When Dreams Come True (The Star Series Book 1)

by Stratton, M.

  “Oh, yes, they did.”

  “Crap, what is he going to think? What if he thinks I’m this attention-seeking whore and I made sure my name was leaked out and—”

  “Lissa, chill,” Hannah stopped her. “Anyone who spends any little bit of time with you knows you’d never do anything like that. An attention whore you are not.”

  “Sure I wouldn’t, but come on, any number of my characters in my books would. And hello, if I can write that and come up with it in a book, I sure as hell could do it in person.”

  “If that were true, I’d never be able to sleep in the same house with you. I’d be afraid you’d kill me in my sleep. Actually, I’d be afraid you’d knock me out, tie me up, and torture me to death, because that is what you do best.”

  “It’s never too late. I could make an exception.” Lissa scowled at her.

  “Ha. I’d like to see you try, Miss Don’t Hurt the Bug.”

  “Well, yeah.”

  “Ladies.” Angelica clapped her hands. “It’s time to get dressed; you don’t want to be late. Traffic around these things can sometimes be a bitch.”

  Lissa’s stomach sank; she had no idea what to expect. She always liked to know what was coming so she could plan, or at least know where she needed to go so she didn’t end up looking like a fool. It was one of her fears. She looked longingly at the bottle of wine, but she knew better; she was a lightweight. One more drink and she’d either be dancing on the tables or passed out, and since in her mind the night was about business, she grabbed a water out of the mini-fridge and went to get dressed.

  Twirling around in front of the mirror, she felt like Cinderella. While it wasn’t a formal gown, it was beautiful in its simple classic lines which ended just below her knees in a beautiful blue that went so well with her eyes. Everything about her said classic beauty, including her hair and makeup. Placing her hand over her stomach, she tried to calm her nerves as she breathed in deeply while everyone made last-minute adjustments to her. She’d never been that pampered before and wasn’t sure if she liked it or not. Although it might be something I could get used to. In the past, she’d always run out of time, or just didn’t look completely pulled together. To her, something was always off or not quite finished about her appearance. But the professionals knew what they were doing, and she felt like a movie star. Maybe she’d even go as far as to say she felt a bit like Grace Kelly.

  “Ready?” Hannah asked.

  Lissa turned and let out a wolf whistle. “Look at you. Should I be your bodyguard tonight?”

  “Ha. Have you looked in the mirror?”

  “Maybe we’ll guard each other’s virtue.”

  “It’s a date. Now, come on. We’ve been waiting forever to see this movie.”

  “Stop it,” Hannah said to Lissa. “You’re going to end up losing it.”

  “What? My mind? Too late.”

  “No, the bracelet. Stop playing with it. You’ll end up opening the clasp and you will lose it.”

  “Oh, are you sure you aren’t talking about my mind?”

  Hannah laughed. “Honey, you know you lost that a long time ago.”

  “True.” Lissa turned to Hannah and tried to stop fiddling with her bracelet. “Can you believe we’re on our way to a movie premier, in Hollywood, invited by one of the hottest, most talented, down-to-Earth actors of our time?”

  “No, I can’t. I wonder where we’re going to sit. Do you think Will is going to meet up with us at some point? Do you think we’re going to see any of the other cast? I mean, come on; the cast is full of hot, hot yummy men. And if they’re all there?” Hannah fanned herself. “Holy moly, mama! I might just combust.”

  “There’s no way we’re getting close to any of them. This whole event has been planned for months; they aren’t going to move things around for a couple of last-minute invites. I doubt we’ll be anywhere near the red carpet. It’s the side entrance for us.”

  Lissa looked out of the window and noticed they had almost come to a stop. “We must be getting close.” She started to twist one of the beads on her bracelet. “Can you see anything out your side?”

  “Ummm… yeah… Lis… I don’t think we’re going to the side entrance.”

  She leaned over Hannah and looked out her window. “Shit… is that…?”

  “I see stars. Household-name stars. Sexy stars. Beautiful stars.” Hannah’s voice was breathless.

