Wishing on a Star

by M. Stratton

  Hannah knew Royce would only hire the best for her, wanting to make sure she was safe, but she wondered how it would affect her life, always having someone around to make sure she was protected. “Okay, that sounds great.” They fell into silence for a few minutes before she spoke again. “Thank you for coming home early, but you didn’t have to leave the set.”

  “You know better than that, of course I did.”

  “Are you going to get in trouble?”

  “Please, compared to my behavior when I was either drunk or on drugs, or both? This is nothing. Besides, I was almost done. Will was right behind me, but he stopped to get out of his costume.”

  “Hmmm . . .”

  “What else did you expect him to do? You’re like a sister to the woman he’s going to marry. Of course he’d come home for both of you.”

  “I never expected something like that.”

  “It must be strange for you. You’ve always had Lissa to lean on. Now you can add me, Will and Beau to the list. That’s going to be a huge adjustment.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “Oh, I’m pretty sure I have a good idea. Strong, independent Hannah Rivers now has an extended family she never expected to have.”

  “I wonder when I’ll get used to hearing the new last name?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe when we tell people and people start calling you Mrs. Rivers.”

  “I know, I’m sorry. It’s not the right time.”

  “When is it going to be the right time? I want to shout it from the rooftops.”

  “Soon, we have that signing in San Diego, and with this whole Marc situation, I don’t want to pile this on Lissa too.”

  “Do you really think she’ll see it as ‘piling’ it on her?”

  “No, but I will.”

  “See, stubborn.” He kissed the tip of her nose.

  “I know what I am.”

  “It’s only a matter of time before it gets out. It’s always better if we choose when. Not like I’m speaking from experience or anything.”

  “Soon, Royce, husband mine, soon.”

  “You know I can’t wait to show everyone you’re my wife.”

  “I know. Me either.”

  “You know I’m going to worry about you and Lissa going to San Diego.”

  “And I’m sure you have already organized a security team to go with us.”

  “Well, of course.”

  “You might want to check with Will. I don’t want your teams to be working against each other.”

  “Good point. And you’ll leave me all the information on the hotel and agenda for the signing? And you won’t deviate from it?”

  “No, both Lissa and I like plans. We aren’t too spontaneous.”

  “I’d hate for this to be a first for you.”

  “I don’t think you’re going to have to worry about it. I used up my spontaneity for the year while we were in New Orleans.”

  “Well, if you were going to blow it that sure was the perfect thing to blow it on.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

  “Stop.” She smiled.

  “Ahhh . . . there is it. Your smile is one of the most beautiful, treasured things I look forward to every single day.”

  “You’re a romantic.”

  “I only speak from my heart.”

  She placed her hand over his heart. “It’s a romantic one, then. How did I get to be so lucky?”

  “You let me in.”

  “That I did, best decision I ever made.” She rested her head on his chest and relaxed for the first time since Lissa showed her the letter.

  Hannah and Lissa returned from a productive book signing in San Diego a few days later. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened, except for the fact that she missed her husband something crazy. There were issues with the shoot, so they were trying to make up time. Both Royce and Will were spending long hours on set, and Lissa was buried in a new book, so her time was spent writing. Which left Hannah without a lot to do. Since she wasn’t seeing Royce much, he organized for her to be driven to the set so they could have lunch together.

  They ate as quickly as they could before snuggling together on the couch. While Hannah didn’t need a lot of sleep, she was typically already in dreamland when he arrived home and he was up and out the door before her feet hit the floor. She missed being with him, even something as simple as sitting next to each other, their arms wrapped around the other.

  Too soon, he was called back to set and she had to leave. She was torn between wanting to stay and watch, and getting back to see if Lissa needed anything. Her work won out and after completely kissing her senseless, her husband said goodbye and she waited for her ride to come get her.

  “Well, look what the cat dragged in. Oh, I’m sorry. I take that back. Have you ever seen what cats drag around? You don’t look that good,” Amanda said.

  Hannah closed her eyes and sighed before turning around. “Are you naturally a bitch, or do you work at it? Because seriously, your bitchiness has reached epic proportions.”

  “Oh, I’m all natural.”

  She raised an eyebrow at the younger woman, looking her up and down. “I find that hard to believe.”

  “Listen, old lady, you’re pathetic following Royce around like some little lost puppy. When are you going to realize he’s going to dump you sooner rather than later. Really, you’re already over the hill by Hollywood standards. He’ll be wanting a younger model soon. They all do.”

  Hannah wanted nothing more than to throw the fact she and Royce were married in the little twit’s face, but knew she couldn’t. Somehow, it would get twisted around. “Newsflash, chickie-poo, at some point, you’re going to be my age, and I’m willing to bet you’ll be traded in more often than I have been.” She looked her up and down. “In fact, you’ve probably already been traded in more times. You look like you’ve had, how should I put it? Hmmm . . . I’ll try to be nice, a hard life, on your back.”

  “Why . . . you . . . you . . .”

  “See here is just another example why you are just a spoiled little girl trying to play with the adults. Go back to kindergarten.” Hannah’s ride pulled up and she easily got in, closing the door quietly, not wanting the bitch Amanda to know she’d gotten to her.

