Carter reached his hand over and placed it on mine. "Can't a man love his girlfriend and want to take her out for the evening without it being weird?"
"Yes. But you are acting weird."
Carter rubbed his face and groaned. That felt better. I was used to old Mr. Grumpington. Not this nervous Carter that I had most of the evening.
"Olivia, open the letter." He pointed to the paper in my hand.
"Fine," I said with irritation in my voice.
Tearing open the envelope, I pulled out a sheet of paper. I opened the folded letter and there were only two words on it: look up.
I lifted my head and stared at the ceiling.
"I don't see anything," I said, squinting at the painted pipes and ceiling fans.
"No, look up at me," Carter said.
"Oh." I lowered my head and in Carter's hand was a stunning diamond ring.
"Olivia. This was my mother's ring. My father gave it to her when I was born. It originally was my great-grandmother's wedding ring. I don't want to be a lonely fool anymore. I thought all I needed to be happy was Kitty and the sheep. But once I found you, I realized I had been terribly lost and lonely. Please, take this ring and wear it knowing that my heart only beats to make you happy."
I clasped my hands over my mouth as tears ran down my face. I knew my mascara was smeared. I hadn't worn makeup in weeks. Figures the one night I put it on he had to go and propose to me. Now I look like a clown—but a happy clown at least.
Carter's eyes flickered between the ring and me.
"If it wasn't clear, Olivia . . . I'm asking you to marry me."
I nodded and then the words finally came. "Yes! Yes! Carter, I'm going to marry the fuck out of you."
We were both lost in our happiness so I was surprised when I heard clapping. My hand shook as he placed the ring on my finger. I turned to find Tyler and his group of friends clapping from their table. But there was someone coming toward our table that had me scrambling to my feet—Bea.
"I hid in the back. Oh, Christ. My baby sister is getting married." Bea sobbed and we hugged.
I didn't know who was crying more, me or my sister. She pulled away and grabbed my hand.
"Damn it, Carter, that is a spectacular ring. There's like, dozens of diamonds in this sucker. Ugh, I need a man to give me one of these. It's official, I'm going on the hunt to settle down."
"You said that back in March."
She shrugged. "I know, but I mean it this time. After seeing what it brings, I want my fingers to sparkle."
"Then just buy yourself a ring." Carter got up and wrapped his arm around me.
"It's not the same. It's the meaning. This ring meant something to you, and you wanted to give it to the woman you love. That's what I want." Bea dropped my hand.
Carter looked down at me. "That's exactly right. I'd give the woman I love anything she wanted."
I lifted the corner of my mouth. "Even a teacher?"
His eyes darkened, and he leaned in to whisper, "Once we get home, after dinner, we'll have to work on your schoolwork. And if you don't get the questions right, I'll be forced to punish you."
I giggled and could hear Bea groan.
"I'm getting a drink," she said and moved toward the bar.
"Welcome to the family, Carter," I said with a smile.
"It's nice to hear that. Especially since you're part of it."
He cupped my cheek and gave me a kiss that weakened my knees and stole my heart.
THE END
THANK YOU for taking the time to read my story about Olivia and Carter. Want to find out more about the sexy vet, Dr. Tyler Ferguson? Then you will have to read my upcoming book Living Hell, coming out in May.
Read Living Hell teaser now!
IF YOU DON’T WANT TO wait until May to read about the characters in this world, make sure you check out Dirty Secret. It’s a book that takes place in Washington DC and the people Carter and his dad ran from.
LIVING HELL
What could be worse than running into the guy who first broke your heart? Having to be his roommate.
Iona Dell is the ‘It’ actress of Hollywood. That is until a series of flops and a terrible accident has producers rethinking financing anything she touches.
She’s hard-working, humble, and realizes anything good can be taken away in an instant. Refusing to let a few bad movie choices derail her career, she heads back to her small, mountain hometown to come up with the best come back idea in acting history.
Tyler Ferguson is the local sexy veterinarian. He’s kind, always willing to lend a helping hand, but a bit of a flirt.
He’s been saving his pennies for years to buy a home. Growing up moving from rental to rundown rental, he dreams of having a place to call his own.
When the vet finally has the keys to his new house, he’s eager to start his move. But when he walks inside for the first time, there’s already someone there. The last thing he wants to deal with is a squatter.
The person he finds is worse than a trespasser. She’s his first crush. The woman who promised him her heart and then left without a word.
What’s worse? She claims she owns the house too.
Preorder Living Hell now!
SNEAK PEEK: LIVING HELL
LIVING HELL comes out on May 30th, 2019. It’s about a spoiled runaway bride who stumbles upon a cabin in the woods. What she doesn’t realize is the owner is a big, hardened man that doesn’t deal well with strangers.
“NO ONE EVER TOLD ME dying was easy.” His said with a raspy voice.
I stared down at the man who was to be my love. His soft brown curls smeared red and sticky. The smell of cigarettes and coffee, a lethal aroma, puffed in my tear stained face as I held his head in my hands.
“No, Jim. Don’t leave me. You’re all I have in this forsaken, dusty town.”
