by Diana Currie
“Katie’s one of the few people who believed me when I told everyone I had a girlfriend. It’s been over two months since I told her about you and she’s cool with us now,” Nathan promised.
Maddie smiled while thinking about how much had changed since New Year’s Eve when they were both out with other people. Their relationship had grown by leaps and bounds since that night. “Okay, then. Lead the way.”
Nathan opened the door and they walked into the large dark room that resembled a warehouse. It looked the way Maddie had been expecting the entire building to be. She was fascinated by the set; so many cameras were pointing at it and so much lighting hung over the actors’ heads. There were two women going over every detail of the set making sure it was ready for filming. One had a large photograph of the set and was carefully checking the placement of objects in the room and arranging the pillows on the sofa. The other woman took a roll of masking tape and placed two large X’s on the floor.
Maddie followed Nathan over to a group of people standing near the set. She recognized them all immediately. Tyler Curran, Pete Walker, and Katie Owens. It was overwhelming to say the least, to see such famous faces up close and personal in real life. Would her stomach flip flop like this every time Nathan introduced her to a celebrity? She hoped not because frankly, it was nerve wracking. The familiar strangers looked at Maddie with wide eyes too as they realized Nathan hadn’t been lying. He did indeed have a girlfriend.
Nathan gestured towards each of his costars saying, “Maddie, this is Tyler, Pete, and Katie. Guys, this is my girlfriend, Maddie. She’s visiting me from out of town.”
Pete Walker stuck his hand out with an impish smile. “Nice to meet you, Maddie.”
She smiled and offered her shaking hand, hoping the actor wouldn’t notice its slight tremor. “It’s nice to meet you too.”
“You didn’t happen to meet Nathan in a sex chat room, did you?” Tyler joked as he put out his hand in greeting.
Maddie laughed. “No, sorry. How much did I just cost you?”
Tyler grinned sheepishly. “Two hundred bucks. But it’s okay; now that I’ve met you I’m kind of glad I was wrong.”
“And I’m guessing Nathan doesn’t get his weed from you?” Pete asked.
“Sorry, I’m not a drug dealer either.”
Katie stepped forward pushing Pete aside. “Pay no attention to these idiots. They were raised by wolves.”
“I was raised in Los Angeles, thank you very much,” Pete huffed theatrically.
“Even worse,” Katie replied rolling her eyes. “Hi, Maddie. I’m Katie.”
Maddie momentarily reacted purely to her fame, forgetting the animosity she held for this woman because of her history with Nathan. She could see Abigail in Katie’s face. It was difficult not to see her that way, as Katie was already dressed for filming and donning the iconic red hair of her character. The actress was even more stunningly beautiful in person. Maddie was reminded of so many times when she had imagined herself as Abigail in Love Spelled Backwards dreaming about what it would be like to hold and kiss Nathan the way she did. She wasn’t just a huge fan dreaming of being with Nathan Foster anymore; she was sharing in a real relationship with him. Katie may have kissed Nathan on New Year’s Eve and continued to do so as they filmed this movie, but Maddie ended up winning his affection in real life and that was all that mattered.
“Hi Katie. It’s a thrill meeting you. I loved the way you portrayed Abigail. You’ve really brought her character to life beautifully.”
Katie smiled with obvious relief that this meeting wasn’t as awkward as she had feared. She thought Maddie might be frosty towards her depending on how much Nathan had told her. Instead, she seemed to be filled with unexpected praise and Katie welcomed it.
“Thank you so much,” Katie said sincerely.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the sequel.”
“Holy fuck, she’s a fan,” Pete whispered too loudly to Tyler.
Tyler smacked Pete’s arm as it clicked in his brain that Nathan had told him about this girl a while ago. Back in February when they were filming in Shreveport, he was almost positive. If this was the same fangirl Nathan had been enamored with two months ago then it was more serious than he’d let on. Tyler had worked with Nathan for a few years and had never known him to date the same girl for more than a few weeks.
“Yes, she is a fan,” Nathan answered flatly.
