by Emma Lea
“Step back ladies,” she said, “And I use the term loosely because you are all acting like a pack of hyenas. Give the man some space, would you?”
There was grumbling in the crowd and a renewed push towards him, but she squeezed the horn again, longer this time and the crowd once again stopped.
“If you do not do as you are told you will be forcefully ejected from the premises and banned for life.”
“Yeah?” someone called form the crowd, “Are you going to do the ejecting?”
Millie smiled, “No, but they will,” she said and pointed behind the crowd. Heads swivelled to see a couple of cops and a few burly looking men in a range of clothes from construction, fireman and local security to farmhand and mechanic. For a moment he was struck by the weird resemblance to the Village People, albeit an Australian version. The song YMCA started playing in his head as he watched the women step back from him giving him room to breathe. That was when he noticed the flashing cameras of the paparazzi and the news cameras all recording the mob. He looked around to try and find Georgie and caught Millie’s eye. She shook her head in what he hoped was silent communication for ‘she’s not here’ and not ‘she doesn’t want to see you’.
“Okay people!” Millie yelled, all eyes snapping to her, “We’re going to do this nice and easy. You are going to line up in an orderly fashion and we are going to let Mr. Faulkes have a seat where he will be delighted to sign your autographs.” The crowd started to move and pushing and shoving resumed. “If things get out of hand and you all can’t act like ladies, I’ll have these nice men escort you out without your autograph and your five seconds of Connor Faulkes, got it?”
The crowd settled and formed some semblance of a line while Connor was ushered to a table in the cafe and given a bottle of water. He grabbed Millie’s arm before she could abandon him and pulled her down so he could talk to her without the whole shop overhearing.
“Where is she? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine and she’s hiding in her apartment upstairs.”
He felt a moment of relief and then consternation. He wanted her here, where he could see her, where he could make sure she was okay with his own two eyes. But she’d rabbited like the scared little bunny she was, back into her hiddey hole and he wondered whether he’d ever be able to coax her out again. Their perfect little idyll, the cocoon that they had been in where the rest of the world couldn’t interfere, had been invaded by fans and press. He just wanted more time with her, time to cement what had already been happening between them, to make it stronger to withstand the onslaught of what his real life was like. He could already feel the gossamer threads tearing under the pressure of what being with him would be like and he only wished that he had been able to keep it all at bay for just a little bit longer. But it didn’t appear that he was going to get his wish.
12
Georgie found herself sitting in stunned silence on her couch wondering what had just happened. Was Connor really downstairs being mobbed by women who had driven who knew how many kilometres just to see him? Was this his reality?
She huffed out a breath. Her life here in Oxley Crossing was quiet and undisturbed and she liked it that way. This was her real life. But it wasn't Connor’s. Connor’s real life was like a nightmare to her. Could he even walk down the street without attracting all that attention? How did he live his normal life?
She knew now they had been lucky. The town was obviously used to him being here and didn’t get all star-struck and stupid when they saw him, but it was obviously not the norm for him. Those women down there had been rabid with no thought for life or limb in their attempt to get close to him.
He could have had any one of them with just a quirk of his lips.
Her breath whooshed out of her. They hadn't made any commitments to each other, but after last night and then this morning when he'd just held her as she cried, she felt like they were heading somewhere, somewhere she had never ever expected to go with him. But was that what he wanted or was she just a convenient body? Was their relationship built solely on proximity?
Looking down at herself in her jeans and t-shirt she huffed out a laugh. What had he ever seen in her anyway? She was nothing like those other women with their tiny little skirts and shorts and their mile-long legs. Never before had she felt so frumpy. She knew she was different and she mostly liked her own quirky style, but in the face of all that glamour she felt decidedly out-cast and those women weren't even the beautiful celebrities that Connor normally associated with.
Wow. He must have been really slumming it with her. She hadn't seen it before, hadn't really had anything to compare it with, but now, now it stood out in stark relief. She was a kitten compared to those cougars and cheetahs and panthers down there.
For the first time in her life she wished she was different. Georgie had always been content to march to her own drum. In her eyes, her differences had set her apart and she had leaned into them, not wanting to just be part of the herd. She strived to be her authentic self. She had never really fit anywhere, even with her own parents and instead of letting that eat away at her, she had let it build her up. She was an individual and she happily flaunted it. She had grown up in such a sterile environment where rules were meant to be followed and social conventions adhered to. What had started out as a way to defy her parents had morphed into something that she wore almost like an armour. The world was not a safe place for people who were different and she had set out to make her life as different as possible in protest. But now, now when her heart was on the line, she wished she hadn't been so ferociously independent.
Why hadn't she learned to wear heels and makeup and why hadn't she taken more interest in fashion and hairstyles? If she had, she may have a chance to keep Connor.
