A-List Kiss: A Laugh-Out-Loud Romantic Comedy

by Brenda Lowder

  “Wait.” Sophie held a hand up. “Tomorrow? Seriously? You’re going to just pick up and go to Paris tomorrow?”

  “Yes.” I ignored her worried expression that the flutters in my stomach seemed to agree with.

  “Isn’t this way too quick? I mean, I know everything about this has been outrageously sudden, like Gavin asking you out the day you met, and then him sending you that crazy expensive necklace, and now asking you to go to Paris? Paris is in another country, Eden.”

  I pushed the suitcase aside and sat on my bed. “Yes. So?”

  She folded her arms. “So I’m just saying that you’re trusting this guy and going along with everything because you’ve loved him forever and feel like you know him, blah blah blah, but that isn’t real. You don’t actually know him. You only know the parts he plays in the movies and how he is in interviews and magazine articles. You don’t know the real him at all. He’s this guy you just met, and you’re going out of the country with him.”

  “Yeah.” I picked up a black T-shirt that was really too simple to be going with me to Paris. “But he’s Gavin Braddock. Chase Livingston!” Chase Livingston was Gavin’s character’s name in Elegy in Autumn. “The whole world knows him. He’s not some random guy I picked up in a bar yesterday. Thanks to Hollywood Spotlight, Entertainment Now, and What’s Up magazine we know everything about him, from what his favorite drink is to the color of his living room couch. If he were an axe murderer or a serial rapist, we would know. He’s dogged every moment of his life by the paparazzi.”

  “Knowing a bunch of trivia about the guy does not mean you know him.” Sophie bit her bottom lip. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I know, Soph, thanks. But you don’t have anything to worry about. I know the risks, but I’m willing to take the ride. I’m living my dream. Don’t ruin it for me, okay?” I lay back on my bed and stared at the ceiling.

  Sophie sighed and lay down next to me, the pile of clothes and suitcase at our feet. “I’m not. I am completely, one hundred percent happy for you, and I hope you both live happily ever after—forever! And have a ton of babies and no stretch marks. I just worry because although I’m completely jealous,” she said with a smile, “it’s all just too good to be true.” She pushed a lock of red hair out of her eyes. “And usually things that seem too good to be true really are.”

  “And sometimes they’re even better than you thought they’d be. Besides, I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

  Sophie’s head snapped back around to face me. “What did your mom say when you told her?”

  Oh, no. I hadn’t told my mom yet. Hmm…what time was it in Atlanta? It was one in the morning here so that meant it was four there. Too late to call.

  “I haven’t told her yet,” I admitted.

  “Won’t she freak?”

  “Probably. But I’m twenty-five years old—plenty old enough to make my own decisions. Actually way too old to keep consulting my mom on everything. Except expensive dresses.”

  “Then why do you?”

  Valid question. One I’d asked myself a lot lately.

  “Because she’s also my best friend.” This was true. I loved talking to Mom and confiding in her. It was true that her maternal feelings sometimes played too large a role in dictating my life. They often led her to tell me what to do or try to fix my problems rather than just listen, but I was lucky to have Mom in my corner. My living so far away now might have made her feel less involved, so she overcompensated by inserting herself more lately. Which might also explain her talks with Matthew.

  “That reminds me. Maggie called me tonight and said she was coming to visit.”

  “What?” I couldn’t deal with my sister right now. My life had suddenly gotten very complicated. The last thing I needed was pot-stirring Maggie around when I was dating a movie star.

  “She tried you on your cell, but she said you weren’t picking up, and she was dying to tell us the news.”

  “Well, she can’t come.” I got up and resumed packing. “It’s as simple as that.”

  “I don’t mind if she visits.”

  Poor sweet, trusting Sophie. She had no idea what havoc Hurricane Maggie would wreak on our lives. She could afford to be benevolent.

  I pointed my hairbrush at her. “You’ll mind eventually. She’ll see to it. She’ll steal your boyfriend or tell him you wear Spanx.”

