Falling Stars (Starstruck Series Book 2) (9 page)

“I hope so.”

“Homesick?”

“Not sure if homesick is the word, but I feel kind of out of it; I’m sorry.”

Before she could react, Evan pulled her in to hug her tightly.  His palms swept over her back comfortingly, and she closed her eyes, accepting the friendly gesture.  

“We have a meeting tomorrow with Jenn, and then a party to go to.”

“Party?”  Her eyes lit up.

“Shh-shh. Don’t stress over it now.  Just a little shindig my friend Quin is throwing since he’s back in town.”

Her eyes shone a little brighter.  “Quin?”

“Yeah, Quin Stephens.  From
  
”

“
The Hunters
?!” It took most of her energy to suppress just how excited she really was about this party.  “Are you joking? No way, tell me you’re joking.”

“That’s the one, no jokes.” He laughed. “Quin and I go way back.  He’s back from filming out in London and is throwing a birthday bash for his girlfriend at his place. Nothing too big, just a black tie event.”

The inner fan girl, the persona she hid away for moments like this, woke up at the mere mention of Quin Stephens.

“I guess that means you’re in?”

Alisa hugged him and nodded. “Yes!”

Evan couldn’t help but laugh at her, but not in a condescending way.  He hugged her back. “All right, princess, it’s almost midnight.  I’ll let you get some sleep.”

Part of her knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep with an event like that racing through her brain, but she’d have to try.  Her mind was flooded with so many emotions, she managed to let slide the fact that he had called her princess again.

“Good night.”  He said with a smile, closing the door behind him.

“Good night.”  Alisa whispered back.

Letting gravity take hold of her, she fell back onto her bed.

Chapter Six

Bzz. Bzz.

Groggy and in a daze, Alisa reached to answer the phone without looking.  “Hello?”  Her voice was weak. Looking at the time, she realized she probably should have looked to see who was calling.

“Hey.”

Just like that, she was wide awake.  It was Logan.

“Hey,” She reached over, turned on the light, and sat up.  Her eyes were still shut, but she was awake.  Her back pressed against the headboard.

It was quiet for a few moments, but she heard him breathing.  

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”  She yawned and rubbed her eyes.

Logan let out a deep sigh on the other end.  “I miss you.”

Man, did he know how to pull at her heartstrings.  Alisa hadn’t felt his affection in over 24 hours, and it was 24 hours too many.  She smiled.  “I miss you too.  Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Baby, it’s four in the morning my time.”

“Oh, shit,” he muttered, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right.  Are you home?”  

She heard shuffling on the other end, “Yeah.  I couldn’t sleep.  I’m sorry I woke you up.”

“No, no, it’s fine.  I’m just glad to hear from you.”  She kept smiling.

“I mean, I do have Luke and Leia here to keep me company…but they’re most definitely not you.”

The mere mention of the corgi pups they were raising made her smile even bigger.  She pictured the mountain of a man that was her husband cuddling in bed with their “kids”.

“Aww, I miss them too.”

The Rider’s discussed a lot of things, yet nothing at the same time.  Idle chit-chat was never their strong suit, but it was nice to have conversation considering the night they had at the premiere.  Logan was curious about Evan and how things were going.  Alisa reassured her husband that they were in separate rooms.  He said he trusted her.  She was sure his voice feigned trust, but it was the best they could do being miles apart.  Then Alisa remembered meeting Joey out on the street and hearing about him being in the city to meet with Jenn Vega too.

“You didn’t tell me that Joey was called to be a part of the meeting with Jenn.”

“I didn’t?”  He sounded shocked.

“Don’t play that game with me, Logan.”  She teased.

Logan chuckled, “I’m sorry.  I wanted it to be a surprise.  He made me keep it quiet.  Besides, Ron suggested it, and Joey obliged.  Even Joey wanted me to keep it a secret.”

“What are we, in the fifth grade?”

The two laughed.

“He’s excited to be in the movie. Ron and I figured he would be good for the part and when he read for it, they loved him.”

Alisa took a second to think about the character Joey Rider would be playing and nodded in agreement.  He did fit the role. “Naturally.”

“Listen, I’m sorry I went off like that.  I didn’t want you to leave like that, baby.”  Logan sounded sincere and extremely torn up over the matter.

