Rising Star (9 page)

Matt hung around the rest of the afternoon
as Selena sat on Catalina in the surf while the cameras snapped
picture after picture. They had her lope the horse along the beach
and trot her through the waves. How many pictures can they possibly
need? She thought as they had her turn the horse this way and then
a different way. Catalina became bored and fidgety too and Selena
wished for another run down the beach. Anything to break the
monotony. Can’t we just get this over with? She sighed heavily as
the day wore on. Betsy had her change into two more evening gowns,
a pale yellow, off the shoulder number with a long, flowing hem,
and last of the day, a pale blue gown with a heavy hem. It reminded
her of the dress Cinderella wore to meet her prince. The hem was
too big, with too much lace and Jake had to give Selena a hand
mounting the horse. The dress flounced out around her on Catalina’s
back and she felt like a complete idiot. She breathed a sigh of
relief when the photo shoot was finally over and she was back in
her jeans and boots. She didn’t take off the makeup since she was
going to dinner with Matt. She didn’t know when she’d have the
chance to look this good again. Matt followed her outside where
Jeffrie was patiently waiting. Matt shook Jeffrie’s hand pleasantly
and told him the address of his favorite restaurant.

“
Do I need something better
to wear to dinner?” Selena knew she was underdressed for Hollywood,
although Matt was wearing jeans too. But, she thought, Matt would
look good if he was wearing mechanic’s coveralls and smeared with
grease.

“
Don’t worry about it, you
look great,” he answered with the mischievous light back in his
eyes.

Jeffrie drove north through Malibu and
turned into the lot of a small café set into the hillside. It had a
covered balcony in front overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The waitress recognized Matt and sat them at
the front of the balcony, with a magnificent view of the ocean.
Selena could feel the stress of the day beginning to ease from her
shoulders and stomach as she looked at the amazing view and the
beautiful man across from her. Matt took her hand and held it on
the table, his thumb circling gently on her palm as he stared at
her. Selena felt the same buzz of excitement as before. Like an
electric current passing through their hands. She stared back at
him, feeling as if she couldn’t tear her eyes from his, she was
mesmerized by the mischievous blue twinkle.

“
Hey, you dirty dog, I
wondered where you disappeared to.”

Selena and Matt looked up quickly at the
voice, the magical spell broken. Selena sucked in her breath when
she realized the voice belonged to Paul James. He’d been in more
movies than she could count and she’d had such a crush on him a few
years ago. His blond, California good looks still took her breath
away.

“
And now I understand,”
Paul answered his own question as he stared at Selena. “I figured
it was something like that.”

Matt made the introductions and Paul took
Selena’s hand gently, smiling roguishly.

“
Would you like to join
us?” Selena asked politely. Paul was still holding her hand as he
stared at her, the roguish smile still in place. Selena felt
slightly star struck as she looked at him.

“
Nah. I’m getting takeout.
I have friends waiting at my house. It was nice to meet you
Selena.” He winked at her and smiled the roguish smile again, then
went inside with a wave to Matt.

“
Wow, Paul James?” Selena
asked when he was gone.

“
Yeah, we’ve been friends
for years. Hey, I thought you didn’t like movie stars?”

Selena’s face reddened as she realized she’d
been caught. “Uh…I just think he’s a really great actor,” she
stammered.

“
And what about me?” His
voice dropped an octave as he took her hand. “Do you think I’m a
great actor?”

“
Even better than Paul
James,” she almost whispered. “I watched some of your movies before
I came out here. You really are the best.” She flushed as she
remembered sitting in her small room, falling in love with his
on-screen characters.

Still holding her hand, Matt leaned across
the table and kissed her. “Thank you, Selena.”

Their mood lightened as a waiter appeared.
They ordered fresh shrimp and scallops and coleslaw and fries. It
was a very relaxing meal and Selena laughed and joked with Matt as
they ate. It almost seemed like they hadn’t been apart. They had
picked up their friendship right where they’d left off in New
Mexico. He sure is easy to be around for a big shot Hollywood
heartthrob, she thought with a smile. He made her feel nervous at
first, yet as they bantered like old friends, she could feel
herself relax with him.

