Until Next Time (The Shooting Stars Series)

by Michelle Maness

  “You know Milton Hershey did something similar during the depression. He kept building on his town and company, employing people when work was hard to find.”

  “They were just sweet guys, weren’t they?” Adam’s eyes were twinkling. Katherine groaned and rolled her eyes.

  “Come on, we have more to see,” she insisted.

  She directed him to a few more historic properties in the beautiful rolling hills of middle Tennessee and then to the Natchez Trace Parkway and the picnic tables at the Gordon House Ferry Sight.

  “This was home to Nashville’s first post master,” Katherine shared.

  “How do you know all this stuff?” Adam asked her as he perched on top of the table.

  “My daddy used to tell Mom to pack a picnic and we would drive and explore and just go all over the place; it was always so much fun and when we came to a place we could tour we did. I learned to love my state during those trips.”

  “I guess so,” he smiled at her as she climbed onto the table beside him and started unpacking their picnic.

  Adam watched the wind play with her curls and considered doing the same. She still had no idea just often he had played with her hair in high school. She would be sitting and listening to Mrs. White while he played with her silky curls where they lay on his desk. He had already pressed his luck enough for one day, he decided. She should have been furious with him after the stunt he had pulled earlier.

  “Do you know what I thought the first time I saw you?” he asked her.

  “What’s that?” she handed him a sandwich.

  “That you were too cute; you had to be trouble,” he admitted with a grin.

  “Me trouble?” her brows were raised, “This from the guy who stole kisses when we were supposed to be practicing stage kissing?”

  “I didn’t know you had never been properly kissed,” he shrugged. “But that’s kind of what I mean, see?”

  “No, I don’t see,” she laughed.

  “I kept telling myself that you were out of my league and not to go getting mixed up with you but I couldn’t seem to help being drawn to you.”

  “I’m flattered,” she rolled her eyes.

  “I’m serious, Kaitlyn. You messed me up from the moment you smiled at me.”

  “So I was bad for you, huh?”

  “No, I was all kinds of bad for you but you were very good for me,” he argued.

  “How were you bad for me?” she demanded.

  “I was your first kiss, the first one you slept with…I corrupted you.”

  “You corrupted me?” she asked on a laugh. “Yes, you see how many men I’ve slept with since you. You started a horrible pattern of bad, destructive behavior.”

  “You know what I mean,” he told her. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Adam, have I ever complained?”

  “No.”

  “Then shut up about it already.”

  “You’re bossy,” he accused. “I should have known in college when you ordered me to sleep with you how bossy you are.”

  Katherine reached over and slapped his arm.

  “Ow!” he held his arm.

  “I did not order you to sleep with me!” she countered.

  “All but,” he returned.

  “You put up a real big fight.”

  “I know, I should have argued more, you probably think I’m easy now.”

  Katherine blew out an exasperated sigh and tried and failed not to laugh at him.

  That night they spent much of the evening watching TV at his place before she went home to bed. When she found one of his t-shirts in the bag with the book, she laughed and pulled it on in place of the old worn out one. Katherine lifted the material and inhaled deeply of his scent. She had a problem; she was still very much in love with Adam and suspected she had been this entire time. The real issue, however, was she did not know exactly how he felt. He flirted, he had always flirted, she knew he was fond of her and that she mattered; she didn’t know how much she mattered.

  Twenty-Two

  Katherine stared at the paper in front of her in disbelief. She had run by the store for a few groceries and now stood in line. Apparently Adam’s whereabouts were now known to some. The cover of the magazine had a large photo of her and Adam seated on top of a picnic table, feet on the bench at the Gordon House Ferry Site. They were smiling at each other and clearly had been oblivious as neither of them had seen any photographers. She grabbed the paper and added it to her purchases. She didn’t miss the way the clerk glanced between her and the paper as she rang up Katherine’s purchases.

  Once her groceries were put away, Katherine took the elevator to Adam’s floor and knocked on his door.

  “Hey, Kaitlyn,” he was smiling and looked happy.

  “Hey,” she handed him the paper and watched him survey it.

  “Well, I guess people know where I am now, huh? I’ll have to be more careful. Are you upset?”

  “Shocked,” Katherine laughed. “I never thought I’d see myself in gossip papers. They’ve been talking to someone too because apparently I dumped my fiancé for you. Flattered?”

  “Very,” he grinned. “Guess what? I am going to do it; I’m opening my own studio. I put down some money on a place today.”

  “Adam! That’s wonderful. Where are you opening it?”

  “Nashville.”

  “I am so happy for you and glad you are staying in the area. It’d be awfully hard to have a fling with you if you move off and that’s what people expect now,” she laughed and hugged him before she seated herself.

  “I am not interested in a fling with you, Kaitlyn,” he didn’t seem amused. “You aren’t the kind of woman a man has a fling with.”

  “Now you’ve hurt my feelings and to think I dumped my fiancé for you,” she playfully pouted before turning serious. “All joking aside, Adam, I am so happy for you. I am sure you will be great at it.”

  “I hope so; time will tell.”

  “I, uh, wanted to ask you something,” she stood and started pacing.

