Hollywood Royalty

Emma had settled into Grace’s hotel room with ease. The brunette actress had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and Grace took the task of placing Emma’s suitcase in the closet of the bedroom. So much drama had occurred between the two of them in the past couple of hours that they were both emotionally exhausted and rightfully so. Grace knew that they would have plenty of time in the next couple of days to catch up with each other. She would just leave it until then and let Emma have her rest. Grace quietly left her hotel suite for next door to Pedro’s room where she felt awful for keeping him waiting for so long. She knocked on his door softly and not even ten seconds he opened it with a curious and concerned look on his face.

“There you are. I was beginning to worry about you.” He voiced his concern and Grace blushed at his reaction.

“Sorry I kept you waiting for so long. I guess the time sort of got away from us.” Pedro nodded understandingly.

“It’s no problem, Grace, you guys seemed like you really needed to talk things out.” He looked around the hall behind her before ushering her into his room. “Come in already. You’re probably hungry after the fitting and everything. I ordered some food for us about half an hour ago so it’s probably on its way. I figured you were probably going to be a while.”

Grace felt her face warm from contact with him as soon as he placed an arm around her to usher her in. That would have to stop relatively soon because she could not keep acting like that whenever he touched her. He would undoubtedly have close contact with her during any romantic scenes they filmed for the movie. Pedro quietly closed the door behind her and Grace was surprised when Ash came running to her. Nearly knocking her over with his weight as he ambushed her causing Grace to let out a surprised laugh. Only two hours away from her and he acted like he hadn’t seen her in days.

“I missed you too, Ash.” Grace said as she rubbed behind the German Shepard’s ears. She looked up at Pedro who smiled at the display with an unreadable look in his eyes.

“I thought Lily had him?” She questioned.

“She did but I thought I could take him off her hands until you got back.” Pedro replied and Grace smiled.

“Well, thank you.” This wasn’t Grace’s first time in Pedro’s hotel suite since the past couple of weeks they had stuck to hanging out in each other’s rooms. They mostly spent the time watching films or tv series even some of their own. Grace had to admit that it was weird just sitting down and watching her work with someone else beside her. It turned out Pedro had much preferred it that way so that he could ask questions or have behind the scenes information. They were all caught up with ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Skins’, and ‘Downton Abbey’. Pedro stared at her face and frowned when he saw the reddened hand print on her face.

“She didn’t slap you again, did she?” Grace laughed but shook her head.

“Thankfully no. I’ve never been slapped before so that was interesting.” Grace tried to make light of the situation but Pedro didn’t seem that amused for once as he examined her cheek.

“Do you need an ice pack or something?” He inquired further.

“No, I’m fine. Emma gave me a cold water bottle to put on it earlier so I think I’m fine. The stinging went down.” Pedro nodded but still looked slightly concerned.

“So it went well then?” A genuinely thrilled smile formed on Grace’s face. She looked so happy that Pedro could hardly believe his eyes. She was generally an upbeat and cheerful person but even he could tell that there had been something bothering her.

“Very well. We had a long chat and I think we worked most of everything out but there’s still a long way to go.” A crestfallen look came over Grace’s face. “I haven’t been the greatest friend as of late.” Pedro took that as an invitation to approach her. He gingerly touched her arm in a way that he was almost not touching her at the same time. Had Pedro just been another friend of hers, Grace probably wouldn’t have even noticed the gesture. The truth was that she didn’t think Pedro was just another random friend of hers and the slight fluttering in the pit of her stomach was evidence of that.

“You’ve been through a lot, Grace. I’m sure your friends will understand… Preferably a little more than Emma. I wouldn’t want you to get slapped like that again.” Grace smiled at his concern.

“You and me both.” She frowned when she decided she needed to talk to him about Emma just to clear the air. “I hope that you’re not still angry with Emma? It was entirely my fault anyways.”

“You said that you two worked everything out. It’s not really my place to be angry with her… I just hate to see you get hurt because I-“ Pedro stopped himself before he was going to say it. He actually had no idea what he was going to say but didn’t think Grace was in position right now to hear it from him.

“You’re my friend.” Pedro finally said and Grace smiled but for some reason that label kind of hurt. She ignored the hurt and moved on.