“Are you the girl from Texas?” Tyler asked hoping he wasn’t putting his foot in his mouth if she was in fact a different girl.
“You’ve heard about me?” Maddie wondered, unable to hide her smile. Standing in a room with so many famous faces made it easy to feel insignificant. She knew Tyler was one of Nathan’s close friends on set and liked the idea that he had been eager to talk about her.
“Yeah, but I didn’t make the connection until now. Damn.”
“I know someone around here thought I was a prostitute, but did anyone bet that I was a Midwestern fangirl?” Maddie joked.
Katie smiled; she liked that Maddie wasn’t offended by their childish antics. She hadn’t bet any money but was guilty of throwing out a few suggestions to those who had. “I think that’s the one possibility nobody thought about. It’s not exactly common.”
“What’s not common?” Maddie asked confused.
“Celebrities dating their fans,” Katie clarified.
“Oh, yeah, I guess it is kind of an unlikely scenario, isn’t it?” Maddie responded, feeling her cheeks blush lightly.
“Actors usually fuck the fans, not date them,” Pete explained with an obnoxious chortle… “The more obsessed with you the girl is the more she’ll let you do to her.”
Katie put her hands on her hips and scowled at Pete. “You’re a pig, you know that?”
Nathan pulled Maddie close against his side defensively. “Don’t freak out my girlfriend, dumbass,” he growled at Pete. He really wished Duncan had killed off Pete’s character in the second book. He made a mental note to suggest that if and when the writer decided to make his books a trilogy.
Nathan knew just how taboo it was in Hollywood to date a fan for the reason Pete mentioned. It was all too easy to seduce infatuated young fans and take advantage of them. He would have to worry about judgment from directors and industry bigwigs if he was dating someone like Holly, but he thought it was fairly clear Maddie was nothing like her. She was a fan for sure, but also so much more.
“So, are you going to stay and watch this scene we’re filming?” Tyler asked as Gavin walked into the room and took his place in the director’s chair.
“If I’m not imposing,” Maddie replied. “I’d love to stay for a while.”
The three actors nodded and assured her that she was welcome to watch the filming for as long as she liked. Nathan took her by the hand and led her over to a chair with “Foster” printed on the back. “Now you’ll get to see just how boring acting really is,” he whispered pulling up another chair beside her.
Gavin spoke to everyone in the room for a few minutes reviewing the script for the scene they were about to shoot. He appeared a little more put together now; wearing jeans and a t-shirt and holding a fresh cup of coffee. The scene they were about to shoot was from a part of the book Maddie hadn’t read yet whereAbigail and Caleb were broken up. Tyler and Pete played Caleb’s friends and were coming to see Abigail in the apartment hoping to convince her to give him another chance. It was a major spoiler alert but Maddie didn’t care. She was ecstatic to get a behind the scenes look at Tomorrow and Forever.
Forty-five minutes later Maddie was leaning her head against the palm of her hand fighting the urge to close her eyes and take a little nap.
“You can’t promise something like that to a guy like Caleb and then take it back,” Pete recited. For the third time. Then he started over again. “You can’t just make promises to a guy like Caleb and then take it back.”
Tyler waited a few beats to see if Gavin would stop the sce
ne and then said his own line. “My man Caleb is hurting. Can’t you at least agree to see him?”
Katie paced back and forth as she had done at least ten times already. Maddie mouthed the words as Katie spoke them once again for Take number 12. “Don’t you think I want to fix this? I’m in agony without Caleb, but there’s nothing I can say to him to make it right. He needs to figure this out on his own. And when he does I’ll be here waiting for him.”
Pete stepped forward and placed a hand on Katie’s shoulder as she cried on cue again. Maddie thought someone needed to get her some water after this take or she was likely to dehydrate. She glanced over at Nathan and found he was fiddling with his cell phone. Closer inspection revealed he was playing Candy Crush. She felt better knowing that Nathan was also bored; he was in this movie and the filming was too repetitive to keep his interest.
