Falling Stars (Starstruck Series Book 2) (18 page)

“Nice digs.” Evan stated, giving the place a quick once-over before they entered.

When they got inside, Alisa noticed there was something sitting on the kitchen counter.  It was the latest issue of GQ, featuring the new movie starring Quin and Logan.  The cover featured Quin and Logan, but there was also a woman there, a woman she did not expect to see gracing the cover with her friend, and especially not with her husband.  He had never mentioned her.  When she furiously flipped the magazine open, the main feature article was a two page spread with a few racy photos they had  posed for; one on a bed and others where she had more leg than dress showing, and Logan …

Her stomach churned.

Say Hello to Movie’s Spiciest Duo ...
The words were big, bold, yellow, and staring at her mockingly.  Two droplets hit the glossy pages.  Her hands were shaking.  Alisa felt lightheaded.  Her vision started to blur, and she had very little sense of balance.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy there.” Evan was there to catch her. He’d been there to catch her a lot lately.

Like a switch had been flipped, the tears started flowing faster.  She couldn’t stop them.  Between seeing Kurt and putting up with his rudeness and seeing Logan’s magazine spread, on top of everything she had been keeping bottled up,  it caused her anger to spill over.  The sobs followed, and then the throbbing pain in her skull.  Alisa was falling apart, and Evan was there keeping her together.  His arms were wrapped tightly around her, and his whispered words were hushing her, cooing in her ear.  

After she had calmed down, they sat outside next to Alex and John’s new waterfall pool, with one bottle of red wine down and another one freshly opened. Their house was on a hill, so the view beyond the pool was gorgeous; a canvas of lights that covered the city.

“He never told me about her.  Five months in London, you’d think it’d be a detail that shouldn’t have been missed.”  Alisa had gotten through explaining everything about her marriage to Kurt and how ugly the divorce was, and had just started in on her relationship with Logan.  She was one of the few in Hollywood who liked to maintain her privacy, but given the circumstance, she figured Evan should be privy to this information.  She trusted him.

“You’re telling me.  I knew she was off on business, but that’s about it.  If it makes you feel any better, she talked to me a lot less than once a day …” He was, of course, referring to Kirsten Gale, his ex.

It was a strange coincidence how she and Evan were completely in the dark regarding a relationship happening behind their backs with their own significant others. Now here they were, working together and getting along.

“What was it, every couple of days?”

“Less.”

“Weekly?”

Evan’s silence was her answer.

“Ouch ... I’m sorry.”

“Well, when I got the call from Ron, I figured it’d be a good way to get my mind busy instead of sitting at home wallowing like a teenager stood up at the prom.”

Alisa shook her head, “This isn’t prom. This is a relationship. You guys were together for
  
”

“Three years, almost to the day we called it quits.”

“I’m sorry.”  She said, taking another sip of her wine.

Evan couldn’t help but laugh, “Cut it out. You apologize way too much for things that are not even your fault.”

“I’m so
  
”

He arched a brow, mischief in his eyes.

“Such a person of habit.” She finished.

“I know.”

“How did you even know where to find me?”

He waved his phone and waggled his eyebrows.

“Facebook?  Stalker.”  Alisa snickered.

“Actually, you text me from the club.”   Evan stated, sounding offended that she would even insinuate he was closely following her activities on Facebook. He was, but she didn’t need to know that.

“No, I text Evie.”

“Check again.”

When she flipped through her phone, she was mortified to see who she had been texting silly pictures and random texts to throughout the night.  She damned her best friend and new friend for having similar names.  

“Oh, God ...”

“It’s okay.  When I saw Kurt’s name, it didn’t take long for me to realize who you meant, so I came over in case he would try something.  Given his history…”

“Good call.” Alisa hadn’t talked too much about her previous marriage, but Evan put together what he found out.

“The pics that you sent, however, were a bonus.” He winked.

“Oh, no…”

Evan offered a devilish laugh, and she sat with a bright red face for a bit. She and Evie were exchanging pictures they took in the restroom at Eros, including a couple of racier ones that rather accentuated their chests. Luckily for her, only a couple of those actually went through, other pics were of the gang having a good time at the bar and in their lounge seats.

“Ohgod.” She blushed.

“Don’t worry, those won’t be going anywhere.”

“Delete them.”

“Already did.” He laughed.

Thank goodness,
she thought. Last thing she needed right now was scandalous pictures of her and Evie all over the internet. Though, she was quite surprised he had.

“I still can’t believe you decked him.” Alisa said, proudly. “Not the first time he’s been hit, but I can tell you now that he totally deserves it.”

“Agreed.” 

There was a cool breeze blowing through, and Alisa held herself tight inside Evan’s jacket.  It smelled so much like him, it was hypnotizing.  She never wanted to take it off. “So you moved from your place … how long has it been?” Evan asked.

Alisa was surprised it had taken Evan this long to bring it up, but she came to know he was full of surprises.  She respected him for it. “Almost three weeks.”

“Still fresh.”

She nodded.  ”It’s not official, or anything we want to publicize, so please …”

He raised both hands in surrender.  “Safe with me, of course.”

She sighed, “Almost everyone on set knows. I’m surprised something hasn’t leaked out to the press yet, but I’m glad it’s been withheld this long.”

It was only now that she recognized she hadn’t ever addressed the elephant in the room with one of the most affected people in this mess.

“How did you do it?”

“What’s that?” He asked.

“Deal. How did you deal with it, finding out about them?” Alisa was implying her husband and his ex-girlfriend without naming any names.  She didn’t want to say them out loud. It would hurt even more.

