The taxi was slowing down. They were about to turn off the freeway. Not much longer then, until he would see her again. His stomach filled with butterflies in anticipation. He felt like a teen on his first date. Actually, he had never felt this nervous before a date in his life. Not even in high school, when he had finally mustered the courage to ask Jessica Warren, his tenth-grade crush, out on his first date ever.
Tonight would be a magical fairytale, one he would hide in his heart and treasure until he was a graying, old man. But it would never go any further than this night. It couldn’t. It was impossible. He didn’t want to bring her into his world - a world that sometimes, lately more often than not, made him feel cheap, even a little dirty at times. Like a commodity, being prodded left and right. No, he wouldn’t let his world taint this lovely girl. She was too special, too pure somehow.
The car was weaving through a web of streets, slick with the rain that had fallen again in the past two hours. It had stopped raining a little while ago, but he couldn’t see any stars so it must still be cloudy.
The taxi came to a halt outside a beat-up apartment building, and he realized he’d arrived at her place. She had told him she lived on the third floor. As soon as he had instructed the driver to wait for them, he punched in the code to the entrance and ran up the stairs, too eager to use the elevator. He came to a stop outside her door. His heart pounded violently, more from nerves than from the three flights of stairs he’d just bounded up. He told himself to calm down, before ringing the doorbell.
It wasn’t long before the door flew open, and he was met by a boy in his late teens. He didn’t look much like his sister at all. His coloring was the complete opposite - straight dark hair flopping over his forehead, olive skin, and big, brown eyes so dark they bordered on black, with a friendly glint to them.
”Hej!” he called out. ”You must be Nate?”
”Yes, I am. And you are one of Olivia’s little brothers, right?”
”Not so little anymore, although she’ll never admit we’re growing up. She’ll keep babying us until we’re sixty-five or something,” he said, clearly irked at the idea. He waved Nate into the apartment. Something smelled deliciously, and he was suddenly so curious to look around her home and see how she lived. To look for more clues as to who she was.
”Olivia is late, as usual. She’s getting ready in the bathroom, she’ll be out soon. I hope. I’m Lukas, you wanna meet my better half?” he asked, with a mischievous look on his face.
”Sure, I’m dying to,” Nate replied, instantly fond of the amiable boy.
Lukas led the way to the living room, where another boy was sitting in front of the TV, playing some video game.
”Markus, look, Olivia’s date is here.”
Markus let go of the game control and got up and turned around. Nate was momentarily stunned into silence, but recovered quickly and reached out his hand in greeting. Markus was the exact replica of his brother. Identical twins, that was what Lukas had been referring to with his expression, ’my better half’.
Markus shook his hand, and asked where he was taking Olivia.
”We’re going to Roslunda’s castle for dinner and then I’ll bring her home. She’s very special. I feel honored that she accepted my dinner invitation,” he added sincerely.
”You should,” Markus said. ”She never goes out with anyone. Not that she isn’t asked to,” he added quickly, as if sensing he was painting his sister in a bad light. ”She just isn’t interested, I think.”
Lukas shot his brother a look, as if telling him to shut up.
”What? It’s true,” Markus defended himself. ”He should feel proud that he got her to agree.”
Lukas tried to change the subject.
”So what brings you to Stockholm, Nate?”
”Business,” Nate answered. ”I had some meetings here and I made sure I would have a day off to play tourist before going back to the States, since I’ve never been to Sweden before. Your sister was incredibly kind to give me a tour of the Old Town this afternoon.”
”What did you think of it?” Lukas asked.
”The Old Town? Oh, it’s absolutely fascinating. It even smells a bit old.”
”Yeah, it reeks of ancient sewers,” Lukas agreed with a snort. ”Though it’s much worse in the summer, when it’s hot out.”
Nate smiled at that.
”Yes, it does smell a little old. But it is very beautiful, all those medieval palaces and plazas.”
”Olivia loves the Old Town more than any other part of the city, so I’m sure she was thrilled to show you around. She is, after all, the biggest history-nerd there ever was,” he stated, a slight smirk on his face.
”Really?” Another piece to add to the portrait of the girl. Why was he hoarding all these little pieces of her character, when he was leaving in the morning and would never see her again? It would just make him miss her even more. But he refused to think of that. This was his fairy-tale evening. It existed outside of his real life. He wasn’t going to waste a second of it regretting things he couldn’t change.
Suddenly Olivia appeared in the doorway.
”Hi,” she smiled shyly.