My head felt heavy as if something was pulling it down. I knew what it was — the dialogue.
“Oh, Darleeee...” He reached for me, but it was too late.
His arm fell to the ground as his eyes closed. He was gone. Time for me to scream and cry. Could I do it? Only time and thoughts of my trainer taunting a chocolate bar in front of me as I did burpees could produce the level of pain required for this moment.
“No! Oh, Jim. You were my whole being!” I raised my fist to the sky. A little improv on my part, but believable. I felt a tear and almost smiled with joy. To produce any emotion for the man in my arms took award-winning talent.
“Cut!” A thick, booming voice said over my shoulder and about five inches from my ear.
I gritted my teeth as the dead man opened his eyes. “Was it as good for you as it was for me, sweetheart?” He winked causing some inner furnace to ignite deep in my belly and a strong desire to burn him alive.
“Get off me, Albert. When was the last time you brushed your teeth? Wednesday?”
His eye focused on my chest as he sat up waiting for his assistant to get to work and rush over with his iced coffee.
“I thought about brushing today, but then I realized we had this pivotal scene and I knew my character wouldn’t brush his teeth. To feel him.” His fist pounded his chest before raising and loosening his fingers to grab the coffee from his assistant who finally stepped forward. “My teeth had to suffer.”
More like my nostrils had to burn.
“Everyone take twenty. The producers wish to speak with me.” The director, the once great Chilton Hensley, said before turning and stomping away, muttering obscenities as he went.
The heat was dry like opening an oven door on Thanksgiving, and I was the turkey. I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder and looked up. Cara’s sweet smile was there and the only thing that comforted me during the awful shoot.
The script needed work, my co-star, was a notorious lech, and the time frame to shoot the movie was brutal. But it was worth it. To work with the director of my dreams and finally get to play a lead, I’d do a twenty-four-hour shoot if I had to.
“
Let’s head to your trailer.” She said with a frown.
The expression on my assistant’s face was curious. Getting out of this heat to the cool air-conditioned room of my trailer should light up her wilted features. Maybe the heat was exhausting her. I made a mental note to get her water as soon as possible.
“Yes. And away from you-know-who before he takes a handful of my ass again.”
I motioned toward Albert Harston and stood with Cara’s help. My co-star enjoyed women too much. To the point, he had to pay a lot of actresses and even more lawyers to cover up his enjoyment. Cara and I had a bet going on how long it would be until his actions ruined his career.
When he tried it with me on the second-day shooting, I punched him in the junk. That stopped him. He wouldn’t touch me after but he had made it his mission to torture me. Not brushing his teeth today when he knew we had a scene to shoot where I would be close to his face, was low but not his worst. That was when he had a slice of chocolate cake delivered to my trailer with the pretenses it was a cast member’s birthday.
My addiction to chocolate was legendary. Reporters did their best to have a piece of candy for me so I might reveal tidbits about movies. It works most of the time.
But that piece of cake had a stool softener baked into it. I was on the toilet more than the set that day.
“And out of the heat.” She said in a pitch higher than usual.
“Is something wrong?” I pulled at her arm causing her to stop.
She winced, and I knew she was hiding something. Right at that moment, a flash went off. I turned and found someone with a camera standing between the trailers.
Just what I needed, paparazzi. Despite whatever was upsetting Cara she flew into action.
“Hey.” She said and ran after the cameraman. Within seconds they were gone in between the maze of trailers.
Just about everyone had a trailer while filming in the July California desert. The director wanted the oppression of the heat to show on our faces. He felt it made every reaction more realistic. It also made it more dangerous.
I’m sure I already drank my body weight in the water today, and it wasn’t even noon.
I headed off to my trailer without Cara. When I got there and reached for the door handle, I heard someone already inside. A cold shiver ran down my spine and what little moisture left in my mouth evaporated at the sound of the female voice on the other side.
My agent, Babette Gotti. Why was she here? The only time she went to see clients was to inform them she would no longer be representing them.
I tried to tell myself I’d been through worse, which was true. There were other agents in Hollywood. Good agents. Talented. But the more I willed my brain into looking on the bright side, the more truth weaseled it’s way inside and took root. Babette was the best.
The reason she first came to represent me eight years ago when I was nothing but a Vidtube star was that her daughter loved my videos. I was different, talented, and like nothing, she had ever seen before - Babette’s words, not mine.
She met me once to sign me, but I’d recognize that loud, accented voice anywhere.
I was a naive nineteen year old with hopes of stardom. It wasn’t the fame I was after, but the money. My mom and I never had any. When I began to make some with Vidtube, my mother and I both agreed Hollywood was the next step.
Here I was with everything I wished for, fame, money, finally a leading role in a big budget movie. I knew what stood behind the door would cause it all to slip away. I understood nothing was forever. I guess I thought I’d have a little more time until it vanished.
A cool puff of air hit my face as I opened the door and climbed the three steps into my trailer.
“And I said she makes at least five mil or so help me, Jonathan, I will haunt you. You know what I mean.” Babette said into the silver bracelet on her wrist.
She always had the latest gadgets from Silicon Valley.
I stood there like a guilty child in the principles office.