“
It’s too bad you only have
a couple days. There’s a lot to see and do here,” Matt was
saying.

“
Yeah, well, the beach is
nice, but I think I prefer my wide open spaces to this huge
city.”

Matt laughed his musical, ringing laugh and
then took her hand again across the table. “You know, Selena, a lot
of these young starlets give up their whole lives to come here,
just for a chance to be a star.”

“
I know. And I’ve already
made enough money for some of my college tuition, but I’m just not
into this life.”

Matt chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re one
of a kind, Selena.”

After dinner, Matt instructed Jeffrie which
house to drop him at and Selena’s heart sank as they pulled into
the drive. She hated to see the evening end, and besides, Matt was
the only person she knew in this strange land. She stepped out with
him while Jeffrie discreetly stayed in the car. She leaned her back
against the car as they chatted.

“
Where you staying?” Matt
asked.

“
The Montague, in Beverly
Hills.”

“
Hmm, nice place.” He
leaned toward her as he said it and she felt his body press hers
against the car as he kissed her. She wove her fingers into his
hair where it curled over his collar as she returned his passionate
kiss. He broke away finally, both of them out of breath. “I’ll see
you tomorrow,” he said quietly, his voice gruff with passion. She
could see it burning in his eyes and she knew he was seeing the
same in hers. He held her stare for a long moment, then turned away
and strode purposely for the front door of the house. Selena
dropped back into her limo, still breathless from his kiss, her
mind a whirlwind of confusion. She had told him in New Mexico that
she only wanted friendship; she had been determined not to let some
Hollywood player hurt her. But now she knew, it was too late for
that. He was more than a friend and she knew it.

Chapter 15

Selena floated back to her room when Jeffrie
let her out at the hotel, still euphoric from Matt’s kiss and the
passion and longing she’d seen in his eyes. She had assumed he had
already found someone more his style. How could he possibly be
interested in some small town girl from New Mexico anyway? She had
all but given up on ever hearing from him, and now, here she was,
floating around her room on a white, fluffy cloud.

She used the remote to open the blinds, then
stared out the window as she thought of Matt. Were her feelings for
him true or was it a movie star crush like she’d had for Paul James
before? Was she star struck? No! She shook her head as she
contemplated it. It was neither of those things, she was sure of
it. She knew her own mind
and
her heart better than that.
She was still so afraid of being hurt by him, but she didn’t really
believe anymore that he was just a player. The look in his eyes had
said it was more than a fling. She heaved a sigh and finally turned
from the window to check her emails and social media. She had been
sorely out of touch since arriving in L.A. and she was sure Beth
would want to know everything. She picked up her cell phone and saw
ten new emails. She checked them first and her heart sank as she
read letter after letter from the publishers and agents she’d sent
her manuscript off to. Each one was a polite and respectful
rejection letter. She felt all the wind go out of her sails and the
white, fluffy cloud she’d floated in on was blown away on a
darkening sky as she read the emails. She’d had such high hopes for
the hard work she’d done on the detective series and it almost felt
like her world was crashing down around her. She knew she should be
happy. She was having an opportunity of a lifetime with the movie
and now this modeling gig. But she just couldn’t seem to even feign
an interest in any of that. It seemed unreal to her, whereas being
a published author; that was a real dream. She quickly answered
Beth’s emails and put her phone on the charger. She went into the
bathroom and scrubbed Betsy’s makeup from her face before turning
in. She scrubbed vigorously, as if she could wash away all the
Hollywood acting and modeling and just return to herself and her
quiet world. She felt a single tear trickle down her face as she
crawled beneath the sheets of the enormous bed. She had worked so
hard on the book. She’d put several years of her life into the
series of books. All her hopes and dreams dashed in an instant. She
didn’t even bother turning on the TV as she buried her head under
the covers. She was determined not to cry, but she felt another
tear roll across her cheek and onto the pillow. She sniffed and
tried to get her mind back on Matt and the euphoria she had floated
in on, but to no avail. Another tear was followed by another and
she slammed her fist into the pillow as she finally gave up and let
the tears come.