  Hannah was downstairs hitting the heavy bag over and over, each time imagining Amanda’s face there. There were always going to be co-stars who would want Royce; she couldn’t travel with him all the time, plus there was Lissa. Hannah was still going to be her assistant, which meant there would be times when she would have to leave him for her work.

  Hannah had made a commitment to him, and she didn’t take her marriage vows lightly, yet she was keeping it a secret. She questioned why she doing that. Was it because she wasn’t one-hundred percent behind the marriage? No, she knew he was the only one for her. She was certain of that one thing.

  Then there was all this craziness with Marc. There was always security around her. She felt like she couldn’t even go to the bathroom without getting it approved, or someone going with her. To what? Make sure she didn’t fall in? She trusted Royce and he said they had someone always following Marc, they knew exactly where he was, why did she need someone attached to her all the time?

  Marc was to be monitored while he was on probation finishing out the rest of his sentence, but still, that was only another six months, and then he’d be free to go anywhere, at any time. They’d already talked about a restraining order and the next time they were back in Arizona, she was going to file one, with her married name on it.

  Which brought her back to the whore who thought she could come between them. Of course, Amanda had no idea they were married, but that was beside the point. Everyone knew they were dating and living together.

  She thought it was good they were living in the house next to Lissa. For so many years, they’d lived together. She was used to seeing her all groggy and bitchy in the morning, and excited about a new project, or lost in thought. Now she was living in he
r own place, she looked at it as good practice for when they were halfway around the world from each other. She still felt a hole in her heart at the thought of leaving Lissa, but she knew it was time.

  “Are you planning on splitting that bag too?” Royce said from the door.

  “That’s my goal.” She didn’t stop throwing her punches. “You’re home early.”

  “What can I say? We kicked some ass and got it done. What happened on set today?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Bullshit. You know I already know.”

  “Then I don’t need to tell you anything.”

  “I heard about it, but I don’t know what you are thinking about it.”

  “She’s just some small, petty woman who seems to think I’m not worthy of your greatness and I need to leave. She’s not going to win, so we have nothing to talk about.”

  “Oh, yeah we do. When are you going to tell Lissa we’re married?”

  “I said soon.”

  “You said soon a week ago. You know this wouldn’t have happened if she knew we were married.”

  Hannah stopped punching the bag and turned to look at him. “Really? Do you really think a wedding ring is going to stop someone like Amanda? Hell, it will probably turn her on even more. No, you’re wrong.” She turned back and started punching it again.

  “Oh, no you don’t.” He walked over to her and grabbed her arm, stopping her mid-punch.

  “Let go of my arm.”

  “What is going on in that head of yours? I’m your fucking husband. Let me in so I can help you.” He practically shouted at her.

  “Yeah, you are my fucking husband, but you can’t fix everything. Some things I need to do on my own.” She knocked the side of her head with her gloved hand. “Some things are all up here, and I need to sort them out and get over them myself. You can’t fix my thinking. I need some time alone to figure it all out.”

  “Fine, when you’re ready, you know where I’ll be.” He turned and left the room.

  Hannah stared at the door he had walked out of without a backward glance at her. She wanted to scream in frustration; instead, she pulled her arm back and hit the bag as hard as she could, watching it split and spill sand out onto the floor. Well, shit, now what am I supposed to do?

  “Damn stubborn woman.” Royce stomped into the kitchen of the house next door, startling Lissa who froze with a carrot halfway to her mouth. “Sorry.”

  “Hmm . . . Hannah?”

  “How’d you guess?”

  “Gee, I don’t know, because I know her as well as I know myself.” She took a bite of the carrot and started peeling another.

  “Maybe you can help me.” He narrowed his eyes at her, wondering how much he could tell her without her guessing he was actually married to her best friend. “Has she always been like this?”

  “Oh, you have no idea.” Lissa laughed. “I might be the Queen of the Dorks, but she is the Queen of Stubborn, even back then. Wow, yeah, we used to butt heads more when we were young and boy crazy. We have mellowed.” She sighed and popped a carrot into her mouth. “In some respects, she’s not as stubborn; in others, she’s more stubborn since the attack. Like I said, we used to butt heads, but now she just makes up her mind and that’s it, no discussion and while she’s trying to make up her mind? She’s pounding that damn heavy bag. Over and over until you think you’ll go crazy before she comes to a conclusion.”

  “So you just leave her to it?”

  “For the most part. There is no hurrying her, so don’t even bother pushing her. It will just piss her off and she’ll go off in the other direction as fast as she can.”

  “I was afraid of that.”

  Lissa walked around the island and put her arm around him. “I know it’s hard, watching her go through all of this essentially alone since she’s figuring things out in her mind, but she knows you are here for her, and when the time is right, she’ll come to you for support. I’ve seen her do this hundreds of times. I wanted to do whatever I could to help her, to fight her battles for her, but she wouldn’t let me. Sure, there were plenty of times we were up all night with her crying in my arms, but for every night she let me in to help her, there were thousands more where she wouldn’t.”

