How a Star Shines: A Pop Stars Romantic Comedy Book 2

by Eliker, Rachael

  “Shut up, Ruby. I’d like to see how trusting you’d be if Collin did the same thing to you. Besides, I’m freezing. It feels like you’ve taken me to the arctic tundra, and all I’m wearing is a trench coat.”

  “It is Christmas day in Paris,” Josh said. “What do you expect?”

  “The last time I was here for Christmas, it was fifty degrees and sunny. It was perfect,” I said. “All of this is starting to make me regret hiring you as my personal bodyguard, you know.”

  Josh laughed again. “Since you got me fired from my last job working for Harper Music, I think you owed me employment.”

  “Me? Got you fired? I remember you making the first move,” I disagreed.

  “Besides,” Josh continued, “how else would you get around Mr. Drake’s requirement that you have full-time security if you didn’t hire me. Could you imagine Bert being our third wheel?”

  I snorted out a laugh. “I think Bert would have rather sat through an entire production of The Nutcracker than watch us be all sentimental on dates.”

  The limo we were in—I knew the feel of a limo well—came to a halt, and I heard the door unlatch and swing open. A blustery gust of wind nearly took my breath away, and I ducked further down into the scarf I’d put on with my coat, hoping to save my nose from frostbite.

  “Well, as much as he’d like to, I don’t think Josh can control the weather, even for you,” Ruby said.

  “Who all is here, anyway? I hear Josh and Ruby, but there was at least one more person who slid into the seat next to Ruby.”

  Josh said, “I knew I was going to need help if I was going to pull this off.”

  I sniffed the air in one direction and got a lungful of Josh’s cologne. I had to resist the urge to grab his shirt and greedily suck all the scent off his skin. In the other direction, I sniffed a very familiar aftershave. “It’s Collin, isn’t it?”

  “Very astute,” Collin said complimentarily. “Don’t forget Vanessa.”

  “Ah,” I said. “I thought that was a bit of a flowery scent on you, Collin. Lucky Ruby. Her first Christmas in Paris with her beau and her best friend.”

  “My two best friends,” Ruby corrected.

  “I was talking about me. I don’t know how you refer to Vanessa,” I teased. “Your backup singer? A personal shopper?”

  “Hey,” Vanessa said, with a bit of a bite to her tone. “You watch it, or I will drag you out to the middle of nowhere with that blindfold on and leave you there.”

  “Too late. I’m already being kidnapped by Josh,” I answered.

  “We’re almost to where we’re going,” Josh said. The car rocked as everyone exited, and I felt Josh’s strong hands grab my arm and carefully guide me outside.

  “I’ve got Cinnamon,” Ruby said, slamming the door behind me.

  “Does he have his sweater on? He hates the cold,” I mentioned.

  I could hear Ruby roll her eyes through my blindfold. “Kiki, this dog is ninety-five percent fur. He’s fine.”

  I took a step forward, holding my arms straight out in front of me as I searched for Ruby so she could hand over Cinnamon. Apparently, it was nothing but a sheet of slick ice in front of me. My wedge heel boots with the cute faux fur tops were no match. Josh kept me from going flat on my back, but not before I wildly flung my arms around a few times to keep my balance. I felt my finger poke into something squishy, and Ruby yelped in pain.

  “Ow, Kiki!” she yelled angrily. “You’re gonna owe me a new eyeball for Christmas if you aren’t careful.”

  I reached for my blindfold to see the damage I’d done—I swore I could feel cells I’d scraped off from her eye under my nail—but Josh caught my hand and pulled it away.

  “Uh uh,” he teased. “If you looked now, you’d really ruin the surprise. Let’s go.”

  He wrapped his arm around my back and held my hand with the other, taking small, careful steps alongside with me. We went up a few flights of stairs, then entered an elevator that seemed to go forever.

  Feeling slightly nervous at how long we were riding in the elevator and unmistakably going up, I asked, “Where is it that we’re going, exactly?”

  “You’ll see,” Josh said cryptically.

  The doors opened on the elevator, and another blast of chilly wind nearly knocked me backward. I knew we were high up even without looking.

  “Josh,” I said, clawing my nails into his arm, “I don’t like this. You know I hate heights!”

