An Unexpected Christmas (22 page)

Nate

Christmas was most definitely
over but the streets of Miami were still decked out in bright lights and the
atmosphere was filled with people still celebrating the holiday and those who
had to work over the few days between Christmas and New Year. The weather was
bright, clear and hot when I landed and I realised then that I really was very
far from home, and April.

It had been four days since I
left Mum's and my mood hadn't improved. I had spent the eight hour flight
trying to focus on work by reading my script three times but I kept getting
distracted by things that reminded me of April. The woman sitting across from
me wore the same perfume and that smell filled my head with images of April
curled up next to me in bed. The steward had offered me a glass of champagne
which again reminded me of April and how she drank almost two bottles of the
stuff on Christmas day but still seemed to keep a clear head. I hoped that once
I got on location and started filming that I could focus more and she would
disappear from my mind but I wasn't holding my breath. She had gotten under my
skin and would probably stay there for quite some time.

I had managed to get through the
read-through the day after I arrived, I was still distracted but I had held it
together enough that no one seemed to notice and now three days in I found that
I had to motivate myself to even get out of bed let alone become a character
that was overly enthusiastic about life.

I had an early call time and had
been up at four this morning only finishing in the early afternoon. I had headed
back to my hotel room and collapsed on the bed, drifting off to sleep for only
a second before my phone started to ring in my pocket.

I pulled it out and not even
opening my eyes I answered it and held it up to my ear. 'Hamilton.' My voice
was groggy, and moody, and I hoped it wasn't Mum checking up on me as she would
instantly know something was wrong.

'Nate you alright mate? You sound
funny.' I could hear the slight worry in Ian's voice and tried quickly to pull
myself together.

'I'm good. Had an early call and
just got back. What's up?' I wanted to get him off the phone as quickly as
possible so I could try and sleep until my next wakeup call tomorrow at five.

'I was just calling to remind you
that you're meeting Olivia at Casa Tua at eight.' I let out a groan. 'Look I
know you don't want to see her but her people have been pestering me the past
couple of days and I have guaranteed them that you will be there so could you
please go as a favour to me. I promise you can leave as soon as you want to.'

'If I can leave when I want why
do I have to go?' I knew I sounded like a petulant child but I couldn't cope
with Olivia drama right now. I just wanted some time to get over April and
wallow in my own self pity while trying to get this film done, I did not need
Olivia throwing something else in the mix for me to stress out over.

'Nate, please mate, just fifteen
minutes.' He sounded genuinely worried that I wouldn't go.

'Alright, alright, I will meet
her at eight. Is there anything else you wish of me?'

'That is everything, oh but if
you find the time to overnight a box of Bagels Co. bagels then Karen would very
much appreciate it.'

I let out a sigh and felt a small
smile cross my face. Ian had told me that when Karen was pregnant with Megan
she would only eat bagels with weird fillings. 'I'm sure I can find the time to
sort that out.'

'Thanks. Well I will let you get
some sleep. Remember Casa Tua, eight o'clock.' He hung up and I cracked an eye
open to look at the screen to see the time.

I had just under six hours until
I had to meet Olivia so, setting my alarm to give me plenty of time to grab a
shower, I dropped my phone to the mattress and closed my eyes, hoping that this
time my dreams weren't filled with hazel eyes and delicious curves.

I hadn't really put in much
effort with my appearance for my meeting with Olivia. I knew the restaurant was
a bit upmarket so I had dressed in my smart trousers and white shirt but not
bothered with a jacket.

The doorman hailed me a cab and
climbing in I gave the driver my destination and settled in the backseat. I
stared out of the window and watched the scenery flash past. I didn't mind
Miami as a place, it had its good qualities, but I missed London. That was my
home and it was where I felt the most comfortable, but it would be a couple of
months before I saw it again not having any real reason to visit whilst I was
filming.

It only took a couple of minutes
to reach Casa Tua and as the cab pulled up I passed the driver a couple of
notes and climbed out. I took a moment and looked through the gates and up at
the building. I didn't know what Olivia wanted but I had come to the decision
that I should at least hear her out, I had promised Ian fifteen minutes and I
would stick it out for at least that long.

I walked through the wrought iron
gates and across the small courtyard to the door where I was shown over to a
quiet corner table. Olivia wasn't here yet so I sat down and ordered a drink. I
had realised over the past few days that the more time I spent alone the more I
thought about April and so I had tried to fill my spare time with anything I
could. I had walked around the city, and read anything I could get my hands on.
It helped that my filming schedule had me up early and was a challenge but
there were still times that she crept into my thoughts.

The waiter brought my drink just
as I spotted Olivia walk through the doorway. The hostess gestured to the
corner I sat in and I waited as she sauntered over to me. She hadn't changed
since the last time I saw her, she still had that famous shoulder length blonde
hair and it seemed she still favoured heels and some sort of fashionable
outfit. I rose out of my seat as she approached and she leaned in and placed a
kiss to my cheek and then moved to place one on the other side.

'Nate darling, how are you?' She
smiled at me and I waited for her to sit then lowered myself back into my seat
before answering.

'I'm well.' I waited as she
ordered herself a drink and for the waiter to disappear before asking what I
really wanted to know. 'What the hell am I doing here Olivia?'

She looked at me, eyes wide like
she hadn't expected me to ask. She lowered her gaze to her hands which she had
placed on the table in front of her. She was picking at one of her long pink
fingernails. She took a deep breath and I felt that my words had maybe come out
a little harsh. 'I wanted to see you.' She looked back up at me now, her smile
was gone and had been replaced with a look I hadn't seen before. She looked
almost shy. 'I wanted to apologise.'

I leaned back in my chair and
watched her for a moment. 'You could have done that on the phone or in an
email.'

