Just a Fan (28 page)

'What?' said Connor teasingly, having noticed my prolonged stare. I grinned back.

'Nothing,' I replied, then turned back to the photographer, who had picked the camera up and finished setting it.

The first flash caught me unprepared, and the second one I must have looked a little startled. I noticed that beside me Connor seemed perfectly at ease; in fact, he didn't even appear to be posing, just making less quick, natural changes of position and letting the photographer capture them by himself. Just as Connor had said, Jackson called out a few instructions mainly for my benefit, such as "turn your head a bit", "look this way" and "look over there". By the sixth flash I was more or less relaxed, and I could hear Connor chuckling behind me as he enfolded me in his arms.

'This is for
Starwatchers Weekly
, right?' Jackson remarked as he snapped away, bending on one knee, coming over to the side, constantly moving about.

'Yeah,' replied Connor, changing position. 'Last time I saw you was for that
Silver Screen
magazine, wasn't it?'

Jackson chuckled, kneeling down again. 'Indeed it was,' he answered, and to my surprise they continued to make small talk all through the photographing. The whole thing didn't last more than half an hour, and by the end of it I had contributed a bit to the light conversation as well. I never would have thought from those perfect photoshoot pictures I had seen before that Connor was usually in the middle of a conversation - but now that I considered it, I had seen captures of him laughing about something or looking away momentarily. I supposed that just made it all more natural...

'That's a wrap,' Jackson finally said to us with a wink. 'I'll go through them tonight; the magazine's probably going to come out early next week. Thanks so much - it was great to see you again, Connor!'

'No problem,' beamed Connor, then turned to me as he led me out. 'There, that wasn't so bad, was it?'

'I suppose it wasn't,' I replied with a wide smile. We walked down the carpeted corridor for a moment in silence, then Connor remarked:

'You know, this is the first photoshoot I've been to since we met...'

I raised my eyebrows at him. 'Were you perhaps thinking of celebrating?' I asked cautiously.

His thoughtful look broke with an all-too-familiar cheeky grin. 'Ah, you know me too well, lass.'

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head in mock disapproval.

'You beast.'

* * *

After three long days of waiting, and two even longer days of searching, I finally found the magazine in a press shop, and was able to get hold of a copy. My hands were shaking with anticipation as I sat on Connor's sofa in the softly-lit penthouse with it on my lap. The first thing I had seen on the cover was the sub-heading on the left-hand side: "
MacGowan and his Leading Lady
". That had definitely set my pulse racing with excitement...

Fingers still trembling, I opened the front page, skipped the editor's note, and looked quickly at the collection of titles on the contents menu. In a few short seconds, I had found it, and feverishly flipped to page sixteen.

'Oh...!' an uncontrollable, strangled squeal of surprise and wonder burst from me as I saw the double-page spread entirely dedicated to me and Connor. My eyes travelled over the columns of text, and then were drawn irresistibly to the large, glossy photo on the first page. I smiled deliriously at the sight of myself right there in such a well-known magazine; it was hardly believable, but there I was - dressed in muted blue, my hair looking better than I had expected, and my face looking not as bad as I had feared. I was wearing a slightly dreamy expression...the photo had probably been taken while I was lost in thought as I stared into the camera. Connor was right behind me, his strong arms - bared to the elbows by his rolled-up sleeves - wrapped comfortably around me as he rested his chin in a familiar way on the top of my head. By the slant of his shoulders I could see he was leaning forward slightly due to his greater height, and I found myself mesmerised by the clear, lucid blue colour his eyes, that shone with the flash. I couldn't stop staring at that photo; there was something very profound about it, about the natural familiarity and affection we both were showing towards each other, and most importantly, about how strangely...
right
we looked together. I once would have cringed at the notion of having my normal, boring face compared so closely beside his lovely, rugged features - but now that I was seeing it here before me, I felt that our differences actually went together very nicely indeed, and each of our contrasting features complemented the other's. Eventually, I managed to tear my gaze away from Connor's bone-melting, soft half-smile, long enough to begin reading the article itself:

"
He's Scottish, he's stylish, and above all, he's sexy - Connor MacGowan is quickly becoming the hottest new Hollywood heart-throb to grace our silver screens. At 31, he's already risen rapidly through the ranks, going from theatre to indie films and finally to feature-length cinema, collecting a phenomenal amount of fans along the way. Friendly as well as funny and charming, you'd be hard done by to find another man with equally disarming qualities. But don't jump now, ladies - MacGowan's already taken.

I've just entered the
Lavaldi
, a gorgeous, contemporary Manhattan bar where I'm to investigate the latest of the juicy gossip: the one who stole MacGowan's heart. We've all been bursting with curiosity about this mysterious woman, ever since Connor appeared on
The Gordon Wells Show
and revealed that he was dating "a very lovely English girl called Lillian Harwick". In the bar MacGowan is impossible to miss even at the quiet corner table - but only somebody looking would notice him. He's very laid-back, casual, and most importantly, there is a huge smile on his face - because close to his side there sits a young dark-haired woman who is none other than Lillian herself.

