Destined for the Star (Starstruck)

by Dell, Teresia

  ”Wait, you didn’t tell him that, did you?” There was a disapproving look on Sasha’s face.

  ”Of course I did,” Olivia said.

  ”No, no, no, Liv!” Sasha groaned. ”You should have kept him hanging. You’re giving away all your power, girl!”

  ”Don’t be silly, Sasha,” Olivia reprimanded her, ”this is not a game. I could never play with his feelings like that,” she scoffed.

  ”Oh, sometimes you are so infuriating, Liv! Of course it’s a game, a mating game. At least tell me you weren’t the first to say it?”

  ”As a matter of fact, no, I didn’t say it first, he did,” she beamed. ”And he’s invited me to spend Thanksgiving next week with his family in Oklahoma!”

  That shut Sasha up. She looked absolutely stunned.

  ”Sasha, you okay?” Olivia finally asked.

  ”What? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit surprised, I guess. Don’t you think this is moving a little fast, Olivia? I mean, what do you really know about the guy?”

  ”I know everything I need to know,” Olivia said, annoyance creeping into her tone.

  ”Do you really?” Sasha asked, looking at her with deep skepticism. ”How do you know he’s not some lunatic taking you to America to do whatever with?”

  ”Sasha, cut it out! He loves me and I love him. He’s a really, really good man. The best actually. Don’t be like this,” she pleaded, grabbing Sasha’s hands, ”I’ve never been this happy before, ever. I can’t believe he wants me as much as I want him, but he does! When he looks at me, I feel like I could fly. Be happy for me, Sasha, please,” she said pleadingly.

  Sasha was silent for a moment, still a look of concern in her eyes. Finally she smiled.

  ”Just looking out for you, sweetie. I am happy for you, Olivia,” she said, tears suddenly in her eyes. ”No one deserves love more than you do.” She hugged Olivia fiercely.

  Then she held her at arm’s length and asked suspiciously:

  ”Are you moving to America on me?”

  ”No!” Olivia squirmed a little under her gaze, it wasn’t as if the thought had never crossed her mind. A long distance relationship where there was an entire ocean between them would never work out in the long run, and she wanted more than anything for this to work out. ”Well, I don’t know,” she admitted, ”not yet, anyway. I haven’t really thought that far ahead,” she went on, although that wasn’t true at all. She thought a lot about the future right now. She would go to the ends of the earth for Nate, just as long as they could be together.

  ”I guess it would be easier for you to move, than for him,” Sasha observed.

  ”Yeah, I guess. He’s in the family business, and I really only have the boys keeping me here. They’ll be legal adults in February, when they turn eighteen. They’re already threatening to move out, you know,” she said with a wry smile.

  ”You have me here, too, you know,” Sasha said quietly. ”This is your home, Olivia. You don’t even know if you’d feel comfortable in Oklahoma. I bet it’s a long way from Stockholm, in more ways than one,” she mused.

  ”I’m sure it is,” Olivia agreed, ”but Nate doesn’t live in Oklahoma. He told me he lives in California. Not that that makes any difference, really. California is even farther away from here.”

  ”Why does he live in California? Isn’t he a cowboy from Oklahoma?” Sasha asked, a little perplexed.

  ”He hasn’t told me the whole story yet. But he will when I’ve met his family.”

  ”That doesn’t sound so good, Liv. What is he holding back from you?”

  ”Don’t be so cynical, Sasha! I trust him, he’s a good man. He’s my Nate, I don’t really need to know anything more.”

  ”If you say so,” Sasha finally conceded, but she still looked concerned.

  ”Relax, Sasha,” Olivia smiled. ”It’s all going to be fine. You’ll see.”

  * * *

  Later that morning there was a delivery to the café.

  ”It’s for you, Olivia,” Sasha called out.

  When Olivia walked out from the kitchen a delivery guy approached her with a package.

  ”Are you Olivia Berg?”

  ”Yes, that’s me.”

  ”Great. This is for you. I was told to deliver it directly to you and if I didn’t find you at home I should come here. Sign here, please.” He held out an electronic device and waited for her to sign where he pointed.