  “So ask.”

  “I have never been to California. Work has been crazy and then there is this whole thing with me and Derrick…I need a break. I was thinking about buying a ticket and spending some time in L.A. If I did would you show me around?”

  “Are you serious?” he blinked at her; she nodded. “I would be thrilled if you came out to California,” he was grinning widely now.

  “Can you suggest a place to stay? I’ve been looking at a few places on the computer but I don’t know the area.”

  “Let me take care of that, please? I know the best places to stay and can have it arranged in no time,” his eyes were shining.

  “I don’t have a huge budget…”

  “I know what I am doing,” he promised; she nodded.

  “Thanks. I know you are leaving Monday but I couldn’t get off until Tuesday. I have a huge meeting Monday.”

  “Let me know what time you are arriving Tuesday and I will be there,” he promised.

  “Okay,” she smiled; she was excited.

  ***

  Katherine was impatient for her trip and spent the next few days in a blur of shopping, packing and preparing while trying to stay on top of her work. By Monday night she was packed and so jittery that she feared she would never sleep.

  “So you’re all packed?” Adam asked as they spoke on the phone

  “All except a couple of last minute items,” she admitted as she zipped her suitcase

  “You are so prepared. I was dashing back to grab things, shoving them into my bag as the taxi waited today,” he admitted.

  “I told you, you should have gone home and packed instead of sitting there talking to me,” she teased.

  “I preferred talking to you.”

  “So you saw Damien today?”

  “I did,” his voice fell to a low rumble.

  “What did he have to say?”

  “He was nice, too nice; he’s trying to convince
me to come back. I told him no but he hasn’t given up yet,” Adam shared.

  “Has Mia been any trouble?”

  “I haven’t seen anything of her which suits me just fine.”

  They continued talking while Katherine started getting ready for bed.

  “What time do you land?”

  “Ten a.m. local time,” she said around her toothbrush.

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Great, I’ll look for the throng of women,” she teased after she rinsed her mouth.

  “I’ll be incognito.”

  “How will I know you then?” she asked as she attempted to wash her face while talking on the phone.

  “I’ll find you,” he promised.

  Katherine stepped off her plane the next day and scanned the waiting crowd. It didn’t take long for her to spot a sign with her name on it. Holding the sign was Adam, dressed in khakis, a white shirt and chauffeur’s coat and hat. He also wore a large pair of sunglasses.

  “Hi,” she was laughing as she greeted him.

  “Hi,” he smiled back.

  “Interesting look,” she noted.

  “No one even gave me a second glance,” he was grinning. “Let’s get your bags.”

  It didn’t take long to claim her bags or to reach the short term parking where Adam had parked his car. Katherine took a look at the car and stopped short.

  “It’s a 1955 Porsche Spider, same year as the one James Dean was killed in,” Adam supplied.

  “Adam?”

  “Yes?”

  “Are you trying to convince me to ride with you or to take a cab?”

  He started laughing then and held the door for her. “I assure you that I will be extra careful,” he promised.

  Katherine lowered herself into the passenger seat of the low black two seater and waited while her luggage was loaded. She had to admit the car was sharp, and it suited Adam.

  “So where am I staying?” she asked Adam.

  “If you are okay with it, you are staying with me,” he informed her.

  “I don’t mind staying in your spare room,” she assured him.

  “I’m staying a hotel but I have suite with two bedrooms. I thought that way we wouldn’t be driving between hotels when we wanted to get together.”

  “Do I want to know how much my half of the room is?”

  “I’ve got it, Kaitlyn. I am so happy to have you here and you are doing me a favor whether that was your intent or not so I will do one in return.”

  “Do you need any help with your house while I’m here?” she offered. She knew he had just put it on the market.

  “I am selling the contents with it so I just need to get my personal items out. You can help with that if you like.”

  “I’d be happy to,” she assured him as they joined the traffic on the interstate.

  Katherine was overwhelmed by the sheer size of LA she had never been to such a large city. She was glad Adam was driving; she would have been a nervous wreck. He expertly wove his way in and out of traffic on the 405 until he sped off the freeway for Santa Monica Boulevard and onto Wilshire. She drank in the sights and sounds as he drove to their hotel.

  “The Wilshire?” she demanded; he grinned.

  “Where else?”

  Katherine was trying hard not to gape as Adam helped her from the car and spoke with the valet. He gave the name of their suite for the bags to be brought up. Of course their suite had a name, she mused as he escorted her inside. She walked around the suite in wonder. This wasn’t a hotel room; it was an apartment, a very generous apartment. It even had a kitchen.

  “Come on,” Adam grabbed her hand and led her onto the balcony and smiled when her eyes widened. “Rodeo Drive.”

  “Adam….this place is….”

  “Be right back; that will be your bags.”

  Katherine shook her head as she looked over Rodeo Drive and the surrounding hills. She had entered an alternate universe. She was still watching the bustle below and letting the breeze tease her hair when Adam joined her.

  “This place is amazing. I hate to think what it costs.”