  “It’s killing me that I can’t make this better for her.”

  “Oh, Royce, you are! I wish I could explain to you everything I’ve lived through with her. She’s been a different person since she met you. She’s lighter, more carefree. More like she used to be. There’s a confidence in her, which that bastard beat out of her and I never thought I’d see again. She used to be a dreamer. We’d have conversations about what we wanted for our future. Most were silly what ifs, but still, they were our dreams. After Marc, she stopped dreaming and wishing for anything for herself. She didn’t think she deserved it, but she did, and now with you, she’s started wishing for herself again. That is so magical. You did that.”

  Royce looked out the glass door at the waves, thinking about everything Lissa had said—she would know. He had to admit his pride was stinging that he couldn’t help her and that she didn’t want his help. You didn’t get to his age without having fallen in love, but Hannah was different. He felt it down in his soul; she was the one for him. Somehow he had to learn how to give her what she needed when she needed it, and maybe one day, she’d let him carry her.

  “Thanks, Lis.” He stood up and walked out the door. He stopped and turned back around. “I’m going for a walk on the beach. I need to clear my head. If you see Hannah, make sure she doesn’t worry.”

  “I will. I’ll let her know.”

  Hannah threw her suitcase onto her bed in Lissa’s Tucson house. After Royce left and she split the bag, she had gone upstairs, packed a suitcase and hopped into the car. At first, she thought she’d just go to a hotel somewhere to get some distance from everything, but as the Los Angeles lights became dimmer in the rearview mirror, she knew where she was headed. Home. She was craving something normal, something familiar.

  Part of her felt guilty for leaving and not saying anything to anybody, but then she thought of all of the security both Royce and Will had hired, and knew someone would let Royce know she left, and where she had ended up.

  She walked through the house and to the living room, sitting down on the couch to watch the sunrise. She’d driven all night to get home, yet watching the sun rising over the city, she wished she was back in L.A. waking up in Royce’s arms.

  Having time to think about her actions, she felt petty and childish. Since when was she one to run from her problems? She’d always faced them head-on. Well, at least after she thought everything through. Here she’d left her husband without a word. God, she sucked. She pulled the phone out of her pocket to call him, but stopped. This wasn’t something she could do over the phone. As it was, she was going to have a hard enough time apologizing to him.

  She saw the lights in the security house go on and assumed either she’d have someone paying her a visit soon, or they’d be making a call to Will. When no one came outside, she knew the phone call won. Now they would know exactly where she was.

  Getting up, she wandered around the house. It was amazing. Everywhere she turned something reminded her of Royce. He’d only been here once, but had left such an impression. She stood staring at her bed, where they spent nights wrapped in each other’s arms, their bond, and their love growing.

  With a determined look on her face, she went over to the bed and grabbed the suitcase she just had thrown down and walked back out to the garage and put it in the backseat. Backing out of the garage as the city below her came awake, she started driving back to Los Angeles, back to her home, Royce.

  Walking into the home she’d been sharing with Royce, she discovered that no one was there. For a moment, she panicked, wondering if he’d left her, but she knew he wouldn’t give up on her. Putting her suitcase down in their room, she saw all of his things were still there and started to feel a little better.

  She wonde
red if he had a late shoot on-set. Confident Lissa would know, she headed next door and was surprised when everyone was on the back deck. Pausing for a moment, she took them all in before they saw her. She should have known it wouldn’t take too long, Royce was the first to see her, his eyes locked on hers, his mouth set in a frown.

  Then Lissa, Will and Beau looked over at her. Lissa jumped up and ran down the stairs, wrapping her arms around her.

  “Dammit, don’t you ever do that to me again.”

  “Sorry.”

  Lissa pulled back and looked into her eyes. “I’m serious.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I was so worried about you. You look like shit. Exhausted. It was crazy for you to be driving like that.”

  “I’m fine. You know I don’t need much sleep.”

  “Hannah, don’t bullshit me, and don’t scare me like that again. Please.” Tears fell down Lissa’s cheeks.

  “Geez, don’t cry on me. Fine, I won’t do it again. Please, stop the waterworks.”

  Neither woman had noticed Will come up behind them until he gently pulled Lissa away from Hannah. “Glad you’re back safely.” He nodded toward Hannah. “Next time you want some time alone, come talk to me. I’ll make sure you get what you need without worrying the people who love you.”

  “Yes, sorry.” Hannah nodded toward him. She felt like she’d just been reprimanded by her big brother and felt ashamed for her actions. “I’ll remember that. Thank you.”

  As Will led Lissa away¸ she looked up to see Royce coming down the stairs toward her. Suddenly, her hands began to shake. She was scared. She had no idea what kind of mood he’d be in, or if, worst case, he decided he didn’t want to be married to her anymore. What would she do then?

  He stopped a foot away from her. “You’re back.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Why, what?”

  “Why did you come back?”

  Her heart sank. Why would he ask that? Did their love mean that little to him that he’d so easily throw it away because she had panicked as everything was too much in such a short span of time? Taking a deep breath, she decided to leap in. “Because I was being childish, running away like that.”