Meeting Prince Charming: A Sweet Movie Star Romance (Bookish Book Club 1)

by Emma Lea

He bent his head and kissed her sweetly, taking his time to memorise the way her lips felt under his. She was soft and sweet and fit in his arms like she was the missing piece in his life. When he came to Oxley Crossing to look after Gran, he never in a million years thought he would find the one person who could fill that hole in his life.

  When he broke the kiss he could tell that Georgie was calmer, that the nervous energy that had been running through her before was gone. He knew he had to broach the next tough subject.

  “So, what do you want me to tell the media?” he asked, and hated himself for the way she stiffened again.

  “Why do we have to tell them anything?”

  “If we say nothing then they are going to hound us and follow us around trying to find out what is going on.”

  “Surely we don't have to say anything now,” she said.

  He dropped his hands from her waist to her hands and pulled her towards the front windows that overlooked the street.

  “Look,” he said.

  She looked out the window and gasped. Below them was a crowd of people. Some of them were women from earlier, but the majority of the crowd was paparazzi and reporters.

  She stepped back, her face paling and her hand going to cover her mouth.

  “Don't panic—”

  “Don't tell me not to panic,” she said, “I am being held hostage in my own home.”

  “I know it looks bad right now—”

  “Connor there are cameras and microphones and talking heads down there just waiting to pounce as soon as one of us leaves the building. Please stop understating the situation.”

  “They just want a statement from me and then they will go away.”

  She scoffed.

  “Okay, they might not leave straight away, but they will eventually as long as I give them something. So what is it going to be? Will I go out there and tell them you're my girlfriend or do I tell them we’re just friends?”

  “You want me to be your girlfriend?”

  He rolled his eyes as he pulled her into another hug. “What do you think I've been saying for the last half an hour? I'm falling for you, I want you in my life. Yes, I want you to be my girlfriend.”

  She burrowed into his chest and he held her, letting her think through the next step and loving the fact that she wasn't pulling away, wasn't running, but was actually seeking comfort from him.

  “I want to be your girlfriend,” she murmured into his chest, “But I don't think I'm ready for the world to know.”

  “Okay,” he said, sighing with relief, “okay.”

  13

  Connor managed to escape from Georgie’s apartment via the back stairs, giving the slip to the press camped out front. He knew he had to face them and he would, but not until his team was assembled. He was waiting on Ike, his head of security, and Tina, his public relations manager, to arrive before he spoke to the media. He didn't want to do a press conference, especially when there wasn't anything to tell. Georgie didn't want to go public with their burgeoning relationship and neither did he. Not because he didn't want the world to know about her and how he felt about her, but because he didn't want them and their big muddy feet to sully what was, at the moment, pure and beautiful. As soon as the press got involved, things were bound to change and the longer he could keep that from happening, the better.

  A large black car with tinted windows was waiting in the driveway of his grandmother’s house when he got home. He parked his truck on the street and headed into the house with a big grin. Ike met him at the door with a back-slapping man-hug.

  “Sorry to ruin your vacation,” Connor said to his friend. Ike had worked for him from the beginning, when his fame really started to impact his daily life. Connor had immediately liked him and they had become close friends.

  “No problem,” Ike replied, “I was getting sick of the peace and quiet anyway.”

  Ike was a big man with dark skin and islander heritage. He'd played rugby league in his younger days with a brief stint playing for the North Queensland Cowboys. Eventually the pressure had proved too much for him and after one too many drunk driving charges, he'd been dropped from the team. After some soul searching he'd found his way into personal security and had been working for Connor ever since. He was now a confirmed non-drinker who treated his body like a temple, which suited Connor to the ground. Ike was great company on some of his more adventurous pursuits and having him along soothed the worries of his management team.

  “I hope this girl is worth all this trouble,” Ike said as they walked into the kitchen.

  “She is,” Connor said with a grin, “She so is. I think she might be ‘the one.’”

  Ike looked at Connor with an unreadable expression. The other man had been there through all of Connor’s previous failed relationships (not that Connor was all that prolific in the romance department). He was usually too busy working, which was why most of his relationships broke down.

  “The one, huh?”

  “I know it's early days,” Connor said, “And I know there are going to be issues we have to sort out, but, yeah, I think Georgie is it for me.”

  After a moment of silence, Ike huffed out a breath, “Okay then. So what comes next?”

  “I'm waiting for Tina to get here so we can decide on the best way to handle the fallout. Georgie doesn't want the world to know that we are in a relationship, so we'll have to come up with a story that will satisfy them.”

  “Sounds like a plan. When do I get to meet her?”

  “I don't know, soon. It's probably best the she and I aren't seen together until the press decides there's no story and they leave. It really sucks, but it can be done. The mob that ambushed me today was scary and I'm worried about her safety as well as my own. Some of these women can get pretty aggressive and I'd hate for her to get mixed up in it, so I'll need you to look out for her too.”

  “Sure,” Ike said, nodding.

  “She comes here for a weekly Book Club meeting, which isn't until Wednesday. I'm hoping everything will be sorted by then.”

