“You need to get used to it.” Will chuckled as he watched the auburn-haired woman finish applying foundation to Sarah’s face with a makeup wedge.
Sarah closed her eyes as the woman lightly painted her eyelids with three different shades. “I have to admit the pampering is kind of fun, but I can’t wait to be able to eat again.”
“We can stop for an In-N-Out burger on our way home if you’re still hungry after the parties, but there will be plenty of food all night.”
“I’m going to hold you to that, you know, because I won’t be able to eat until I know no one will be snapping pictures of me. I don’t want anyone saying I have a baby bump.”
“How did you get so paranoid?” he asked with a smirk.
“I don’t know. I think the people I hang around must influence me—or maybe it’s the article I saw last week that said I had a baby bump.” She smirked back at him. “The makeup isn’t too much, is it?”
“No. It’s very natural—perfect,” he answered.
After Sarah had given her approval, the woman started on her hair. She gathered it beautifully on the back of Sarah’s head, leaving gentle wisps framing her face. Then the woman sprayed her hair thoroughly to hold it in place all night. Sarah never wore hairspray. She cringed at the feel of it. It felt so unnatural. It’s only for tonight, she thought.
She beamed at Will as the woman packed up her supplies. Sarah was excited and insanely nervous. She hoped to make a good impression with the press and all those she met tonight. She wanted the world to like her, but she knew the odds were stacked against her. Will would still love her even if she fell on her face, but she wanted to impress everyone else and prove that she could handle all the pressure.
Sarah ascended the steps, making sure to not jostle her head. She didn’t want to ruin her hair before she even left the house. Why had she told Leslie that she didn’t need any help tonight? What had she been thinking? She took a deep breath as she hit the landing of the second floor and counted to ten in her mind. She didn’t have to time to panic; the limo would be here soon and she needed to get dressed. All the accoutrements had been laid out, waiting for her. She just needed to assemble them, like a 3-D puzzle. She had run through the steps with the stylist. She knew what to do.
The groan that escaped Will’s throat when she floated down the stairs in her gown confirmed the way she felt in the dress. His reaction gave her confidence. She felt elegant for the first time in her life. The dress perfectly married deep sapphire blue with silver. It was long and shimmery with simple styling that elongated Sarah’s figure. The gown’s straps were narrower at the shoulders, but widened to cover her bustline, coming together at the fitted waist. The neckline plunged low in the front and even lower in the back. She was wearing Christian Louboutin stilettos and, for the most part, was pretty steady in them. She had practiced walking up and down the stairs in them for almost a week, just to make sure she could actually pull it off. The shoes raised her closer to Will’s height. He still towered over her, but at least she wouldn’t look like a child next to him on the red carpet.
Will stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting for her, looking like a god in his black tux. With his perfectly tousled hair and that oh-so-perfectly fitted tux, no one would even see her. She could be wearing a garbage bag and no one would notice. The thought calmed Sarah’s nerves as she descended the last few steps.
“Finish zipping me, would you?” She spun to give him access.
His hand grazed her bare skin before he slid the zipper up. “Alfresco?”
“I’ll never tell.” Her gown caught air as she twirled back around to face him. She wanted Will to contemplate that while he was giving interviews on the red carpet.
He raised one eyebrow, and his lips curled, intrigued. He placed his hands on her waist and looked into her emerald eyes. Then he trailed a finger from her shoulder, down the strap of her gown, to her waist. A shiver bolted through her.
“How do you keep it all in the right…place?”
“Tape,” she said with a grin. “And I don’t even want to tell you what else I had to do.” She looked up at him from under her lashes, and he laughed.
When Remi arrived, they all loaded into the black limousine. During the ride, Remi reminded Sarah of what to expect on the red carpet.
“It will sound like you’re standing next to a jet engine with all the announcers talking at once. You won’t be able to hear anything, so just follow me. I’ll make sure we hit all the important interviews. People can be extremely rude, so don’t take anything personally. They will probably treat you like you’re invisible. The photographers may want pictures of just Jon. Or if they know who you are, they will definitely want pictures of you two together. We should give them both. They will want you to turn this way and that way. No matter which way you turn, it won’t be the right way, because there are just too many to please. Just do your best and follow Jon’s lead. They will be very annoying, but please don’t call them paparazzi. They’re very sensitive about that. Speaking of annoying, where’s Isaac?”
“Don’t worry, he’ll meet us. He would never let me go to a big event like this alone. He’s very protective.”
“Won’t there be tons of security?” asked Sarah.
Will laughed. “Oh, he’s not literally protecting me. He’s like a guard dog making sure that no other agents can get close enough to talk to me.”
“Wow, there’s still a lot I don’t know,” added Sarah.
“Remember, just be yourself and don’t let them see that you’re nervous. You’ll do great.” Remi smiled at her. “You both have your IDs, right? You can’t get in without them.”
“Yes.” Will handed out glasses of champagne. “Let’s enjoy ourselves, shall we? To Sarah’s first red carpet, may the world love her as much as I do.” He clinked glasses with each woman and smiled his gorgeous one-dimple smile, and they all drank.