“So are you… Emma feels terrible by the way. She’s sleeping in my room right now because of all the flying around she’s been doing but I’m sure she’ll apologize profusely once she wakes up. Just don’t be surprised by that.” Grace told him and Pedro chuckled. He was surprisingly okay with that given the anger he had felt when the brunette slapped Grace earlier. The anger he had felt during that moment had been quite the shock to him considering that he hadn’t known Grace long and he wasn’t in that sort of relationship with her… At least not yet. He was completely aware of the fact that he held growing feelings for Grace and was planning on asking her out when Emma showed up. Pedro was a bit rusty at this whole dating thing but he knew enough to know when a bad time was a bad time.

“I’ll try and prepare myself.” Pedro said and they both laughed. A knock was heard on the hotel door, alerting to them to the delivery guy with their much needed food. Pedro went to go retrieve it and Grace sat on the couch, allowing herself relax for the first time all day. Ash rested at her feet whilst she sunk into the softness of the couch. Even though she was allowing herself to relax something still bugged her in the back of her mind. The more time she spent with Pedro the more it seemed that these feelings were developing. That scared her if she was being honest because was in no place in her life to be having those kind of feelings for someone. It was unfair to Pedro.
But she did have feelings for Pedro, Grace thought to herself. This felt different than it had ever felt before. Different than Tom, different than Alex, different than James, and different than Aaron. Maybe it was because she was older than she was before and she wasn’t as naïve and silly as she used to be. Grace knew that Pedro seemed to like her in that way as well given his flirtation during these past couple of weeks. She wasn’t as blind as people thought. Grace just had no idea how seriously Pedro felt about her and she was scared to risk anything. It was stupid to feel like this just after she got out of a hazardous relationship with Tom. Her heart was still on the mend and it was just plain silly to want to risk herself like that again. She liked to think she had amazing self-control but Grace didn’t think she would be able to leave if Pedro decided to reciprocate those feelings for her. Grace just bit her lip nervously and tried to brush those feelings aside for the moment. She forced a smile when Pedro came back with food in hand and knew that this wasn’t going to be easy.

“I can’t believe your real name is Jose?!” Grace exclaimed as she stared at the brunette actor in surprise. He gave her an amused look. They were sitting on the floor, their food laid out on top of the coffee table and ‘New Girl’ was playing in the background on tv. Grace had decided to introduce him to the show and it surprised her how much he seemed to not mind it. Tom had thought the show to be very immature and stupid but Pedro laughed at all the appropriate parts and if he disliked the show he didn’t give any indication of his dislike.

“I thought you said you googled me once.” Grace blushed and Pedro delighted in the rosy flush that came over her pale skin.

“I googled your filmography. I didn’t google your entire life story… that would be creepy.” Pedro just smirked.

“Sure you didn’t. Just like you probably didn’t google my personal life to see whether or not I’m off the market.” He teased and Grace playfully glared at him. In all honesty Grace had never really googled anything pertaining to his personal life. That was a boundary that Grace had always been adamant about not crossing with costars.

“Well, I didn’t bother so be relieved.” Grace told him and he just kept smirking at her, making Grace want to wipe that smug look off his face.

“Don’t worry because lucky for you I’m actually on the market for the moment.” Grace rolled her eyes, trying to convey that she really didn’t have the slightest care about his availability. Pedro also wanted to hint at the fact that he had potential of not being on the market. It all depended on her, he thought to himself.

“Do I still call you Pedro?” Pedro shook his head at the thought of being called Jose.

“Pedro is my middle name but I prefer it much more than Jose.” Grace nodded, feeling relieved at not being a complete idiot and calling him by a name that he didn’t go by in real life. There was a comfortable silence for a moment between them as they returned their attention to the antics of Jessica Day. Something seemed to be bothering Pedro as he broke their nearly fifteen minutes of silence with the most random of questions.

“Are you currently off the market?” The question caught Grace off guard the moment it left his lips. Grace gave him a shocked look and Pedro was beginning to rethink his method.

“What?” Pedro shrugged as if he was just making casual conversation.

“I was just wondering if you were seeing anybody. I mean… from an actor’s perspective it’s hard to maintain a personal life.” Grace eyed him suspiciously before answering.

