Ivy narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she watched Amelia sit down on the grass less than fifteen feet from the concrete canyons. Something fishy is definitely going on, Ivy thought. Something fishy that’s wearing black!
Chapter Nine
‘Pardon?’ Olivia bit back a yawn just in time. As her interviewer beamed at her, she tried to clear her head, which was foggy with exhaustion. Plus, she was feeling faint again from the corset she was wearing beneath her lavender silk ballgown for this on-set interview. ‘Could you repeat the question, please?’
‘Of course.’ The interviewer, a sleek, dark-haired British woman in a form-fitting pencil skirt and blouse, smiled at her condescendingly. ‘This is your first interview for a DVD special feature, isn’t it? You must be so nervous, you poor thing.’
‘A little bit,’ Olivia said, smiling politely for the sake of the rolling cameras. Inside her head, though, she answered more honestly: I’m more fed up than nervous! She had barely slept the last two nights. Now it was Monday, her final day in England, and she was wasting her last precious hours with this interview. Jackson was packing his suitcases somewhere nearby, preparing for his return flight to Hollywood that night!
How was she supposed to concentrate on a silly DVD interview when she might be losing her last chance to make things right between them?
‘And will you be doing it again?’ the interviewer asked. She cocked one eyebrow. ‘What exactly do you see as your future in Hollywood?’
Uh-oh. Olivia swallowed, trying to maintain a pleasant expression. Ever since she’d arrived on-set, she’d been asking herself the same question, but she still hadn’t come up with an answer. Could she do it now, while the cameras were rolling?
‘Well,’ she said slowly, ‘acting is something that I truly love doing . . . but it is a lot of work, and there’s a lot of stress involved in working on a film set.’
The interviewer smiled. ‘You’re certainly not leading an ordinary teenager’s life.’
That’s exactly the problem, Olivia thought. She just knew that if she and Jackson were two normal teenagers, nothing could stand in their way. But they weren’t ‘normal’ and that meant –
No! With sudden resolution, she cut off the familiar chain of worries before it could even begin. I can’t just keep asking myself the same questions again and again. I have to do something! If I don’t, I’ll regret it forever.
Olivia tried to draw a deep breath to brace herself – then winced, as the tight corset bit into her side. She managed to force a smile as she answered the interviewer’s question:
‘No, it’s not an ordinary life,’ she said. ‘But it’s the one I’ve chosen . . . for now.’
I’m going to find Jackson and have an honest, face-to-face conversation. I will get my future cleared up once and for all . . . even if I have to wear a hoop-skirt as I do it!
The interview seemed to go on forever, but finally she was free. Olivia hurried to Jackson’s trailer. She paused outside, took a deep breath, and knocked. She was already practising her opening line.
Then her shoulders sagged as the silence stretched on. What good is an opening line if he doesn’t even answer the door?
Biting her lip, Olivia thought it through. Jackson often wore headphones when he was alone. He probably just hadn’t heard her. She couldn’t give up now!
Tentatively, she turned the handle of the trailer door. It opened a crack . . . and she let out her held breath.
The trailer was empty.
Of course. Jackson must be in the Hair and Make-up trailer, getting ready to shoot his last scene!
She was just turning to leave when she caught sight of something flickering inside the trailer. It was his laptop computer, flashing a warning – it needed to be plugged in to charge.
Olivia hesitated. She didn’t want to invade his privacy . . . but she knew how hard he’d been working on . . . something . . . lately. She didn’t want him to lose whatever it was, if the computer shut itself off.
I just won’t look at anything, she promised herself. She eased herself into the trailer, careful not to knock anything over with the massive hoop-skirt of her Victorian ballgown.
At the last moment, though, as she was leaning over to plug in the laptop, she couldn’t help herself – she caught a glimpse of the email Jackson had been in the middle of writing.
She jerked her eyes away quickly . . . but there had only been one line written so far, and it had already burned itself into her brain.
I just don’t know what to do about
. . . Me? Olivia silently wondered.
Her heartbeat was thundering in her ears as she backed hastily away from the computer.
Had Jackson been writing to someone about her? Was the reason he hadn’t said anything decisive . . . because he was nervous?
Olivia shook her head. She’d always seen Jackson as being so confident . . . but inside, what if he was just as unsure about her feelings as she was about his?
All this time, she’d been waiting for him to make a gesture . . . but now it felt like the time for Olivia to make a gesture for him.
By the time she reached the Hair and Make-up trailer, Olivia was light-headed with panic and possibility. Can I really do this?
She looked through the door and saw Jackson sitting with his back to her, familiar and perfect. No one else was there to overhear them. It was the perfect moment.
Olivia set one hand on her stomach, trying to settle the nerves fluttering there. I can do this . . . for him.
‘Hey,’ she said, speaking quickly. ‘Whatever I’m about to say, just please don’t try to stop me. I have to get this out, or I’ll burst!’