As if he could see her, Alisa shrugged.  “As long as we can get past this, that’s what matters to me.  I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about New York.  It all just happened so fast.  One second I’m working out, stressing about the premiere, the next I get a call from Ray saying I’m going to leave and ... well, you know how the rest went. It was like I didn’t have a chance to breathe, and when I figured I had all of my bases covered, I just…I let one get past me. The wrong one.”

“I know.  That’s showbiz.”

She hated blaming the hectic pace of “the biz” for causing this fight. “I guess.”

Logan sighed, “Well, I’m just glad you’re safe.  Though I must admit I am jealous.”

“Jealous?”  She arched a brow.  Her heart started to pound, assuming that his jealousy was about Evan.  Why was she so panicked?  They only had dinner; one they spent discussing work and reading lines until they figured it would be a good time to get some rest.  She did nothing wrong.

“It’s your first big outing in the Big Apple …”

Alisa exhaled and snickered, “Do people still call it the Big Apple?”

“
I
do.”  He laughed, “You’re on your first trip to New York, and it’s without me.”

“Hey! Not fair.  You get to go across the pond and see all that fantastic stuff without me.  If you weren’t so tied up with work for the movie and the show, you could have come with.”

“I know, I know.”  Logan groaned. I came home just in time to pick up all the responsibilities. I can tell you in all honesty, I am truly sorry for leaving you with all of this while I was filming.” It was her turn to laugh, “That’s what happens when you marry a movie star.”

“And that’s what happens when I marry a brilliant writer.”

Alisa knew he couldn’t see her, but she blushed.

“Please let me know how it all goes. Maybe next time we can take a trip out to see my folks.” He said, after letting out a yawn.

Alisa hadn’t seen Logan’s parents since the wedding.  His family was some of the sweetest people she had ever met.  It was something she was incredibly thankful for, considering her ex-husband’s family.  Her ex’s siblings weren’t all bad, but there was only one sister-in-law she missed.  Logan’s brother and sisters were lovely, and his parents were absolutely wonderful.  Most of them lived one state over, while a couple of them moved out to Los Angeles.

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Are you doing anything tomorrow? Other than the meeting with my brother and Jenn?”  He asked curiously.

“After the meeting, I’ll probably do another quick read with Evan.  Oh! Apparently I was invited to a party at Quin’s.”

“Quin?  Oh, that’s right. He ended up going back to the city.”

“Yeah, Evan said we were invited, and I’m thinking it would be rude to turn down an invitation like that.”

“Yeah yeah, fan girl.  Don’t get too much drool on him, okay?”  Logan warned her.  He knew how much she enjoyed
The Hunters
and knew that she had a bit of a crush on Quinton.  

“I solemnly swear
  
”

“You’re up to no good?”

The pair erupted in laughter, and it lasted a good while.  The Harry Potter reference was perfect and called for.  The laughing was so great that her face grew sore from smiling.

“I miss you.”  She said.

“I miss you.”

“Get some rest, baby.  I’ll text you tomorrow.”

Slipping down into the covers again, she rested her head on her pillow and held the phone to her ear. “I’d like that.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Bzz. Bzz.

Was she dreaming?  She had already answered her phone, right?

Bzz. Bzz.

It couldn’t be 8 already, could it?

Bzz. Bzz.

One eye opened, leaving her other eye shut tight.  A very confused Alisa looked up at the digital clock sitting on her nightstand.  When her vision finally cleared, she noticed that the numbers read 8:30.

“8:30?!”  She exclaimed, immediately pushing aside the heavy comforter from her body.  When she looked at her phone, it was ringing.  It would be difficult to withhold her panic now, but she tried when she answered, “Evan?!”

“Rise and shine, darlin’.  Time to get ready.”

“I’m late, aren’t I?” Scrambling out of bed, she rushed to her sink and splashed some water on her face.  “I’m so dead, aren’t I?”

She heard Evan laugh.

“Relax.”

“The meeting is in thirty minutes. I can’t relax. I’m going to be late for this super important meeting with Jenn, and that’s all bad
  
”

“Alisa!” He interrupted her, “Jenn’s agent called.  Jared Link? I think that was his name.  Yeah, she’s running a little behind.  Also Joey Rider…er, your
brother-in-law
, confirmed the meeting at 10.”

Alisa was sure to have had a heart attack if he hadn’t cut to the chase.  “Ohmygod.”

“Calm down. You have plenty of time to get dolled up.  Man, I am good at saving you, aren’t I?”