  “So don’t think about it. This is precisely where I was staying whether you came or not. The security for this suite is stellar and allows me to relax without worrying that someone will find their way into my room.”

  “Thanks for sharing it,” she turned to smile at him.

  “You’re welcome,” he assured her. “I thought I’d let you get settled and take you out sightseeing; then we have plans for the night.”

  “We do? What are we doing?” she demanded.

  “You’ll see,” he grinned.

  “I need to know how to dress and if I brought something appropriate…”

  “For now dress comfortably and don’t worry about tonight. It’s covered,” he assured her; she frowned but finally nodded.

  Katherine gaped at her room and private bath before she began unpacking. She opened the closet and stopped short. Two gorgeous dresses and everything she would need with them already hung inside.

  “Adam!” she called.

  “Yes?” he entered her room and joined her.

  “What is this?”

  “I told you tonight was covered. You also have an appointment to have your hair done later.”

  “Adam….” She turned to glare at him. “How do know they’ll fit?”

  “I bribed your mom into your measurements.”

  “You did what!”

  “Bribed your mom into your measurements,” he repeated slowly. “The most recent ones, very nice incidentally.”

  “Adam, I….” she sighed and returned to unpacking. There was no point in arguing with the man.

  A few minutes later they were back in the car. Katherine tried to take in everything around her: the mansions, the mountains, Sun Set Boulevard, Rodeo Drive, sun kissed women with every detail of their appearance coordinated walked out of salons to join well-dressed men who were crossing the street. Katherine’s head was beginning to spin from all she had seen.

  “It’s overwhelming,” she admitted when they cruised through an area that was mostly studios and sound stages. She noticed that the guards at the gates all admired the car as they passed.

  “It is. Would you like to see the Chinese Theater? See which stars’ footprints and handprints you match?”

  “Sounds fun,” she agreed. She tried on several of her favorite actresses’ handprints and footprints and laughed when none of them fit her own. They did this for quite a while. Adam enjoyed watching her enjoy herself.

  “I hate to interrupt you, but if we’re going to make our reservations we need to get going,” he told her.

  “Oh! I had almost forgotten. I was having so much fun I lost track of time,” she told him.

  They returned to the hotel, each headed to their rooms on the opposite sides of the suite and started dressing for the evening. Katherine went to have her hair done and was pleased with the way they had pulled it up and left several curls to trail down her back. She knew Adam loved her curls.

  Back in her room, she pulled on an emerald green dress with a fitted bust, no straps, and a loose flowing skirt. The other was red with a beaded bust and a straight, flowing skirt. She’d had a hard time choosing. She surveyed herself in the mirror and was suddenly wishing she had brought her pearls because she knew her jewelry would look like the costume jewelry it was beside the dress.

  “Oh well,” she muttered as she stepped into her heels and made her way into the living room.

  “Wow, you look amazing,” Adam’s gaze slid over her.

  Katherine was feeling rather speechless herself. He looked even better in a tux now than he had in high school.

  “Thank you. You look nice yourself. Would you mind zipping my dress the rest of the way? I couldn’t quite reach it,” she requested and turned to offer him her back.

  “You smell nice too,” he noted as he tugged her zipper into place. “Hold on, stay there,” he ordered.

 
Katherine frowned but waited as ordered. Katherine reached to her collar bone in surprise when she felt cold metal come to rest against it. She could feel stones beneath her fingers. She glanced down.

  “Adam,” she turned to frown at him.

  “You can put these on yourself,” he handed her a box, now empty of the necklace but still containing earrings. She spotted the name of the jeweler and nearly freaked. They did not sell costume jewelry!

  “No!” she took a step backward as she reached to take the necklace off.

  “You don’t like them?” he frowned at her. “I thought emeralds would be perfect with your coloring.”

  “Adam! I cannot accept this; the dresses were too much to begin with!”

  “I had fun shopping for you,” he shrugged. “Come on, Kaitlyn. The necklace and earrings are perfect for the dress.”

  Adam removed the earrings from the box and approached. Katherine stood staring up at him as he gently put them in her ears. After he had fastened the last one in place he let his hand slide to her neck, his thumb caressing the sensitive skin beneath her ear. Katherine swallowed hard as shivers slid down her spine.

  “We should go,” Adam stepped away.

  “Right,” she nodded. She grabbed a small hand bag and allowed him to escort her down stairs and into a waiting limo.

  “Damien’s father, a man named Samuel and the legal head of the company, called me while you were in the salon. He’s fairly hands off these days because of health issues but technically is in charge. Seems he had heard about my situation and about my desire to clean my life up and is tired of his son bullying everyone around,” he shared as they settled into the back of the car. He didn’t share that the man had immediately guessed there was also a woman involved.

  “What did he say?”

  “He let me out of my contract with little more than a slap on the wrist. The new material I had done will be released and I will do a couple of promotional things, just small stuff and there will be no tour for it.”

  “Wow, I don’t know the industry, but I’m guessing that isn’t the norm.” Katherine noted.

  “No, he seemed pleased to one up his son and I was the beneficiary. I won’t complain so I had thought tonight would be just for fun. Now we are celebrating,” he grinned at her.