The audience went crazy, and I flinched at the noise.
Alex nodded at Stella, who was on her feet applauding us. The whole audience followed her lead, and within seconds it seemed that everyone in the studio and audience was on their feet clapping at the knowledge of our engagement.
I leaned into Alex, trying to stop myself from shaking. I needed his support big time. He placed his arm around my back, gently rubbing between my shoulder blades as we waited for the uproar to die down.
Stella stepped forward, her hand extended to shake Alex’s. He stood up, leaning closer to her to say something before gesturing for me to stand as well. She shook my hand before picking up my other hand to view the ring. She moved closer to talk to me, so as I could hear her above the noise.
“It’s beautiful. You are both very lucky to have found each other. I wish you all the best.”
As she backed away, and I returned to Alex’s side and we sat down together.
The crowd gradually quieted again. Stella took the opportunity to signal for the camera to come closer.
“Can we just get a shot of the ring, so everyone can see it on the screen here, and for everyone at home?”
Alex took my hand in his and held it up to the camera that was closing in on us.
The audience gasped as the ring came into view on the large screens at either side of the studio.
“Alex, it’s beautiful,” Stella said. “Did you choose it for Ella, or did she pick it out?”
Alex shook his head. “I picked it for her. I wanted something special, but not too flashy. There’s no point getting her a ring that she’s frightened too wear when she does the washing up, is there?”
I playfully swatted his arm again.
The audience laughed.
“That’s twice in just as many minutes!” he exclaimed, jokingly.
“Does she beat you up regularly then, Alex?” Stella asked.
“Yeah, I’m covered in bruises. Look!” He began to slip his arms out of his jacket, teasing the audience, but hitched it back onto his shoulders before it had time to slip below the t-shirt sleeves.
“He bruises easily,” I said.
“So, was he romantic when he proposed? Did he take you out for a romantic meal, wine and dine you?” she asked me.
Alex was chuckling quietly beside me, and as Stella looked at him he began laughing. The audience joined in.
“Not really. He’s only just asked me. Backstage, just a few minutes ago,” I clarified.
Stella looked wide eyed at Alex.
“You’re not romantic then? No roses, violins playing?”
Alex shook his head.
“I’ve promised to make it up to her this evening. She knows she’ll not be disappointed.”
The crowd screamed, But Alex looked completely confused by their reaction. It suddenly seemed to dawn on him what he had said as he held his hand up to his mouth and looked at me before mouthing the word, ‘sorry.’
Stella rescued him, bringing attention to the release of Starshine.
“So, you’re at the start of your worldwide tour promoting Starshine. It all seems to have come together really well for you both, particularly after the leaked footage that practically everyone has seen. That must have been hard for both of you.”
I sniggered. Unfortunately, the audience caught it. A few wolf whistles sounded out, and there was a shout of, ‘Ella, marry me,’ from a male in the audience.
Alex smirked, waving his hand toward Stella, signalling that I could give her an answer.
“It wasn’t too bad. I’d already seen the footage when I’d been editing the scenes with Rowan Busby. Alex hadn’t seen them at all. I mean, the scenes that were leaked were unedited, so people saw our true interactions. The scene in the film itself is just acting, but the parts that were leaked were a bit too personal. I think people may be disappointed with the final edit in the film tonight. The leaked clip shows way more than the actual film does.”
I groan of disappointment came from the audience.
“But,” I added quickly. “The scenes we have just started filming for Solarflare are even raunchier.”
Alex nodded at Stella. “Definitely,” he said. “We’re quite enjoying filming them, aren’t we, sweetheart?”
The audience, ‘Awww-ed,’ at us again.
“Well,” Stella said. “Let’s have a look at one of the clips from the film.”
The screens on either side of the studio sprung to life with a scene from Starshine. It was one where Alex and Amy were arguing. I stared at the screen, trying not to react to seeing her with Alex. But the crowd wasn’t as generous. They booed and hissed as she spoke, and I seriously worried if they would do the same throughout the whole movie when they went to see it. Then the part where I was with Alex when we were arguing, just before he ripped the robe from me, came on screen. You couldn’t tell the difference between Amy and me, as my face was kept sideways, or filmed from the back. But the audience knew it was me, and cheered.
When the clip finished, applause broke out throughout the audience.
“We all know the story of what happened to Amy and Rowan Busby, but it must still seem strange watching Amy in the film with Alex.”
“Not really,” I explained. “I was a huge fan of the franchise before I met Alex. So, I was used to seeing him in the films with Amy. But it does feel strange watching myself with him on screen. It’s incredibly personal acting love scenes with your real-life lover, but it also brings very realistic actions to the scenes as well.”
“I think I find it harder to watch than Ella,” Alex said. “My acting abilities were constantly pushed to their limits when I acted with Amy. The history we had together made it incredibly difficult. Now, filming Solarflare with Ella feels like a dream. It’s almost an extension of our daily life.”
I guffawed, and Stella laughed at my response.
“He’s nothing like he is at home,” I said. “He’s so serious at work. I sometimes wonder whether I know the person I’m acting with.”
