My Life With The Movie Star (17 page)

I was happy when the month of August came to an end. Thing
s
were getting back to normal in my life. The paparazzi had left and moved on to other targets, and I had managed to keep my one true love: my job. System Plus Software thankfully stood behind me and let me work from home until the mess had all but been forgotten. Even Lisa and I were back to our normal weekend routine. She had found a terrific guy, Dan, and had being seeing him for a few weeks. They had met at the grocery store. He was a law student and quickly became immensely interested in my case.

Lisa was thrilled to be dating an upcoming lawyer, and I could tell she had fallen for him fast. I’m sure she pictured herself in a huge house with a couple of cute kids. Dan’s family had money, and he was already spoiling Lisa rotten. He had invited her along with a few of his friends up to his family cabin for Labor Day Weekend. Lisa had been begging me to go with her, so I knew when she called my cell that she was trying again.

“Dan has a friend he wants to set you up with,” Lisa stated as soon as I answered.

“Hello, Lisa, how are you,” I said sarcastically. “No offense, but I’m still not up to going on a blind date yet.”

“Come on, Abby; it’s almost been a month. Aren’t you ready to try again?” Lisa asked. I could tell from her voice that she was dying to set me up with someone.

“I think this is going to take much more than a month to get over,” I said “I wish it was that easy, but I
still
love Grayson, and I’m not ready yet.”

“I just hate that we’re going away this weekend and leaving you behind. Please come with us. I won’t set you up or anything,” she begged.

“Why do you care what I’m doing this weekend?”

“This will be the first weekend we haven’t hung out. I just don’t want you to be alone. That’s all, scout’s honor.”

I knew she actually wanted me to go so she would have someone to talk to if she didn’t like any of the other girlfriends who were also going. I decided that since she had traveled with me to LA, I might owe her this.

“O
kay
, I’ll go,” I said.

“Thanks, Abby! You will have so much fun – I promise you!”

I was sure she was fixing me up with some guy, but I could be polite and play along for a weekend. I did desperately want to get away from my problems. I’m sure no one had ever heard of Grayson Edwards up north. Most cabins didn’t have TV or the internet, so this could be a much-needed rest for me.

Early on Saturday morning, I found myself waiting for Lisa and Dan to pick me up for the five-hour drive. They were right on time.

Lisa let two hours into the drive pass before she dropped the big bomb on me.

“Abby, I wanted you to come up to the lake because I want you to meet Dan’s friend, Dave,” Lisa said.

“I thought I told you no setups!” I whined from the backseat of Dan’s car, which – to make matters worse – was the same Volvo that Grayson had.

“This isn’t a setup. Dave works for Channel 5 News in Chicago. He is their entertainment journalist and wants to interview you … so you can tell the world your side of the story.”

“I don’t know about that. How do you know I can trust him?” My trust in journalists, and news in general was not exceptionally high these days.

“He is a childhood friend of Dan’s, and I have some assurances from him that he will be honest and tell your side,” Lisa said. “Come on, Abby. How much worse can it get?”

“An honest journalist? I don’t think they exist,” I said.

“I will promise you that he will be fair,” Dan said.

“I guess … what can this really hurt,” I agreed.

“Maybe Grayson will see it,” Lisa chimed in.

I hated to admit it, but I was thinking the same thing. I could hope that an LA affiliate would pick up the interview, and maybe Grayson would finally know I had been set up and that I was pressing charges and trying to get my good name back. I had dreamed at night that he would call me again and tell me he knew the truth. I guess this interview was a risk I was willing to take.

We pulled up in front of Dan’s family cabin. It was immense, much bigger than I had expected, and sat next to a clear and blue lake. The house had five bedrooms. My favorite was the kid’s room where you could climb a ladder, as if you were in a tree house lookout. Dan explained that his uncle was an architect and had built the house so all the kids would have a place to go during vacations.

Dan had invited several of his friends, but he specifically introduced me to Dave.

“Thanks for coming up with Dan and Lisa,” he said. “I wasn’t sure you would come.”

“Lisa is good at talking me into things. She didn’t tell me about you until we were almost here,” I said. “If I had known, I’m not sure I would have come.”

“Why not?” Dave asked. I could tell Dave was a journalist; he had the hair for it. He was cute enough and charming enough that he put me at ease.

“Look, I have had a bad time with the press. I don’t want to make matter worse for myself. Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing.”

“And sometime you need to fight,” Dave said. “What that girl did to you was horrible. You need to tell the world you’re not a gold digger or a thief, and that you didn’t go out of your way to meet Grayson and trick him into dating you.”

“I know. But the paparazzi have started to leave me alone now, and I really don’t want to open up that can of worms again.” I sighed. It was the truth: I wanted my old life back. It would be nice to be boring old Abby again.

“That can of worms will be reopened with the trial. You know that most trials are now held in the newspapers and not in the courtrooms. I know for a fact that girl Rachel has been talking to several newspapers, and she is ready with her smear campaign against you,” Dave stated. “You seem like a nice girl. Please let me help you.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said “But I’m really here to get away from my problems and have a fun long weekend.”

“I can help you with that too,” Dave teased.

Lisa showed me to the room I would be staying in. This time, she was the lucky one who got to stay in the master suite. I chuckled to myself at how quickly our situations had
changed. For the past couple months, I had been in the incredible relationship; now I was the one sleeping alone while she got to play house.

“Isn’t this place incredible?” Lisa gushed. “Well, I know it’s not as nice as Grayson’s, but it’s pretty cool anyway.”

