When Dreams Come True (The Star Series Book 1) (14 page)

Leaning on the railing, she smiled. Will was there, and sleeping in her bed; she couldn’t get over that fact. He hadn’t been gone for too long this time, but still, after everything they’d shared last time, it felt like it was an eternity. She felt she’d done a good job of balancing work and taking care of herself, and she had this last little push and then she’d be able to enjoy his company for a longer period of time. Just the thought of it made her smile.

“Before we start,” Hannah said as she breezed into the room. “I wanted to let you know as soon as we’re done I’m going to run down to the store and pick up some extra food for the next couple of days. I couldn’t stock up before the guys arrived; you know, surprise and all that. Is there anything specific you want?”

“Hmmm… I’ll have to think about it. Maybe we should make something nice for them.”

“We could do that, especially since you’ve given the chef a vacation.” Hannah continued to type on the computer, getting the video conference set up. “Oh, and we’ll have to make something for dessert, too.”

“Well, that goes without saying. Besides, what was I supposed to do? Her daughter had a baby. She should be able to spend time with her first grandchild.” Lissa closed the doors, crossed over to the couch and sat down then jumped back up to grab extra paper, water and a handful of pens before finally sitting down. It wasn’t long before Angelica’s face popped up on the screen. “Hello there, beautiful. How’s tricks?”

“Tricks are going very well, and I’ll be seeing you in about another month it would seem. What made you change your mind?”

“Well.” Lissa looked toward the door. “Let’s just say I decided this was going to be an experience I didn’t want to miss one minute of.”

“Wonderful, wonderful. We’re going to have so much fun. Do you have any idea where you’ll be staying while you’re in Chicago? Or do I need to find something for you?”

“I’m taking care of that,” Hannah piped in. “As soon as I’ve found what we’re looking for I’ll send you the info.”

“Great,” Angelica said. “Now, I’m assuming you got the final script yesterday, yes? We’ve pushed it about as far as we can, but I think it’s going to help having you on set. You’ll be right there if any of the actors are curious about how you created the characters. You know, try to climb inside the mind of the person who created these twisted people. Plus, you get to say you saw your movie being filmed.”

“Which is why I’m doing this. It could be an once-in-a-lifetime chance.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it. I’m already working on getting your first series made into a movie for television, and I have another studio is that’s looking to option your next three books.”

“No shit…” Lissa looked over to Hannah, and both of them had similar looks of shock on their faces.

“No shit. So keep writing; I can’t have you falling behind schedule now.”

Lissa grinned. “You
so
don’t have to worry about that, Ang… seriously, I’m almost a dozen books ahead of schedule.”

“No shit…”

“No shit. I’ve… ummm… I guess you could say, I’ve been inspired.”

“Well, keep up the good work then.”

“Hannah’s going to be sending you the information on each of the books and expected release dates. You can pick which ones you think the studios would like the best. I trust you. I’m hoping that by having the next year taken care of we can have some breathing room if they want to develop any of my other stories.”

“Sounds great.”

They made a few other decisions before Hannah disconnected the chat and turned to Lissa. “Are you going to tell any of them about Will?”

Lissa shook her head. “I wasn’t planning on telling them yet. Is it wrong I want to keep it just us for as long as possible?”

“No, honey, it’s not. Starting a new relationship is hard enough, but you add a world famous-actor and an international bestselling author who just so happens to have written the next movie he’s starring in… well, that’s fuel for the gossip sites.”

“Did anyone notice him at Sky Harbor last night?”

Hannah shook her head. “If anyone did, they haven’t posted it yet.”

“There’s something. Okay, are we ready for Christine?”

“It’s a good thing you’ve put a couple pounds back on your ass, ‘cuz you know she’s going to chew it.”

Lissa tried to look innocently at Hannah. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you do, because you know once all of this hits, she’s going to be all over you.”

“I want to get this one done quick before Will wakes up. I could just see him coming in here and the look on her face… Hmmm… maybe that would be fun to do to her.” She tapped her bottom lip with a finger.