The rest of the ride echoed earlier discussions about interview questions and the who’s who in Hollywood. Too quickly, they neared their destination, and Sarah’s heart began to race. As the road blockades came into sight, the butterflies from her stomach moved to her head, and all she heard from the end of the conversation was Remi saying, “We’re on.”
When the car stopped, a greeter in a black tux and white gloves opened the door. Will stepped out first. There was a blast of flashes and roars from the mob outside that penetrated the quiet car. The smell of hot dogs and french fries from an unseen street vendor wafted into the limo, mixed with the pungent odor of car exhaust. Will waved to the crowd and then turned to offer Sarah his hand. Sarah inched her way to the edge of the seat and looked wide-eyed at the scene before her. The bright lights reflected in the shallow rain puddles atop the red carpet that stretched out into the street. Several clear umbrellas protectively hung in the air in anticipation, and under their shielding stood the most beautiful human being Sarah had ever known. Sarah switched her sparkling clutch to her right hand and extended her left hand toward him. She looked into his stunning pale eyes and smiled, realizing that he was there to catch her if she fell. She took a deep breath and stepped out onto the damp runner.
Once they were under the clear canopy of the red carpet, they made their way into the gauntlet of photographers. Will casually sauntered onto the other side of the rope barrier to face the cameras, but Sarah hesitated by the entrance. When Will reached back for her hand and pulled her with him, the flashes and yelling began. He snaked his arm around her waist, touching her bare back, and subtly directed Sarah which way to turn. She couldn’t hear him over the roar of the press, so his touch was their only communication. Every five steps required a turn to the left, then to the right. The rapid-fire shouting continued as they progressed down the carpet together. Sarah felt embarrassed having so many people fawn for her and Will’s photo. It was still hard to comprehend the whole celebrity concept, and this scene took it to another level. The whole experience was overwhelming her senses. Finally, they app
roached the last set of photographers, and then Remi coaxed them out of the press line.
Next on the agenda were the fans. Sarah knew they weren’t here to see her, so she stood her ground and shrunk back along the velveteen rope when Will tried to pull her with him. He glanced at her questioningly, and she mouthed, “You go.”
So he walked toward the edge of the carpet, to the black metal barricade in front of the risers, and braved the crowd. They shoved memorabilia and magazines in front of him to autograph, and he posed with fans for pictures until Remi informed him that they had to keep moving. Walking back to meet Sarah, he looked at her with a predatory smirk Sarah had seen before.
Once he had joined her side, she spoke into his ear. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“I was just thinking about the rain,” Will confessed, knowing she would know exactly what he was thinking.
Sarah blushed and pressed her lips together.
Rain always brought him back to the night they first made love. He pictured her petite figure lying on the bed beneath him, her rain-drenched hair, and her surprised expression when she let it slip that she loved him. He could still feel the softness of her skin against his as they lay in the dark later that evening, the storm raging outside. It didn’t matter that they were being watched right now. His thoughts were his own—and Sarah’s.
They continued to walk, oblivious to where they were going, just following the guidance of those surrounding them and not worrying about the cameras pointed at them. As they rounded a curve on the carpet, they both noted the small puddle at their feet and looked up to see raindrops dancing across the clear canopy above their heads.
“I love the rain,” she admitted with a grin.
Then he leaned in, cupped her chin in his hands, and kissed her sweetly, tenderly, on the lips, right there on the red carpet, as if there was no one else in the room. The crowd went wild, and the air exploded with a spray of camera flashes. After several seconds, Remi touched Will’s shoulder to remind him that they needed to keep moving, and the crowd booed. Remi apologetically shrugged, and they started moving forward down the red carpet again.
As they made their way up the podium steps for a high-profile interview, a well-known redhead correspondent named Julia Masters greeted them. She was tall, thin, and flawless in her long gold sequined gown.
“Jonathan Williams, how have you been?”
Will kissed the woman’s cheek. “Fantastic, Julia.”
“It’s been too long since we last spoke,” the redhead stated as she flirtatiously caressed his shoulder. “You’re a busy man, I hear.”
“Yes, crazy busy.” He curled his arm around Sarah’s waist. “I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Sarah.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Julia greeted, then dove right into questioning. “First of all, let’s get it out of the way. Who are you wearing tonight?” Will and Sarah revealed their fashion choices, and the reporter continued. “I hear you’ve been engaged since the holidays. Until two weeks ago, you were denying your engagement, and now you’re kissing on the red carpet. How do you explain your one-eighty with the press?”
“You saw that?” Will asked coyly.
“Yes, I think the whole world saw that. So why the change, Jon?”
“Look at her,” Will said with his one-dimple smile, and the main camera panned to a full view of Sarah. “I’m only human—or a demigod. Either way, her powers are way beyond my ability to fight.” Will and the reporter chuckled as Will’s eyes met Sarah’s.
“I’m sure everyone has heard about the nightmare you went through in January—being drugged and kidnapped by a deranged gossip columnist. That must have been horrific. So, Sarah, does it scare you that something like this could happen again, being with Jonathan?”
“Honestly, looking back at the ordeal, it was pretty scary. But I don’t have power over other’s actions, so I can’t let them control me,” she said confidently.