Her icy gray eyes flickered over to me. I felt a stabbing pain in my heart. This was the moment where my career skidded to a halt and died a bloody death. The past eleven years rolled through my head like an old movie. All my hard work and sacrificing the usual fun a teenager and young adult had in order to capture the eye of a director or talent scout. It was for nothing because that’s what remained of my career.
“My client’s here. I’ve got to go.” She tapped her bracelet and turned to face me.
Her jet black hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and I believed she was wearing the same navy pants suit as when I first met her.
“I.D., it’s so lovely to see you again. Please, have a seat.” Babette said as she waved at our surroundings as if was her trailer, not mine.
Her blood red lips curved into a warm smile. I swallowed but did as she said. There was a small built-in couch with a tan zigzag pattern along the wall nearest to me which I settled on. It also happened to be farthest as I could sit from her.
She sat at the other end, and her eyes scanned the room. “I specifically requested a double wide for you. You were the star of Golden Horse, therefore, you deserve the best. I’ll have a word with Hal.”
I blinked a few times letting her words sink in.
“Were?”
Her body shifted as she did her best to face me.
“The movie’s being shut down. The producers are telling Mr. Hensley right now.”
“But...but how do you know if he’s finding out at this moment?”
“I know everything in Hollywood. I know what people want before they realize it themselves. I haven’t been a top agent for over a decade because of luck.” She said before belting out a deep throaty laugh.
There goes my only starring role. Perhaps Babette’s here because she had even better news. A starring role in the latest comic book franchise.
The door swung open and a blast of heat with it. Cara came bouncing up the stairs, panting as she closed the door behind her.
“I didn’t catch him,” Cara said between breaths.
“There should be a few water bottles in the fridge.” I pointed to the three-foot tall black fridge in the tiny kitchenette. “I’m worried you’ll pass out.”
Cara’s eyes widened as she noticed Babette on the couch.
“Would you like a bottle Ms. Gotti?” Cara asked with a bowed head as if she was addressing the Queen.
“I bring my own.” Babette reached into her blazer pocket and pulled out a leather flask.
So that’s how she survived in Hollywood. Something smooth to coat the rough life.
After the respite where both women drank a healthy dose of their beverages I knew it was time to get back to the harsh reality of my career. Or lack thereof.
“I told I.D. about the movie being no more.”
“You can call me Iona.”
That’s my name. Iona Dell but everyone, outside of the people who I grew up with, Cara, and Babette, knew me as I.D. When I was fifteen I thought it was so cool to use an acronym as my name. It worked for Vidtube, but once I wanted to be taken seriously as an actress, it started to irritate me. But Babette swore it would bring the younger crowd to the theaters and producers loved that.
“It doesn’t matter what I call you because no one will work with you anymore. You are the reason this production got shut down.”
I heard the gasp from Cara, but I remained still. Part of my acting was learning to appear calm when all I wanted to do was scream and cry. I remembered the first time I had to use that talent when the boy I once loved kissed me for the first time and then ran away.
I didn’t cry then and I won’t now.
“Technically, you aren’t the only reason. The budget is getting out of control. I love Mr. Harston’s work, but he’s not immune to the bottom line.”
With every bit of resolve in me that hadn’t been melted away on set, I said, “So, what now? I assume you didn’t come here to inform me of something the director w
ill announce to everyone soon. If you plan to drop me as a client, please let me know.”
She reached across the couch and patted my hand. “And that’s why I love you I.D. You are strong and determined. Even this setback won’t keep you down for long. While the last two movies weren’t that successful, you didn’t star in them, which won’t hurt your career as much as if you did have the lead. But the accident.”
I closed my eyes to will back the tears. Don’t show weakness, Iona. You are better than that.
“Yes, the accident,” I said in the monotone voice I perfected in the past few months.
Babette squeezed my hand, and I felt Cara’s warm touch on my shoulder causing me to open my eyes. They stared at me in pity, and I wanted none of it.
“It made you a liability. But if you think I came here today to drop you as a client, then you don’t know me as well as I thought. I’m the best agent in Hollywood not because I drop people having a rough patch but because I know the greats in the world. The superstars before they barely begin to shine. That’s you, Iona.”
A tear slipped from my eye, and I nodded with relief. For a brief moment, I believed I’d have to get back to my hometown with my tail between my legs. Maybe even start up my Vidtube channel again.
I couldn’t go back to my old life. I never wanted to step foot in my hometown of Fire Lake again. The nights I held my mother as she cried herself to sleep because she was ashamed, she could only give me crackers and peanut butter for dinner.
I busted my ass to get away from that world. If I stuck with Babette and had Cara’s help, maybe I’d never be the girl with holes in shoes, ever again.
“You need a comeback.” Babette flared her hands in the air.
“Wouldn’t I have to go away for a comeback?”
She nodded and glanced over at Cara as if encouraging her to join in on the head bobbing party. Always dutiful, Cara joined in.
The look on Cara’s face had me realizing she knew. Cara knew Babette was in my trailer as we walked back from set. That’s why she was acting strangely.
Cabin Fever (Lost and Found Book 1) Page 24