  “You only have another week here anyway,” Ike added, “The press will most likely follow you when you leave.”

  “Yeah, I hope so.”

  A knock at the door interrupted them and Connor got up to answer it. Tina waited on the other side, a tiny woman with a bleach blonde pixie cut, sky high heels and tight leather pants.

  “You do get yourself in some sticky situations when I'm not around to look after you,” she said, foregoing the pleasantries to get down to business.

  “I was being nice to a fan, I didn't think it would come back and bite me like this.”

  Tina walked into the house and down to the kitchen. Both she and Ike had been there only a few times before, but Tina never forgot a detail.

  “Ike,” she said with a nod to the big man.

  “Tina,” he replied.

  “So give me the highlights.”

  “I met a girl. I like her. We're seeing each other. She doesn't want to tell anybody yet.”

  “A bit too late for that,” Tina said, “The photos of you two out on a date have gone viral.”

  Connor grimaced.

  “You're going to have to say something.”

  “I know,” he said standing up and pacing. He ran his hand through his hair and wished that he'd never stopped to give that woman a photo. “I don't want to make a big deal out of it, is there some way to play it down?”

  “Do you have something else to give them instead?”

  “I start filming ‘A Royal Engagement’ in a couple of weeks.”

  Tina waved the suggestion away. “That's not enough. They already have your production schedule. You need to give them something new, something juicy.”

  Connor bit his lip wondering if it was too early to spill the beans about his new project.

  “Spit it out,” Tina said.

  “I had a meeting with an independent film studio a couple of days ago. They want me to direct and produce a film wit
h them.”

  “An Arthouse indie film?” Tina asked.

  “Yeah, sort of. We want to get it into Cannes.”

  Tina nodded slowly, turning it over in her mind. “That's good,” she said, “That might work.”

  “So what? We do a press conference and announce it?”

  “Yes,” she said, “and you say nothing about the girl. When we open up for questions they'll ask you about her and you just tell them she's an old friend of the family or something innocuous and then move on. Don't over-explain anything, don't give them any detail. If you want them to forget about her then you have to pretend like she means nothing to you.”

  Connor’s gut clenched at her words, but he knew she was right. If the press got even a whiff of his feelings for Georgie, they wouldn't leave them alone. If he had any chance with Georgie then he had to get them to leave him alone.

  The press conference was set up for the next day. They decided to have it in front of the town hall - away from Georgie’s shop. Tina didn’t tell the media what the press conference was about and all assumed it would be for Connor to talk about his relationship status with the mystery blonde. Connor hadn’t seen Georgie since the day before, but he’d spoken to her on the phone and told her what the plan was. She seemed okay with it. He also spoke to the Indie film studio he’d met with and they were happy for him to share the news of the upcoming project. Now all that was left to do was to feed himself to the hounds.

  He wasn’t nervous. Well, maybe a little nervous, but he knew what he had to say. He had memorised it and gone over possible questions with Tina in order to prep so his answers sounded believable. He wanted them to back off of him and Georgie and just give them some space to get to know one another properly without the pressure of it happening in front of the entire population of the planet, but he couldn’t say that. If he even hinted that there was something between the two of them, the media would be all over it like a cheap suit.

  Connor smiled as he looked out at the surprisingly large crowd of press who had gathered. When had his life become so interesting to others that it garnered this much of a response? Had he been hiding his head in the sand when it came to his fame or had he just been protected from it?

  “Thank you all for coming,” he began, “As you all know, I begin filming my new movie in a couple of weeks, which I have been really looking forward to. Following that, I have another new project in the works. I’m going to be working with a local independent film studio where I am going to have an opportunity to be on the other side of the camera and try my hand at directing. The project has been written by a young script writer who has had a small measure of success for her independent films here in the Northern Tablelands and I am excited to be part of this next one.”

  Connor went on to talk about the film and when he was done he opened the floor up to questions. As expected, nobody asked about his debut into directing.

  “There has been a lot of speculation around the woman you've been seen spending time with. Is she your new love interest?”

  Connor smiled but all the while his gut was churning. “I met the woman in question through my Grandmother,” he said, “And she was nice enough to show me around so that I could check out some possible locations for shooting the new film.”

  “The two of you looked very cosy at dinner the other night.”

  Connor shrugged, using all of his acting ability to keep his face bland and his reactions hidden. “She's a very nice woman, but I hardly know her.”

  “Wasn't that her bookshop that you were in the other day when you signed autographs for your fans.”

  He nodded. “As I said, I met her through my grandmother who happens to be part of her Book Club. I went into the store to pick up a book for Gran who is laid up with a broken leg. The autograph signing was a spontaneous decision based on how many fans had turned out to see me.”

  “And what about the woman? Georgiana Danners is her name, isn't it?”

  Connor hadn't known her full name was Georgiana… he liked it.

  “I only know her as Georgie.”

  “So are you saying there is nothing going on between the two of you?”