  Sophie’s face scrunched up. “Why? I don’t have a boyfriend, and I don’t wear Spanx!”

  “Oh, that’s just an example. Not because I wear Spanx or have ever lost a boyfriend to her.” Let her try, I thought. “She just knows how to mess stuff up. And likes doing it.”

  “All big sisters say that about their little sisters. I’m a little sister, and I don’t act like that.”

  “That’s because you have only older brothers, so you’re like a cool little sister. A mascot. Someone who learned to fit in with the guys and make herself useful so she wouldn’t get kicked out of the fun. A relationship of just sisters is founded on manipulation and attention. Who can get the most attention, and how can you sabotage whatever attention the other one is getting? It’s cutthroat.”

  Sophie laughed. “If she has you in such a flurry, I can’t wait to meet her!” She got up and paused at the door. “See you in the morning, Frenchie.”

  I’d wait to worry about Maggie until I got back from Paris. There was no point thinking about it now. I had the most romantic getaway in history happening the next day with the most attractive man on the planet, who happened to be Hollywood’s brightest star, adored by millions. A visit from my sister was nothing to worry about.

  Chapter Eleven

  I woke up to the sound of my cell phone ringing. I had somehow fallen asleep on my bed in the middle of packing, so I had the pattern of my black lace bra creased into my face. I felt around for the phone and finally put my hand on it, answering it without looking. I really needed to program some numbers in so I’d know who was calling me. Then I might actually want to look at the caller ID.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, is this Eden?” a vaguely familiar male voice asked.

  “Yes. Who’s this?”

  “Jonathan…Decker? You know my brother Matthew?” He said everything like a question.

  I sat up, surprised. Matthew’s little brother, the frat boy?

  “Yes, I’ve met your brother,” I confirmed. “How did you get my number?” I pulled the phone from my ear and looked at it. This was my phone, right? Matthew didn’t switch them on me last night after all, did he?

  “Your number was in my brother’s phone. I just, ah, needed to talk to you, so I sort of made note of it.”

  Oooookay. “What can I do for you, Jonathan?”

  “You could call Matthew. He’s back to being his hard to deal with asshole self now that you’ve dumped him.”

  “Excuse me?” I almost dropped the phone. Was he delusional? Or was this some kind of joke? “Matthew and I have never dated. His being an asshole has nothing to do with me.”

  “It does. I know you dated. He met you at Starbucks, and then you guys went back to your apartment and hung out with your friends. And he was happier because of it—less of an asshole.”

  “That wasn’t a date.” I snagged my leg in a bra strap as I scooted off the bed. “Why did he tell you about that? This is insane. Listen…” I paused to inhale and exhale a steadying breath so I could face this Black Mirror episode I’d suddenly found myself in. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jonathan. Honestly. Your brother and I accidentally switched phones. We met once at Starbucks to switch them back. Then we came to my apartment because I’d forgotten his phone and had to come back for it.”

  He laughed. “Aha! The old ‘leave something behind’ trick so you have to get them to come back.”

  “What? No! His phone had gotten kicked under a chair, and I didn’t see it—oh, never mind. It’s not important. The point is that your brother and I just met. We don’t e
ven like each other. And we’ve never dated. End of story.” I disentangled my ankle from the bra and threw it into the suitcase. “Besides, I’m seeing someone else.”

  “Really?” Jonathan said like I’d claimed to have a boyfriend who lives in Canada. “Who?”

  I straightened and put my chin up. “Well, it happens that I’m dating Gavin Braddock.” It sounded unreal even to my own ears.

  He roared with laughter. “The movie star? Now I know you’re making stuff up.”

  I ran my hand through my tangled hair, thinking about how much I still had to do to get ready. And I was wasting time defending myself to random callers. Not that I needed to defend myself to Matthew’s kid brother. Really! It was only that, when dating a movie star, it was tempting to tell everyone you happened to talk to that you were dating a movie star. How else would they know?