“Melissa!”

“Well, it
would
be funny. She’d never expect it. But yeah, let’s get this done.”

With a few clicks of the button, Christine’s face appeared. “Hello, you sexy thing, you.” Lissa blew kisses to the monitor.

“What’d you do?” Christine narrowed her eyes at her.

Lissa tried to blink innocently again and hoped it worked better that time. “What makes you think I did anything?”

“Boo, I know you. What’d you do?”

“Nothing… yet…”

“See, that’s what I’m afraid of. Hannah?” Christine’s voice became louder. “Hannah, I know you’re there. Tell me, what is she planning?”

Hannah was trying not to laugh. “Oh, gee, look at the time. The cinnamon rolls are going to be done any minute now.” She made a buzzing noise. “I’ll be back; don’t want to burn them.”

“Chicken,” Christine muttered. “And you.” she pointed at Lissa. “Stop laughing and spill.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to spill the cinnamon rolls. That’d be wrong. So very, very wrong.”

“No, spill the beans.”

“It’s too early for beans, let alone to spill them.”

“No, Melissa, tell me what you have up your sleeve.”

Lissa looked down at both of her arms. “But I have a tank top on. You know, it’s the balance Hannah and I find: I wear summer clothes all year round, she wears winter clothes. You know, sometimes it’s really rough on how cold she is all the time.”

Christine closed her eyes and Lissa watched her silently count to ten before taking a deep breath. “Okay, let’s try it this way. Remember your little trip to Los Angeles last time? You know, where I found out
after the fact
of you spending all that time with Will Martinsson?”

Grinning, Lissa nodded. “I seem to remember something about that.”

“Well, if you’ve forgotten, my job is to handle your public relations. Now, I can’t do that if I’m not informed of things which will directly affect your public relations. Even if you think it won’t, I still need to know. Now, I shouldn’t have to say it, but something as big as Will Martinsson?
That
I need to know, gee,
before
it actually happens. That way, I can be prepared with a statement and not looking like a fool when the press tries to contact me as to what is going on.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Don’t you ‘yes, ma’am’ me unless you mean it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Christine’s head disappeared from view and Lissa could hear a thud. “Are you deliberately trying to be a pain? Does it come naturally, or do you take a pill to be this difficult about things? Is it just me? Do you hate me and want to make my life a living Hell?”

“Oh, it’s all natural, baby. Sorry, mama, but you’re just so much fun to tease. How about this? As soon as
I
know anything, you will know it.”

Slowly, Christine’s head came back into view with a look of skepticism on her face. “Now I’m really worried about what you’re up to.”

Lissa slid the pen she’d been making notes with into her messy bun and moved a bit closer to the camera. “Christine, honey, you know you mean the world to me, and I wouldn’t deliberately make your life harder. But I have some things going on, and right now they’re only in the beginning stages. You know me; I have to have everything all planned out before I say anything. I need to have thought of every possible angle before moving forward. Please, just let me get through this and I promise, I
will
tell you as soon as I can.”

“I’m not going to hear about anything on ‘Entertainment Tonight’ first, am I?”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“So, you’re saying something might happen where you don’t have a say over it… What could possibly happen in your world where they would have a story with you in it, and you wouldn’t have time to give me a heads-up beforehand… hmmm…”

“Take your Sherlock hat off; there’s nothing to find here. But I
am
planning on being in Chicago for the filming of my movie. As soon as Hannah and I decide on a place, I’ll get you that information. Maybe you can come down from the Great White North to the warmth and sun of Chicago for a bit.” Lissa grinned at her and the thought of Chicago being sunnier and warmer than where Christine currently lives in Canada.

“I’m totally going to take you up on that, boo. Do you think we should do a signing while you’re there?”

“Sure, that’d be great. Hannah knows the shooting schedule and when we’re planning to be there. You can get with her and pick a date and place. It’s kind of last-minute, but hopefully we’ll get some people to show up.”

“Please… you should know better by now.”