“That’s because I can’t just slip into character. You find it so easy to just flick a switch and perform. I can’t. I have to be that person leading up to the shoot.” Alex explained.
Stella looked to the audience, jokingly insinuating that we were having an argument. As soon as Alex realised what she was doing, he grinned, leaned forward, cupped my face in his hand, and kissed me. It wasn’t a peck, but a full-blown snog, literally taking my breath away.
Once again, the audience went crazy.
As he broke away, he mouthed the words, ‘I love you.’ It had been caught on camera and the females in the audience screamed even more.
“So . . .” Stella said. “Like you said, shooting has begun on the final film, Solarflare, how’s it going?”
“Fine.” Alex nodded.
“And this is Ella’s first ever film, her only acting experience apart from the clips I mentioned earlier.”
“Yes. And she’s doing brilliantly. Although, it does help that we can practise when we’re at home.”
Stella managed to keep a straight face as she picked up on Alex’s statement. “So which scenes do you like to run through at home? You know, the ones that need more practice.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Alex.
“Oh, those ones are always open to more practice and further suggestions.”
Audience members were having a hard time keeping quiet with the suggestive way Alex was speaking.
Stella turned things back to the more serious side of things.
“So, can you tell us what designers you’ll be wearing at the premier at the end of the month?”
Alex nodded. “I’ll be in Gucci. It’s a navy suit, I think.” He looked to me for confirmation. I nodded.
“Ella?” Stella asked.
“Gucci, as well.”
“Any more details? Colour? Are you matching Alex or clashing with him?”
“Definitely clashing,” Alex said, a lopsided grin appearing on his
face.
I raised my eyebrows before answering Stella. “I’m not allowed to say, sorry.”
My dress was amazing. It was a long dress, cut tightly through the hips and waist, with a deep V-back and front. It was plain navy, nothing patterned or fussy, to match Alex’s suit.
“So, one last question for both of you before you go. If you weren’t acting, what other job do you think you’d be qualified to do?”
Alex guffawed before turning to me. “You first,” he said.
I thought as quickly as I could, trying to think what I could do. “I don’t know. Before I met Alex, I thought I wanted to do something with film, directing or editing. But now, I’m not sure I could work behind the camera.”
“I know what I could do!” Alex said. I flinched at his sudden exclamation. “Well, I think I could be a male lap dance, you know, all those greasy poles, spinning and shaking my ass. I’m quite a good dancer.”
The crowd understandably went wild, screaming and shouting his name.
“And Ella, you could be the woman I employ to wash my thongs!”
I punched his arm again, and Stella waited for the crowd to calm from their wild cheering and shouting.
“Ella, Alex, thank you so much for taking the time to come and talk to us, and for letting us see just how much you really are in love. I’m sure the audience wants to wish you well, as I do, for every success with both Starshine and Solarflare, and any other projects that come your way. Ladies and gentlemen, Ella Summer and Alex Denton.”
She applauded us, as did the audience when the program cut to a break.
As soon as the camera’s red lights went out, Stella stood up and hugged both Alex and myself. We were quickly escorted off the studio floor, as fans cheered and shouted for us. Only when we were safely hidden away from the studio floor did Alex pick me up and spin me around.
“You were amazing!” he said, pecking my face with kisses. “So fucking amazing for your first interview. And the audience loved you.”
“You think so?”
“Definitely. I’ve never had such an enthusiastic response when I’m interviewed by myself.”
“Maybe today you opened up a bit more. They all seem to love it when you talk about how you feel. You’ve never done it before, remember. But it’s all they want to hear about.”
“Ella, I’m an actor, first and foremost. It’s a job. I have to promote myself that way.”
“Yes, I understand that. But out there, you weren’t just an actor. You were Alex Denton, a human, their idol. Talking about personal things. They loved it.”
He shrugged before taking my hand in his.
“Do you want to go straight back to the hotel. We can have a relaxing bath together and have room service bring us some food. Tomorrow’s gonna be crazy, we’ve got five interviews scheduled.”
“That sounds perfect.” I cuddled into his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist. He rubbed my back and kissed the top of my head.
“Do you think we should spend a few minutes signing things, posing for pictures and chatting with the audience out there?” he asked.
It was the right thing to do, and I enjoyed interacting with the fans. It was just that the offer of a nice soak in the bath with Alex was something I would much rather do.
I nodded.
“Come on, then,” he said. “Let me show off my fiancé to the fans.”
2 years later – Premier of SOLARFLARE
The limousine glided through the streets of London.
Alex glanced at me, and I smiled back.
“Stop worrying. I’ll be fine,” I tried to reassure him.
His eyes darted to my full belly. His worried expression turned into a grin as his hand gently rubbed the huge bump.
“You know I worry about you both. This is hardly the best situation for you to be heading into right now.”
I placed my hand over his. “I’ve still got two months to go. There’s absolutely no need to get stressed about this. I’m more concerned that you’re going to have to do the rest of the promotion by yourself. I want to come with you.”
“Unfortunately, this little one had other ideas.” He grinned as his hand was struck by a kick from my bump.
“Stupid aviation laws,” I muttered.