He inhaled deeply when he saw her. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Her glorious reddish-golden hair hung loosely around her face, and down the back, in soft, gleaming curls. The unique shade of her hair complemented the gorgeous alabaster tone of her skin. He hoped she hadn’t covered up the adorable sprinkling of freckles across her nose. Her eyes, with their dark blue color - almost violet at times - were matched by her deep blue, wrap-around silk dress. It clung seductively to her breathtakingly sexy curves, and stopped just short of her knees. Her legs were amazing, long and slender and shapely, like a ballerina’s. She wore a pair of sexy black heels. And she fidgeted nervously under his gaze.
He cleared his throat.
”You look unbelievably beautiful,” he said, and watched her blush.
”Thank you,” she murmured. ”You look very handsome, yourself,” she added, her voice a little stronger.
”Thanks.” He smiled and crossed the room. ”Are you ready to leave?”
”Yes,” she said. Then she added what sounded like a stream of stern instructions, in Swedish, to her twin brothers. They squirmed with displeasure, no doubt being ”babied” again, in their opinion.
He tried to hide his smile at this, and felt a quiet pleasure at seeing the maternal concern so clearly visible on Olivia’s face, as she was leaving instructions for the boys.
”Okay, let’s go,” she said at last, and grabbed her purse and coat at the door.
”Can I just ask what that delicious smell was?” he asked, as they left the apartment.
”Oh, you mean their dinner? I made kalops - it’s a beef stew - the way Mom used to make it,” she smiled up at him. ”The boys love it, so that way I know they’ll eat dinner tonight. And not just pretend to, and then gorge themselves with sandwiches in front of the computer instead. They can be quite sneaky, you know,” she added, an adoring look on her face at the thought.
They took the elevator down, and then he held the door open for her. He helped her get in the car, and then he went around to the other side and took his seat next to her.
Sitting beside her, in the darkness of the cab, was more intensely sexual than anything he’d experienced before. He wasn’t even touching her and yet the atmosphere between them was crackling with a sort of electricity. He was dying to reach out and take her hand in his, but he didn’t dare in case he’d come on too strong if he did. She seemed so vulnerable, so delicate, like a being from another world. A better world. He resolved to let her dictate the pace this evening. He would content himself with being near her, taking in her mesmerizing scent and soul. He told the driver where to go, and then he leaned back in his seat, resting his eyes on her face.
Chapter 4
Olivia felt his gaze on her face and blushed. She was grateful that the interior of the car was so dark. Bu
t the longing she felt, to reach out and touch him, was overwhelming in the darkness. She cleared her throat and tried to ease the tension between them with a question.
”Where are we going?” She glanced over at him and was immediately locked in by his eyes. Oh, how she wished she could reach out and trail her fingers across the hypnotic beauty of his face; the perfect symmetry of his cheekbones and the masculine curve of his jaw.
”I’m taking you to Roslunda’s castle. Have you ever been there?” he inquired softly, caressing her face with his eyes.
”I’ve been to the castle and the park, but I’ve never had dinner there. How did you think of it?”
”Oh, I had some help,” he smiled. ”I asked around, so I can’t take all the credit myself.” He broke away and looked out the window at the traffic rushing by.
”You never told me what happened to your parents,” he said, turning back to her.
”Oh, that.” She looked down at her hands, knitted together on her lap.
”We don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to.” There was gentle concern in his voice.
She looked up at him, the immense sadness she felt filled her eyes.
”But I want you to know,” she whispered.
”All right then,” he agreed softly, and waited.
”My dad was very young when they had me. They were both very young, barely out of high school. My mom was eighteen when she became pregnant. He was her first boyfriend.” She paused and looked out the window. ”I think being a parent so young was a bit too much for him to handle. They broke up shortly after I was born. He moved to Norway, where he had gotten a job on an oil rig. He’s never really been a part of my life. Mom took me and moved back in with her parents. They helped her out a lot. My grandpa became like a father to me,” she said, with a tender smile. ”The three of them together made me feel so loved and treasured.” She looked out the window at the thought of how bright and happy her very earliest childhood memories were.
”My mother went to university and became a registered nurse. When she graduated - I was four by then - she took me with her, and moved to Stockholm. There were more interesting jobs for her here.” She took a deep breath before she continued.
”Then she met a man she fell in love with. They got married and my brothers were born when I was six. It was such a happy time for all of us.” She looked at him and smiled.
”I loved being a big sister. They were the most beautiful babies I’ve ever seen. Mom let me help her with them, whenever I wanted. They were like my living dolls. I used to dress them up in my dolls’ clothes, lots of frilly dresses.” She grinned at the memory. ”I think they still hold that against me.”
He laughed quietly with her.