  Leaning back in her seat Lissa closed her eyes, breathing deeply, she tried to get her nerves under control. What was she supposed to do? Would someone be there to walk them down the red carpet? Should they stick to the back and walk without making eye contact with anyone? Why isn’t Angelica here; she’d know what to do. Quickly she fished her phone out of her purse and tried to call her, but her hands were shaking so badly she couldn’t. Then there wasn’t any time.

  “Here,” Hannah said and started to climb over her.

  “What in the hell are you doing? Get your butt out of my face.” She slapped at Hannah’s ass.

  “You should go out first.”

  “What? Why me? You are closer to the door.”

  “Was closer.” Hannah sat down and scooted Lissa over by bumping her hip. “Now you are.”

  Debating if she had time to pull the same stunt Hannah did, Lissa knew she’d lost when the door was opened and a hand reached in to help her out of the vehicle. When she placed her hand in the large one she should have known something was up, but it wasn’t until she stood and looked up to thank the man that she saw it was actually Will with a huge grin spread across his face, lighting up his eyes.

  “So glad you could make it, darling.” He bowed slightly.

  Lissa blinked up at him a few times, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. He looked so handsome in his dark, charcoal-grey suit. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

  “Where else would I be? I did invite you, after all.” He tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and walked her a couple of feet away before turning them back toward the vehicle to wait for Hannah.

  Lissa gasped. “Is that…?” There was a man a little bit taller than her with dark hair and eyes. A devilish goatee made the smile on his face appear to be full of mischief as he approached the open door of the vehicle where Hannah was going to step out.

  “Royce? Oh, yeah. You did say your friend has a crush on him, right? I thought she might enjoy meeting him.” Will was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Might? Do you have earplugs?” Lissa used a finger from her free hand and put it in her ear.

  Will frowned. “No, why would I?”

  She leaned her other ear against his warm shoulder. “Because—”

  Hannah let out a small scream—for her, anyway—at seeing Royce Rivers there helping her out of the car.

  Lissa shook her head. “Of that. There’s no hiding if she’s excited.”

  “I can see that, or should I say, hear that.”

  Lissa looked around at all of the people behind the barricades and the long expanse of a red carpet. “What happens now?”

  He held his arm out for her. “Now, we walk.”

  “We?” Lissa looked around. “Shouldn’t Hannah and I just go inside?”

  “What kind of fun would that be? Besides, you’re going to have to get used to this.”

  She shook her head at him. “Even if you’re right, no one cares about the person who wrote the story.”

  “That’s where you are wrong. Where would the actors be if no one came up with the words? You are the one who creates the world; we simply live in it for a bit.”

  “Yes, but who is going to pull in more fans? Melissa Loring or Will Martinsson?”

  They were standing there grinning at each other when Hannah and Royce came up to them.

  “So, Will, going to introduce me? Or do I need to take care of it myself like I did with Miss Mills?” Royce bumped his shoulder into Will.

  “Oh, yes, sorry. Royce Rivers
, this is the very talented Melissa Loring. Melissa, this is Royce, pain-in-the-arse extraordinaire.”

  Royce held out his hand to her. “Always nice to meet an attractive, talented woman.”

  Lissa smiled at him. “Always nice to meet someone who strives to be more than just a mere pain in the arse.”

  Still holding her hand, Royce laughed. “Oh, I like this one. Careful, Will; you might want to keep her close.”

  “Excuse me, Will, but we need to get moving.” Another tall, lean, attractive man came up and stood between Will and Royce. “Both of you.” He spoke with a similar British accent to Will’s.

  “Beau, I’d like you to meet Melissa Loring and her friend, Hannah Mills. Ladies, this is Beauregard Simpson, my personal assistant.”

  “Nice to meet you both.” He bowed slightly. “Please, do not hesitate to let me know if you need anything.”

  Will turned and they took a couple of steps down the red carpet when Lissa stopped. As soon as they had started to move, the flashes and yelling had become louder and it was disconcerting to her.