“What’s wrong?” Nathan mouthed when he saw Maddie was watching him. She shrugged and offered a small smile.
“Cut!” Gavin yelled. “Okay, let’s set up the scene again and take it one more time. I want to try Tyler comforting Katie at the end and see how that looks. And move camera two over a few feet so we get a sharper angle. Yes, like that.”
Nathan took advantage of the pause in filming to stand up and stretch. He wanted to say some quick goodbyes and get Maddie out of there. He could tell she was restless and thought she had seen enough of the process to understand how tedious it could be. The next time she got anxious over a love scene he had to film he could remind her of this experience; the stopping and starting, the dozen people watching, the constant stage direction from the director. There was definitely nothing sexy about it.
“Come on, we need to get home now,” he said quietly.
“We do?” Maddie replied.
“Yup. I’m really glad you got to meet everyone at the studio. I know it was a little nerve wracking for you.”
“It’s all a little intimidating for sure but everyone is really nice here. I’m glad I got a chance to see what you do every day.”
“Me too. Let’s say goodbye real quick before they start rolling again because it’s almost lunchtime. Stanley should be waiting for us outside and I want to get something to eat before going home.”
“Alright, lunch sounds nice. I’m starved.”
“Good. You’ll need your strength because we have one more hurdle to get over today.”
“We do? What’s that?”
Nathan grinned widely. “Now you have to meet my brother. His plane should be landing at LAX in about an hour.”
“Oh yes, the illustrious Garrett Foster. Watch out Hollywood, he’s coming!” Maddie joked.
Nathan chuckled. “My thoughts exactly.”
The couple exited the studio the same way they entered and Stanley was waiting with the limousine as if he had never left. Nathan was looking forward to some of his family meeting Maddie, but every time his brother came to town chaos ensued. Garrett was a wisecracker, often extremely immature, and loved being the center of attention. It was a dangerous combination in a town that knew how to party. Nathan hoped that having his new girlfriend in tow would help keep Garrett in line while he was visiting.
“Your brother and his companion arrived safely,” Stanley said as he was pulling the limousine out of the studio gates.
“Arrived? They’re already at the airport?”
“No, Mr. Foster. I just dropped them off at the house,” Stanley replied with confusion in his voice.
“I thought his plane got in at one o’clock?”
“Yes, sir. One o’clock central time.”
“I specifically asked him to be careful with time zones when he texted me his flight information,” Nathan grumbled. “Oh God, so they’re alone at the house?”
“Yes. I explained where you were and Mr. Foster said he would just unpack and get situated while they waited for you to return.”
Maddie put her hand on Nathan’s forearm to get his attention. “What’s the matter? You wanted to be there when they arrived?” she asked quietly.
Nathan smiled at her. How could he explain that his older brother needed constant supervision? “There’s nobody managing damage control at my house right now. I guarantee he’s already opened my liquor cabinet, raided the fridge, and made himself at home in the theater.”
“So, we’ll be walking into a party?” Maddie asked with a smirk. She thought Garrett sounded like fun and couldn’t wait to meet the other Foster brother. He would be the first member of Nathan’s family she met and was really looking forward to it.
As much trouble as Garrett was going to be, Nathan still hoped that Maddie liked him. He wanted her to think of Garrett and Jacqueline as friends by the end of the week, and hopefully not irresponsible house crashers. He only hoped the house was still standing when they arrived.
Twenty minutes later Nathan sighed with relief. Yes, the house was still intact. On the outside at least. He could see evidence of his brother’s presence as soon as they walked through the front door. The big screen television was on but no one was in the room. Empty beer bottles were on the coffee table. Music was blaring from the kitchen. Nathan followed the trail through the house and out to the back yard with Maddie walking close behind. And there he found his trouble-making brother, floating in the center of the swimming pool on an inflatable raft sipping from a scotch glass filled with alcohol that no doubt came from his liquor cabinet.
“Baby brother!” Garrett yelled as soon as he saw Nathan step onto the patio. “Look Jackie, your first celebrity sighting! Nathan fucking Foster is here!”
