Page 94 of When Stars Collide
“I’m glad my discomfort is bringing you so much pleasure,” I snipped at him, fueling the fire of his amusement.
“No, I’ve just never seen this side of you before.” He leaned in closer to me from across the car, his voice softening as he took my hand in his. “It’s going to be fine. I promise.”
Phineas had a calming effect on people. It was just one of the many gifts he’d been blessed with at birth. Warmth flooded into my body where his hand held mine, briefly taking me back to the night of the opera—when he last touched me. He let go of my hand as if the same thought had occurred to him, too.
“Just point me to the open bar, and I’ll be just fine. There is an open bar, isn’t there?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Honestly, I have no idea.”
“Splendid. All I know is after Elle and Luke’s wedding, I’m done with social events for the year. I’m all evented out. But at least I know their wedding will have an open bar.”
I peered out the window to see Esther Cartwright beginning her walk down the red carpet. From behind the steel safety barricades lining the aisle on both sides, fans of E.V. Cartwright held out their copies ofSoldiers of Atlantis, hoping to procure her signature. Some also held out movie posters, while others clutched homemade signs aimed at Hollywood hunk Preston Paul. In the middle of it all stood a petrified Esther.
Same, Esther. Hard Same.
She looked younger than I thought she would be. Years younger than me. Any success I thought I’d achieved in life up until that moment was swiftly nullified when I mentally compared our accomplishments. In fact, so bewitched was I with watching the grace with which Esther was handling the situation that I failed to notice our car moving forward.
“This is our stop.” Phineas ran his hand over his jacket to smooth it out.
“Wait. Already?”
“They’re going to open the door for us. One of the ushers will offer his hand to you to help you out of the car. I’ll be right behind you.”
“I thought you were going to be right beside me?”
“I’ll be right behind you for five seconds, and then I’ll be right beside you for the rest of the night.”
The door opened. Before I exited the car, I glared back at Phineas, giving him a look as if to sayyou’d betteras I grabbed the usher’s hand and reluctantly stepped out onto the red carpet, instantly blinded by camera flashes. In a matter of seconds, Phineas kept his promise, appearing by my side, and we began to make our way down the aisle amid deafening screams from the fans. Despite not having a clue one way or the other as to who we were, the fans behind the barricade still regarded us in awe, as they knew we were somehow involved in their favorite story being brought to life. Such was the omnipotent power of a good book.
“Phineas.” Esther sounded relieved after having just completed an impromptu marathon book signing. “This is crazy, right? Like seriously crazy.” Her blonde bob made her seem even younger, a feat I wouldn’t have thought possible.
“It isn’t crazy, it’s incredible, Esther,” Phineas greeted her. “This is your night, take it all in. You’ve worked very hard for this moment.”
“This moment wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for you believing in me. I can’t thank you enough.” Esther embraced Phineas, ignoring the onslaught of camera flashes this sudden display of affection evoked.
“Are you kidding me? No, Esther, this is all because of you and your talent. I was just lucky enough to be the one you chose to share it with.”
“You’re too modest.” Esther turned to me. “Oh, I’m sorry, Phineas, is this your wife?”
Phineas and I shared a quick glance. I moved to speak but was beaten to the punch.
“Mena is a colleague of mine. She’s … very important to me.”
“Mena! Yes, I seem to recall Phineas mentioning your name quite a bit while working with him.”
“Oh, really?” I asked, shaking her hand.
“Yeah, with the way he talked about you, I would have thought you two were an item.”
Phineas grew rigid next to me. And I knew by the expression on his face, the gears were turning inside of his head, trying to find something to say to buffer Esther’s observations. That’s the thing about Phineas, I almost always knew what he was going to say. His expressive eyes often left little doubt about what was on his mind. A response clicked inside of his head, but just as he was about to speak, the crowd went absolutely nuts.
The three of us looked back at the car that had just arrived right as Kira Capucci stepped out onto the red carpet to thunderous applause. Clad in a hot pink, form-fitting number that complemented her tanned olive skin, the brunette beauty waved to adoring fans as she waited for Preston Paul to emerge. When he did, he did so to cheers of epic proportion and shouts of, “Preston! Preston, over here!” coming from every which way.
“Now that the really important people are here, why don’t we go inside and deal with the press, so that we can get that out of the way?” Esther suggested, with a subtle eye roll.
“Sounds like a splendid idea,” Phineas agreed. “I think those two are going to be a while.”
When we entered the theater, we were met with a barrage of reporters, all waiting in a line that led to a large backdrop with the official logo forSoldiers of Atlantispeppered over it. Official photographs for the premiere would be taken there. As much as I really didn’t want to face more flashbulbs, I was relieved to see that there was at least a light at the end of this tunnel.