“No, not really although I was sure that was fairly obvious.” Pedro nodded but he wanted to be sure she was free. Even though Grace had recently gotten out of a bad relationship she was still Grace with all her beauty and kindness so it wouldn’t be difficult for someone else to whisk her away. Pedro had been afraid that he may have been too late.

“No, it’s not obvious. Have you met you? Anyone would be lucky to snatch you up.” Grace looked down at her hands with a sad expression on her face.

“I’m not so great, Pedro, not if you really knew me.” Grace told him truthfully but that didn’t seem to give Pedro any doubt. Grace knew that people got the wrong impression of her by her politeness but honestly Grace was nowhere near perfect.

“I don’t believe that. You’re the closest thing I’ve ever met to a real life Disney princess.” Pedro told her which caused Grace to give him an incredulous look.

“What are you talking about?”

“You, of course. You just have this way about you that’s so gentle and so kind that it just rubs off on everyone around you. It’s infectious.” Grace blushed but was adamant about denying what he was saying.

“I’m really not this person you think I am, Pedro. I’ve done things that I’ve regretted; I’ve made a lot of wrong decisions in my life.” Pedro stared at her, determined not to let her think that he would ever think less of her.

“We’re all human beings.” He said simply but Grace laughed humorlessly.

“Not according to the public. None of us are human to them. We’re not allowed to make mistakes or god forbid if we wear the same outfit as someone else. They paint s false painting of someone like me and expect me to live up to that depiction.” Pedro realized just how much the media was affecting her. Grace had spent the last ten years under the public’s scrutiny while he had only spent the last couple years in the public eye and even for him it was seldom. The only time anyone cared about him was if he was taking a walk with Sarah Paulson. It always caused people to think that they were dating when they were only acting as they had been for the past twenty or so years. Grace had it a lot worse and even more so these past several months.

“I don’t care about any of that. Who cares what other people say? They shouldn’t matter.” Pedro told her and they were both starting to realize that this was quickly turning into a different sort of conversation.

“I hate being reminded time after time of my divorce that was finalized months ago but never seems to end. I’m tired of people saying they pity me and telling me that my ex is an asshole.” Tears started to form in the blonde’s eyes and Pedro felt his heart clench at the sight. This was the first time he had ever seen Grace cry and knew that it was a sight that he didn’t like especially when he was partly responsible for the cause of her tears. “They don’t know what really happened… no one does.”

“Grace…” He trailed off before wrapping an arm around her, inviting her into his embrace. For a moment he thought Grace would push him away but she surprised him by crying into his chest. Pedro felt the overwhelming need to wipe all her tears away and beat up anyone who had ever caused her pain. “Tell me. Please tell me. You can trust me, Grace, just please tell what’s bothering you.”

Grace had hesitated for a moment, silently debating whether or not she could tell him everything. She knew that she hadn’t known Pedro long in comparison to how long she knew her other friends. Emma was her friend for over ten years and not even she knew the complete truth. Grace wasn’t sure if it was because Pedro was her first friend away from friends or if it was because she truly had strong feelings for him that could easily turn into love if she wasn’t careful enough. Whatever the reason was Grace knew that could trust him with anything. All she had to do was look into those warm brown eyes and she would spill her deepest darkest secrets. He was dangerous in that way.

“Tom and I didn’t split up because of Taylor.” She admitted to him after a long moment of silence. Pedro looked surprised at that. The whole world had been looking at Taylor Swift as the cause of the very much publicized divorce but despite how he felt about the media, he too assumed that Taylor had been the cause of Grace’s divorce. Pedro would never have blamed her for feeling that way but apparently there was a lot more to the story.

“What?” Grace sniffled and wiped her sleeve over her face, trying to wipe away her own tears.

“We were already separated when I saw the pictures of him and Taylor. We’d been separated for almost five months when I saw the pictures.” Pedro frowned. He knew that she hadn’t been married long when the divorce had been finalized but it seemed that the marriage had lasted for an even shorter time than he originally thought.

“Why?” Grace braced herself for what she was about to tell him because she hadn’t told anyone the full length story about what happened. She knew that she had to tell him… she had to get it off her chest if she ever wanted to move on for good. Grace couldn’t tell Emma because Emma would cry with her and feel sorry for her. She knew deep down that Pedro wouldn’t show her pity but support and that was just what she needed.

