When Dreams Come True (The Star Series Book 1) (16 page)

“Most of them I just let go. Every once in a while, something will strike a cord and I’ll write down what I’ve come up with and file it away for later.”

“How do you choose which story to write?”

“Oh, I don’t choose it; it chooses me. It never fails: while I’m writing I get all of these ideas. The closer I get to the end of the book I’m working on, the louder one of them will start talking until finally it’s practically screaming at me to get it all down. I always have these grand plans and the order I’m going to write, and after I finish a book it gets thrown away and I figure out a new one. So many times I knew in my head which book I’d be writing next, but when a story grabs you there’s nothing you can do but sit down, hold on, and write.”

“What’s the quickest you’ve written a book?”

“One week for a first rough draft. I couldn’t stop myself; the words kept flowing. It was magical.”

“Which one was it?”

“Oh, it’s actually my next release. It’s a romantic comedy, something different than I usually write, but the story grabbed me and I had to go with it. Funny thing was as I was writing it, I kept thinking of suspenseful twists I could add to it in order to make it more like the typical books I write, but I couldn’t do it. I wanted this book to be all hearts and flowers, more romantic than anything else I’d ever written, and of course, a few laughs sprinkled in. Because, as you know, I like to make people laugh.” Lissa smiled and ducked her head.

“When do I get to read it?”

“I don’t have the paperback formatted yet, but I do have an e-reader copy. But you don’t have to.”

“Darling.” He took her hands in his. “I love your writing, of course I want to read it. Besides, I have to see who is more romantic: me or him.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Who do you think is?”

“Oh, there’s no contest. You are, by far, more romantic than anything I could dream up.”

Will narrowed his eyes are her. “You know, there are times when I can’t tell if you are being serious or sarcastic, and this is one of them.”

She grinned at him. “Maybe I’m just trying to keep you on your toes.”

Very slowly, he closed the distance between them until they were practically nose to nose. “Are you trying to push my buttons?”

Both of her eyebrows went up. “Why, I would never dream of pushing your buttons, dear William.”

“Oh, yes, you would, Miss Loring. I believe it gives you great pleasure to push them.” His hand moved up her leg and under the sundress she wore.

“And if it does?” She couldn’t help herself as her breathing became rapid and she bit her lip.

“Then you should be prepared to have yours pushed in return.”
Well, his fingers found my buttons, all right.
With his other hand, he grabbed her around her waist and easily lifted her so she ended up sitting on his lap.

His lips captured hers as his fingers played, stroked and moved inside her. Grabbing his shirt, she wanted to feel his skin against hers. It seemed like every time she tried to move, he’d find something new to do to her which made her weak.

Not stopping until she lay limp in his arms, his single-mindedness of making sure her pleasure knew no end was relentless. Moving her around so she was sitting on the low swing, he moved so he was kneeling in front of her. Spreading her legs and moving the swing toward him, he slid into her.

Lissa wrapped her legs around his waist and moved closer to the edge, wanting to feel him deeper inside of her. Using the strength in his arms, he moved the swing faster and faster until her world spun out of balance and she came again, and he was right behind her.

Somehow they’d managed to get through the Paris airport and to their hotel without too many people noticing it was Will Martinsson walking around. They were pretty sure no one from Tucson’s airport recognized him, though a few people did during their layover in Chicago, but it wasn’t too bad. Lissa wasn’t surprised no one recognized her, especially since she was already in her disguise. All it took was putting a little more makeup on, wearing different clothes and styling her hair differently. If anyone really knew her, they could definitely tell, but since it had been months since she’d been photographed with Will they felt they could make it work. Plus, she was spending more time near Beau than Will, as hard as that was. But it was part of the plan.

Lissa stared out the window as they traveled through the streets of Paris with the morning light casting shadows. She was trying to act all cool, like it was something she did every day, but all she really wanted to do was hang out the window and look at everything. There was so much to see!

“The Safe Water Foundation has set up a walking tour in a couple of days,” Will said. “You’ll be able to get a better view of the architecture.”

“How did you know? I mean, I’m sure this is all normal for you, but you saw where I live. We don’t have buildings people still live in which have been around for centuries. This is so cool.”

“History should never become normal.” Will smiled at her. “There is always some new bit of history to find that you didn’t know before.”

As they pulled through the stone archway into the courtyard of their hotel, Lissa couldn’t help it as her jaw dropped.
These places are on television, or in books.
She never expected to be able to see anything like them in real life. She’d brought her camera and her hands were itching to get some shots. The flight was long, and although they were in first class, which she’d never flown in before and which was roomier and more comfortable than coach, she still didn’t get that much sleep on the way over. She was just too excited. Hopefully, their day would be jam-packed so she could stay awake, but she did wish there was some down-time so she could take some pictures, as well.