Will could see the relief in her eyes when she had finished answering. He knew she was trying to keep her answers short, concise, and under ten seconds long—that’s what she had learned in her media training class.
“Well, it seems like you have power over Jonathan.” The reporter smiled and winked. “We have to see that ring before our time is up.”
Will wrapped his left arm tighter around Sarah’s waist, and she placed her left hand on his chest, letting his black tux jacket provide the perfect backdrop to show off the ring, just like they had practiced with Remi.
“Oh my, that is plenty big to share with the rest of us. You wouldn’t mind sharing Jonathan with the rest of us, would you?” questioned the reporter with a chuckle.
Sarah smiled and looked at her fiancé.
“All kidding aside, the rest of us women are just sad to see him off the market. So do you have a wedding date set?”
“No, not yet.” Sarah shook her head slightly as she spoke and smiled, looking very elegant in her long gown. She stayed tucked in Will’s arm and seemed to stand a little taller. She was doing so well, and he was so proud of her.
“Besides Demigod Forbidden, what projects are you working on, Jon?” the reporter asked hurriedly, trying to fit as many questions as possible into her limited time frame.
“I found this fantastic script from an up-and-coming writer about an actor dealing with the press. It’s my next obsession,” Will said, meeting Sarah’s eyes. “I just have to find funding for it.”
“Well, if anyone could make it happen, it would be you. You’re a god. I can’t wait to see it. Thank you for sharing with us, Jon, Sarah.”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for having us,” answered Will.
As they made their way down the steps from the stage, Will knew that Sarah could handle this, and he could deal with anything as long as she was at his side. He wasn’t going to sit back and let the press run his life anymore. He was taking control, as much as he could, and he was determined to enjoy his life with Sarah. He didn’t know what the future had in store for them, but he knew they would be together, and together, they could handle whatever life threw at them.
Look for the continuing story of Will and Sarah—the next novel by Susan Schussler,
Chapter One
The text read, Call me when U have time 2 talk-ASAP. Sarah pressed send and set her phone on the table next to the couch. She curled up her legs next to her and opened her laptop. The text was to her best friend and someday sister-in-law, Jessica. The “someday” came from the fact that Sarah’s brother, Jeff, and Jessica had been talking about getting married for almost a year now, and Jeff still hadn’t given her a ring. He was waiting for just the right moment to make it official. This detail had put the slightest rift in Sarah and Jessica’s relationship. Not that anything could ruin their friendship. They had been best friends since middle school, and their friendship could withstand much worse. Sarah knew Jessica’s ring was a sore point, so she tried to avoid mentioning engagement rings or wedding plans when talking to her, though this was getting more and more difficult to do.
Sarah missed Jessica. She missed all her friends. It seemed like so long since she had seen them. Several months had passed since Sarah left her family and friends back in the Midwest for her new life in Los Angeles. When she made the choice to leave, she hadn’t really known what to expect once she got to California. All she really knew was that she couldn’t live apart from Will any longer. Being with him was the only thing that mattered. She still called him Will sometimes, though lately she had gotten used to calling him Jon. It was just easier. No one knew him by his nickname except his good friends, and they weren’t around that often. She equated it to adopting an accent. The people she interacted with every day called him Jon, and she picked it up like a drawl or Valley speak. Besides, she was tired of explaining who Will was as he stood next to her laughing.
She logged on to the Internet while she waited for Jessica’s response. She buzzed through the gossip site’s pictures of her movie star fiancé
coming out of a hotel, followed by Natalie Lipka. The caption read, “Boys will be boys.”
She knew Jon had gone to dinner with the gorgeous Ukrainian actress as part of a business meeting for an upcoming film, but why did it have to be at that particular hotel? The Hotel Freemont was known for celebrity hookups, and the photo of them walking out separately and then getting into the same car just made them look guiltier. Sarah knew it was just dinner, but she also knew she would have to explain the picture to her family and friends—like so many before them, and this week the whole world would think Jon was cheating.
At least it wasn’t Mia Thompson. A picture of Jon with his ex would take much longer than a week to blow over, and it would drive Sarah crazy. She could imagine Mia staring back with her “I’ve got a secret and you’re so screwed” expression. Mia made her completely irrational. She didn’t know how to explain it. Maybe it was the way Mia carried herself around Jon, as if she owned him, or maybe it was that the fans hadn’t fully accepted Sarah and still wanted Jon and Mia together. Sarah could put up with any other woman flirting with Jon, but if Mia was in the same room, sirens blared in her head.
She took a deep breath and glanced at her phone—nothing yet. She still had time. She maneuvered her way to the one site where she wasn’t supposed to go. She couldn’t save the site on her desktop or in her favorites because he would see it, so she made the extra effort to key in the address by hand. Then she typed in the user ID and password she remembered from when the account had been set up. A smile spread across her face as she caught up on the site’s activity. He had been to the Mall of America and rode the roller coaster last week. He took the light-rail train to Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis and bought some tulips from the Danish vendor who always gabbed too much. Sarah could almost smell the flowers. And last night, he ate dinner at Sarah’s parents’ house. The picture of him sitting at the table with her mom and dad made Sarah laugh.
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