Roma’s birthday party (Deyse)

The set decoration for the next episode was perfect to hide the surprise the cast had prepared for Roma and, in fact, the actress didn’t suspect that a birthday party was going to happen on that Friday night, when the filming was over. Of course everybody at the set congratulated her when she arrived, as "pretending no one knows about the special day would sound suspicious", according to John, her dearest friend.

And of course he and Della, Roma’s 2 best friends, had been the ones to organise everything, counting with the collaboration of other members of the cast and crew. Strategically, the blond actor wouldn’t be in the scenes on that day, as he would be responsible for bringing little Reilly and Julie, Reilly’s nanny, and, of course, for picking the cake at the nearest bakery.

"Cut! Ok, it’s enough for today, guys!" the director announced, "Roma, once more, happy birthday, we all love you!"

"Thank you, Mark, thank all of you! I love you very much, too!" the actress replied, smiling cheerfully and then, went to her room. But what they couldn’t notice was the little bit of sadness inside her brown eyes, as if she was disappointed with something.

And, in fact, she was. John’s absence on such a special day brought a sensation of great emptiness inside her heart. He was her dearest friend, the one who had always been by her side in the most important moments of her life in the last 7 years, whether they were happy or sad. He had been the one to hold her and put her heart at ease just by telling her he would be there for her no matter what.

The actress entered her room and sat on a chair, "Why am I so upset? He doesn’t even have to be here today, after all it’s his day off! And of course he’ll call me at night..." she thought, and sighed deeply.

Suddenly, a light knock on the door took her out of her reverie, "Come in!" she replied, without even turning her head to see who had just arrived.

"Excuse me, may I come in, Ms Downey?"

That voice, however, made her heart jump to her throat and she quickly turned and stood up, "Johnny!"

The broad smile upon her face was more than an invitation for him to come and he wasted no time in walking over to her, "Why are you surprised? Did you think I wouldn’t give you a hug and a kiss on your birthday?" he said, giving her a present box and holding her tightly in his arms a second later.

"You should be resting in your house, you didn’t have to work today..." she replied, never letting go of his warm embrace.

"And who told you I came here to work? As I said, I came here to hold you and kiss you!" by saying that, he gently pulled away and grabbed her face with both hands, his eyes shining with love for her. Then, he placed a long, loving kiss on her forehead, "Happy birthday, honey. May God bless you always."

"Thank you, John." She answered back, looking straight into his green eyes, with the same tenderness and enjoying the feeling of his thumbs rubbing her temples, "I’m so happy that you’re here..."

"And how could I not be?" he spoke, contemplating her beautiful features; their faces inches from each other. All of a sudden, a wave of great happiness invaded their hearts and both felt butterflies in their stomachs for being so close. Their steady look made their heartbeat accelerate and John gently stroked her cheek, "In fact, there’s no other place I’d rather be..."

His voice was nearly a whisper and, now looking at her rosy lips, he leaned forward. A second later, though, an abrupt knock on the door caused them to almost jump, "Roma, Mark needs you on the set again, there’s something wrong with the last scene you’ve just filmed..." the director’s assistant said, without even realising what she had just interrupted.

A little shaken by what had almost happened and by the brusque way it had been interrupted, they pulled away from each other’s embrace and she looked at the present box, without really knowing what to do or to say.

"You can open it later, it’s better go and see what Mark wants, he’s been pretty antsy these days, we’d better not leave him waiting!" John spoke, placing his hand over her shoulder to guide her out of the room.

*

"Happy birthday, mommy!" Reilly shouted and was the very first to jump into Roma’s arms. Astonished, the actress heard all her co-workers congratulate and hug her, wishing her happiness on that special occasion. Della and John backed away for some minutes, as watching their dearest friend so happy was also a great joy to them. Only then, they could hold Roma one more time.

"You didn’t have to..." she said, with emotion in her sparkling brown eyes.

"Of course we had to, baby! That’s the least we could do for someone we love so much, isn’t it, Johnny?" Della spoke, as John moved to hug Roma once more.

"Yes..." he held her tightly and, although it was unnoticed to everyone in the set, the feeling of John’s arms around her made the Irish actress’s heart beat faster. Hesitantly, as he too treasured every moment together with her, John pulled away and brushed a gentle kiss on her cheek, "... and we wouldn’t miss the smile upon this pretty face of yours for anything in the world!"

She looked at him with her eyes filled with a mix of gratitude and love.

"Uncle Johnny said he loves making you happy!" Reilly spoke, not missing the expression on both adult’s faces.

"Well, uncle Johnny is right, sweetheart. I’m very happy!"

"You really love my mommy, don’t you, uncle Johnny?"

Although that direct question was totally unexpected and made him blush, the actor managed a nervous smile and, after taking a deep breath, he nodded his head, "You can be sure I do, sweetie!"

"Yay!" Reilly celebrated, while the couple exchanged another glance and John placed a kiss on the top of Roma’s head.

*

The few hours the party lasted were really pleasant ones and went by so fast that it was soon time to go home. After leaving Julie, Reilly’s nanny, at her house, John parked his car in front of Roma’s house. They got out of the vehicle and he reached out to the back seat and took a sleeping Reilly in his arms.

"Thank you, Johnny!" Roma was about to take the girl but he stopped her,

"It’s ok, I’ll carry her."

The look of gratitude and love in the actress’ eyes went straight to his heart and he smiled, "Let’s go?"

"Yes," she replied, slightly blushed for staring at him the way she did.