'I needed to do it face to face,
Nate.' She stopped picking at her hand and lowered her hands into her lap.
'Things have changed since the last time you saw me and you were one of the
many people I wanted to talk to.'

I looked at her and wondered what
the hell could have happened for her to do an almost one eighty. The waiter was
back and placed a tall glass in front of her. 'So what's changed?'

Olivia took a sip of her drink
then placed it back on the table before looking back at me. 'I had a health
scare.' I sat up a little straighter in my seat. 'I found a lump under my arm.'

'Are you alright?' I knew she
said health scare but it didn't seem to register.

She sent me a small smile. 'I am.
I spent a week freaking out and thinking about all the people I had hurt and
all the stupid things I had done and I swore to myself that if everything was
okay that I would change. That I would stop being so self-involved and think of
other people for a change. Luckily it turned out to be nothing and now I'm
trying my best to do everything I said I would.' She took another sip of her
drink then took another deep breath. 'Nate, I am genuinely sorry for how I
acted when we were together. Looking back I can't believe I let it get so out
of hand I mean I was such a horrible person and I know I still have a way to go
to become better but I just hope you can accept my apology.' She looked at me
and waited.

When I walked in I had no idea
that this was why she wanted to see me. I looked at her for a moment wondering
if she was being genuinely honest with me or if it was just a game. I realised
then that she was really trying to become a better person and for that I
commended her and I hoped she was strong enough to do it. 'Thank you Olivia,
really. I can see that you mean it and I hope everything works out for you.'

She smiled at me in a way she
hadn't before and I could see now that at first she looked the same but her
expression was new and fresh and she looked happy. 'I am so glad that you can
forgive me and that maybe one day we could even be friends.' She let out a
happy little sigh. 'What do you say to some food? I know you probably have an
early start but you need to eat.'

I sent her a small smile of my
own and lifted the menu up off the table. 'I am pretty hungry.' I hadn't really
eaten anything today and I realised that I hadn't really been hungry the past
few days.

The fifteen minutes I had
allocated for my meeting Olivia turned into an hour and a half. We had ordered
food and she had asked me all about the movie I was working on and how my
Christmas was. It was the complete opposite to any conversation we had ever had
previously and she sat and listened as I talked. I realised that she was a good
listener, she had just needed to realise that there were other people in her
life that had opinions and thoughts. It was the first night in Miami that I had
actually enjoyed until Olivia turned the topic of conversation in a direction I
wasn't really ready to talk about.

'So, can I ask if you're seeing
anyone?' I could tell that she wasn't wondering if we could get back together
but that she was just curious. I felt my easy smile drop from my face instantly
and I could tell that Olivia had noticed. 'You can tell me to mind my own
business if you like.'

I let out a heavy sigh. 'No, it's
alright. I'm not seeing anyone at the moment.'

She scrunched her eyes up a
little and studied me. 'But there was someone.'

Did I want to talk to Olivia
about this? We weren't exactly friends but maybe an outside opinion would give
me another perspective on the situation and help me work out what went wrong.
'There was. It was recent and fast, in fact it lasted only a few days and I'm
not even sure I know what really happened.'

'You still care about her.' She
said it as a matter of fact and she was right. I did still care about April, I
did still love April and part of me hated myself for it, and another part of me
thought that I was an idiot for not fighting for her.

            'It's complicated.'

'Everyone says that and in truth
most of the time it really isn't. I'm sorry to be blunt and maybe it's the new
me but if you cared about her so much then where is the complication?'

'She broke up with me.' I pushed
my hands into my hair and scrunched them into fists. I let out a heavy sigh
then thumped my hands onto the table. 'She said that it wouldn't work out, that
we were from different worlds and that I deserved someone who could love me the
way I deserved to be loved.'

'What's she like?' I could tell
that she was truly interested to know about the woman who was making me crazy.

I thought for a moment, trying to
think of the words that best described April. 'She's...' I shook my head and
let out a breath, 'she's amazing, and funny, and beautiful, and when I'm with
her I don't worry about anything. She fills me with this sense of calm that
scares the hell out of me but is also something I have been looking for, for so
long. I haven't met anyone like her.' I looked into Olivia's eyes and sent her
an apologetic look. 'Sorry.'

Her smile was small but lit up
her eyes. 'It's okay. She sounds perfect.'

'To me she is. I fell in love
with her and I thought that she felt the same or at least was on her way to and
then she ends it, just like that.'

'Hmm.' That's all Olivia said,
and I waited for her to elaborate. 'Did it occur to you that maybe she doesn't
think she is good enough for you? I'm guessing she isn't in the industry.' I
shook my head. 'Well then maybe because you work with women who aren't exactly
"average" that she feels that she isn't good enough for someone who
could probably date whoever he wanted. I'm not saying that to give you a big
head, not that you're the sort of person who would ever think himself better than
others and - I'm waffling, sorry it's something I do now.' Her smile was shy
and really did suit her better than the huge fake smile I had seen too many
times. 'It's just a thought.'

I stared at her. Was she right?
Was the reason April had ended our relationship so early because she didn't
think she was good enough. Was I such an idiot that I didn't see it? I didn't
know what to do. I could feel a little spark of hope form but I couldn't hold
on to it. Olivia could be right, or she could be wrong, and my head couldn't
fully process this new idea.

'Thank you.' I glanced down at my
watch then back at Olivia. 'I should probably head out, early call time.'

'Of course.'

I gestured to the waiter and when
he placed the bill on the table both Olivia and I reached for it. I had never
seen her even glance at a bill when we had gone out let alone try and pay. My
shock must have shown on my face as she looked at me and laughed. 'What? I told
you I had changed.' She smiled and placed her card on the tray. 'That's right,
Olivia Reed pays her own way.'

'Really?' I leaned back in my
chair and sent her a quizzical look.