  “You’ll thank him later,” Ruby said. “It’s gorgeous up here.”

  My whole body tensed up, and my muscles quivered. “I can feel the building rocking in the wind.”

  “That’s just your imagination,” Ruby said, dismissing my worries.

  “No, actually, she’s right,” Collin said. “The Eiffel Tower is made of iron, and it’ll move when—”

  Ruby must have smacked Collin in the stomach.

  “We’re on top of the Eiffel Tower?” I said through short, panicked breaths. “I’d like to go now.”

  “You haven’t even seen anything yet. It’s a gorgeous view today,” Josh said, sounding slightly disappointed.

  “I’ll take your word for it,” I said. “I appreciate the gesture, and now I can say I’ve been to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We are at the top, aren’t we?”

  “As high as we can go,” Vanessa confirmed. “Stop being such a baby and at least look.”

  “Let me just take off your blindfold so you can take a peek. That’s the very least I want you to do,” Josh said. I could feel his fingers on the blindfold, but I pulled away and cupped my hands over my eyes to keep it in place.

  “No, thanks!” I said in voice an octave higher than normal.

  “I’ll hold her down, and you pull it off,” Ruby suggested.

  “No need,” Josh answered. “If she doesn’t want to, I won’t make her. I do, however, insist on a Christmas kiss up here.”

  Josh slipped his arms around my waist and pressed his warm lips to mine. His mouth was inviting, and I could taste the mint from his toothpaste. My whole body shook, but this time, it wasn’t from the vertigo.

  When Josh pulled away, trailing a few kisses along my jaw, cheek, and forehead, I opened my eyes and looked deeply into his eyes. The love and longing there made my breath catch in my throat and my entire body erupt with heat. Fluffy flakes of snow fell slowly at first, then started coming with increased intensity. I glanced to my left and saw the entire city of Paris being blanketed in pure white snow.

  I reached up to my face, realizing only then that Josh had snuck my blindfold off while I was distracted by his delicious kiss.

  “You sneak,” I hissed, afraid that if I yelled, I might be the final push that knocked the structure over. Irrational, yes, but heights had that effect on me.

  “You’ll thank me later,” he said with a mischievous grin. “Now be brave and take a couple of steps over this way. You can get a better view.”

  Before I could protest, Josh scooped me up in his arms. I shrieked, but Josh held me closer.

  “Cinnamon! Attack!” I cried fruitlessly. All Cinnamon did was wag his tail from beneath Ruby’s arm.

  “You’re fine,” Josh reassured me as he set me down next to the rail. “There’s no way you’re going to fall.”

  I pinched my eyes shut, willing myself off this wretched building. Why couldn’t I just enjoy its beauty from the ground?

  Josh leaned in, and his stubble tickled my neck. “Trust me,” he whispered into my ear.

  “Fine. But I’m only doing this for you.”

  Slowly, I opened my eyes, looking through my lashes at the city before me. My pulse was still galloping crazily, but I could see how someone could see past the horrifyingly high heights and that from this perspective, there was beauty to the city that would otherwise remain unseen.

  “Merry Christmas, Kiki,” Josh said softly into my ear. I leaned back into him, and he wrapped his arms tightly around me and nuzzled his chin over my shoulder.
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  “Merry Christmas, Josh. You certainly win for the most original present I’ve ever received, but don’t go thinking you have to top it. I’m going to draw the line at bungee jumping or skydiving for a gift. There are things that if you try, I will kill you and have your body buried where no one will find it.”

  Josh chortled at my threat. “Duly noted. This is for you, too.” He pulled a thin, flat present and a square box out of his coat, both wrapped in festive paper. “Go ahead. Open them.”

  “Trying to get the upper hand on presents?” I teased. “Mine are all back at the hotel.”

  “No,” Josh murmured, looking down at the gifts. “This is something you really gave yourself.”

  Tilting my head and looking at him confusedly, I carefully tore away the paper on the first to reveal a framed magazine clipping. The title read, Kiki Loveless Shows the Music Industry How a Star Shines. Beneath was an action shot of me singing on stage with a fierce look out into the audience while my background dancers were mid-twirl. I ran my fingers over the glass and smiled at Josh’s thoughtfulness.