Their suite was on the top floor and they were able to see most of Paris from the balcony. Quickly, she snapped a picture on her phone and sent it to Hannah, letting her know they’d arrived okay.

Once they were settled in, Lissa pulled her camera out and they went to Bois de Boulogne Park where they were able to walk hand in hand and stop for her to take photos.

“Darling, do you mind if I run some lines for the London show? The beauty of both you and the park seem to make me want to burst out in Shakespeare.”

Lissa’s face flamed red and she hid it behind her camera. While he wasn’t reciting Shakespeare to her personally, having her own private show while walking through the beautiful gardens had to be one of the top ten romantic fantasies every girl had, but never dreamt would actually happen. “No, no problem at all.” As Hannah had said, it was complete and total ear porn.

When they arrived at a secluded part of the park, Will stopped and spread out the blanket he’d been carrying. She lay down on her back and watched as he gracefully settled on his side next to her. The warm afternoon sun glittered against the water, and the colors of the flowers and trees were vibrant in their hues.

Will’s fingers traced along her jaw and he gently turned her face toward him as he started reciting
Sonnet 18
to her. With each line, he slowly moved closer to her until his lips were a breath away from hers when he said the last line.

Lost in his eyes, she was unable to move or speak clearly, and every rational thought flew out of her head when his lips finally captured hers in a gentle kiss of promise. The heat of his hand on her hip made her long for more. Too soon, he was pulling away from her.

“I love you,” he whispered.

Lissa placed her hand on his cheek. “I love you, too.”

“I need you to know.” He laid his hand on her heart. “I’ve never felt this way. You need to believe that, to trust in the fact there has never been anyone like you before. I never knew I could feel so much. I fear what you could do to my heart as it beats only for you, and so easily you could crush it.”

Putting her hand over his, she squeezed it gently. “Don’t you understand? You hold mine, as well.” They smiled at each other. “We’re quite a pair, aren’t we?”

Will leaned down and nuzzled his nose to hers. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Rolling over on his back, he pulled her with him so her head was resting on his chest.

Between the warm sun and listening to the rhythmic beat of Will’s heart, Lissa’s eyes grew heavy and before she knew it, she was asleep.

Lissa attempted to open her heavy eyes to see where she was and why the bed was moving. Slowly coming up from a deep sleep, she felt the strong arms under her legs and shoulders. Taking a deep breath, she knew it was Will whose arms she was in but still couldn’t remember where she was and why she’d fallen asleep. Finally, she was able to open her eyes and saw green trees and bushes, slowly frowning because she knew she wasn’t in Tucson.

“Shhh… just relax. We’ll be back to the car in a minute,” Will spoke softly to her.

“I’m too heavy,” she mumbled.

“Please.” Sarcasm dripped from his words.

She wouldn’t admit it, but in fact, it was wonderful to be carried like she weighed nothing as his long legs easily traversed the park’s landscape to where Beau waited with the car. “Really, I can walk.”

Will looked down at her and raised an eyebrow, still striding forward. “Please. I’ve been trying to wake you for half an hour now, and all you did when I picked you up was say my name and wrap your arms around my neck before you started snoring again.”

“Oh, no, you didn’t. I do not snore.”

“Next time, I’ll get you on tape.”

“You’d better not.”

“Well then, we’ll have to see what kind of deal we can work out so that doesn’t happen.”

“I’m sure we can come to a mutual understanding.”

“We’ll have to discuss this later,” Will declared as they arrived at the car. Once they were inside, he continued. “I’ve ordered dinner for us; it should be ready by the time we get back to the hotel. I thought it’d be nice to sit on the balcony watching the Paris lights come on while we dine.”

“Sounds wonderful.” She cuddled next to him while yawning and still trying to wake up. The last thing she wanted was to fall back asleep; she was hoping to last a few more hours to get adjusted to Paris time. “Maybe some coffee, too.”

Will leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Oh, I think I know of a way or two to keep you awake.”

Beau looked back and forth between Will and Lissa. She was trying not to look at him, but he kept catching her checking Will out of the corner of her eye. He moved closer to her and offered his arm. Leaning over, he whispered in her ear, “You need to stop looking at him.”

“I know,” she whispered back. “But tell him to stop looking at me.”

Beau laughed. “I know. He’s hopeless. You’d never know he was an actor. Maybe we should hang back a bit. Let them get ahead of us.”

“Do you really think that’s going to work?”

“No, but it’s worth a try.” He stopped and pointed to a window display. “Here, look at these lovely shoes. Don’t all women love shoes? We could go in and you could buy them.”

“Oh, no, you didn’t, Beauregard Simpson. You did
not
just say that, did you?”

He looked at her with innocence. “What exactly did I say?”

“I’m not your typical female.”