They entered the house and John followed Roma upstairs, where Reilly’s bedroom was. He carefully placed the little girl in her bed and Roma took her tiny pink tennis shoes off. Then, he helped her to cover her daughter with a warm blanket. And when they kissed Reilly goodnight, something curious and rather cute happened: half sleeping, she wrapped her little arms around John’s neck and spoke, in a very low voice, "Don’t go away, uncle Johnny... stay with mommy and me..."

Both actors looked at each other surprised and smiled. John leaned forward and stroked her curly hair, "I’ll always be with your mom and you, sweetie! always," he whispered in her ear.

"K..." was her reply, and then she fell into a deep sleep. Completely enchanted with the love her best friend showed towards her daughter, Roma took John’s hand and squeezed it, without saying a single word.

The blond actor took her hand into his lips and placed a tender kiss on it, "Let’s go downstairs?"

"Yes..."

They headed to the living room with a disturbing silence between them and then finally looked at each other,

"I guess..."

"I’m going to..." the actor and actress said, at the same time, and then John took a deep breath and continued to speak, "I guess I’d better go, it’s too late and I know you’re tired..."

"Oh... please, stay just a little more, I couldn’t even open my presents; I want to open your present..." Roma replied, an urgent and pleading tone in her voice.

"Ok..." he nodded his head, with a slight smile, secretly happy to stay a bit more and, most importantly, glad that she had asked him to stay.

Then, she walked over up to the sofa and looked inside the bag she had brought with all the presents her co-workers had given her, including John’s. He watched in silence as she unwrapped the paper and found out a small velvet box. Then, quickly looking up at him and smiling, she opened the box and took a gorgeous gold bracelet in her hands.

"John! It’s beautiful!" the actress exclaimed, her mouth dropped open at how delicate the jewel was.

John’s smile became immediately wider with her reaction, "I’m glad you like it..."

"Like it? I love it, it’s gorgeous!"

He quickly sat down beside her, "Here, let me put it for you..."

"Thank you, Johnny..." she said, after he had clasped the bracelet around her wrist.

John placed some strands of hair behind her ear and softly stroked her cheek, "You’re more than welcome, sweetie..."

Not thinking about what she was doing, Roma suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, and it took him less than a second to hold her back, tenderly running his fingers through her hair. A single tear made its way down Roma’s cheek and, burying her face into his shoulder, she whispered,

"Your friendship is the best present I ever got..."

Taking a deep breath, as if gathering all the courage he had, John pulled away just enough to look into her eyes, "What if I told you that I have more than friendship to offer to you, Roma?... What... What if I told you that what I really mean to give you, now and always, is... is my love?"

A mix of joy and surprise filled her heart and her soul as she heard those words and her brown eyes sparkled with fresh tears. Although they had almost kissed earlier and despite the tender looks they had been exchanging in the last few months, she wasn’t still all too sure of his feelings for her. All the actress knew was that, a few months earlier, she had found herself completely in love with the one who had been her best friend for nearly 8 years. And now, hearing him confess that he too shared the same feelings for her was like a dream to come true.

But, as soon as he saw her tears, John thought the worst and lowered his eyes, "I’m... I’m sorry, Roma... I shouldn’t have told you anything, I..."

The actress placed her fingers against his lips to silence him and then smiled - a content and joyful smile, "You don’t have anything to be sorry for... because... because I love you too, John. So much and so deeply... I never thought I could love anyone like this..."

Relief filled his soul when he heard those words and he also smiled, "God, I can’t believe it I’ve just heard that from you!"

"And I have to confess that, upstairs, Reilly told you everything I wanted to tell you myself. I don’t think I could ever be able to stay away from you..."

He grabbed her face with his both hands and kissed the tip of her nose. Then, their faces inched closer and finally their lips met, in a sweet and tender kiss.

"... And I’ll repeat everything I told Reilly a few minutes ago... You’ll always have me, Roma... I love you with everything that I am," John said, after they had pulled away, still holding her face and gently brushing his thumps against her temples, "You’ve been in my heart and in my thoughts for 8 years now and I can say that all this love I’ve kept inside me has grown every single day and I know that it is never ever going to finish."

Gently, Roma placed the palm of her hand on his cheek, "My heart belongs to you, John. Forever."

They kissed once more and then held onto each other tightly, "Now I really don’t want you to go..." the actress spoke, half joking, half sad, as it was already 1 o’clock in the morning.

He chuckled, "Now I don’t really want to go, although I have to, it’s late and you’re tired..."

"You don’t have to! You’ll stay right here with Reilly and me! You know your room is always ready, John. Besides, I don’t want you going around this late in the streets, it can be dangerous!"

Finding her worry rather adorable, he lay tender kisses on her forehead, cheeks, nose and finally on her lips, "Roma, you’re so precious to me..."

"No, you are precious to me, Mr Dye. That’s why I want to keep you safe right here in my arms!" he replied, causing him to laugh.

"There’s no other place in the world I’d rather be..." he kissed her cheek and wrapped his arms around her again, "Hey, I guess I’ve also told you that today! Right before Cynthia interrupted me..."

Slightly blushed, the actress giggled, "Well, I’m glad that she did, cause you’re staying with us until tomorrow now!"

"Yes, but at the exact moment she knocked on the door I had something else to tell you; something really important!" he announced, somewhat seriously.

Noticing the solemn tone in his voice, she pulled away "What?"

"This..." he leaned over and, once more, brushed a long loving kiss in her lips, definitely sealing all the great love they both felt for each other, which, from that moment on, they didn’t have to hide from each other anymore.

THE END