TO LOVE A SHOOTING STAR
A Novel by K’Anne Meinel
Kindle Edition
Published by:
K’Anne Meinel on Kindle
Copyright © K’Anne Meinel September 2011
TO LOVE A SHOOTING STAR
Kindle Edition License Notes:
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K’Anne Meinel is available for comments at [email protected] as well as on Facebook and Twitter if you would like to follow her to find out stories and book’s releases.
Kate was standing staring bemusedly at the striking woman. Her shoulder length hair was impeccably kept. Its straight style charmingly framed her incredible face, and what a face! High and sharp cheekbones sculpted from marble were a good contrast that ended in a pointy and stubborn little chin. Two manicured eyebrows framed sleepy ‘come to bed’ eyes. The only imperfections that Kate could see were a slightly irregular nose and too thin of lips, overall though the effect was startling. Kate could not believe her eyes. This woman was world renowned; she had won two Oscars already and would probably win more, if not for acting then for directing or for producing or a myriad of other talents. She was so very very talented and yet so underrated. A quiet unassuming woman, she valued her private life and kept it just that, private. Every three years or so she came out with a consistently high quality movie. Kate quickly looked away as the woman sensed her staring and looked up.
Kate pretended to listen as her agent and date told a very old and very boring story for the umpteenth time. She heard it at every party, the same story, and the same punch lines. Kate slowly wandered away, chatting with a couple of people she actually knew at this ‘Hollywood’ party, although it was miles away in Beverly Hills. She hated this type of party and the sycophants that it drew. Fred had insisted though that it wouldn’t hurt for the famous author Kate McCall to be seen if not heard. Kate knew he was just blowing wind up her skirt. She wasn’t famous by any stretch of the imagination. She had self-published her first two blockbuster books. That they had become blockbusters had been because of her own hard work and a lot of lucky marketing skills and tricks. She had taken out full page ads in several magazines that would appeal to the type of readers that she wished to target. Intrigued and curious her reader’s word of mouth eventually garnered her several awards. Employing the same tactics on her other novels under her other pseudonyms had garnered her awards as well as sales in those genre’s too. Yes, she was fairly well known in each of the genre’s she wrote in but world renowned, no way. She certainly wasn’t of the caliber of say Danielle Steel or Nora Roberts and she didn’t intend to write quantity or twice a year. She wrote when the mood took her, when something touched her, when she couldn’t sleep at night for the stories aching to get out of her, she wrote for her sanity. Her fans appreciated it. She wasn’t a household name, but she was talked about in certain circles. Her face, while very pretty, was not one that people readily recognized. She didn’t write for the prestige and definitely not for the money when and if it came. She wrote because something in her soul compelled her to do so.
As Kate wandered she stopped to talk to another writer she knew. Howard Ghaest was a screen writer and he always assured her that she could write scripts any time she wanted. Her genuine caring for her books and characters came out in so many ways. He knew talent when he saw it and he knew if she put her mind to it she could write circles around him. He kept a stable of talented artists within reach when his own innumerable talents took a hiatus. He was very much in demand and would have liked to acquire Kate, even if she didn’t wish to be acquired. He was going on about his current project to Kate and the other members of his captive audience, wooing them with who was involved in the show he was writing, when Kate’s interest wandered. She again found her eyes drawn to the woman she had noted before. Without realizing it she got lost in thought. Only when the woman looked her straight in the eye, returning the rude stare that she had been giving her did she realize what she had been doing, again. In embarrassment she blushed and looked down at her feet. Waiting for Howard to finish his story she smiled, laughed as though she had been listening, and wandered away. As she made a circuit, intending to find her agent and bail out on the party, she came face to face with the striking woman. Staring into the startling blue eyes before her, she was surprised to see they were of similar heights, the woman only standing two inches or so below her own 5’5” frame. Trying to give her one of those meaningless party nods of recognition and move on, Kate was surprised to find the woman addressing her.