She fell quiet, wondering how to continue. She wanted him to know, but the truth was too much. She couldn’t tell him what had really happened to her mother. She would have to settle for a half-truth, one she had used many times before when people asked her what had happened to her parents. Very few people knew the whole story. It was too painful to share, and somehow too shameful, still. She inhaled and turned to look him in the eyes.
”When I was nineteen, and had just started university, my mother was killed in an accident.”
”I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
”My brothers were about to turn fourteen, in just a couple of months. Their father died in the accident too. They were all alone, just like me. I fought Social Services, to be allowed to take care of them myself. At first they wouldn’t let me, but I can be quite stubborn when I believe in something that strongly, and I managed to convince them to at least let me try. They had some conditions of course. Every week a social worker would come and check up on us. She never found anything amiss - the boys were doing great. After a while they eased up on me and started trusting that I could handle the responsibility. The boys are doing really well and have never caused me any trouble at all,” she added with a tender pride in her voice.
”Yes, I can see that. They seem really great, both of them.”
”Thank you.” His praise meant more to her than she would have thought.
”What other conditions did the Social Services have?”
”They told me that if my personal circumstances were to change in any way, they would of course have to reconsider.”
”What did they mean by that?”
”For example, if I met a man and wanted to start a family of my own, or something like that, that might possibly affect my ability to look after the boys.”
She looked out the window again. Of course, since her mother’s death she had never met a man she felt anything more than friendship for. Until now, she amended to herself. But Nate could never be hers. He was just a loan for tonight. Her eyes stung at the thought, and she blinked to stop herself from crying. She wouldn’t spoil this precious evening by going all emotional on the poor guy.
”You are a very brave girl.” When she turned to look at him, there was a look of awe on his face.
”I don’t know about that,” she said, a little embarrassed at his obvious admiration.
”Well, I do,” he said. ”You are a very special young woman, and your brothers are lucky to have you. Trust me.”
Suddenly she couldn’t help herself anymore. She reached out tentatively and placed her trembling fingers on the back of his hand, gently touching his warm skin. He sat very still beside her. She felt lightheaded with desire at the sensation of his bare skin against her fingers. She wanted to keep hold of this man forever. But she knew she couldn’t. Instead she carefully explored the back of his hand, tracing the tendons under the skin. She followed the length of his beautiful fingers with her fingertips. She looked up into his eyes and hesitated for a second, but then she slowly lifted his hand to her face and held the palm for a moment to her cheek. He sat frozen next to her, but she felt his pulse racing in his wrist. He was so beautiful, even in the shadows of the cab. She replaced his hand on the seat between them and he was still frozen. She started to fear that she’d been too bold, and had frightened him. But then he reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. Carefully, as if it was made of the most delicate china, he kissed the sensitive skin of her palm. Very slowly his mouth blazed a trail across her skin and to the inside of her wrist. He kissed the skin covering her pulse and she forgot how to breathe, overtaken by the lingering sensation of his lips. He kept her hand in his, intertwining his fingers with hers.
”Olivia?”
”Yes,” she answered breathlessly.
”I think we’ve arrived.”
Suddenly she noticed that the taxi had stopped right next to the broad stairs leading up to the castle.
Nate paid the driver and then got out of the car. Olivia followed suit. When she stepped out of the car, Nate was there, ready to lend her a hand.
”You know, back in Cowboy Country a gentleman holds the car door open for his woman,” he smiled at her, once again exaggerating his southern drawl.
Her heart skipped a beat when he said ’his woman’, but she immediately talked herself out of getting her hopes up. It was just a manner of speech. But, oh, how she wished she could be his woman. It would never happen though, he wasn’t meant for her. He would make some other woman very, very happy once he found her. The image of him with that imaginary woman was too much for her. Jealousy shot like a fire through her blood. She chided herself for being so silly. She promised herself she would keep things light tonight, and not force the inner turmoil of her emotions on this lovely man. She smiled up at him.
”Well, we Vikings are not used to such gallantry, you know.” She exaggerated her breezy Nordic accent, taking pleasure in teasing him back.
He grinned at her, but his voice was like an embrace when he replied.
”Perhaps this ravishing Viking should just get used to such gallantry from now on.”
She forgot how to breathe, held captive by the husky tone of his voice and the smoldering look in his eyes.
; ”Shall we?” He offered her his arm.
There were lanterns placed along the drive and up the stairs to the castle. The door opened wide and the maitre d’ stepped out, greeting them as they walked up the stairs.
”Mr Montgomery?”
”Yes, that’s me.”
Olivia looked up at him as she heard his surname for the first time. Then she smiled and looked down.
As they walked through the great hall and stopped to check their coats she asked him about his name.
”Is your name really Montgomery?”
Destined for the Star (Starstruck) Page 4