He kissed my cheek. “You know I’ll miss you like crazy when I’m away. But I’ll be back for odd days between travelling. I’ll probably be as knackered as you. I’ll be in different time zones every single day.”
Unfortunately, the release of Solarflare had fallen at a crazy time for us. I was seven months pregnant. It was an unplanned situation, but the most wonderful thing to have happened. We had discussed wanting to start a family, and agreed that when the madness of Solarflare had died down, we’d both have some time off, spending at least a month just chilling. During this time, we’d planned to start to try for a baby, but it seemed that nature had thrown us an early treat.
The day I’d suspected I was pregnant was both the most frightening and most exciting day of my life. I’d been on the set of Solarflare with Alex, filming some final scenes, when I had experienced an excruciating pain in my lower belly.
A rush to the hospital with Alex freaking out beside me, and several examinations later, the doctors confirmed that I was seven weeks pregnant. Apparently, I was listed as one of the unlucky ones that had slipped into the small percentage of people that birth control had let down. Alex and I never saw it as an unlucky situation. We felt it was more of a blessing. I was kept in the hospital overnight, and released the next day. I’d had no further problems. I’d not even had any morning sickness. Although, my cravings had Alex calling me a whole different kind of crazy.
Alex had insisted on the best doctors treating me throughout the pregnancy, and when the scans were undertaken to assess that everything was developing normally, we were treated to in-avertedly discover our baby’s gender. Alex had beamed with joy at the screen as we saw the evidence of a baby boy growing within me.
Alex was so excited, involving himself in everything pregnancy related. In fact, I think he was more knowledgeable about what was happening to my body than I was.
Anthony had taken his role as my security man even more seriously since the day we told him and Megan that I was pregnant. Charlie and Hazel were over the moon, loving that they were going to have their first grandchild.
Megan and Anthony were due to marry in a few months’ time, and Megan was currently stressing that I wouldn’t have had the baby by the date of their marriage. Apparently, she didn’t want me looking like a beach-ball on her wedding photographs. Alex had torn into her when she’d said it, but she had calmly explained that it was me she had been worried about. She couldn’t think of anything worse than having to look back at pictures of herself heavily pregnant. She said she’d burn every single one she could find if it ever happened to her. Alex and I had a completely different view on my pregnancy. He said I was even more beautiful, and even on my fat days when I felt like a complete blob, he was there, kissing me, telling me how much he loved me, proving how much he still fancied me by still sending my body into absolute heaven. Our sex life was still incredible We’d just had to be more imaginative.
We’d got married a few months after Alex’s ridiculously timed proposal. As soon as Alex had asked me to marry him, he let me know that he didn’t want to drag out the engagement—he wanted us married immediately. I’d never understood his rush, but reasoned that perhaps he wanted to feel even more secure with our relationship—that whilst we weren’t married he had the ridiculous notion that I would walk away. As if that would ever happen.
We hadn’t had a large wedding, just family and a few friends. Ben had offered the gardens at his pub as the perfect venue, and after lots of deliberation we decided to run with it. Alex had initially refused. He didn’t want to risk our secret hideaway being discovered, but I reasoned with him that he would upset Ben enormously if we refused. We were only inviting nineteen people, and all of them were t
rust-worthy and would keep our secret. The paparazzi never found out about the planned wedding or where it was held. There were no magazine deals, no exclusive interviews, just us, with family and friends that mattered. Anthony took photos on the day—and he caught some beautiful shots of us all. A month after our marriage, we released photos to the mainstream media with a statement about our wonderful day.
Alex was the perfect gentleman when he met my mum and Maree, even though he witnessed how dismissive my mother was toward me. It was how she had always been. Wedding day or not, her attitude to her only daughter being married wasn’t going to alter. Visually I reminded her too much of my father. I knew that seeing me was incredibly hard for her. I’d learnt to deal with her dismissive behaviour many years ago. Her presence at my wedding had been more of a matter of protocol than me wanting her there.
We’d still hadn’t had any direct contact from Amy or Rowan. But we knew that Amy was currently starring in a very low budget film called She Bangs. Amy’s main-stream popularity and career had ended near enough overnight when the truth about her behaviour was published. But she was still popular in a particular circle of people. When we’d found out about Amy staring in She Bangs, Alex had practically cried with laughter. He’d said that it would probably be very boring—just like all the other porno films out here. Pierce was still managing her career, and both Alex and I had suspicions that he was pressuring her into the world she was in. Unfortunately, Amy was nothing more than a pawn in the games that he played with peoples’ lives. I tried to feel sorry for her, but couldn’t quite manage it. I found it impossible to forgive her for what she had put Alex through. He didn’t deserve any of it. In my opinion, Amy was as mad as a hatter, and possibly needed some sort of help. Pierce wasn’t that help.
Rowan and Amy’s paths crossed quite regularly as producing low budget films was an area that Rowan had become involved in. When he was fired as producer on the Starshine films and saw how people raved about the clip of Alex and me, he jumped on the band-waggon and sold himself to the media—taking all the credit for pulling such a convincing performance from us. The path to producing the same films as Amy performed in was a natural progression for him.
Starshine Page 42