She isn't even vaguely familiar to me, but her arresting friendliness and earnest countenance make her seem like a long-lost friend. 'I'm not actually famous or anything - here or in the UK,' she tells me, a little bashful. 'I just bumped into Connor on the street one day.'

Before now Lillian lived alone in an apartment, and claims her life was completely changed when she literally walked into award-winning actor MacGowan on her way back from the shops.

'I was just leaving a photoshoot,' Connor explains in his rough, Glaswegian accent - contrasting magnificently with Lillian's own articulate English. 'I was in a rush to get back, not looking where I was going, and then I walked into Lilly - almost knocked her right over.' No mean feat - Connor is built toweringly tall and I can see he is in excellent shape for his current film
Twenty Miles Below
. Luckily, Lillian was unharmed from her first encounter with movie-star MacGowan, and goes on to add: 'I was completely shocked - I'd never met a famous actor before, let alone one whose work I admired as much as Connor's.'

'I suppose you could say she's my biggest fan,' MacGowan interjects with a mischievous grin and sidelong glance at Lillian. Their closeness is lovely to see; the two of them seem completely inseparable, despite Connor's intensive filming duties.

'It gets hard sometimes, being alone,' Lillian confesses. 'But I know he's working hard and has a public to please, so I find ways to amuse myself.' Easier said than done...or is it? While Connor's away on set, Lillian gets full reign over his luxurious Upper East Side penthouse, where he has been keeping his leading lady for almost a week now. According to Lillian it is absolutely gorgeous, which is good for her because she doesn't seem ready to move away from him any time soon...(continued on p18)
"

I read the last few columns, then put the paper down with a big smile on my face. This was such a lovely article Miss Lewis had written about us! It was much more comprehensive and reliable than those awful internet gossip sites. I couldn't wait to show Connor, even though he was probably used to his name appearing in articles all the time...

'Oh! Connor!' I said as the man himself appeared at the foot of the stairs. 'I just finished reading the interview article - it's great!'

He smiled immediately. 'Really?' he replied interestedly, coming over to me and curiously leaning over my shoulder. 'Aw, look at you! So beautiful, as always -'

Abruptly the phone started ringing. A completely rational sense of déjà-vu stole over me as Connor left my side, going off to the phone. 'It's probably one of my mates again,' he told me apologetically. 'I must have got a hundred text messages yesterday and the day before!'

He picked up the phone, and I let my eyes drift back to my very first photoshoot picture.

'Hello?'

There was a pause.

'Aye, it's me!' Connor said with a very wide smile, his accent suddenly becoming thicker. 'Ye havnae called in
ages
! Ah thought ye'd fergoaten all aboot me...' He chuckled, then walked over to the kitchen area, while I quietly melted on the sofa to the sound of that delectable accent. 'Ach, please, Mum...to what do I owe this pleasure to, anywie?' He sat himself casually upon a countertop. 'Have ye, noo?' A longer pause. I bit my lip, smiling. So Connor's
mother
was on the phone? The familiarity in his voice when he spoke to her was endearing to hear; apparently he was still very close indeed to his family in Scotland.

Connor gave a bashful little laugh. 'Since last year,' he said. 'Aye, it really was jes' like tha'. Ye'd love her, Mum, ye really would.' He turned to affectionately look over his shoulder at me, and when he saw me looking at him, he gave me a grin and a wink. 'Aw, thanks. Aye, she is, isn't she? I'll tell her ye said that, she'll be happy.' Another wink in my direction, and then there was another pause. 'I do, o' course I do! An' I even make her lunch whenever I get the chance...' He laughed, and then smoothly slid off the countertop. 'Oh, reet, OK. Well, I'll talk t'ye soon, then. Bye!' He hung up briskly, then put the phone back.

'My mother says hi, and she's seen the magazine article and thinks you look very pretty indeed,' Connor told me, flopping down beside me on the sofa.

'That's nice of her,' I replied, flushing with gladness as I seemed to have made a good impression with Connor's mother - whom to me had always been something of a legendary figure, due to the fact that I had never seen her...unlike her son.

'She told me she was out getting her housekeeping magazine at the local newsagents when she saw my name on the cover of
this
one,' Connor explained. 'She was so excited - she's always hoped for me to start having a serious relationship.' He fidgeted with the cuffs of his sleeves for a moment. 'My sister Gracie's married, you see...' I felt an odd fluttering feeling in the pit of my stomach. Was that a wistful undertone I was hearing? Or was he just telling me about his mother's concern for his personal life?

'She's got two wee ones, as well,' Connor added, a distant look in his eyes.

I raised my eyebrows. 'You're an uncle, then?' I asked with an interested, slightly teasing smile to break the odd seriousness that had descended upon him.

Connor grinned immediately. 'Aye, I am,' he admitted with a rather bashful laugh. 'My niece Heather's nearly seven, and my little nephew Ewan's just turned four.'

'Wow,' I replied.

'I see them sometimes, when I go back home to visit,' Connor continued, looking out of the darkened window. For a moment we sat together without speaking, and then a thought came to me.

'Do you ever get homesick, Conn?' I asked him pensively. 'I mean...America must be so different to Scotland. I know it's different to England...'