Baby Be Mine

screeches out of the car park.
    ‘Slow down or Lord March won’t invite you back next year,’ I squeal, but he just laughs.
    I’m full of butterflies during the entire journey. Neither of us says a word, but the anticipation doesn’t die. I follow him to his room and he unlocks the door. The babysitter is right across the hall, but we’re back early; we have time. He shuts the door behind me and then he just stares at me. Is he going to kiss me or what? I stare back at him, warily, wondering why he’s not sweeping me off my feet; because I’m a goner, I haven’t the will to resist him anymore.
    I cock my head to one side in confusion. There’s a strange look in his eyes. Has he changed his mind? Oh, God, has he?
    He gets down on one knee and takes my hand. My jaw hits the floor.
    ‘I love you,’ he says as tears fill my eyes. ‘I never want to be without you. I never want to spend another day, another minute, without you and Barney by my side. I’ve been thinking about doing this for a long, long time. Meg Stiles . . .’
    I cover my mouth with my hand and laugh tearfully.
    ‘Will you marry me?’
    I nod down at him.
    ‘Yes?’ he checks.
    ‘Yes.’
    Then he’s on his feet and I’m in his arms and he’s holding me so tight, and I never want him to let me go. He pulls away and looks down at me and then he’s kissing me passionately and I’m melting into him and tears are running down my cheeks as I realise that this is it. I was the one to change him. He fell for me. He loves me. And I love him right back. I’ll love him till the day I die.

 
  Epilogue  
    It’s not George Harrison’s former house, but we do live in Henley in an enormous gated rock-star mansion. I couldn’t go back to LA. That house – that city – had too many bad memories, and, God knows, we needed a fresh start.
    I was terrified about the press’s reaction to our relationship, but they’ve astounded me. Hilariously, I’ve been painted as some sort of angel: Johnny’s saviour. It appears that even the bloodthirsty media love a happy ending: the ordinary girl who hooked one of the most famous men in the world. Poor Dana, though. She’s still the devil’s spawn. But she has resilience – she’ll bounce back, I’m quite sure of it.
    I still feel guilty about Johnny’s staff losing their jobs, especially Santiago, who has finally got a computer and emails me occasionally with the latest Hollywood gossip. But Johnny wrote everyone excellent references and gave them fantastic severance pay, so they’ll be okay.
    Johnny still doesn’t have a PA. At the moment I’m handling things, and the first job on my list was to set him up with a proper fan club. I figure I’ve seen enough freaky letters to last me a lifetime.
    Lena took a placement with Rod Freemantle, believe it or not. She’s worked for him for three months now, which is longer than any of his PAs lasted after Kitty. I think he’s still mourning her. It’s a shame there wasn’t any sexual chemistry between them, because they were perfect for each other. Rod split up with his fifth wife and will no doubt be onto his sixth soon. I think he’s trying to break some sort of record.
    As for Kitty, the last I heard from her she was travelling around Thailand with a couple of hot American boys. She sounds like she’s having a whale of a time. I hope she drops in on us again soon.
    Bess is the same as ever. She had another drunken snog with Eddie at our wedding. Did I forget to mention that Eddie came with us? He’s our full-time cook and he really does make the best chocolate-chip cookies I’ve ever tasted.
    Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. Wedding. That’s right! We actually did tie the knot. We got married at a local church before coming back here to the house for the reception. All of Johnny’s former staff flew over for the ceremony, including dear Rosa. It was so good to see her again, and for Johnny it was particularly therapeutic. In fact, I think it was quite therapeutic for her, too. Kitty also put aside her backpack to join us for a few days, and even Liz and Guy came along. Liz nearly fell off her chair when I finally came clean about Johnny. It’s been a relief to have everything out in the open.
    Christian and Sara were invited, although sadly they had other plans that weekend. Perhaps it was a bit too much, too soon. But Christian’s Contour Lines biography was a huge success and he’s writing his third crime book at the moment,