When Dreams Come True (The Star Series Book 1)

by Stratton, M.

  She took everything she’d need up to her room, since Will was supposed to be calling in the next half hour for their nightly video chat. She was so excited, especially since she’d gotten the final script for her movie earlier in the day. She’d read through it about a dozen times and was very happy with how they’d adapted her book. The first person she wanted to share it with was him, so she’d kept it hidden from Hannah all day, which hadn’t been easy. She wondered if his script had been delivered to him yet. He’d already been reading her book over and over and asking her questions about the character, trying to get more insight into him.

  Lying in bed, she flipped through the channels hoping something would interest her while she waited for him. When one of the superhero movies he was in came on, she stopped and watched. Smiling at the little things which were inherently his mannerisms and the ones which were for the character, she lost track of time and her eyes became heavy before she fell asleep. Her last thought was to wonder why he’d missed calling her. He’d never done that before.

  Hannah crept into Lissa’s room to make sure she was actually asleep and not working. Everything was going according to plan. Taking the laptop off the bed, she placed it on the nightstand and moved the papers. She turned the light off, but left the television on.

  Heading back downstairs, she checked her phone and saw another text message; he was running a bit late. It seemed like everything about the night wasn’t going as planned. Pulling off something like this twice in a couple of weeks was nerve-wracking. Lissa had been keeping a closer eye on everything, and sneaking it past her was difficult.

  She was so happy for Lissa. Things were falling into place, her writing was the best she’d ever read, and she was very soon going to be heading off on a new adventure. How it was going to end up affecting her, Hannah had no idea. Lissa was still going to need her, but she was going to miss seeing her every day, being able to help her, and reading her work daily as she wrote it.

  Seeing Lissa take the leap made Hannah’s heart long for something similar, but it was hard to trust her heart when the last person she’d given it to did his best to kill it. Literally. Maybe she was meant to be alone, as she had thought for so long.

  Her phone chirped and she looked down to see a text from Royce, causing her to smile. They had become friends since meeting in Los Angeles, and he’d send her funny texts every once in a while. It was almost like he was connected to her, because they always came through when she was down and needed some cheering up. She thought it was pretty cool her movie-star crush had become a friend she could rely on.

  When the coffee finished brewing, she poured herself a cup and went through the living room onto the balcony to wait for the lights of his car to come up the road. While she waited, she was trying to picture what her life was going to end up changing into. Looking up, she saw a shooting star. Closing her eyes, she dared to make a wish, one she wasn’t certain she deserved but longed for nonetheless.

  For the second time in as many weeks, Lissa woke up to someone in her bed. Slowly turning over, she saw it was Will. She wondered what time he’d gotten in. Knowing she didn’t fall asleep until late, it must have been in the middle of the night. Very quietly, she got up and left him sleeping. She knew between the flight and the time change, he was going to need it.

  Her first stop was the kitchen where she happened to run into Hannah. “Good morning!”

  “Well, well, well. Looks like finding a present in her bed this morning made someone a very happy morning person.”

  “Yes, well, you know I like to leave you to the whole ‘it’s a great and beautiful morning so I’m going to skip and sing to start the day’ character trait.”

  “Ha-ha. Here. The cinnamon rolls just came out of the oven.”

  “Seriously? Gimme.” She bit into one. “Oh, sweet nectar of the Gods. What did I do to deserve this so I can do it again?”

  Hannah smirked at her. “I thought you might need the extra calories.”

  “You’re such a dirty birdie. You know very well we’ve been sleeping. What time did he get in?”

  “Takes one to know one. About three-thirty in the morning.”

  “Wow. I’m sorry you were up that early.”

  “It wasn’t much earlier than usual. He was supposed to fly into Tucson about ten, but they were diverted to Phoenix, and there were delays in landing there and getting a rental car to drive down here.”

  “He drove from Phoenix?” She was glad she hadn’t known that. She’d have been up worrying about him driving being so tired and on unfamiliar American roads.

  “First, you know he’s a big boy, right? And he does know how to drive, even here in the Wild Wild West.”

  Lissa stuck her tongue out at her. “Yes, I know, but that still won’t stop me from worrying. You know that.”

  “Yes, I do, and that’s just one of the reasons I love you. But to continue, no, he did not drive alone. Beau came with him.”

  “Oh, well, is Beau still sleeping?”

  “I don’t know. He’s at the rental. I told him he could stay here in the guest room, but he said he’d bunk with the security team.”

  “Hmmm… okay, but he does know he can come up here any time he wants, right?”

  “Yes, Mom, he knows.”

  Lissa made a face at her. “I’m going to go over my notes for today before the calls start.”

  “Here.” Hannah handed her some papers. “I made some more you might want to go over. I’ll be down in a little bit.”

  “Wonderful. Thanks.”