Whoa. Was that what she wanted? Did she really want a real relationship with Connor? Even after seeing that mess downstairs? Her head told her no, no she did not want that aggravation in her life. She did not want her privacy to be invaded and her picture to be taken by paparazzi and plastered all over the Internet. But her heart. Her heart told her something different. She was falling for Connor, and it wasn't just the childish crush she'd had on him for ages. Getting to know the real Connor had sparked something inside her. Her crush paled in comparison to her feelings towards him now and after seeing what happened today, it was scaring the bejeezus out of her. There was no way he could feel the same about her. It was inconceivable.
Her lips quirked up in a rueful smile at the line from ‘The Princess Bride’ but then they fell again. Her nerdy movie references and quirky shirts were just more reasons why Connor would never think about her the way she thought about him. They were far too different, living completely incompatible lives. There was no hope for them as a couple, even if Connor did return her feelings. Was he supposed to give up his life as a movie star to come and live in Oxley Crossing? Or would he expect her to give up her shop and follow him around the world? Whatever way she looked at it, someone always lost which only proved her point. There could be no Connor & Georgie - or Corgie as the entertainment media were bound to nickname them.
“Ugh!” Georgie yelled as she stood and shook herself out. She was driving herself crazy sitting here and making up scenarios that probably had no bearing on reality. She needed to distract herself.
Georgie grabbed her laptop and flipped open the lid intending to search for a new book to read. Her Facebook page was open and she had to look twice at the number of notifications she had. That couldn't possibly be right. Georgie clicked on the little icon and the list of mentions of her and posts on her page was ridiculous. And they all had to do with Connor.
How could this be happening so fast? She'd barely even come to terms with the fact that she'd gone out on a date with him and now the whole world knew and were commenting on it. The hashtag #connorandgeorgie was trending and there seemed to be a whole lot more photos of the two of them coming to light.
She slapped the lid of her laptop shut a
nd escaped to her bed where she burrowed under the covers and determined that she would never leave the safety of her own apartment ever again.
Millie eventually managed to force everyone out of the shop and then closed and locked the doors. Women and teenagers still had their faces pressed up against the glass and Connor felt like he was in a giant fishbowl. It had never been this bad in the city or where he lived in the Northern Beaches. He supposed it was because seeing a celebrity in those places was a little more commonplace, unlike seeing one in a small country town like Oxley Crossing.
It didn't make it any easier to deal with, though. Of course he loved his fans, but being mobbed like that was unacceptable. Yes, he was an actor, but he was still a human being. Didn't he deserve the simple right of respect for personal space? The hoard of women in the book shop had pulled out pieces of his hair and scratched his arms. One over-enthusiastic fan had even torn his t-shirt in attempts to get him to bare his abs so she could have a photo and touch them. If a man had tried to do that to a woman, he would have been arrested on the spot, but these women thought it was their right.
He huffed out a sigh and dropped his head back, closing his eyes and trying to find his calm. Connor was a pretty easy going guy most of the time. He was very focused when he was working, but in his everyday life he took things in stride. Today had severely pushed his boundaries and he felt a little frayed around the edges. What he really needed was to see Georgie, to hold her in his arms and just be with her. They didn't even have to talk. Just being in her orbit was enough to calm him and restore his good mood.
“How you holding up, slugger?” Millie asked, sitting opposite him at the table.
“That was insane,” he replied with a shake of his head, “I think I need to pay my security team more money if that's what they protect him from.”
“Some of those women were crazy,” Millie said, “I've never seen the like, not even at the annual Boxing Day sales. Seriously, those women were certifiable.”
“Thanks for taking charge,” he said, “You saved the day.”
She blew on her nails and shined them on her shirt. “All in a day’s work,” she said with a grin for him.
“How'd you get all those guys here so fast?”
“I have four brothers,” she said, “One’s a cop, one’s a firefighter, one has a mechanic shop and the other one works construction. I sent out an SOS, they gathered a few friends and voilà.”
“Tell them thanks from me, please.”
“Sure,” she stood and stretched, “Now you need to go and rescue Georgie.”
“Rescue her?”
“Yep,” she said with a nod, “because she is going to be upstairs over-analysing what happened today and driving herself crazy with the fact that you're a big time movie star and she's just a girl in a book shop.”
He ran his hands through his hair. “God, what a mess.”
“Yep. So go and fix it.”
“Right,” he said, “And how do you propose I do that?”
“Just go to her, show her that all this doesn't mean anything to you.”
“It doesn't,” he said, “I need you to know that I don't go out of my way looking for this.”
She smiled at him and for the first time he thought she might actually like him instead of just tolerate him for the sake of Georgie.
“I know,” she said, “You impressed me today, so go and make it right with Georgie.”
He stood from the chair and headed to the back of the shop, away from the prying eyes, and up the back staircase to Georgie’s flat. He knocked on the door and waited, but he couldn't hear any sound coming inside, so he knocked again.
“Georgie,” he said, “It's me, Connor. Can I come in?”
