“Yeah, I am. It’s still new but—” Sam swallowed not shocked by what he was feeling now that he knew Amanda was okay. “I’m falling in love with her.”

“I could hear it in your voice.”

Sam watched his brother as he went back to his room, feeling like there was something he should say. “You’ll get there one day,” he called after him.

“I doubt it, but thanks for keeping hope alive,” Jesse said, before the door separating their rooms snicked closed behind him.

Sam got back in bed and shot John a quick email, letting him know that he and Amanda were in fact a thing, but no comment was the stance for now. Not a minute later his phone vibrated with his agent’s response.

Sounds good. Hope to meet her sometime. Looks like a sweet girl. We’ll talk when you’re back.

With that he felt like he should have some peace of mind, but he stared up at the ceiling, his mind scrolling through that TMZ article over and over again. He’d never been an object of gossip before. Not like this. Now he knew that he hated it and he hated it even more for Amanda.

He’d wanted to be an actor since he was a kid. He knew the shitty parts of fame that came along with it and he knew the Oscar win and the press surrounding it would put him out there in ways no one in his family but his grandmother had experienced. He was still processing the exposure and what it meant for himself and his career, what parts to skip over and ignore and what moments to embrace and put toward his personal growth.

He’d been working toward this and been trained for this for years and for him it was still a mindfuck. Amanda wanted none of it, but she wanted him and if he was going to be the right man for her, he had to do everything in his power to protect her.

* * *

Amanda had no idea how long thirty-six hours was until she spent twenty-four of those hours being part of the entertainment news cycle. She’d spent most of the day with Helene while Ignacio went out to a last-minute meeting at the studio, but when he came back she figured she’d imposed on the newlyweds’ hospitality enough. Helene made her promise she’d call or come back over if she changed her mind. She almost made her promise to take her up on her offer for any and all assistance, both personally and professionally.