  “I think the media finally caught a glimpse of how great you truly are. I wanted to make sure you remember it, too.”

  “It’s perfect,” I murmured.

  “Open the other one,” Josh encouraged.

  Tearing away the paper, it revealed a glass box with the broken drumsticks the street performer had given me, mounted on a black velvet background.

  I laughed, not knowing what to say. How could I adequately express gratitude for a gift that was so simple yet was so incredibly profound?

  “That’s all you got her?” Vanessa asked, disbelief written all over her face. “A magazine article and a broken pair of drumsticks?”

  Josh looked uncomfortable for a minute, shifting on his feet. I just shook my head, feeling a twinge of sorrow for Vanessa. “I think you’ll understand a gift like this when the right guy gives it to you.”

  Vanessa raised her eyebrows. “Whatever,” she mumbled under her breath.

  “It really is perfect,” I thanked Josh. Wrapping my arms around his slender waist, he kissed the top of my head and rested his cheek on my head.

  Collin cleared his throat and fidgeted with his hands in his pockets. “Not to try and outdo you, Josh, but I have a present I wanted to give Ruby. It’s not every day you have the Eiffel Tower to yourself.”

  I looked around, and for the first time, realized there wasn’t anyone else on the observation deck. “Yeah. How did you manage this?”

  “I asked Mandy for a favor. That girl has unlimited connections,” Josh said.

  “What’s your present?” Ruby asked, clapping her hands and bouncing on her toes. “Please don’t make me guess. I hate it when you make me guess.”

  “I won’t make you guess,” Collin agreed. Pulling his hands out of his pocket, he opened and held up a ring box with the most elegant, sparkling diamond ring I’d ever seen. Dropping to one knee, he said, “Ruby…”

  Her eyes practically glazed over, and she started giggling incessantly, knowing exactly what was coming.

  “Collin!” I interrupted. “How did you not discuss this with me beforehand? I think this is something I should have known was coming!”

  Collin shrugged and looked sheepishly at me. “I know you and Ruby are lousy at keeping secrets from each other. I was playing this one pretty close to the chest.”

  “Touché,” I agreed.

  “I had an entire speech written out about how wonderful you are and how much I love you, and I hoped that I could convince you to marry me, but now that it’s come to it, I can’t remember a single word.” Collin looked up at Ruby with a hopeful smile and unshed tears filming over his eyes. “Ruby, you have that effect on me. All I know is, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you make me the happiest man on earth and agree to be my wife?”

  Ruby sank to her knees and dropped Cinnamon, who landed on his feet with a bounce, looking a touch indignant at being let go. He trotted over to me, and I picked him up, tickling him under his chin.

  “Yes!” she squealed with delight. Collin slipped the ring on her finger and pulled her into a heated kiss that left them both gasping for breath.

  “That’s the kind of gift I’d want for Christmas,” Vanessa said.

  “An engagement ring?” I asked.

  “Diamonds. You can never go wrong with diamonds,” Vanessa said with a sideways glance at me.

  “That is a Christmas gift that would be hard to top,” Josh agreed.

  I turned to look up at him with a smirk. “I bet we could top that kiss, though.”

  Josh gave me a mischievous double eyebrow raise and took me in his arms. I held on tight as Josh pressed his body to mine and dipped me low, sending a thrill wriggling up my throat.

  In a low voice that was raspy and playful, Josh whispered into my ear, “If you’re willing to try, then so am I.”

  * * *

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  About Rachael

  Rachael Eliker is an avid reader and author with eclectic tastes, a life-long horse fanatic, and self-taught home renovator (a skill which has been tested on every home she’s ever owned). She forces herself to nurture her love/hate relationship with running by jogging along lonely stretches of country road with her cowardly dog who would leave her for dead should anything ever happen. Married to her very own absentminded rocket scientist, together they have more kids than most people can comprehend. When she’s not writing, she enjoys mucking stalls, riding her geriatric horse, milking their ornery Jersey cow, and wondering what life would be like as a celebrity if she wasn’t content being an introvert.

  Learn more about Rachael Eliker by visiting

  https://rachaeleliker.com

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  Also by Rachael Eliker

  Headed for the Win

  Road to the Regalia

  The Midnight Slaves

  When a Star Falls