Jeffrie picked her up at eight a.m. again
the following morning.

“
Did you sleep okay, Miss
Selena?” he asked politely when she jumped into the back seat. He
noticed dark circles under her eyes and a forlorn look on her face
this morning. He’d thought she would be jubilant after the time
she’d spent with Matthew Mason. They had certainly seemed to be
getting along well when they parted.

“
I slept alright,” she
answered. “Just feeling a little homesick, I guess.”

She was quiet the rest of the way to Malibu,
where, once again a small crowd of people awaited her arrival.
Betsy took Selena’s hand and led her to the house when she joined
them. The handler, Jake, was once again holding the dancing
Catalina by her shiny black bridle. She brightened Selena’s mood
considerably as she watched the graceful horse prance on the beach.
Betsy was quick with her makeup and hair this time. “The
photographers want to get some pictures with the morning sun,” she
told Selena.

Selena was surprised to find the same white
dress as the previous morning hanging in the bathroom for her,
cleaned and looking new again. “Why would they have me wear the
same dress again?” she asked Betsy when she emerged with it on.

“
Oh, the photographers
weren’t happy with the way some of the pictures came out. After the
dress got soaked in the waves, it didn’t billow out the way they
wanted. Anyway, as I understand it, it’s just a few more shots with
this dress, then you’re all done for the day.”

“
Really?” Selena could feel
waves of relief wash over her. As much as she had enjoyed riding
Catalina in the surf yesterday, she still hadn’t been looking
forward to another full day of sitting in front of a camera.
Especially as depressed as she felt today. She really just wanted
to go home, back to her safe little world and her faithful horse.
She didn’t think she would ever have the guts to send another
manuscript off to agents. It was just too hard to put so much work
into something, only to have everyone tell you it sucks.

“
Really.” Betsy smiled at
her kindly as she followed her back across the balcony and down to
the beach. She sensed that Selena wasn’t herself today. She had
used makeup to cover the dark circles she’d seen under her
eyes.

Selena swung deftly onto Catalina’s back and
kept her to the beach as she danced and pranced. She didn’t want
the dress getting soaked and having to do this over again. Catalina
was full of fire, but she obeyed Selena’s commands. The two of them
had gotten to know each other enough by now, she knew she couldn’t
push Selena too far. The cameras clicked and clicked as Selena rode
Catalina up and down the beach at a trot, then a gallop, before one
of the cameramen called out to her, “okay, if you could just sit on
her in the waves facing us.”

Selena turned Catalina into the waves, the
hems of her dress already getting wet where it flowed down across
the horse’s hindquarters. Catalina stopped in the waves before
Selena could turn her fully around, bowed her head down toward the
water with her nose almost touching a wave and pawed at the surf
with her right hoof. Selena had no idea of the picture they made,
as she sat on Catalina in the waves with the horse pawing at the
surf.

But Matt did, as he watched from his place
at the rear of the house behind them. He stood in the sand, looking
down at the fantasy-like sight of the dark-haired beauty in white
and the stunning white horse with her black bridle. The sight would
be etched on his memory forever, he was sure of it. He let his
breath out in a whoosh when he realized he’d been holding it as he
stared at the sight. The girl and the horse looked like mythical
creatures as they sat in the waves with the horse pawing at them.
She’s a Goddess, he thought with a smile as he stared. If I blink,
she’ll probably disappear. He remained by the house, unwilling to
disturb the crew or Selena, until the shoot was finished. He
watched Selena dismount and put both hands on Catalina’s face as
she kissed the soft, charcoal gray nose. Then she turned and walked
with Betsy back toward the house.