BRIAN
We still had an hour to go until midnight, but Ella and I were exhausted. We snagged an empty sofa in front of a fire pit and both sighed as we got off of our feet. It took Ella longer than normal to sit down, and I heard the wince she tried to hide. “How are you holding up?” I asked.
“I’m okay.” She sounded breathy. I shot her a stern look, and she gave me a real answer with a sigh of defeat. “I should probably stay right here for the rest of the evening and maybe leave right after midnight.”
I was afraid of this. I’d kept her off her feet as much as possible tonight, but there had been so many different people vying for our attention that it had still been a lot of up and down and standing around while mingling. Standing for long lengths of time was hard for Ella, especially when she wasn’t in her special shoes, but she hadn’t complained even once. She was doing that thing she does, where she was trying to act normal and refusing to be a “burden.” The woman was so stubborn. Strong, brave, and amazing, but stubborn.
“Are you sure? We can leave now, if we need to. You don’t want to overdo it again, like you did when you went shopping with the girls.”
She sighed again, but this time it came out more of a frustrated huff. “We don’t need to leave. I’ll be okay. I just really have to sit and stay down this time.”
She adjusted on the sofa, grunting softly as she fought her hips in order to settle her bad leg into a comfortable position. I knew that look. She needed to stretch her leg out and elevate her feet. I stood, put a small pillow against the arm of the sofa, and gave it a meaningful pat. Ella glared at me, but I knew that was only her frustration talking. We stared each other down until she finally broke. “Ugh, fine.”
She moved to sit sideways but stopped and grimaced.
“Need some help?” I murmured. It was her least favorite question in the world, so I asked it as little as possible.
Her shoulders slumped, and she nodded. I gave her a small smile as I gently lifted her legs and helped her lay them out in front of her on the sofa. She didn’t normally need that kind of help. Her hip must have really been hurting her. Her pinched expression and pale face as she settled into her new position told me I was right. “Ella, you should have said something sooner.”
“I didn’t want to.” The defeat in her tone broke my heart.
“Ella—”
“You’re the star tonight. This is a big deal for you. I just wanted to stand at your side and support you while you rocked the A-list for the first time.”
I squatted down beside her, grinning as I took her hand. Rocked the A-list. She was adorable. This whole night had been crazy. After Mr. Buchman left us, it took a few minutes for the first curious person to approach us, but once the ice was broken, the introductions started and hadn’t stopped for the last two hours.
She frowned at our clasped hands. “I know how excited you were for tonight. I wanted you to enjoy it, not spend it catering to me or worrying about me like you’re doing now.”
“This night has been amazing,” I agreed, “but not worth risking you hurting yourself. Especially if you just needed to sit down. Haven’t you ever heard of a throne? You and I seem to be king and queen of this party tonight. We could have found a comfy seat and let everyone come to us.”
I took a quick glance around to make sure no one was close enough to hear the arrogant comment about to come out of my mouth. The coast was clear, but I still leaned close to Ella’s ear and whispered my words. “They’d just have had to kiss our feet all night instead of our asses.”
I got the response I knew I’d get, the one I’d been aiming for—a startled gasp and a smack to the chest. But she was laughing, and that was the important part. “Brian! Oh my gosh, shut up before someone hears you.” She rolled her eyes. “Even if it is true.”
I laughed at that. I couldn’t believe the reception Ella and I had received tonight. People much more famous and influential than me had been congratulating me all night and welcoming me into their personal circles. Ella and I had received dinner invitations from just about the entire A-list. The whole thing was mind-boggling.
“Excuse me, Mr. Oliver?”
One of the party attendants had noticed me squatting beside Ella and brought me a chair. I stood with a stretch and shook the guy’s hand. “Thanks.”
“Of course, Mr. Oliver. If there’s anything else I can do for either of you, please let me know.”
His eyes flicked to Ella with concern, which endeared him to me and probably annoyed her. “Actually, we’d be grateful if you could track down some painkillers. Extra Strength Advil or Tylenol or something.”
“Of course.” The guy nodded to me and flashed Ella a smile. “I’ll be back in just a few minutes.”
Ella looked relieved as the guy scampered off to find her some pain reliever. She was really tired. I scooted my chair closer to her and took her hand again, bringing it to my lips. “Thank you for coming with me tonight. We can leave once you get those pain relievers and they start to kick in.”
“We’re staying.” Ella shot me a defiant look. “I didn’t get all glammed up just to duck out early and miss the chance to kiss my favorite A-list actor on a fancy rooftop at midnight.”
My mind went gooey at the thought of finally getting to kiss her. She looked amazing tonight. Glen and Steffan had really outdone themselves with her dress. Ella had never looked more beautiful. It had taken all of my willpower to leave the house once I saw her, and I’d spent way too much time ever since thinking too many dirty thoughts. It’s funny how I could love her dress so much and still want nothing more than to take it off of her.
Forcing my mind out of the gutter, I gave Ella my movie-star smile. “Well, you sure know how to convince a guy. I guess we’re staying.”
“Great. Could you go find Declan Simmons for me? I think he’s around here somewhere, and it’s getting kind of close to midnight.”
I’d walked right into that one. I tried not to laugh, but Ella knew I was fighting a smile. When she burst into laughter, I finally lost my composure. “Declan Simmons? You’re such a brat.”
Ella laughed harder.
“Sounds like the real party’s over here.”
Our laughter faded into surprise as we looked up to see Astrid Graves smiling down at us. “Hope I’m not interrupting. I’ve been trying to snag a few minutes with you all night.”