Evan’s shoulders rose and fell slowly, and his expression was clear; he was at a loss. “I found out before you did.”

“Oh.”

“It was a little bit ago. She was trying to coax me back into being with her,” he laughed at the situation and shook his head.

“Wow.” Alisa exhaled noisily.

“I didn’t say anything because … I’m not even sure I fully comprehend it. Kirsten is all about living big and shouting loud, and I found out because she made a stupid remark about London and Logan and how it all happened.” Evan’s eyes started to tear up, and Alisa put a hand on his arm to comfort him. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I guess I was in a state of mind where—”

“No, it’s okay.” She replied softly. “I understand.”

Alisa put the puzzle together in her head; Evan did disappear for a few days without warning. He didn’t respond to her much even when she made the move out of her house. Rightfully so … he needed his own time to think things through.

There was a short lull in the conversation, and the breeze began to pick up.  It felt good on her hot skin, even though she was bundled in his jacket. She appreciated the silence, something she hadn’t had much of since she moved out here.  This lifestyle didn’t account for much peace and quiet; it was always go-go-go … press events, interviews, television appearances, promos, post-production woes. Everything moved faster than she could comprehend sometimes.  It was nice to have a partner, like Logan, who could keep her calm through the storm.  Only now, in his absence, Evan was there to shoulder most of it.

“He kicked the addiction before we got married.” She explained.  “Everyone was surprised I convinced him to do it, but I honestly didn’t do anything.  He did it on his own. I was there for support.”

Evan nodded.

“Then I come home and he’s gone on some trip with a woman I realized was Kirsten …”  Alisa’s voice faded as she mentioned the name she was trying so hard not to bring up, and she took a drink.  “Your ex, no less.”

“She couldn’t kick it.  It started a while back for her, and I told her it would get her into trouble.  I’m no saint, believe me.  But after my sister passed ... I stopped.  I saw what it was doing to me. She saw it too and hated me for it.”

Alisa refrained from apologizing again, but she let her expression do it for her.  Much like her desire to maintain privacy, Evan was private when it came to his life with Kirsten.  He’d made no mention of her since that night in New York.

“It makes me wonder how I got through three years.” He looked over at her.

Alisa didn’t have to be inebriated to know how attracted she was to her companion. He was funny, sweet, a musician, a director, and a gentleman when he wanted to be.  He appeared quite perfect.  His blue eyes were like pale sapphires in the dim lighting as they sat under the stars. It was a perfect moment.

Cold droplets began coming down on them, slowly at first, but the skies opened, letting it pour down hard. She loved the rain, but Evan promptly rose, saving the wine bottle in one hand.  He extended his hand to her to help her up.  “Let’s get inside.”

They were in her room, her guest room. It was furnished beautifully. Evan was jealous. She could tell by the way he was looking at everything in the room.  She hadn’t quite moved in, so most of her clothes were in a pile on the fainting couch or haphazardly draped over hangers in the closet. Embarrassed by the sight, she kicked most of her bags and clothing into the closet and shut the door, taking a seat on the bed beside Evan, who was already resting back against the headboard.

“No, no, please, make yourself comfortable.”  She laughed at him, pulling a pillow to set underneath her.

He laughed, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.  I could sit on the couch
  
”

Alisa stopped him from moving as she leaned back next to him, “It’s fine.”

“All right then.”  

She watched him as he continued to survey the room she’d been staying in.  From what she could tell, he was admiring the place, and rightfully so.  Alex and John had such great taste. Their new home was gorgeous.

“What’s on your mind?”  She asked, laying her head down on her pillow.

“Just ... this is where you’ve been hiding all this time. Not bad.”

Alisa chuckled, “And now that you know …”

“You’ll have to kill me?”  Evan tilted his head playfully, a smirk on his face.           

“Nah, I think it’s time to move.”

He shook his head, “Aw, come on.”

Alisa giggled, prompting a smile from her companion. “Thank you, by the way.”

“For?”

“Today. Saving me from my ex-husband.”

“Again, of course. He’s a real winner, by the way …”

“You’re telling me,” She chuckled, knowingly. “Actually, thank you for everything.”

Evan shifted to face her, propping up on his elbow. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. You’ve done so much for me ... you … you have no idea.”

Their faces became dangerously close, so close she could see his irises contract, the pupils growing larger.  She trailed her hand from his hip to his chest, feeling the thump beneath his flesh.  His heartbeat was steady but quickening, matching hers.  She trailed upwards even farther and curled her hand around his neck and into his hair, never breaking eye contact.  He shuddered slightly, letting out a slight gasp before wrapping his free hand around her waist and pulling her to him.

Evan was tense; she could feel it.  She had been held by him before, but not like this. His intense gaze bored into her, melting her from the inside out.  His thumb stroked over her cheek.  Alisa turned her head, her lips slightly parted, and Evan did the same, leaning in to close the distance.  However, just before they made contact, the two of them stopped simultaneously. She looked down, ashamed.  He pressed his lips to her forehead and then rested his forehead against hers tenderly.

“I’m sorry…” Alisa whispered meekly.

“I know.”

This was more intense than their situation in New York.  He kissed her on a whim, a moment she hadn’t brought up since messaging him about it weeks ago.  That time was a harmless peck, a ‘preview’ of sorts of what his in-character kiss may feel like on set.  This time, Alisa wasn’t sure she’d be able to hold back if she let her guard down.  He was tense, she was tense, and the timing, the ambiance, everything else was amplifying her need tenfold.  She couldn’t go down that road, as much as she wanted him.  It was also difficult for her because it wasn’t just a physical need either. He was the firm foundation she needed as of late, the stability that her life depended on.