“Tom and I had been together for a while and we had even been engaged for longer than we dated. There was always something that got in the way. Either it was him off filming something or it was me filming something else. We kept putting the wedding date off but the sad part is that I think we could’ve gotten married sooner if we really wanted to. Eventually we did get married but it felt more like something we had to do than what we wanted.” She paused before looking directly at Pedro. “Then I found out I was pregnant.”

Pedro’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at the fragile looking blonde in his arms. He wasn’t sure what Grace was going to tell him when she reluctantly decided to pour her heart out to him but it certainly wasn’t this. A million questions flooded his mind as he stared at her. Grace… pregnant? It was hard to imagine but he thought he could picture her with a round stomach looking out the window as she subconsciously rubbed the small bump. It filled him with some resentment to imagine Tom in that scenario. Something else hit him… Where was the baby? This had most likely happened at least over a year ago. He had never heard word through the media that Grace Gallagher had ever had a child. He was sure that the child would have been brought up during the midst of her and Tom’s divorce but he couldn’t remember a child ever being mentioned not that he paid much attention to the media anyways.

“When we found out that I was pregnant Tom decided that it would be the opportune moment to finally have the wedding. Mostly because my mother’s side of the family was a little touchy about having a child out of wedlock…being Catholic and all.” Another tear silently streamed down her face as she got a faraway look in her eyes. “The pregnancy took us by surprise but it was a nice surprise. I wasn’t sure about whether I really wanted to marry him or not but I thought the baby was a sign. The thing with Tom is that I don’t think I ever was sure about him which is why things moved so slow between us.”

“The baby was a boy by the way. We were going to name him William Harrison. William because his father’s middle name was William and Harrison because… Well, I never knew why I wanted to name him that except that I just really loved that name I suppose. It was a lovely name for a little baby boy.” Grace told him, her throat started to feel very thick as she struggled to continue with what she was about to say next. “We got married in June… It was a nice wedding I suppose maybe a little too extravagant but it was nice. The honeymoon trip ended and I came back to London planning to spend the rest of my pregnancy resting and taking a break from work. Tom was filming a movie half way across the world so I was alone.” Pedro stroked her hair gently and held her tighter because he had a feeling that he knew what she was about to say. It was breaking his heart to hear her painful memories but he also knew that he just had to make it better for her.

“I had just come back from visiting a friend and the elevator was out so I had to walk up the stairs to our flat. The stairs had begun to become harder and harder for me to climb it seemed. I don’t really know what happened but I must have lost my balance… or slipped on something because the next thing I knew is that I was falling.” Grace had lost her cool by this point, almost sobbing into Pedro’s chest as she struggled to remember what had happened. Pedro felt a tear of his own escape his eyes as he held onto her, stroking her back in comfort. Pedro felt helpless as she cried in his arms so he did all that he could do in comforting her. “I woke up in the hospital a day later. My brother usually stopped into to check on me so he must have found me on stairs or something. I don’t really know since I was unconscious at the time.” Grace struggled to calm herself as she continued to recount the horrors of her past.

“Everything in the hospital went by in a blur except for Tom. All I can remember is the look of pure anguish and devastation on his face when I woke up. I don’t think I had ever seen him look so beaten down in all the years that I had known him.” Grace knew that for as long as she lived she would never forget that look on Tom’s face. Bright and happy Tom who never let anything or anyone get him down but in that moment he looked so lost and hurt. He didn’t need to tell her that they lost William because it was so clearly written on his face. “In a way I’m glad everything went by in a blur because I don’t want to remember any of it.” Grace swallowed, trying to figure out how she was going to get the rest out now that she had gotten through the hard part.

“Things were never the same after that. I think we blamed each other for the miscarriage. I blamed him for not being there and he blamed me for not being careful enough. I got to a point where whenever I looked at him all I could be reminded of was William… what could have been but now what could never be.” She was surprised by how quiet Pedro was being through all this but she realized that he was just listening to her. He was giving her his full undivided attention and she didn’t think anyone had ever been so respectful of her that they let her tell her side of the story without any interruptions. Her quiet nature had always encouraged people to walk all over her. She was thankful for his momentary silence since she knew if she stopped then she may not be able to finish getting this off her chest.“It just became too much and I threw myself back into work which also meant staying away from Tom.” Grace looked down at her hands as she thought back to how she and Tom fell apart.

