When Dreams Come True (The Star Series Book 1) (23 page)

“Darling, it’s not going to, as you so eloquently put it, suck arse. I’ve told you; you’re bloody brilliant, and it’s time you start thinking that way.”

“Yes, dear.”

“Don’t you ‘yes, dear’ me. Do you honestly think if it sucked I would have sought you out? And don’t just take my word for it. Have you looked at the cast list?”

“No.”

Will sat up. “What the hell do you mean you haven’t looked at it? Have you not read any of the articles about the movie?”

“No, I’ve stayed away from it all. I try not to read anything about me, remember? I’m the hyper-sensitive one.”

“You’re making me crazy.” He placed both his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look at him. “I wish you could see yourself as I see you.”

“So do I,” she whispered.

“Then why can’t you?”

Lissa shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I know my books are good, because they’re
my
stories. I wrote them, so of course I like them. I know not everyone else is going to like them, and in fact, some of them have very strong opinions on what I did wrong and should have done differently, but then it wouldn’t have been my story. I’m always afraid they aren’t good enough. Maybe I don’t understand what’s so special about me. I’m such a dork and can’t for the life of me fathom someone actually wants to meet me, or read my books and enjoyed them. I never expected to sell as many books as I have. I’m so lucky I’m able to do what I love, and I guess I feel guilty wanting more.” She threw her hands up in the air. “I’m not making any sense.”

“No, I get it, but you’re going to have to deal with it. Instead of thinking of all the bad things that could happen, think of the good.”

“But then the disappointment hurts too much. I’d rather be surprised by things going better than I expected.”

“Maybe things would be
even better
if you’d start dreaming those good dreams for a change.”

“Don’t you know almost all of my dreams have come true? What else is there?” she whispered.

Before Lissa knew it, they were ready to start filming. Part of her was excited as they were driven to the set, but the other part was scared someone was going to come rushing in and pull the plug before a scene was even shot.

When they pulled up to the area they were going to use to film for the next week, Lissa’s breath caught. It looked so much like what she’d envisioned while writing. While Will went to have his hair and makeup done, Lissa walked around the building which they had converted to a bookstore. As she glanced around her story ran through her head, knowing which scenes were going to take place in which nooks.

She raised a shaking hand to caress the books stacked on the counter by the cash register. They were hers. Her books were going to be in the movie about one of her books. A strange-sounding hiccup came out of her; she didn’t know if she was going to laugh, cry or throw up. Shaking her head, she turned around and looked out the front window, seeing Will dressed as his character. She could tell he was already transforming into the psychopath; the way he moved was different.

Their eyes locked through the window, his full of power and hers cycling through emotion after emotion. With a few powerful strides, he was in the bookstore and at her side. Grabbing her upper arms he lifted her up, their eyes level.

“Live your dream, damnit. Live it,” he growled at her. “Don’t you dare run scared. You’re stronger than that, so live it.”

Her mind whirled as she blinked at him, not saying a word. She knew exactly what he meant. Her books were good enough, the movie was going to be great, and she should enjoy each and every moment and not dwell on the self-doubt or worry about what was going to go wrong. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on him and a calm came over her. She could do this.

A small smile started at her lips, and before she could open her eyes his lips were there, feeding her happiness. She wrapped her legs around his waist and his hands moved to hold her ass as the kiss deepened. Ending their passionate embrace, she threw her head back and laughed. There she was in a replica of the bookstore she’d created in a story, madly kissing the psycho character and loving every minute of it.

Grabbing his face with both hands, she quickly kissed him. “I love you. My God, I love you!”

Laughing he spun her around. “Music to my ears.”

Will was called outside to film his scene, and she went where she was told so she’d be out of the way, and watched. She’d tried very hard not to listen to him rehearsing his lines, so it was the first time she heard the scene from him, her words coming out of his mouth. It was like magic watching Will and the other actors work, and everything unfolded in front of her just like it had in her mind while she’d been writing. She didn’t even mind all the stops, starts and retakes.

She tried to stay in the background, almost hidden, but Will always knew where she was. If there was any kind of delay, he’d find her and they’d stare into each other’s eyes. Seeing him tap into the powerful man striding around like he owned everything and everyone, speaking her words, was such a turn-on.

When it came time to take a break, they went back to his trailer. She could tell he was tense by the force he used to grip the knob and open the door for her. As soon as they were both in he flipped the lock, its click echoing in the quiet space. Slowly, she turned around and they just stood there, not moving. Instantly she was wet just from the look on his face. He was going to take what he wanted, and what he wanted was her.

With a growl he sprang for her, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her off the floor as he pinned her against the wall. His body held her in place while his hands found her breasts, roughly pushing her shirt and bra out of the way so he could tease her nipples.

Frantically, she tried to get her hands between their bodies so she could unzip his pants, whimpering when she couldn’t. She tried to wiggle to free herself, but he wouldn’t allow it. He grabbed her hands and raised them above her head, his strong hand able to pin both of them together, making it nearly impossible for her to touch him like she wanted.

He ran his other hand up the back of her thigh under her skirt, and his fingers danced around seeking out the places which gave her the most pleasure. Her breathing became heavier and sweat broke out across her skin. Pressure was building and he was teasing and tormenting her—slow then fast, harder than slower, never letting her go over the edge.