Jacqueline stood up from a chaise lounge and walked over to greet him. Maddie stared with her mouth gaping open as she approached with a martini glass in hand and a tiny white bikini covering her important places. She was slim, blonde, and gorgeous. Maddie knew right away that Jacqueline would fit in there with no problem.
“Hi Nathan,” she greeted. “Thank you so much for inviting me. Your house is fabulous!”
Nathan hugged her awkwardly and replied, “Thank you. It’s great to see you again. Did you have a good flight?”
“Yes, thanks for the first-class upgrade! There was a baby in coach who screamedthrough the entire flight.”
Nathan pulled Maddie closer to him and said, “This is my girlfriend, Maddie Sherratt. Maddie, meet Garrett’s girlfriend, Jacqueline Tucker.”
“You can just call me Jackie,” she corrected reaching out to shake Maddie’s hand. “It’s great to finally meet you.”
“You too. I’ve heard a lot of stories about your boyfriend, I hope he lives up to the hype,” Maddie joked.
Jackie smiled and then rolled her eyes. “Oh, he does, believe me!”
“Are you girls talking about me?” Garrett asked as he paddled himself over to the pool stairs. He stood up and wobbled slightly.
“Are you drunk already?” Nathan asked.
“It’s not my fault. You stock some killer scotch in that swanky cabinet thing.”
“Well, please savor it. That very expensive bottle was a gift from Steven Spielberg,” Nathan replied exasperated.
Garrett made a face pretending to be impressed and then chugged the remaining liquid in his glass. “My brother, the name dropper.”
Maddie giggled. “He totally is, isn’t he?”
Garrett smiled wide and stuck his hand out to her. “It’s awesome to finally meet you in person, Maddie. Have you had any luck loosening up this stiff yet?”
“Actually, he was a lot wilder before he met me. I thought maybe I’ve had a sobering effect on him.”
“Nah, don’t blame yourself. Nate’s always been the responsible one, the A student, the teacher’s pet. I’ve been trying to convince him to take advantage of this sweet life he’s got out here.”
Maddie placed her hands on her hips and said, “Haven’t you been following the tabloids? He’s indulged himself plenty!”
“Yeah, yeah, so I’ve heard. There’s a fine line between having fun and getting int
o trouble.”
“Well, I’m all for having a little fun,” Maddie agreed. She already felt comfortable with Garrett; something about his personality was so warm and inviting that she liked him immediately.
Nathan decided it was time to interject. He wanted them to get along, not gang up on him. “Garrett only sees my responsible side because I have to keep him from getting into fights or arrested. I’m a lot more fun when I’m not babysitting your ass.”
“Then let’s go out tonight! You’re going to take us to someplace hot, right? Jackie wants to hit up all the celebrity hangouts.”
Jacqueline’s face lit up at the mention of Hollywood clubs. “Yeah, I’m only here for four days. I want to see some famous people to tell my friends about.”
Nathan nodded, having expected this request. He had a few places in mind but hadn’t had the opportunity to run the idea by Maddie. “Do you guys want to do dinner or a club?”
“Can’t we do both?” Maddie asked surprising the hell out of him.
“You want to go to a club, Angel?” he asked doubtfully.
Maddie bit her lip and her cheeks flushed a little. “Like Jackie said, I’m only here four more days. I want to experience Hollywood; give this place a fair shot.”
“Why don’t we go inside and make a light lunch. I’ll call a few friends and see who’s up to meeting us at Chateau Marmont,” Nathan suggested.
Garrett clapped his hands together happily. “Yeah boy!”
Jacqueline turned to Maddie and asked her if she knew what she wanted to wear that night. Maddie suddenly got nervous again, realizing she had limited clothing options in her suitcase. “Don’t worry; I have some dressy tops that would look amazing on you. Let’s go try stuff on!”
“Okay,” Maddie said. “How are you with hair and makeup?”
Jackie smiled wide. “You’re in good hands. Nathan won’t be able to keep his hands to himself when I’m done with you!”