Lissa decided to ignore the comment; she was still surprised and humbled so many people had read her books and wanted to meet her. “And I have a schedule of the next year’s releases so we can start planning the marketing on them. You might want to go over them with Angelica because we’ve got a studio interested in making more movies out of my books. All of the books are in a different stage of writing, but I do have the next three completed and ready to go.”

“Wow, that’s excessive even for you. You know, you
can
take a break. You don’t have to work so hard all the time.”

“I know, but everything was flowing so I wanted to get it down. Plus, I figure I’ll be taking some time off when I’m in Chicago. Between Angelica and you, plus Hannah and myself, there will be plenty of time to play hooky. And who knows who else will show up.”

“Or any new ‘friends’ you may make.”

Lissa raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I seem to remember how close you and a certain Mr. Martinsson became as soon as you laid eyes on each other.”

“Well, he
was
my muse for the character he’s playing. It would only make sense.” Lissa was wondering where Hannah was and tried very hard not to look relieved when she walked back in with a plate of rolls.

“Sorry, Christine, but your time is up,” Hannah said. “We’ve got just enough time to scarf down a roll or two before our next call. Say good-bye, Gracie.”

Lissa waved. “Good-bye, Gracie.”

“You guys are such dorks,” Christine muttered. “But that’s why I love you. Boo, keep me informed, or else. And Hannah, you do what she won’t.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Stop with the ‘ma’am’ shit, seriously…” Christine grumbled and disconnected.

“Whew, that was great timing. What took you so long?” Lissa wondered.

“I decided I should actually make some more cinnamon rolls to show up with. Besides, hello, who could say no to
more
cinnamon rolls?”

“Not me, that’s for sure.”

“Damn straight.”

Melissa sank her teeth into a warm, gooey roll and closed her eyes, letting it melt in her mouth. “Mmmm… excellent idea. I do love me some cinnamon rolls.” She licked her fingers. “Okay, who’s next?” She uncapped another pen.

“Hope and Natasha.”

“Great, that will be short, and then Katie. I’m hoping we can get all of this done before Will wakes up. Trying to keep everyone in the dark about what we’re trying to do is exhausting.”

“I talked to Beau this morning after they got in; Will should be out for a while longer. He’s been doing the same thing as you: working around the clock trying to get everything done early so he could spend time with you and not have to worry about anything else. Then you add on the shooting schedule since they were behind and jet lag, and we’ve got a few more hours at least.”

“Great, and I don’t want to get close to that.”

“Me either. Part of me feels like a super-spy trying to get all of this done in secret, and the other is a Nervous Nelly worrying we’re going to get caught.” Hannah laughed at herself. “But seriously, we aren’t in life-or-death situations.” She shook her head. “There’s no way I could ever be a spy.”

“Me either. Let’s get them on the line so we have one less thing to worry about.”

Hope Ferris was her graphic designer and Natasha Bendlin was her editor. They worked hand in hand making sure everything to do about the book was properly polished, both visually and grammatically. As with everyone else, they were both surprised there were so many books coming up. Lissa also made sure they both knew they were welcome to come to Chicago while she was there. All of her ladies had been with her since the beginning, and she would do anything she could to show her appreciation to them. She was beginning to wonder if she was going to have any free time. Plus, she wanted them all to meet Will and understand that what they had was special.

Their last phone call was to Katie Reynolds, her content partner; the one who would kick her ass all over the place about the story and make her tighten it up and not forget any loose ends. She also helped rally her street team to continue to get the word out there about her. Lissa gave Katie full authority to run contests and giveaways on social media to make sure the readers had ample opportunities to win signed books or whatever may correspond to her work. That phone call was a bit harder since Katie knew her so well, because she continually dove into Lissa’s mind and tried to pull more out of her and get it into the stories. However, she managed to finish the call without letting on what was going on. At least she hoped.

Stretched out in the chair, Lissa glanced over at the empty plate. “Please don’t tell me I ate all of them.”

“No, you didn’t.” Hannah had her feet curled up under her as she continued to write down notes.

“But I ate the majority of them, right?”

“Oh, yeah, totally.”