“A real Prince Charming.” Alisa replied flatly.  “But thank you.”

“See you soon.”

Taking a few minutes to compose herself, Alisa got up and ready in about 45 minutes.  She pieced together a simple but stylish outfit, one that she believed wouldn’t make her stick out like a sore thumb in New York.  Skinny black pants and a loose fitting, violet, button down top was her outfit of the day, accessorized with a tan leather jacket and a string of pearls. Her hair was too finicky to do something elegant with, so she wrapped its length into a bun.  Sliding on her purple flats, she grabbed her laptop, planner, and binder and threw them into her satchel then grabbed her key.  When she exited the room, Evan was already standing in the hallway, dressed fashionably.  She caught a whiff of his scent.  It was delightful.  

“Ready in 45 and not a minute later.  Kudos on being one of the women who can throw together a stunning look in under an hour.”

“Would have been done sooner, you know ... if you had called sooner.”

“Hey, I figured you’d be up and at ‘em, considering how early we got to sleep.”

“I woke up around 4 …” She started, but her voice faded.

“Have trouble sleeping?”  Evan asked, pushing the down button on the elevator.

“Something like that.”  It wasn’t that she was withholding the truth; she just figured it wasn’t any of his business that her husband had called.  

When the elevator doors opened the two stepped in next to each other, and he hit the button. She started to fidget.  

“Breathe.  Just because Jenn has an Oscar and a handful of other award nominations doesn’t mean she’s that terrifying.”

“Yeah, not helping …”

“She’s human too.  I met her once.”

“Oh yeah?”

“It was just for a minute, and she was meeting hordes of other actors and directors.   Joey’s going to be there too, and I’m sure your brother-in-law will make things easier for you.  Plus, ya got me.  It shouldn’t take much convincing, and it’s the agent you gotta look out for.  People like that need negotiations, promises of financial return, and all that ...”  

Alisa may have read too much into his words, but when he mentioned her brother-in-law, there was a sudden change in his tone, perhaps some scrutiny or sarcasm, but since he had rolled into his secondary thought, she decided to let it go.  

“I know.  Other than parties or events, I haven’t really met with anyone like Jenn before.”  It was the truth.  
Gateway
was filmed with a cast of pure unknowns.  She hated saying that about her beloved cast, but they were all cast with that particular requirement in mind. With her books flying off the shelves and the movie premiering, they would be well-known in no time. Jenn Vega, however, was not like them.  Actually, neither was Joey Rider.  Both of them up for the new focal leads for the film was going to do wonders for careers, including Evan’s, and Alisa’s too.  That thought did nothing to calm her nerves.

It was a long cab ride to the studio, a subsidiary of the studio back home.  Ron had arranged the meeting here even though they would have preferred a more casual meeting at a restaurant.  Alisa fidgeted enough for Evan to reach over and clasp her hands in his to stop her.

“You’re going to be fine.”  He offered her a kind smile.

Nodding, she turned her palm up to hold his hand, and let her breath out.  Alisa didn’t miss that even though she relaxed her hand to release his, he kept his grip.  Alisa looked over at him knowingly, but he was turned away, looking out the window.  She gulped.  It would be rude to yank her hand away, but she wasn’t comfortable holding his hand.

When the cab came to a sharp halt, she took the liberty of releasing his hand quickly to brace against the seat.  

Evan cleared his throat.  “We’re here.”

The studio, just outside the main part of Manhattan, still had a good amount of commercial businesses and restaurants around it. Their cab was pulled up to the curb just outside of the studio offices, and Evan had left her side only to walk around the cab and open her door.  She gratefully accepted the gesture with a smile and as soon as she stepped out, he offered his arm to her.  Accepting that too, she linked her arm with his, and they entered the studio together.

“Evan Gable, is that you?”

“Who else would it be, sweetheart?” Evan released Alisa at once and made his way around the table to give Jenn a hug.  She kissed him on the cheek.

“Hey, sis.” Joey winked at Alisa.  She smiled warmly and waved in return.

“Alisa Rider.”  Jenn’s lips were just as perfect in person as they were on all of the issues of Cosmo, Vanity Fair, and numerous other fashion magazines Alisa had seen her in.  Jenn was smiling, and she offered a hug over a handshake.  Alisa was surprised but accepted the hug gratefully.  She made note that Jenn smelled fantastic.

“Ms. Vega, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Please, call me Jenn. Thanks for meeting with me.”