“Hello.”
“Hi” Kate tried to move on.
“Why were you staring at me before?”
Instant color poured into her face. The woman looked amused, nothing in her carefully schooled face gave her away but something about the twinkle in her eye indicated her amusement.
Kate hesitated and then said “I’m sorry, I was daydreaming and unfortunately I caught myself staring at you, I do apologize.” She made to move away but the woman blocked her way again. Kate looked at her in surprise. She hadn’t expected a confrontation.
“May I ask you what you were daydreaming about?” Definitely a ghost of a grin on her tiny little mouth. She actually sounded interested.
Kate said the first thing that came to her mind “you.” Then she blushed deeper at the admission. Here she was at a sophisticated party and she was talking to one of the most famous woman on the earth, the woman that People Magazine had labeled one of the 100 most beautiful people in the world, and she sounded like a dunce or at least a star struck fan.
“Really” a lot of emphasis on that one word. “And what were you thinking about me?”
Kate was starting to get a little angry. The reputation of this woman and how famous she was, was a little intimidating. The fact that Kate had blushed several times now was making her a bit uncomfortable. Still, Kate was anything if honest. “I was wondering why such a beautiful woman such as yourself was standing alone at a party such as this?” Kate’s arm took in a sweep of the party full of Hollywood types, from stars, to agents, to wannabes, from potentials to has beens.
Erin Ingram out right laughed at Kate’s question. She too had been wondering why she had come to this awful party. It so wasn’t her scene. Her agent had asked her to attend as a favor and she had accepted. She normally only spent quiet nights alone with her family or friends. Occasionally a premiere or an awards party, but nothing like this. The ‘be seen’ or be a has-been party. She was ready to leave herself, but then her agent had made her promise to give it an hour tops.
The laughter though seemed to break the ice. Kate introduced herself “let’s start over” holding out her hand “I’m Kate McCall, a novelist.”
Erin smiled her little gamin smile and shook Kate’s hand much to her surprise. Erin found it amusing that Kate was so easy to read. In a town full of fakes this was refreshing. She had actually heard of Kate. Her marketing brilliance had not gone unnoticed. Although she herself hadn’t read any of the McCall novels the intelligence and simplicity of her marketing campaigns had made several magazine articles including one in Inc. Magazine touting her ingenuity.
For the next hour or so the two chatted, nothing serious but incredibly no one interrupted them. Several people eyed them, wondering what they were talking about but no one approached them.
Erin was too famous, too intimidating for most. Finally, after realizing how long she had been at the party Erin sighed, looked at her watch and said “well, I’ve got to get out of here. Guess I’ll have to find my agent” and began looking around for the man.
Kate had been thoroughly enjoying their conversation so she offered “wanna escape?” and then she grinned.
Erin liked the conspiracy she saw in her new friend’s eyes and smile, she grinned herself. Taking a gamble she answered “sure, what did you have in mind?”
“Come on, I have an escape mobile.” Kate put down the champagne flute she had been holding for over an hour, drinking nothing but unable to be rude or to escape the persistent waiters any other way. Erin followed suit.
Heading to the front of the mansion and out to the road they resumed their easy conversation until Kate suddenly stopped. “You don’t mind going for a drive to get out of this place?” her head indicated the party that wouldn’t miss them in the least.
Erin shook her head. It was a beautiful Southern California night with the stars unseen due to the many lights of L.A. She needed the cool air though and an escape was exactly the right word. She wouldn’t be missed for at least another hour, she had been seen, her agent had abandoned her for a while, occasionally surfacing from the crowd to check on her but she figured she needed a break.
As they approached a line of cars parked on the street Kate abruptly stopped again, remembering something. Erin turned to her questioningly. “What’s wrong?”
“I once heard or read something about you and I don’t want you to hate me.”
Surprised Erin waited. “About?”