  “No, I’m not making stuff up. I really am seeing him.” I took a deep breath. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

  “Are you seeing him in your head? Or can other people see him too?”

  “I’m dating him, not imagining him, you twit!” I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. “Why are you calling, anyway? What would it matter if I’d been dating your brother? Do you screen all his dates or something?”

  I resumed my one-handed packing, throwing jeans and T-shirts in the pile.

  Jonathan snorted. “All his dates? He doesn’t date. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. You’re the only girl he’s mentioned since Sarah, and that was, like, years ago.”

  “How many years?”

  “Three. You haven’t heard about Sarah? Well, I guess you wouldn’t since you say the two of you aren’t dating.” Jonathan paused to huff his disbelief into my ear. “Sarah was his fiancée.”

  “He was engaged?” A random pang of jealousy jabbed me in the ribs. When I didn’t care at all and was not the least bit interested.

  “Yeah. But she dumped him the night before the wedding,” Jonathan continued, as if I hadn’t interrupted. “She was really beautiful, and she told him she didn’t want to be tied down. He hasn’t been the same since. He’s still really sketchy on trusting women. He’s given up on trying to form any real connection with anyone.”

  I made my first attempt at zipping the suitcase. Where was all that room I was going to leave? “What do you know about forming real connections?”

  “I’m in college. I form them all the time.” He laughed. “But anyway, yesterday I was hanging out with him, and he mentioned that you were a television reporter and really beautiful, but it wasn’t going to go anywhere. Anyway, I wanted to say hang in there, and don’t break his heart because he couldn’t take it a second time.”

  “It’s really nice that you’re looking out for your brother.” I sat on my suitcase. “I wish my sister and I had that kind of relationship. Sorry I can’t help you.” I started to push the button to end the call but stopped and put the phone back up to my ear. “Are you sure Matthew said I was beautiful?”

  “Yep.”

  Interesting. “Maybe he doesn’t hate me.” I clicked my fingernails against the phone.

  “He definitely doesn’t hate you. He’s interested in you, despite you being crazy.” I started to object but Jonathan rolled over me. “Hey! His word, not mine! But it sounds like you’ve got a movie star boyfriend. It’s a good sign, though, that he’s starting to show interest in women again. Maybe the next girl he dates will bring back the cool brother he used to be. Well, whatever. Not your problem. Good talking to you, though, Eden.”

  “Um, thanks. Nice talking to you, Jonathan. Bye.” I tossed the phone onto the bed. What a strange conversation. No time to think about it, though. I was going to Paris today with Gavin Braddock.

  And I’d forgotten to tell my mother.

  I sank onto my bed and called her. “How did the date go last night?” she asked instead of saying, “hello.”

  I smiled, even though she couldn’t see me. The details of my life were always at the forefront of her mind.

  “Fantastic.”

  “Was he a good kisser? He has always looked like a good kisser. Especially in Danger Horizon with that Stella Lark.” My mom giggled. She’d met Dad in high school when she was sixteen and he was seventeen. They’d been in love ever since. She’d been looking for a spectacular love story for me since I’d been born. The biggest movie star in the world would almost be good enough.

  “Out of this world.” I sighed just remembering. My mom giggled again.

  “Tell me all about it! What other celebrities did you see?”

  I listed the notable people I’d glimpsed, and she made comments like, “So glad she’s home from rehab,” and, “Happy to hear he’s doing better. The divorce was so hard on him, and the custody battle was heartbreaking.”

  “Mom, I need to tell you something.” I twisted my finger in my hair.

  “What is it, sweetie?” I could tell from her voice that I’d inadvertently activated her “mom alert” and she was prepared to worry about whatever I was going to say next.

  “Gavin asked me to go to Paris with him. Today. We’re leaving today. Together.” Waiting for her response, I tugged my finger from my twisted hair and broke several strands with an audible snap. I had to stop doing that.

  “Paris, France?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s so far away.”

  “Yes,” I said again.

  She sighed. “Be careful, Eden. Have a good time. Remember to call me when you get there so I know you arrived safely.”