  “Are you okay?” He turned into her so all she could see was him. Considering she was wearing heels, it was nice to still have to look up at him. Normally when she wore four-inch heels, men weren’t taller than her six-foot height, which meant she typically wasn’t able to wear her nice shoes.

  “I’m afraid I’m going to trip.” Lissa gave him a small smile. “I can trip on a flat surface with no shoes on. And I have to admit, my legs are shaking because I’m nervous, and then there’s the camera flashes.”

  “Darling, I’m here for you. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” He pulled her into a quick hug. “I’d never allow you to fall.”

  “But I do worry; it’s what I do best.” Lissa shrugged and gave him a small smile. “See, and now I’m worrying that I’m holding you up. You should just go on without me.”

  “Come, we’ll do this together. All you need to do is keep smiling and hold onto me.”

  He turned and they started walking again. He adjusted his pace, which wasn’t that quick to begin with, to hers, pausing every so often to make sure the press and fans were able to take pictures of them. As they moved further down, the flash cameras gave way to television cameras and the press were asking him questions. She tried to back out of the picture so it was only him, but he wouldn’t let go of her hand on his arm and only pulled her back to him.

  “Oh, there’s someone I want you to meet. He’s a great guy.” They walked up to a dark-haired, tall, muscled reporter. “Tate Graham. Long time, buddy.”

  “Will Martinsson, you son of a bitch. How the hell are you? I didn’t know you’d be here.” He laughed at his joke.

  Will joined in laughing with him. “Yeah, I had to beg to be here. Not too many people like my character.”

  Lissa laughed softly to herself; he had to be the most loved villain to ever hit the big screen.

  “Are you ready to start?” Tate asked.

  “Go for it.”

  Lissa listened, interested in the fact he was answering the same questions over and over, yet he still made it sound like it was the first time. His energy and enthusiasm were infectious. He was an actor, but it seemed to go so much deeper. He was truly enjoying himself, and she was so enthralled with him she almost missed the fact the questions had turned to her.

  “And who is this beautiful lady you have with you tonight?”

  “This would be the remarkably talented author, Melissa Loring. You’ll want to remember that name. She’s absolutely brilliant.”

  She hoped the heavy makeup she had on would hide the fact she was blushing at the compliment. Looking up at him, she raised an eyebrow as she turned back to Tate and smiled. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” Her grip on Will’s arm became tighter and tighter as the focus switched to her. She prayed she wouldn’t say anything too stupid.

  “Melissa Loring. I’ve heard of you. You’re rumored to have a script almost ready to start shooting that’s based on one of your books.” Tate looked over at Will. “Can you tell me if that is true and if any actors have shown an interest in any of the roles?”

  “Oh, I’m hoping the actors I had in mind while I was writing the book will be available.” Melissa smiled at him.

  “What brings you to L.A.?”

  “A little of this, a little of that.” She casually waved her hand around. “Tonight, I’m very fortunate to be here, and I can’t wait to see the movie.” She had hoped to bring the direction of the interview back to Will and the movie since they were there for that reason.

  “And how did you end up being Will’s date tonight?”

  Not exactly what she was hoping for. How should I answer? She looked at Will from the corner of her eye and noticed he was grinning at her. He’s enjoying this.

  “A mutual friend introduced us, and he took pity on me when he heard I loved the previous movies.”

  “Pity on you? Really, darling, haven’t we already had a discussion about that?” Will started to pull her away from the interviewer. “If you’ll excuse us, please.”

  “Sure, talk to you later, Will. Oh, and nice to meet you, Melissa. I’m sure we’ll be talking again very soon,” Tate said.

  Will stopped her a couple of feet away and leaned down into her ear. “Pity on you, really?”

  “What else was I supposed to say?” she whispered, trying not to get distracted by his scent and how the waves of his hair curled around the back of his ear.

  “Whatever you want to as long as it’s not a lie. I did not take pity on you.” His tone almost sounded hurt to her.

