit Theater on Hollywood Blvd. There was a line of cars in front of them, and she was more than thrilled to see the huge turnout for the premiere of her movie—Between Light and Shadows: The Secret Life of Natasha Petrova.
"It's going to be a big hit," Jax said, squeezing her hand, his fingers curling around the square-shaped diamond he'd placed on her finger three nights earlier, being as cheesy as he could be by proposing on Valentine's Day. He'd told her she'd turned him into a romantic nutcase and the least she could do was marry him. Of course, she'd said yes. And then their friends and family had turned their romantic dinner into a party.
She gave him a loving smile. "I'm nervous for everyone to see it."
"They're going to love it, because it's brilliant. Your talent shines in every second of the film."
She was more than a little touched by his never-ending support. Jax had been by her side the past seven months. When he wasn't working on putting away every single Russian spy they'd unearthed, he was talking through plot points and story twists and reassuring her that she could do it no matter how many obstacles she ran into. And there had been a few.
She'd had to pull together a production team. Fortunately, she'd worked for a lot of great people, and they'd believed in her movie and were willing to work for next to nothing to help her get it made. She'd also received some investment help from her parents and from two other wealthy donors, Daniel Bragin and Wallace Jagger. They'd wanted Natasha's story to be told, too. They felt it was the least they could do for a woman they had both loved, even though they had both been her victims as well.
With the Russian spy trials looming, the movie had drummed up enough interest that several major studios had gotten into a bidding war, and she'd ended up signing what she hoped would be a very lucrative deal. But that would depend on how the audience reacted to the film.
The limo stopped, and they stepped out onto the pavement. It was a cold night, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky, just millions of stars that made her feel like Natasha was smiling down at her.
"I hope I did her justice," she told Jax.
He put his arm around her waist. "You did. Now you need to relax and