  Connor used his movie star smile on the reporter who flushed. “I hardly know the woman,” he said, “We're barely friends, more just acquaintances. She was doing me a favour by showing me around, that's all there is to it.”

  “So will you be renewing your relationship with Laura Lovey when you start filming ‘A Royal Engagement?’ She is your co-star, isn't she?”

  “Laura and I work well together and we are great friends. It will be great to see her again and get reacquainted.”

  “Does Georgie know about you and Laura?”

  “As I said, Georgie and I are barely acquaintances.”

  “Will Laura be coming here to work on your indie film?”

  “We haven't discussed it.”

  “But it's a possibility? She is Australia’s favourite actress and the two of you together make your fans happy. We love seeing our two greatest exports together.”

  Connor’s lips felt brittle and his smile felt forced, was forced. He and Laura had parted friends, but he didn't think she'd appreciate being dragged into this. She had moved on and, from what he knew, was seeing somebody else. He hoped this didn't cause issues for her as well.

  “As I stated, I haven't spoken to Laura and I'm unsure whether her production schedule would have room for my new project. I do know our film doesn't have the budget for her. The plan is to use local talent and shine a light on what great, raw talent we have here, not only in the Northern Tablelands, but in Australia. I want to give young actors the chance to shine and that's what this film will be all about.”

  “Will you be seeing Georgie again after you leave here?”

  “No,” Connor said, although it broke his heart to do so, “There is nothing of consequence between us.”

  14

  “There is nothing of consequence between us.”

  Those words cut through her like a hot knife through butter. She knew that she had told him to downplay what was going on between them, but to be so cut and dry about it? To completely deny that they were even friends? That hurt. And what was all that crap about Laura Lovey?

  Georgie shut her laptop and lay back on her bed. She didn't know what to feel, but the overwhelming sense of being betrayed was foremost in her heart. He was just doing what she asked, but he did it so convincingly. Watching him tell the world entertainment media that she was ‘nothing of consequence’ hurt, hurt more than she thought it would.

  When she asked him to keep their relationship a secret, she thought he might go with the ‘old family friend’ angle. At least then she could have had some importance in his life, but to be made out to be nothing but a local guide and friend of his grandmother was demoralising. Hearing him barely acknowledge her existence brought up all sorts of memories of the same thing happening to her when she was a kid.

  Rejection stings, however you look at it and Georgie knew that better than anyone. Her parents barely acknowledged her existence unless it was negatively impacting their own lives, and if her own parents couldn't love her, then how could someone like Connor Faulkes love her? It was the question that had plagued her all her life. Her parents were meant to love her just by virtue of being her parents, but if even they couldn't care for her, who could?

  She had been a fool. Connor was an actor and she had fallen hook, line and sinker for his charms. The way he addressed the press, the confident way he spoke and the absolute clarity he used when he said that she was no one of consequence proved to her what she had been afraid of all along. Their relationship was just a distraction for him while he was here to look after his grandmother. He probably did this regularly. He probably chose the most unlikely girl and lavished his attentions on her and then just left. It was probably just a prank to him to see how quickly he could get some unsuspecting nerdy girl to fall in love with him. And she had fallen for it and fallen fo
r him.

  There was a pounding on her door, but she ignored it. She'd turned her phone off and had sequestered herself away from the crowds outside. She didn't want to see them, she didn't want to hear their opinions on her and Connor. Already the trolls had started tearing her down on social media. People she didn't even know we're passing judgment on who she was as a person simply by the way she was dressed in a couple of photographs taken out of context. There was no doubt that the fallout for her would be even worse after Connor’s press conference. She could just imagine it now. They would say awful things about her, may even postulate that she had leaked the photos as a way to make out that she was his girlfriend.

  Oh God. He had asked her to be his girlfriend and she had said yes. What a fool she'd been, what a naïve fool. He had only said it to keep her calm, she supposed. He certainly wouldn't want any bad press about how he led girls on only to skip town and leave them high and dry. He had the reputation of being a loveable rogue, a charmer, and he definitely wouldn't want that reputation ruined.

  “Georgie! Let me in!”

  Georgie rolled over and buried her face in her pillow, the tears falling hot on her cheeks. His voice. The way he said her name. It all hurt. He had completely destroyed her in the press conference, making her feel like she was unworthy of being in his presence. Making her feel stupid and awkward because she had fallen in love with him and she was ‘nothing of consequence’ to him. She couldn't face him, probably could never face him ever again.

  He kept pounding on the door, but she refused to answer, refused to even acknowledge his presence. He would go away eventually. He was leaving town in a couple of days anyway and then she would never have to see him ever again.

  That was probably for the best.

  Connor couldn't understand why all the women in his life were mad at him. Georgie wasn't talking to him. In fact he didn't even know where she was and she wasn't answering her phone. Tina just shook her head whenever he looked at her. His Gran had thrown up her hands in disgust when he'd walked in and he even had a text from his sister calling him an idiot. Ike wasn't even on his side, shooting him disapproving glances from beneath heavy eyebrows.