“This is a great cabin, Lisa. Much better than I thought,” I said. I didn’t want to be reminded of Grayson’s big glass house. However, Lisa seemed to think that her plan would work and that I would get Grayson back, so now she felt at ease brin
g
ing his name up again.

“What do you want to do tomorrow? We can go jet skiing,” she asked, trying to keep me entertained.

“That sounds great,” I said. “I’m in for anything as long as cocktails are involved.”

The evening was incredible, and the night was clear. The guys built a large bonfire, and we all roasted marshmallows. I couldn’t help but notice that Dave seemed to find a seat next to me. He also brought me his jacket when the crisp night air started to make me chilly. I could tell Lisa was excited. She was hoping that if her Grayson plan didn’t work, maybe Dave would be the one to help me move on. I was grateful for all the attention he had been giving me.

The next day, I was finally able to relax. I jet skied with Dave, laid out in the sun with Lisa and just enjoyed myself. I still felt a nagging sense of loss, but I wasn’t going to let my feelings about Grayson ruin this perfect weekend.

Lisa and I were lying out at the dock with a couple of margaritas.

“This is so nice,” I said with my eyes closed, soaking up the sun.

“I told you so,” Lisa said. She was, of course, wearing a small bikini. I had on my comfy one-piece; no reason to diet anymore or to try running.

“Thanks, Lisa. Thanks for making me come. I really needed a break. Can you believe it’s only been a month? It seems like a lifetime ago.”

“I know what you mean,” Lisa said. “No offense, but this is way more relaxing than hanging out a Grayson’s. Just the couple days we were there were so stressful,” Lisa said.

“I know, I’m sorry about all that,” I said “Thanks again. I owe you.”

“Have you heard anything about Rachel?”

“She made bail and only was behind bars for four hours,” I stated. “I’m sure she really hates me now. I have to go to court in a couple weeks and see if she strikes a deal with the DA or if this will go all the way to a trial.”

“Has John been linked to any of this?”

“Not yet,” I said. “My lawyer keeps hoping that when the pressure is on Rachel, she will blame John or anyone else who may have been helping her. But let’s change the subject.”

“O
kay
, sorry. What do you think about Dave?”

“He’s great. He’s cute and funny. If I wasn’t in love with someone else, he would be perfect.”

“Abby, did you ever think that maybe Grayson wasn’t the one? Maybe he was just another guy on the road to the one?” Lisa said. “Don’t get me wrong; I liked Gray too, but it would be so much easier with a guy like Dave. Just you two in the relationship – no managers or handlers.”

“I know your right, Lisa. I just need time,” I said as I rolled over onto my stomach. The sun felt warm on my back. I knew that our weekend of warm weather was limited so I planned to soak up every last bit I could.

I heard footsteps approaching us on the dock and looked up to see Dave smiling back at me.

“Hi,” Dave said with a warm voice.

“Hi,” I replied, squinting to look up at him.

“You want to go for a walk?” he asked.

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll be right back, Lisa.”

“Bring me another drink when you come,” she teased.

Dave and I started to walk down the lake front. He was very cute with short sandy-blond hair. He had a terrific body , not with the abs like Grayson, but he was fit and looked like a runner. I would have easily fallen for him in the past.

“Have you given any more thought to my offer?” he asked.

“I think I’m going to take the risk and come on the show,” I said.

“What made you change your mind?” he asked.

“You seem nice, and for some strange reason, I trust you. I want to get my side of the story out in the world,” I said.

“Would you consider getting dinner with me some time?” Dave asked. He looked up at me with a wistful loo
k in his eye.

“I think we should keep things professional for now,” I said. I could tell that I had just hurt him, which wasn’t something I had wanted to do. But I knew that my heart was not back in the game yet.

“You still love him, don’t you? Dave asked. “That’s why you’re agreeing to do the show?”

“It may be my only chance to have him hear my side of the story,” I stated. “I know it’s a long shot, but I have to try.”

“I don’t blame you for trying,” Dave said. “If that doesn’t work out, maybe then we could get dinner or something.”

“Thanks, Dave, for everything.” I threw my arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug. I felt guilty letting him down, but I knew that if I didn’t give my relationship with Grayson everything I had, I would always have regrets.

Chapter 21

Our trip up north quickly came to an end. Monday morning came, and we found ourselves packing up the car and ready to make our five-hour drive back to Port Washington. I said goodbye to Dave, and he promised to call me later on in the week to set up a time for my interview. He was sure that he could be in ready in a week or two. I hoped that I would be ready by then.

Tuesday morning came much too fast. My alarm went off, and I got up, got ready for work, and let Thor out just like normal. I was starting to feel like myself again. Maybe my dark cloud was starting to drift away.

Work was a blessing: eight hours of uninterrupted time away from my thoughts. My evenings were not so much of a blessing however. I had plenty of alone time to wallow in my thoughts and hurt. I tried to do everything to forget about Grayson, but usually without much luck. I would turn on the TV and see ads for
Texas High
, or I would turn on E! and see a story about him and Holly. Every night, I would tell myself not to watch certain channels, but I would inevitably break down and watch, just to try and find out what he has been up to in the past few weeks.

Dave had started calling me every couple nights to go over my interview. He had many details and wanted to make sure that I would be prepared for any question that he asked. We also found lots of other topics to talk about. It turned out he had a terrific sense of humor and an endless knowledge of Chicago. I had only been
there
a couple times. My friendship with Dave came out of nowhere; it was unexpected but very natural. He was so easy to talk to
… what a difference between him and Grayson. I had always been so nervous around Gray. Talking to Dave was like talking to Lisa. I didn’t need to edit myself for him.