  Lissa absently walked down the hall to her office as she read Hannah’s comments. Talking to herself, she walked to her desk and made additional notes on the corresponding meeting agendas. Sliding her pen through her hair which was loosely piled high on top of her head, she held the papers in one hand as she walked over to bi-fold doors and opened them to the balcony. Stepping out she enjoyed the warmth of the morning, knowing that in just another hour it would be too warm to stay out for long.

  Leaning on the railing, she smiled. Will was there, and sleeping in her bed; she couldn’t get over that fact. He hadn’t been gone for too long this time, but still, after everything they’d shared last time, it felt like it was an eternity. She felt she’d done a good job of balancing work and taking care of herself, and she had this last little push and then she’d be able to enjoy his company for a longer period of time. Just the thought of it made her smile.

  “Before we start,” Hannah said as she breezed into the room. “I wanted to let you know as soon as we’re done I’m going to run down to the store and pick up some extra food for the next couple of days. I couldn’t stock up before the guys arrived; you know, surprise and all that. Is there anything specific you want?”

  “Hmmm… I’ll have to think about it. Maybe we should make something nice for them.”

  “We could do that, especially since you’ve given the chef a vacation.” Hannah continued to type on the computer, getting the video conference set up. “Oh, and we’ll have to make something for dessert, too.”

  “Well, that goes without saying. Besides, what was I supposed to do? Her daughter had a baby. She should be able to spend time with her first grandchild.” Lissa closed the doors, crossed over to the couch and sat down then jumped back up to grab extra paper, water and a handful of pens before finally sitting down. It wasn’t long before Angelica’s face popped up on the screen. “Hello there, beautiful. How’s tricks?”

  “Tricks are going very well, and I’ll be seeing you in about another month it would seem. What made you change your mind?”

  “Well.” Lissa looked toward the door. “Let’s just say I decided this was going to be an experience I didn’t want to miss one minute of.”

  “Wonderful, wonderful. We’re going to have so much fun. Do you have any idea where you’ll be staying while you’re in Chicago? Or do I need to find something for you?”

  “I’m taking c
are of that,” Hannah piped in. “As soon as I’ve found what we’re looking for I’ll send you the info.”

  “Great,” Angelica said. “Now, I’m assuming you got the final script yesterday, yes? We’ve pushed it about as far as we can, but I think it’s going to help having you on set. You’ll be right there if any of the actors are curious about how you created the characters. You know, try to climb inside the mind of the person who created these twisted people. Plus, you get to say you saw your movie being filmed.”

  “Which is why I’m doing this. It could be an once-in-a-lifetime chance.”

  “Not if I have anything to say about it. I’m already working on getting your first series made into a movie for television, and I have another studio is that’s looking to option your next three books.”

  “No shit…” Lissa looked over to Hannah, and both of them had similar looks of shock on their faces.

  “No shit. So keep writing; I can’t have you falling behind schedule now.”

  Lissa grinned. “You so don’t have to worry about that, Ang… seriously, I’m almost a dozen books ahead of schedule.”

  “No shit…”

  “No shit. I’ve… ummm… I guess you could say, I’ve been inspired.”

  “Well, keep up the good work then.”

  “Hannah’s going to be sending you the information on each of the books and expected release dates. You can pick which ones you think the studios would like the best. I trust you. I’m hoping that by having the next year taken care of we can have some breathing room if they want to develop any of my other stories.”

  “Sounds great.”

  They made a few other decisions before Hannah disconnected the chat and turned to Lissa. “Are you going to tell any of them about Will?”

  Lissa shook her head. “I wasn’t planning on telling them yet. Is it wrong I want to keep it just us for as long as possible?”

  “No, honey, it’s not. Starting a new relationship is hard enough, but you add a world famous-actor and an international bestselling author who just so happens to have written the next movie he’s starring in… well, that’s fuel for the gossip sites.”

  “Did anyone notice him at Sky Harbor last night?”

  Hannah shook her head. “If anyone did, they haven’t posted it yet.”

  “There’s something. Okay, are we ready for Christine?”

  “It’s a good thing you’ve put a couple pounds back on your ass, ‘cuz you know she’s going to chew it.”

  Lissa tried to look innocently at Hannah. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Sure you do, because you know once all of this hits, she’s going to be all over you.”

  “I want to get this one done quick before Will wakes up. I could just see him coming in here and the look on her face… Hmmm… maybe that would be fun to do to her.” She tapped her bottom lip with a finger.

  “Melissa!”

  “Well, it would be funny. She’d never expect it. But yeah, let’s get this done.”

  With a few clicks of the button, Christine’s face appeared. “Hello, you sexy thing, you.” Lissa blew kisses to the monitor.

  “What’d you do?” Christine narrowed her eyes at her.

  Lissa tried to blink innocently again and hoped it worked better that time. “What makes you think I did anything?”

  “Boo, I know you. What’d you do?”

  “Nothing… yet…”

  “See, that’s what I’m afraid of. Hannah?” Christine’s voice became louder. “Hannah, I know you’re there. Tell me, what is she planning?”