“I wanted him to chase after me deep down and I wanted it to work out but we were just so worn out by that point. He asked for the divorce in May and I should’ve known something was up but I ignored it. I was in denial and thought that we could make things work.” She sighed as she thought about those now famous pictures that had been her wake up call. “When those pictures appeared I knew that I had to let him go. It hurt that he would go behind my back like that with my best friend and hurt just as much to know that my best friend had gone behind my back with my husband but Tom and I were over way before then.” Grace looked back up at Pedro to see that his gaze didn’t contain pity like how must might look at her but instead concern, pain, and something else that wasn’t recognizable to her.

“I’m not this good person you think I am, Pedro, I’m really fucked up.” Pedro stared down at her and noticed how fearful she looked in that moment. Of what? What did she have to be so afraid of? He was a little surprised to hear her swear since he didn’t think he heard her say anything vulgar in all the time he had known her. No, she left that to him. This woman in front of him had been through so much, way more than she deserved and he was determined that she would never think less of herself because of that. None of that made her a bad person. She hadn’t done anything wrong and had no reason to feel guilty or ashamed of herself. He needed to convey that to her so he held her closer to himself, not caring if his shirt was wet from her tears. Grace was far more important to him.

“No, you’re not. You’re an impossibly strong woman who’s had bad shit happen to them but that does not make you a bad person. This way far beyond your control… You couldn’t help that. You’re the kindest, most genuine person I know and you’re the last person that deserved something like this. You deserve the world and everything in it, Grace.” Pedro told her firmly and Grace felt slightly breathless from his proclamation.

“You scare me.” She told him. Pedro gave her a confused look, looking slightly bewildered and hurt at the same time.

“What?” Grace just looked back at him with a wide eyed look.

“You have the potential to really hurt me and I don’t think that I could bare anymore pain.” Pedro stared back at her but understood her more now. Why she had been so restrained in all the time he had spent flirting with her. It wasn’t that she didn’t reciprocate those feelings it was because she was afraid that he would hurt her the same way Tom hurt her. Grace was terrified that she would be abandoned again in her time of need but Pedro would be damned if he let that happen. That idiot had let Grace get away but Pedro sure as hell wasn’t going to let the same fate happen to him. No, he wouldn’t make the same mistakes Tom did because he wasn’t stupid enough to not realize what he had when he had it.

“I can’t guarantee that I won’t ever be an asshole but I can promise you that I will never leave you for as long as you’ll have me.” Grace was taken back by the sincerity in his eyes but she was still doubtful about that. Promises were made to be broken, weren’t they? This all felt so fast. She had just met Pedro three weeks ago but already it felt like she had known him for years. It slightly scared her but it also exhilarated Grace at the same time. Part of her wanted to question why they were moving this fast since they hadn’t really even been out on an official date yet but Grace knew why. They were already in a relationship by most people’s standards. A lot of people on set already assumed that the two were a couple and didn’t seem to think anything of it. It was an unspoken sort of thing but deep down it was still there between them despite Pedro’s persistence and Grace’s stubbornness.

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, Pedro. The media is relentless and once we’re seen in public together it’ll be hell. It wasn’t always like this but once I involved myself with Taylor… well that kind of throws all privacy out the window especially if you’re in a situation like this one with her.” Pedro shrugged as if he could give a shit about the media.

“Grace, I wouldn’t be here with you right now if the media meant anything to me. I don’t give a fuck about what they say or do. I’m not going to hide the way I feel about you. We’re going to go out and we’re going to do things. People can say what they want but in the end my main concern is you.” And there it was. Grace had given Pedro his chance to leave while he still could… before either one of them got hurt but he didn’t budge. He convinced her that he wanted something more with her than what they already had. Grace hadn’t been sure of his true feelings towards her but spending the past couple of hours in the hotel room with him she now knew for sure and he knew where she stood in her feelings towards him. Grace had just poured her heart out to him and that meant something for the usually reserved blonde. Grace rested her head against his shoulder as she relaxed back into him and he resumed stroking her hair.

“I’m scared.” Grace said quietly.