“I once heard that you didn’t like people who showed off or had a lot of expensive things. I don’t want you to think that about me.”
Erin looked at her “you can’t believe everything you read or hear in this town, why, what did you do?” she grinned at the thought of what her friend was blushing about this time.
“It isn’t what I did exactly but I do have an expensive car and I don’t want you to judge me because of it.”
Erin laughed, a genuine laugh. This talented woman was apologizing for having an expensive car in Southern California of all places? Was she real? She ended in a smile “so what do you drive, a Lamborghini?” She looked around as though searching for the car.
Kate had relaxed at the laughter, it wasn’t meant to offend and she hadn’t taken it that way. “No, I drive a Mercedes.”
“I do too, sooo?”
“You’ll see.”
They walked for a while down the block and as they approached a red car, Kate pushed a button in her pocket. Two doors swung up in gull like fashion.
Erin stopped and smiled. The car was beautiful. It’s low slung and sporty appearance giving it a sleek and sexy aura. Even by Southern California standards she could tell this was a rich and expensive car, it was incredible. She walked around to the passenger side looking at the car but Kate stopped her.
“No, not that side, it’s a European model.” Kate was watching with pride as Erin admired the car. This was her toy. An expensive one but she was justifiably proud of it.
Erin slid into the upholstery which melted around her and cushioned her immediately with a hug. Admiring the car she waited as Kate got in and put the key, or what seemed to be a key but looked like a domino game piece into the ignition. Pressing another button the gull doors began to smoothly and silently lower themselves into place. Erin was impressed. It was an incredible car. Both of them buckled up as Kate put it into gear and smoothly slid into the street.
“Isn’t it hard to drive from the right side?” Erin asked. She looked over the controls of the car as Kate faultlessly operated the vehicle.
“It takes some getting used to but I went over to Germany last year and went through almost a month of driver’s education training there before my car was ready. They even made me drive on the Autobahn.” She gave a little shudder in remembrance.
“You can’t buy one of these here?” Southern California was famous for its expensive car lots and imports. Almost anything could be found here and usually was.
“No, they aren’t available over here yet and won’t be for about five years I heard.” Kate could answer quite easily over the silent engine of the car. A soft song came from the speakers that surrounded them. “I decided I didn’t want to wait when I read about this car, so I had this one shipped back, it took forever but finally they let it into the country. You wouldn’t believe the paperwork it involved and then I had to make sure it was smogged!” Kate laughed at this.
“So what kind of Mercedes is this? It reminds me of those you saw in old James Bond movies or something from the 50’s or 60’s.”
Smiling at Erin’s question and observation she answered “It’s a Mercedes SLS AMG, at one time they worked with McLaren to make a similar model but when the two companies parted Mercedes came out with this beauty.” Unmistakable pride came out in her voice as she caressed the dash with her fingertips.
Erin smiled and continued to watch Kate as well as where they were driving. A pretty brunette with red and blonde streaks throughout her mid back length hair, if not for the riot of natural looking curls it might actually reach her butt. Her hair was swept back off her face and held back by clips that could barely contain the thick mass. High cheekbones pointed down to a stubborn little chin giving her face a heart shaped look. Generously lush lips bespoke passion even if her nature hadn’t come out in their conversation. Dark eyebrows accented her dark hazel eyes which were outlined by green eyeliner which brought out more of the green coloring in her eyes. Her nose was refined and the small little diamond on the left side added to the beauty of her face. At her ears diamonds in two holes on each side matched the diamond in her nose, Erin wondered if that was deliberate or just a coincidence.
Kate took them down the hills and through the famous gates of this community before driving towards the freeway. They chatted some more as Kate drove onto the freeway and effortlessly cruised up to 70. You couldn’t feel a thing in the car it was so smooth. Erin was pleasantly surprised how much fun she was having. Great company, great conversation, even the car was fun. All too soon Kate pulled off at an exit and turned around getting back on the freeway. Even at 11 at night the freeway was congested and they soon found themselves in a traffic jam. Neither seemed to mind as they enjoyed getting to know one another. Erin’s cell phone rang.