  Hannah was trying not to laugh. “Oh, gee, look at the time. The cinnamon rolls are going to be done any minute now.” She made a buzzing noise. “I’ll be back; don’t want to burn them.”

  “Chicken,” Christine muttered. “And you.” she pointed at Lissa. “Stop laughing and spill.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t want to spill the cinnamon rolls. That’d be wrong. So very, very wrong.”

  “No, spill the beans.”

  “It’s too early for beans, let alone to spill them.”

  “No, Melissa, tell me what you have up your sleeve.”

  Lissa looked down at both of her arms. “But I have a tank top on. You know, it’s the balance Hannah and I find: I wear summer clothes all year round, she wears winter clothes. You know, sometimes it’s really rough on how cold she is all the time.”

  Christine closed her eyes and Lissa watched her silently count to ten before taking a deep breath. “Okay, let’s try it this way. Remember your little trip to Los Angeles last time? You know, where I found out after the fact of you spending all that time with Will Martinsson?”

  Grinning, Lissa nodded. “I seem to remember something about that.”

  “Well, if you’ve forgotten, my job is to handle your public relations. Now, I can’t do that if I’m not informed of things which will directly affect your public relations. Even if you think it won’t, I still need to know. Now, I shouldn’t have to say it, but something as big as Will Martinsson? That I need to know, gee, before it actually happens. That way, I can be prepared with a statement and not looking like a fool when the press tries to contact me as to what is going on.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Don’t you ‘yes, ma’am’ me unless you mean it.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Christine’s head disappeared from view and Lissa could hear a thud. “Are you deliberately trying to be a pain? Does it come naturally, or do you take a pill to be this difficult about things? Is it just me? Do you hate me and want to make my life a living Hell?”

  “Oh, it’s all natural, baby. Sorry, mama, but you’re just so much fun to tease. How about this? As soon as I know anything, you will know it.”

  Slowly, Christine’s head came back into view with a look of skepticism on her face. “Now I’m really worried about what you’re up to.”

  Lissa slid the pen she’d been making notes with into her messy bun and moved a bit closer to the camera. “Christine, honey, you know you mean the world to me, and I wouldn’t deliberately make your life harder. But I have some things going on, and right now they’re only in the beginning stages. You know me; I have to have everything all planned out before I say anything. I need to have thought of every possible angle before moving forward. Please, just let me get through this and I promise, I will tell you as soon as I can.”

  “I’m not going to hear about anything on ‘Entertainment Tonight’ first, am I?”

  “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

  “So, you’re saying something might happen where you don’t have a say over it… What could possibly happen in your world where they would have a story with you in it, and you wouldn’t have time to give me a heads-up beforehand… hmmm…”

  “Take your Sherlock hat off; there’s nothing to find here. But I am planning on being in Chicago for the filming of my movie. As soon as Hannah and I decide on a place, I’ll get you that information. Maybe you can come down from the Great White North to the warmth and sun of Chicago for a bit.” Lissa grinned at her and the thought of Chicago being sunnier and warmer than where Christine currently lives in Canada.

  “I’m totally going to take you up on that, boo. Do you think we should do a signing while you’re there?”

  “Sure, that’d be great. Hannah knows the shooting schedule and when we’re planning to be there. You can get with her and pick a date and place. It’s kind of last-minute, but hopefully we’ll get some people to show up.”

  “Please… you should know better by now.”

  Lissa decided to ignore the comment; she was still surprised and humbled so many people had read her books and wanted to meet her. “And I have a schedule of the next year’s releases so we can start planning the marketing on them. You might want to go over them with Angelica because we’ve got a studio interested in making more movies out of my books. All of the books are in a dif
ferent stage of writing, but I do have the next three completed and ready to go.”

  “Wow, that’s excessive even for you. You know, you can take a break. You don’t have to work so hard all the time.”

  “I know, but everything was flowing so I wanted to get it down. Plus, I figure I’ll be taking some time off when I’m in Chicago. Between Angelica and you, plus Hannah and myself, there will be plenty of time to play hooky. And who knows who else will show up.”

  “Or any new ‘friends’ you may make.”

  Lissa raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I seem to remember how close you and a certain Mr. Martinsson became as soon as you laid eyes on each other.”

  “Well, he was my muse for the character he’s playing. It would only make sense.” Lissa was wondering where Hannah was and tried very hard not to look relieved when she walked back in with a plate of rolls.

  “Sorry, Christine, but your time is up,” Hannah said. “We’ve got just enough time to scarf down a roll or two before our next call. Say good-bye, Gracie.”

  Lissa waved. “Good-bye, Gracie.”

  “You guys are such dorks,” Christine muttered. “But that’s why I love you. Boo, keep me informed, or else. And Hannah, you do what she won’t.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Stop with the ‘ma’am’ shit, seriously…” Christine grumbled and disconnected.

  “Whew, that was great timing. What took you so long?” Lissa wondered.

  “I decided I should actually make some more cinnamon rolls to show up with. Besides, hello, who could say no to more cinnamon rolls?”