  ”Have a nice day, ladies!” Then he left.

  ”Thank you!” Olivia called out after him.

  ”Well, don’t just stand there.” Sasha urged her. ”What is it? Something from lover boy?”

  There was a card attached to the package. Olivia ripped it open.

  ”Counting the seconds… Thanks for the smell, it’s keeping me sane. Think of me when you revisit this story. Nate.”

  She started grinning like an idiot at just reading his note. But what did he mean? She tore off the paper to find out. Beneath the plain brown protective paper lay a white box with a dark red velvet bow. When she lifted the lid she gasped at the sight of what looked to be a very old book nestled against the same red velvet as the bow. There were rose petals strewn about the book. She carefully picked it up and burst into tears.

  Sasha stared at her as if she’d lost her mind completely.

  ”You’re crying over a smelly old book?! Damn, girl, you’re a strange one.”

  ”It’s not just any old book, Sasha. This is a first edition of ’Persuasion’.” Olivia cried even harder as she read the inscription Nate had left for her inside the cover.

  ”For my Olivia,

  When you find the One there will never be another.

  All my love always

  Nate”

  * * *

  Nate was just getting ready to do another five minute a piece television interview with a reporter he’d encountered several times before when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He usually turned it off when he was doing press but since Olivia swept into his life and burrowed her way deep into his heart he couldn’t stand the thought of her not being able to reach him whenever she wanted to so he kept it on nowadays, even during press junkets. He slipped it out of his pocket to check the caller id. It was Olivia.

  ”I’m sorry, I need to take this real quick,” he said to the reporter. He didn’t leave his seat in front of her but turned away to get at least a semblance of privacy.

  ”Hey, baby, what’s up? You okay?”

  ”Yes, yes, I’m fine,” Olivia said. But was she? She sounded as if she was crying. He felt a jolt of fear.

  ”Are you really, sweetheart? What’s going on?”

  ”Yes, I’m fine, Nate. It’s just that I got the book and I don’t know how to thank you. It’s the most beautiful gift I’ve ever had.”

  ”No need to thank me, that book belongs with you and I’ve been searching for it ever since that first day we had together.”

  ”The fact that you remember, Nate… You have no idea how happy you make me.” He could hear the smile in her voice through the small sobs. Happy tears then. Good. He smiled.

  ”Good, I’m glad.”

  ”I’m sorry to bother you in the middle of the day, I know how busy you are this week.”

  ”It’s no bother, nothing makes me happier than hearing your voice. It’s just, I’m in the middle of something here, but I think I’m getting my lunch break after this and then I can call you back so we can talk properly. Let me check, ok?”

  He turned to look for Andy.

  ”Hey, Andy, is lunch coming up soon?”

  ”Yes, right after this. No more than ten minutes tops.”

  ”All right, thanks man.” He got back on the phone with Olivia.

  ”Can I call you in a few minutes, baby?”

  ”Yes, of course. I love you, Nate.”

  ”Me too, sweetheart. Me too. Talk to you soon.” He hung up and turned back to the reporter.

  ”Sorry, about that. Let’s get started, shall we?” He felt
the stupid grin on his face and knew he wouldn’t be able to wipe it off for a good while. Damn it, his woman made him buzz with happiness. Just hearing her voice had him all but doing cartwheels with joy.

  ”Someone special calling, I take it?” the reporter smiled at him.

  ”You know me, Claire, I never kiss and tell,” Nate grinned at her.

  ”So there is something to tell then?” she prodded.

  Nate just smiled and shook his head. Andy stepped in and reminded the reporter the clock was ticking and that got the camera rolling and the interview going.

  * * *

  As Olivia was cleaning up after the lunch crowd that afternoon she got a call on her cell phone. She felt dizzy and had to sit down, when she realized what it was about. Sasha saw her reaction and came over, hovering until she hung up. Olivia just sat there, stunned.

  ”What is it, Liv? Tell me, has something happened? Is it the boys? What? Tell me, you’re scaring me!”

  She looked up at Sasha then. And grinned with her whole face.