It took all of my acting skills to hide my shock. I’d been meeting the best of the best all night, but Astrid Graves was something else. She was only six years older than me and already had three Oscars—one of which she won at nineteen, making her the youngest woman to ever receive Best Actress at the Academy Awards. The beautiful brunette with eyes like ice had a regal air about her and was Hollywood royalty, if ever there was any—this generation’s Audrey Hepburn. I’d never had the privilege of being in the same room with her, much less had her speak to me.
“Of course not,” I said, rising to my feet to offer her my hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise.” She shook my hand and then smiled down at Ella.
Ella held her hand out but made no attempt to move. “Sorry. I need to stay off my feet if I’m going to last until midnight, but you’re welcome to pull up a chair.”
I offered her mine and quickly found another one to drag over. The two chairs next to the couch created this small, intimate circle in front of the fire pit that would be very difficult for anyone else to penetrate. Once I sat, I was just inches away from Astrid, and it was surprisingly hard to concentrate. Ella must have sensed I was flustered, because she reached for my hand and was trying very hard to suppress a smile. I narrowed my eyes at her, and she winked before turning her attention to the brilliant actress next to us.
The party attendant returned with some Advil and a bottle of water. Astrid waited politely for Ella to swallow a couple of pills and then said, “So…” Her gaze bounced back and forth between Ella and me, as if she were studying us. Eventually, she shook her head as if in disbelief. “The infamous Cinder and Ella in the flesh.”
“Said the Astrid Graves,” Ella quipped, shaking her head with her own fair amount of incredulity.
I was startled by Ella’s playful taunt. Here I was, unable to string together a coherent thought, and Ella was teasing the woman. Was there anyone she wasn’t intimidated by?
Astrid’s eyes widened with surprise, but she quickly followed that with a laugh of delight. “Touché, Miss Rodriguez.”
“Call me Ella.”
“Only if you’ll call me Astrid. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Is it lame if I say it’s an honor? You’re one of my favorites.”
Mine too.
Astrid accepted the compliment with the grace of a true princess and then studied Ella and me again. I still couldn’t think of anything to say to her, so the silence stretched out. Just before it got awkward, Astrid clapped her hands together and said, “Okay, confession time. Zachary Goldberg is a dear friend of mine, and he’s been hounding me for weeks to play Marguerite in The Scarlet Pimpernel.”
Ella and I both gasped. Ella shot me a look that contained as much shock and excitement as I felt. Could I really get to work with both Zachary Goldberg and Astrid Graves? That was more than I would have ever hoped for. I held my breath as I waited for Astrid to continue.
“I’ve always wanted to do a period piece,” she said, making my stomach flutter, “so I read the script the second Zachary sent it to me, and I loved it.” She met my eyes. “But I hesitated when he told me that you were signed on to play Sir Percy. I’ve been sitting on an answer for weeks.”
That fluttering in my stomach turned into a dull churning, but I forced my face to remain calm. I didn’t think she’d explain all of this just to tell me I was the reason she passed on the project. I really hoped not, anyway. I wasn’t sure I’d survive that kind of disappointment or rejection.
Ella knew me well enough to know I was freaking out internally, because she firmly squeezed my hand. When I glanced at her, she gave me a confident smile. “Breathe, Brian,” she said softly. “I’m pretty sure you’ve got this one.”
I about had a heart attack at Ella’s boldness, but Astrid laughed and nodded her head. “She’s right. I was curious about all the buzz, so I went to see The Druid Prince on opening day, and I called Zachary on my way home from the theater to let him know I wanted the Marguerite role. Contracts won’t be signed until next week, but Zachary’s promised me the part is mine, so it looks like you and I will be working together soon.”
I sucked in my first breath in a full minute, and it immediately escaped my lungs in the form of a disbelieving laugh. I tried to speak but couldn’t form any words. My head shook as I attempted to wrap my head around the news. I was going to star in a film directed by Zachary Goldberg opposite Astrid Graves.
“It seems you’ve rendered him speechless,” Ella said. She nudged me playfully.
“Sorry. I’m just…wow. I’m honored. I’ve always wanted the opportunity to work on a serious production, but I never dreamed…” I let out an incredulous laugh, still reeling from my good fortune. “Thank you,” I finally spit out. “For taking a chance on me.”
Astrid shrugged, as if it were no big deal, even though I was sure she knew exactly how big of a deal this was for me. I appreciated her nonchalance. “I’m looking forward to it,” she said, surprising me even further. “With Zachary leading the charge, it’s going to be a first-rate production. I’m curious to see what you’ll accomplish when you have some real talent to work with, for once.” Her smile turned conspiratorial. “I suspect you’ll shock the hell out of this town even more than you already have. I’m looking forward to being part of the next Brian Oliver scandal.”
My jaw dropped again, and Ella smirked at me with enough amusement sparkling in her big blue eyes to make me blush. Barely restraining her laughter, she grinned at Astrid. “Being participant to one of Brian’s scandals is an experience, for sure.”
Astrid laughed, but I could tell her amusement was directed at Ella instead of me. I was certain the conversation was about to shift focus to my infamous girlfriend. Though that might normally make me nervous, I was relieved this time just to have the attention off of me. I needed a minute to recover from this conversation.
“Said the woman with quite the impressive scandal of her own,” Astrid teased, throwing Ella’s earlier jest back at her.
Ella laughed and repeated Astrid’s earlier response. “Touché.”
“And speaking of that particular juicy scandal…” Astrid took Ella’s raised brow as permission to continue. “I have two good friends who have been watching us from the bar since the moment I came over here, and they are salivating at the chance to talk to you. Would you mind if I introduce you?”
Ella seemed startled. “They want to talk to me?”
“Yup. Would you mind?”
“I guess not.”