When his fingers left her, she wanted to scream in frustration but hearing his zipper she smiled, knowing what was coming. She felt the head of his cock next to her before he slowly slid into her, then out, over and over. Their faces were only inches apart, eyes locked on each other, and with each thrust he was deeper and deeper inside of her. Their breaths intermingled, the rasping sound of air whooshing from their lungs filling the trailer. Their individual scents became one, surrounding them.

As he moved faster and faster, she felt herself going over the edge. It took everything she had not to close her eyes and just feel. She wanted more, needed more, and needed him. Keeping her gaze locked on his she started her tumble, the connection they had was made stronger when he followed right behind her.

As the days passed into weeks, they were in their own little bubble. Lissa would either accompany him to where they were filming, or stay at their lake house getting some of her work done. She’d actually started on a new book and was excited to work on it. Watching a movie being made was both exciting and boring. Sometimes it took so long between takes, while other times it was rapid-fire and they were able to get what they needed quickly and move on. It was a little disjointed watching them film out of sequence, but seeing it all come together was amazing.

They were also able to spend time with the other actors, and Lissa loved to see their transformation from regular person to the character she had created. For the most part, they were spot-on with their interpretation and it made her giddy seeing it all unfold.

They even allowed her to be an extra in one of the scenes. She was a waitress at a diner, and she totally loved the fact that, not only were her books used as a prop, but she was also going to be in the movie.

Hannah and Beau were always around, doing what they did and still having ample time to relax. Lissa wasn’t so caught up in her own love life that she didn’t notice Hannah spending more and more time by herself. But whenever she tried to talk to her about it, Hannah would change the subject or suddenly have something else to do. Tapping her pen on the desk and looking out over Lake Michigan, Lissa wondered if she should call Royce and see if she could find out what was up. Or maybe have Will call him. Or maybe just see how he was doing and not even bring Hannah up, but then he’d probably see through her.

Bringing up her calendar, she was surprised to see she had a signing coming up in a few days. “Hannah!” Lissa jumped up and ran out of the room looking for her, and they ran into each other on the stairs. “I have a signing in Boston this Saturday.”

“Oh, that. yeah, I know.”

Lissa blinked at her. “And that’s it? What about books? Swag? Panels? Flight, hotel, car? You know, all that stuff?”

“It’s all taken care of. You should know that.”

“Yeah, but…”

“But what, Lis? You know I have this; I always do.”

“But… but we normally talk about it.”

“And you’ve been busy. I handled things like I always do. I was going to make sure we started packing tomorrow.”

“Shit. Tomorrow.” Lissa sat down hard on the stairs.

“You’ll be fine. You’ve done tons of these.” Hannah plopped down next to her.

“Yes, but this time I’m Will Martinsson’s girlfriend, and he’s staring in a movie about my book. It’s going to be different.”

Hannah raised an eyebrow at her. “Is that really what you’re worried about?”

She sighed. “I really need to work on that poker face.”

“You haven’t perfected it yet, and somehow I’m willing to bet you won’t master it before Will comes home.”

“Shit.”

Patting her on the back, Hannah said, “That’s the least of your worries.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m guessing Will has also forgotten, and we know how well
that
will go over. Or, he hasn’t and he’s… how to say it… enforcing his own plans on our trip which we don’t even know about yet.”

Lissa sighed; she knew which one it was. “Let’s find Beau and see if we can figure out what he has planned.”

“Oh, if I had to guess, I’d say we’re traveling with security, have cars hired to drive us so we don’t have to worry about it, and he’s most likely upgraded our suite. Oh, and there will be a huge bouquet of tulips waiting for you along with chocolates and champagne and a romantic note about how much he misses you. How’s that?”

“What’s the point of you making all the reservations and plans if he’s just going to go behind you and change them?” Lissa started walking down the stairs.

“Because he’s a man in love and wants to take care of you. It’s not such a bad thing.”

There was something in Hannah’s voice which made Lissa stop and turn back toward her. She managed to catch a tortured expression on Hannah’s face before she could hide it from her. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

“Because I can’t.”

“What kind of bullshit is that? Haven’t we been there for each other for years? You sure as hell wouldn’t let
me
off the hook.”

“Lissa, please. I just can’t.” Hannah’s chin quivered and tears welled up in her eyes. “Please, there’s nothing you can do. This is something I have to handle on my own.”

“Damnit, that bastard broke your heart, didn’t he? After all this time. You said you wouldn’t let him in, that he couldn’t get in. What’d he do? Let me know so I know exactly how to kill him in my next novel.” Lissa waved her away, “It doesn’t matter; I’ll make it my most over-the-top kill yet. Everyone will be cheering when I finally slice him to pieces. I’ll—”

“Melissa! Stop! It’s not like that at all.” By that point, Hannah couldn’t stop the tears from running down her cheeks.

She was scared; it had been a very long time since she’d seen Hannah so hopeless. All Lissa wanted to do was take the pain away. “Honey, please tell me.” They stood there looking at each other, but Hannah only shook her head. “Fine, then I’ll find out from him.” Lissa pulled her phone from her back pocket and started to dial Royce’s number when Hannah’s hand reached out to stop her.