  ”They want to publish my novel, Sasha!”

  ”They’re buying your book?!” Sasha started jumping with joy.

  ”Yes, looks like it,” Olivia said, still in shock.

  ”That’s amazing! We have to celebrate!”

  Olivia started laughing.

  ”How? We’re at work. We can’t celebrate.”

  ”Okay, but Friday night I’m taking you out to dinner, somewhere really fancy, like Lux or maybe Berns.” Sasha beamed, already excitedly making plans in her head, it seemed. ”I know, we can try out that new Sushi place by the Opera that’s supposed to be really fancy.”

  ”Okay, okay, we’ll see,” Olivia laughed.

  ”No, it’s settled, we are going out to celebrate. Friday night, Liv. You better be there or I’ll come drag your sorry ass into town.”

  Olivia just smiled at Sasha’s determined face. The only thing she wanted to do right now, was to go home and wait for Nate to Skype her, so she could tell him the good news. He had said he’d Skype some time around nine that evening, as soon as he was done for the day. It seemed an eternity until then.

  Chapter 14

  That night, as she was helping the boys clean up after dinner, contentedly listening to their goofy banter, the doorbell rang. They weren’t expecting anyone, and she looked through the peephole before she unlocked the door. It was Sasha.

  ”Hi, come in,” Olivia said, a little surprised. ”You look like hell, Sasha,” she pointed out. ”What happened?” Sasha did look awful, pale and grim, as if she wanted to be anywhere but there.

  She pushed past Olivia and shrugged out of her winter jacket and boots. It was cold out. But no snow in Stockholm yet.

  ”You’re going to hate me for telling you this,” Sasha glumly observed. ”But you need to know.” She grabbed hold of Olivia’s hands. ”You really need to know, Liv.”

  ”What, Sasha? You’re scaring me now.”

  ”It’s Nate,” Sasha finally said.

  Olivia froze in her spot, her hands going cold and clammy as an intense fear gripped her.

  ”Has something happened to Nate?” She grabbed hold of Sasha’s shoulders and forced her to look at her. ”Tell me, Sasha! What do you know?”

  ”No, no, nothing’s happened to Nate,” Sasha answered grimly. ”I’m sure he’s doing great. The man leads a very charmed life,” she said, contempt coloring her tone.

  ”What are you talking about? I don’t understand. Are you sure he’s okay?” It was all Olivia could think about. Please God, don’t let anything have happened to him, please, I couldn’t bear it, she pleaded in her head.

  ”Come here, I’ll show you what I’m talking about,” Sasha said, and towed Olivia to her room.

  ”You’d better sit down,” she said, and pushed Olivia into the chair in front of her computer.

  Sasha bent over the keyboard. She had soon pulled up the video she wanted Olivia to watch.

  ”I don’t understand, what is this?” Olivia asked, confused and still terrified something had happened to Nate.

  ”This is from a press conference in Paris this morning.”

  ”Nate’s in Paris.” Olivia had to force the words through lips numb and unwilling.

  ”I know,” Sasha said, the grim look still on her face. ”The whole world knows he’s in Paris today,” she added.

  Olivia was about to ask what she meant, but Sasha shushed her and turned up the volume on the computer.

  ”Watch this, Olivia. Just watch it and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”

  Olivia looked at the screen. There was a huge banner in the background of the room. She thought it looked like a movie banner. It said ’The Time Traveler’s Tale Part 5: Into eternity’. There was a picture of a couple beneath the title. The man looked familiar somehow, but her brain refused to make the connection. He was embracing a young woman and they were gazing adoringly into each other’s eyes.

  ”Why are you showing me this?” she asked Sasha, impatience in her voice.

  ”Shh, just watch.”

  A woman, speaking English, was standing on stage, next to a long table with name tags in front of each chair.

  ”Please join me in welcoming the director of the fifth and final installment of The Time Traveler’s Tale, Mr Noel Pennington.”

  The press corps applauded as a man in his fifties, with a beard and graying hair, appeared on stage and took his seat.

  ”And now, please welcome the stars of the film, Julia Embrey and Nathan Montgomery.”