“Hello?” and then “Oh, I’m out getting some air, I’ll be back shortly,” then “I’m fine,” then “uh huh, yes, see you!” She turned to Kate and said “That was Norm, my agent, he finally realized I was missing” she laughed.
“We will be there in a few minutes.” Kate rushed to assure her captive.
“No problem, don’t rush, I’m enjoying this.” Erin gave her a little gamin smile.
Kate returned the smile she could see reflected in the street lights. She maneuvered the car to their exit and drove once again into the hills. Having enjoyed these two hours with this incredible woman, she didn’t want it to end. “Are you busy tomorrow?” She figured what the heck, the worst Erin could say was NO.
Erin shook her head and answered “No, I’m not, what did you have in mind?”
“I was wondering if you’d like to go to lunch. I will admit I am enjoying your company too much to let it end like this.” They were already at the gates to the exclusive community they had left shortly before.
“What time would you like to meet me?” Erin asked her sounding enthused at the idea.
Kate was thrilled at this hopeful answer “How about 9?”
Erin was amused “9 in the morning, for LUNCH?”
Giving Erin a full smile as she drove up the street she answered “of course, it is a long drive to this restaurant though.”
“Where did you have in mind?” Erin entered the spirit of the conversation, it really was amusing.
“Can it be a surprise?” Kate asked.
“Sure, I trus
t you.” Erin answered laughing. She did strangely trust this woman, even though that had just met that evening. Although she was a shy and reclusive woman normally she always trusted her gut instincts, her instincts this time were telling her that this shy woman was honest and forthright. In a town full of phonies this intrigued her. Having spoken with her for these few hours she found her intelligent, interesting, and someone she would like to get to know better.
They finalized their plans, agreeing to meet at an office building in Century City that they both knew of. That way Erin could leave her car and they could take Kate’s.
Kate didn’t park her car, instead she pulled up in front of where the party was being held and dropped Erin off. “See you in the morning!” she called as Erin got out under the gull wing door.
Erin laughed, it sounded so high school and yet she had had so much fun. More so chatting with this delightful woman than at the party. “See you then” she answered and waved as she walked into the house.
Kate watched her to make sure she got inside the gate before lowering the door and driving away.
As she drove home that evening her thoughts went over every moment of the hours she had spent with Erin Ingram, THE ERIN INGRAM. She thought of a million things she wanted to talk to her about, a million things she should have said. Well, at least they had tomorrow. She wondered....
Kate would have been thrilled to know that Erin too had been thinking about the last couple of hours. What an intelligent woman Kate McCall had turned out to be, she must read her books, and soon. She really had enjoyed her sarcastic sense of humor and the last couple of hours had sped by pleasantly, she was looking forward to tomorrow as well.
As Kate pulled up in Century City outside the 2500 block she noted that the parking lot was fairly empty this early in the morning, but it was also Saturday so that was to be expected. People rushed into the Starbucks that was located in the corner lobby for their cup of caffeine and rushed back out loaded down with large overpriced cups of joe and perhaps a croissant, muffin, or scone. Kate parked and waited. She was kicking herself; she knew she should have asked Erin for her phone number or at least what she was going to be driving. But Kate hadn’t wanted to presume. She hadn’t wanted to scare off this notoriously shy and seldom seen woman. She had enjoyed the previous evening way too much. She was trying not to get her hopes up in any way. If they were to become friends that was the most she could hope for. She looked around the parking lot repeatedly for someone sitting in their vehicle. Maybe Erin had needed a cup of coffee. Well, Kate was 15 minutes early anyway, she was always early. She loved but hated that about herself, it was a good bad habit. She hated people waiting for or on her. Most people though she had found didn’t give the same consideration to others. She had been kept waiting all her life.
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