“I know but we’ll just take it day by day and when you’re ready you can dump my sorry ass.” He joked lightly and Grace scoffed. It was so like him to always make such vulgar jokes like that. As if she could ever begin to think about leaving him. Grace had become so accustomed to Pedro’s presence in her life that she didn’t think she could ever imagine a life where he wasn’t there. He had only been in her life for three weeks but somehow it felt like he had been there with her for much longer. She couldn’t believe that it was only a month ago when she was living in New York by herself. No Emma, No LA, and definitely no Pedro. It was strange the way things turned out.

“Don’t say things like that, Pedro.” She told him and he just smirked before the moment faded, making him decide to change the subject.

“How about later this week we go out somewhere?” Pedro suggested and Grace turned to look at him. She analyzed the look on his face and wondered how they shifted into this conversation so easily. She had been adamant about secluding herself but that went out the door the moment he held her in his arms. Grace had intended to really try and distance herself but this night took a different turn than what she had originally anticipated.

“Like a date?” Pedro gave her a look.

“No, like a business meeting. Of course a date.” Grace smiled at his blatant sarcasm. She found it endearing and hilarious at the same time.

“Well, Emma is leaving Wednesday so maybe after then.” Pedro nodded.

“Friday then?"

“Friday.” She confirmed and Pedro felt a rush of relief wash over him. He didn’t know why he had been so nervous. Maybe it was because he was almost sure that Grace didn’t want anything to do with him… at least not in that way. He was delightfully surprised to see that he was wrong. He allowed himself to relish in the fact that Grace was in his arms. Her blonde hair smelt sweetly of strawberries and he wondered what sort of shampoo she used. They had never been this close before yet it felt like they were meant to be like this all along.

“I’m sorry about William, Grace, I really am.” Pedro told her quietly, wanting to express his condolences to her. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what losing a child was like. It didn’t matter that William hadn’t been brought into this world yet. Grace was still a mother who had lost her child. The blonde actress gave him a thoughtful look.

“Sometimes I wonder what he would’ve looked like… what his first word would’ve been.” Grace remarked but not shedding anymore tears. Most likely because she was all out of tears for the moment. Pedro just looked at her intensely, sincerity in his brown eyes.

“He would’ve been beautiful, Grace… just like you.” Grace smiled at the thought before her smile faded.

“Is it odd to miss someone you never met? I know that I loved him with all my heart but I never even got the chance to meet him.” Pedro shook his head at her.

“You’re his mother. It doesn’t matter that he never made it into this world… you have every right to miss your child. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.” Pedro told her determinedly and Grace nodded, a little taken back by the seriousness in his voice. She snuggled back into his chest.

“Thank you, Pedro… thank you for listening.” Grace replied to that, not knowing what else to say.

“You can tell me anything, princess.” Pedro said, using that ridiculous nickname again. Grace immediately felt her spirits being lifted by that stupid nickname. If anyone else would’ve called her that she would have been repulsed but for some reason she couldn’t be mad at Pedro for calling her that.

“I already told you that I’m not a princess.” She told him, trying to sound annoyed but Pedro only smirked at her.

“And I already told you that you’re my princess.” Grace blushed and tried to hide her reddening face from Pedro but she knew he saw her bashfulness anyways. She knew that Pedro had the potential to hurt her but she also knew that he could be very good for her. He pushed and challenged her in a way no one ever had and maybe that was a good thing. All Grace knew for sure was that for the first time in a long time she felt safe but that was when she was in Pedro’s arms. Her date with Pedro should’ve terrified her but it didn’t seem to… at least not in the way she thought it would. No, she felt a strange sort of giddiness and was already looking forward to Friday. Things were moving fast between her and Pedro but it felt more exciting than it did terrifying. It was what she had been searching for all those years ago when she first met Tom but maybe the reason she hadn’t found it then wasn’t because she was young and naïve… maybe it was because Tom was the wrong person for her. This was all so new to her so she couldn’t be sure if Pedro was the right person for her but she knew that there was a strong chance that he was. Maybe she could have what her mother and father had after all with their ‘Roman Holiday’ sort of romance. Grace could very well be Audrey Hepburn and Pedro could be her Gregory Peck.

Life wasn’t a fairytale, Grace knew that, but maybe with Pedro she could come close.