  And so she’d know I wasn’t in any French ditches. “I will, Mom.”

  “I hope he knows how lucky he is.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I’ll talk to you soon.” After all my dreams come true.

  ∞∞∞

  I had a million things to do to get ready, but the truth was that I’d never actually be ready. There just wasn’t a precedent for this in my life. I’d never gone away even for a weekend with any of my previous three boyfriends, let alone left the country with one. And none of them were gorgeous, rich movie stars, either, so there was that.

  I had to call in sick before I left. I didn’t usually work on Thursdays, but I was supposed to go to the station tonight to help edit some B-roll that was going to air tomorrow for background on the big “playground hidden toxins” exposé that Jessica Downing was going to “warn you about” at 11.

  My boss waited until I’d fake-coughed my way through my explanation about how I was sick and I was looking out for my aunt who was also sick, so there wasn’t a timeline on our combined sicknesses. Then Andy said, “Hope you feel better soon, Eden. And hey, good work on that Gavin Braddock interview. Best piece of fluff so far.”

  Success. And a back-handed compliment. And I felt guilty, but that couldn’t be helped.

  I pushed my guilt aside and focused on the object of my affection. I had some tough questions for myself. Or maybe they were statements. Foregone conclusions. I was pretty sure I was going to have sex with Gavin in Paris. I mean, who wouldn’t? Really. Plus I was dying to. But I had to be realistic. Was I thinking this was forever? Would Gavin and I really live happily ever after, get married, have babies? Because, as traditional as that sounded, it was something that I did actually want for myself someday.

  Or was I just one in a long line of groupies that Gavin wined and dined and took to Paris and bedded and then left stranded? I should be prepared for that. Should I still go through with it if that’s all it was going to be between us?

  I searched my heart and mind. The answer was yes either way. Being with Gavin was too great a reward for me not to take the risk. So now that I had my answers, I had to get with the plan and that meant getting pretty. There was no time to lose.

  ∞∞∞

  Gavin had told me to be ready at seven. It was already 6:55 p.m. My heart was racing. I’d said good-bye to Sophie who’d had to run some emergency errands, she’d said, which I didn’t believe for a minute. I suspecte
d she didn’t want to say good-bye and was still a little worried about me and maybe even ticked off that I didn’t take her advice. Not that I thought she was holding a grudge, more like she didn’t actually want to be right and see me get my heart broken.

  It didn’t make much sense, since it seemed like one minute she was telling me to fall in love and keep looking for my happily ever after. Then in the next minute—when I’m actually going to Paris with Gavin Braddock—she’s saying she doesn’t want me to get my hopes up too high, and do I really know him well enough, and does he have questionable motives?

  Corey, however, had no such qualms and was anxiously awaiting his second meeting with the mega star. He also had a not-so-hidden agenda to see if he could get Gavin to slip up and reveal his “gayness” so that Corey would be proven right—and thereby be justified in pursuing a relationship with Gavin and shoving me aside.

  I should’ve been offended, but if Gavin were indeed gay I’d want to know, and that would be the end of our relationship. I was looking for a chance at forever with someone, not to be his beard in exchange for a moment in the spotlight. Let Corey have a shot at testing him—whatever that meant. It wasn’t going to work. Was it? How much did I trust Corey’s gaydar?

  Gavin didn’t ask to come in after our date last night when he brought me home. Did that mean something? Of course not, I decided. He was just savoring the moment like I was. That moment before a thing becomes a thing, when all of the possibilities are still sparkling with what could be. And there was that really hot kiss before we got to the gala. A warm flush stole over my body just thinking about it.

  “I think you’re getting your hopes up too high.” I sank into my well-used recliner across from Corey. “When Gavin and I were making out in the limo last night, it was clear to me that he was not gay. Really firmly, largely not gay.”

  Corey propped his feet on the coffee table. “You don’t know that for sure. He could have just been pretending to appreciate your advances because he didn’t want to blow his hetero cover.”