Still no sound and he wondered if maybe she had gotten in her car and just driven away from the chaos.
“Georgiana? Are you there?”
A thump was his answer and he waited to hear whether she would come and answer the door. When he didn't hear footsteps he knocked again.
“Come on Georgie, I know you're in there. Just let me in, I need to see you to make sure you're okay. I'm worried about you. Please let me in.”
There was no answer from inside and he waited, hoping she would let him in. The longer he waited the more worried he became. He lifted his hand to knock again when the door opened and there she stood, her eyes a little wild and her face pale.
“Thank god,” he said before pulling her into his chest and kissing her. She was stiff in his arms to start with, but when his lips met hers, she melted against him and relief rushed through him. He was worried that the melee below had frightened her away.
He backed her into her apartment, holding her close and kissing her mouth and her jaw and her neck. He kicked the door closed behind him and then just stood still, holding her to his chest and breathing her in. Her arms were around his waist and it just felt right to have her in his arms. It calmed him and the panic and anxiety he was feeling from first the crush of people and then from when she wouldn't open the door, was smoothed away by simply being in her presence.
She began to struggle, not violently, but letting him know she wanted to be free.
“Not yet,” he said, his voice rough, “I just need to hold you a little bit longer.”
She settled against him and the remaining tension in his shoulders and neck melted away. What would it be like to come home to this every night, to know that she would be here for him, that he could just hold her and let the stress of the day fade away? He'd never thought about getting married before. He always knew he would eventually, but he didn't think it would be for a long time yet. Now, though, standing here with Georgie in his arms, the rest of the world locked outside and just the two of them in this tiny little shoebox of an apartment, he imagined a life with her and it just felt… perfect.
“What was that, Connor?” Georgie asked, pulling away from him and going to sit on the couch. He felt the loss of her and followed, sitting close beside her so that he could be near enough to touch her.
“That has never happened to me before,” he said, “But then I've usually got security around me making sure it doesn't happen.”
Her eyes roamed over him, getting wide when she noticed the rips in his shirt and the scratches on my arms.
“They did this to you?”
He nodded, looking down at himself.
“That’s crazy,” she said and he felt her pulling away, if not physically then emotionally.
He reached out to take her hand, his fingers weaving through hers, anchoring her to him.
“It scared you,” he said.
“Well, yeah,” she replied, “They were like a pack of wild animals.”
“You know I'd never put you in any danger, right?” He needed her to understand that.
“That's not the point,” she said, getting up and pulling her hand away from his. “Your whole life is crazy.”
He stood too. “No,” he said walking over to stand behind her, “My whole life is not like that. That's only a very small part of it.”
“But you work all over the world. People line up for hours just to get a glimpse of you in real life. You date models and movie stars and women who are beautiful and graceful and—”
“Georgie,” he said cutting her off, “I assure you it's nothing like that.”
“Maybe not, but I know that your life is nothing like mine.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back into his chest, resting his head on top of hers. “That doesn't mean we can't make this work,” he said.
She relaxed into him for a moment and took a deep breath, but then stiffened and pulled away.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘this’?”
“Us,” he said, confused.
“There is no us, Connor.”
He clenched his hands and ground his teeth together as he tried to rein in his shifting emotions.
“I disagree,” he said, “There is something between us. Yes it's new
and yes we’re still discovering each other, but you can't tell me that there is no us.”
She whirled on him, her eyes flashing. “There can't be an us,” she said, “How would it even work? I can't leave Oxley Crossing and you can't walk away from your career. There’s just no way for this to work.”
He stepped into her personal space and wrapped his arms around her, dropping his mouth to hers in a searing kiss. When he lifted his head, the fire in her eyes had been replaced by something different and he knew she was feeling the same as him.
“I don't know the logistics,” he said, not letting her out of his arms, “And I can't promise you it will be plain sailing from here on out. What I can tell you is that I am falling for you and I want us to work this out. I want you in my life Georgie.”
Her eyes were saucers as she looked up at him. “You're falling for me?” The disbelief was plain in the hushed timbre of her voice.
“Yes,” he said, his voice husky, “Please tell me you feel the same.”
It was an odd feeling for him, the vulnerability that came with laying his feelings bare. Connor had never been afraid of anything. He didn't get nervous or anxious about new experiences. But telling a woman how much he cared for her when he wasn't sure that she felt the same? That was frightening the life out of him.
“I do,” she said, resting her head on his chest, her words allowing him to breathe again. “But I still don't know how we are going to make it work.”
“We don't have to figure it all out now,” he said, “All we need to do is look at the next step. We’ll take it day by day, but you have to promise me something,” she looked up at him, “You have to promise me you won't run.”
He saw the fear flash across her face, but he didn't let go of her and he kept his own face open allowing her to see into him, to see the truth of how he felt about her. He may not have yet said the ‘L’ word, but it swirled around them, a palpable presence in the air.
“Okay,” she said softly.