  She turned her head and looked into his eyes. She could tell he was upset, either by her words or that she thought he took pity on her. “Will.” She placed her hand on his heart. “I’m sorry, but this is all new to me, and I have no idea what to say or do. I know everything is being recorded and could potentially be played over and over, thousands of times. The last thing I would ever want is for us to have a misunderstanding, but I also truly didn’t know what to say.”

  “You’re right, and I’m sorry also, but I couldn’t bear the thought of you thinking I pitied you in any way.” He brought his hand up and placed it on the side of her neck, gently rubbing the tight cords in the back of it. “I’m not sure when it happened; maybe when I was doing all the research on you and reading your books. I felt the more I learned of you, the more I read, the more I felt I knew you. I knew, in my heart, there’d be a connection. And then we met…” His whole face lit up in a smile like a kid on Christmas morning. “And we did have more of a connection than I thought we would. All I knew was I couldn’t let that be our only meeting while we were both in town. I wanted more than just a lunch with you.”

  “Will…” Beau came up and interrupted. “We need to keep moving.”

  “Yes, sorry, just another moment please.” He never took his eyes off hers. “We’ll continue this conversation later, yes?”

  She couldn’t believe what he’d said and couldn’t say anything, so she settled for nodding.

  Tilting his head to one side to look at her, he gave her a half-smile. “Did I leave you speechless?” When she nodded, he continued. “Excellent. I’ll have to continue to keep you on your toes then.”

  When she narrowed her eyes at him, he threw back his head and laughed.

  “Miss Loring,” Beau said, offering her his arm. “If you’ll please come with me, I’ll take you inside now.”

  She released Will’s arm and held onto Beau’s, allowing him to lead her into the theater to wait for Will. “Oh, where’s Hannah?” She mentally kicked herself for not keeping track of her friend.

  “She’s already waiting for you. They went through the line quicker than you two did.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Will loves talking to people, so I’m actually surprised he made it that far. They’ll do some shots together for the press and join us soon. Me
anwhile, is there anything I can get you?”

  “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, can I get some water?”

  “Of course. If you wouldn’t mind staying here with Miss Mills so I know where to find you when they’re done, I’d appreciate it.”

  “Sure. Thanks.” Lissa could see Hannah grinning while looking around at everyone. She was having the time of her life that was for sure.

  Once they were alone, Hannah grabbed her hands and tried not to jump up and down from the excitement. “Can you believe this? I just walked the red carpet with Royce Rivers… The Royce Rivers, you know, the one I’ve had a crush on for like, ever. And everyone is going to see it. And you, girl, you two look so hot together. Major sparks flying.”

  “Ha. Anyone would look hot next to him, assuming they’d be looking at me at all. As for the sparks, well, it’s just static electricity because it’s so hot out.”

  “Don’t you play that way. I know you, Melissa Loring, and I saw the two of you.” She pointed to a big television screen. “Looks like you were having an intense conversation.”

  “Shit.”

  Hannah laughed at her. “You were going to be a household name before you two were making goo-goo eyes at each other, and now… mmmhmmm… I wonder what mashed-up name they’re going to give the two of you.”

  “How about Lissa-kills-her-assistant?”

  “Nah, too long. Besides, it has to have part of ‘Will’ and ‘Melissa’ in it.” Hannah frowned then smiled. “Aha! I have it! Whilst! Will, Lis, but with a ‘t’ on the end. And as an additional score, he’s British!”

  Lissa laughed and shook her head. “No, and don’t quit your day job.”

  They watched the guys on the red carpet pose for pictures, and Lissa hoped to change the subject. “Will you look at all of them?”

  “Oh, yeah, I’m looking, and memorizing. I’d love to be in that sandwich.” Hannah nudged her.

  “How was Royce?”

  “We didn’t have much time to talk.” She looked out of the corner of her eye at Lissa. “Not like some people.”

  “Give it a rest.”

  “So, what exactly did you talk about?”