Page 13 of A Little Christmas: Star
Beyond lay a plethora of toys of all kinds, racks of onesies, footie jams, and T-shirts meant to be worn a size too small. I passed a table covered in pacies and another of bottles, shelves lined with stuffies, a train set that ran around the walls, and so many other things dear to a little’s heart.
“Looking for anything special?” Bert closed the door behind him. “I locked up the front for a few. It’s not the busiest time of day.”
“I was thinking tub toys. Got any frogs?”
I left with three big bags of toys and one of clothes. A divided plate and curled-handle spoon. Sippy cup and bottle because I wasn’t sure which he preferred. And a smile. Star needed little time if this was going to be his life.
Chapter Ten
Star
Me? I was used to working a lot. A lot, a lot. The equivalent of two full-time jobs on the regular. Most of my life for the past few years had been spent working, planning work, or scheduling work, followed by some more work. It was my norm. And the working-hard part of things never really bothered me before.
But things had changed. It was no longer me following my father’s dreams. No longer meeting all my contractual obligations to keep my agent off my ass. No longer having no one to talk to but my assistant.
Caelum was back in my life. And now that he was, something had to change. I refused to ruin a second chance at the best thing that ever happened to me, for a job.
Caelum and I hadn’t seen each other in nearly three days. If I was across the country, that would be one thing. But I was literally down the street from him. This schedule was the worst. I had a car pick me up at four in the morning, and then, if I was lucky, I strolled back in at midnight. I understood why, logistically. There was a lot going on, not just with filming but also with behind-the-scenes things and promotions. Somehow, my agent threw in a photo shoot along the way. I was exhausted. And lonely. I could take the exhaustion any day, but the loneliness—it was too much for me. Something had to give. But understanding it and being okay with it were two very different things.
“It looks like we might be out of here by ten,” Davis said, handing me a bottle of water on a five-minute break.
“How sad is it that I think ten sounds like it’s some sort of gift.” I guzzled half the bottle.
The lights were particularly harsh today, and all I wanted to do was drink a bunch of water and lie down with my eyes closed during this break. But lying down wasn’t an option. Shit, I was lucky to get the water.
“Don’t be mad at me, Star, but are you okay?” Davis spoke so only I could hear, his eyes darting around.
“Why would I be mad at you?” I asked but then realized why he was acting the way he was and where we were. We weren’t behind closed doors. Somebody could walk by at any point. We were supposed to be all work, with my personal stuff kept to the side.Starwas about being professional. It was bullshit, but it was the role I had been groomed to fill.
“No, actually, I’m not, Davis.” I grabbed him by the hand, dragged him toward the storage closet nearby, and pulled him inside before shutting the door.
If it was anybody else, I couldn’t have done this…not my agent, not my father, not a costar. But with my assistant, people expected us to need privacy. He was the one who took care of not only the public side of me but also the private side. It was what assistants did.
My costar’s assistant helped him get dressed after a shoulder injury that they tried to pretend wasn’t impacting them anymore. They secretly told me that it was, so I could alter some of my blocking to help them disguise it.
“I can’t do this anymore,” I said, leaning against the back door to make sure no one came in. “I just can’t. It’s too many days in a row, nonstop.”
“You’ve got this, Star. You’ve got this.” Davis was ever my hype man. I didn’t need a hype man today. I needed a friend and an accomplice.
“I wasn’t asking for a pep talk, although, thank you. You always are the one to help me with that.”
He smiled, but it didn’t hide his confusion, which was fair. I was being as clear as mud.
“I mean it this time, Davis. I can’t keep this up. I need some time off. But more than that, I need to see Caelum.”
Davis knew who Caelum was long before we met again the other day. Davis knew he was my one who got away. He obviously didn’t know Caelum was a daddy and I was a little, but that wasn’t his business. He knew what mattered; Caelum was my first and only love and now that I had him back, I wanted to keep him. I had no idea how to make that happen, but it was definitely my intent to do so.
“What do you need from me?” Not a single question in his tone. Just like always, Davis was there for me. Sure, he got paid to be by my side, but he always went above and beyond and I was honored to call him friend.
“I don’t know.” I wished I had a plan or even a smidgeon of one. “I need time. With Caelum, away from here. But I also need to avoid any rumors, any breach of contract, and anything that could result in my father showing up.”
There had been a time when my father would never have left me alone for even this long. Had his health not been poor, he’d still be here every second of every day. It was horrible to think that I was grateful my father had some physical struggles, but sadly, I was. Sure, I loved the man in the way one loved a parent, but did I like him? Not so much. This was a much-needed break from him.
“Do you have a plan?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ve got nothing.”
“Go back on set. When you’re done with this next scene, I’ll have something worked out for you. Trust me.”