  Everything suddenly went very quiet around Olivia - she didn’t notice anything but what was happening on the computer screen in front of her. She wasn’t aware of Sasha’s concerned demeanor or the way she was hovering over her, as if she were waiting for her to pass out or something. All of that toned away. There was only the stage on the screen in front of her.

  First the actress walked out on stage, looking every inch the modern movie goddess, with her beautiful, dark brown hair in glossy waves around her face and down her back. Her perfect, tiny figure dressed in a sexy black suit, with a short skirt showing off her tanned, perfectly toned legs. Right behind her Nate crossed the stage, holding out the chair for Julia as she took her seat. He sat down then and looked out at the sea of reporters. At first all Olivia could think was that he was wearing the shirt she had worn on the trip home the day before, and she felt her heart beat faster. He was wearing her smell, just like he had said he would. He looked dizzyingly gorgeous, the soft blue dress shirt unbuttoned carelessly at the top, showing off some of his lightly tanned skin. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showcasing his strong, tanned forearms. He rested his hands at the table in front of him, looking relaxed but focused. Julia leaned over and whispered something in his ear, and he smiled at her, nodding. Olivia couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing.

  She turned to Sasha, utterly confused, feeling disoriented.

  ”What is Nate doing there?” her voice cracked, her mouth dry with fear.

  Sasha knelt beside her then and held her icy hands in her own.

  ”I’m so sorry, Olivia,” she said tenderly, her eyes filled with concern for her, ”he’s not who he said he was, some cowboy-rancher from Oklahoma. He’s Nathan Montgomery, the hottest movie star on the planet right now. That’s him,” she cocked her head at the screen, ”in Paris this morning, promoting his latest film with his co-star.”

  She seemed to hesitate but then she took a deep breath and let out the rest.

  ”His co-star and live-in girlfriend, Julia Embrey. They’ve been together for the last five years.”

  Olivia shook her head, a strange rustling sound in her ears.

  ”No, that’s not true, that’s not true at all,” she said. ”Nate doesn’t have a live-in girlfriend. No, that’s not right. It’s not true, it’s not true,” she kept repeating it over and over again, as if saying it made it so.

  ”I’m so sorry, Liv, but it is true. Some even say they are alread
y secretly married. See that gold ring she keeps fidgeting with, on her right hand?”

  Olivia looked closer and saw the ring in question, a simple gold band, that the actress kept fingering, a secretive smile on her face whenever she looked at it.

  Olivia felt dizzy and sick. Was she having a nightmare? It certainly felt like it. Or was this some elaborate and very cruel practical joke someone was pulling on her? But who would do such a thing? Sasha would never do that to her.

  ”I don’t understand,” she breathed.

  ”I know this is a shock to you, sweetie, and a lot to take in all at once, but just listen to me, please. I’ll try and explain what I’ve found out.” When Olivia didn’t respond, Sasha just went ahead.

  ”You remember how Nate’s name sounded familiar to me, when you first told me about him?”

  Olivia nodded slowly. She felt as if there was a great divide between her and reality. She simply couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing and hearing.

  ”Well, I couldn’t remember why his name seemed so familiar to me then, so I forgot about it. Until today, when I was reading the paper, Aftonbladet, on my way home from work and I happened upon this article.”

  She fell quiet.

  ”What article?” Olivia asked.

  ”Here it is,” Sasha said quietly and pulled out a torn off piece of newspaper.

  The headline read:

  ’Time-traveler stars to become parents?’

  And then there was a picture of Nate and Julia standing close together at what looked like a movie première. He was gorgeous, of course, looking dapper in a stylish dark suit. Julia looked breathtakingly beautiful in a pale pink gown. All the more so because of the look of love that lit up her face as she looked up at Nate and he smiled down at her. The fingers of her right hand, with the gold ring clearly visible, were tucked a little bit inside Nate’s shirt between a couple of the buttons, resting on his stomach, as if she were tenderly caressing his skin. It was such an intimate gesture, Olivia felt something break inside her. She knew she really ought not to, but she couldn’t stop herself from reading the article.