Written in the Stars (10 page)

“Okay, we’re good.” I exhaled when he backed away. “Sorry about the wall. I just wanted to make sure we weren’t followed.”

“It’s fine.”

“So, Sophia Hope Watters, is there any chance you will meet me in the morning to discuss dinner?” he asked.

“You remembered my whole name.”

“I’ll never forget it.” He smiled.

Breathe, Sophie, just breathe. He’s just another guy. A very good-looking guy, who just happens to be the same guy you’ve been in love with most of your life, but other than that, he’s just a guy, I had to remind myself. “I’m not sure what Erin has planned for me tomorrow.”

“Can’t you tell her you have other plans?”

“Not if I want to keep breathing,” I replied.

“Well, if something changes, and I
hope it does, I’ll be the mentally insane guy falling off the cliff.” He looked disappointed.

“I really do think you should find another way to get an adrenaline rush.”

“My life is nothing but an adrenaline rush,” he said.

“I should be getting back.” I started walking back.

“Sophie.” I turned around when he said my name. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Likewise.”

To say we talked about anything else other than what Geoff said to me would be an understatement. By the time we reached home, I was sick of Geoff, and this time, he had nothing to do with it. I pretended that my feet were killing me, and after kissing Nonna, I ran upstairs and started a hot foot bath to soak them in. It wasn’t long before Erin joined me.

“I swear, if you ask me about Geoff again, I will drown you in this bathtub,” I warned her.

“Yeah, and I would come back to haunt you, making your life a living H.E. double hockey sticks.” She sat next to me and put her feet in the water.

“It already is.” I smirked.

“You’re so melodramatic.” She shook her head. “Anyways, all I wanted to say was how cool it was that we actually got to see Geoff Mann again.”

“Yeah, it was surreal.”

“I know. Almost too surreal,” she said.

“What are you trying say, Erin?”

“Nothing, except that nothing about today seemed normal.”

“That’s because we meet Geoff Mann.” I tried steering her off the course I knew she was heading.

“I know, but honestly, I was completely thrown when you didn’t want to talk to him. Then Mario having to drag you back was even more confusing, but nothing seemed stranger than the way you were talking to
the
Geoff Mann, the guy you’ve been infatuated with most of your life, and then after reading what he wrote you really made me scratch my head. Not literally, of course, but you get the idea.” She swished her feet around the water.

“What did he write me?”

“Read it out loud, please.” She handed me her scheduler.

“Sophie, jumping is the only way to get over your fears. The first step is always the scariest, but it’s the one
s that follows that makes it all worth it. When you’re ready, let me know, and I’ll jump with you. Love, Geoff Mann.” I was stunned and had no idea what to say, except, “That makes absolutely no sense at all.” I was smiling on the inside.

“So, it means nothing to you?”

“Should it?”

“That’s what I’m asking you.” She eyed me.

“No, Erin, it means nothing to me.”

“I almost believe you.” She looked down at the water. “But, since we both know you’re a horrible liar, especially to me, why don’t you tell me whatever you’re hiding so we can move on to more important issues, like when you’re going to see him again.”

“I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Okay, let me put it this way. If you tell me what I want to know, then I’ll let you off sightseeing duty this summer since Mario happily agreed to show me around, but if you don’t, I will make sure you are with me every step as I make my way through all of Italy, including all the wineries Mario keeps telling me about. Did you know you can pick your own grapes and they will make wine for you?”

“Fine, I ran into Geoff this morning at the beach.” I gave in.

“I knew it!” She got excited. “Why you think you can lie to me, I’ll never know.”

“You’re right; I should have known better.”

“So, when are you going to see him again?”

“Hopefully never,” I replied.

“Yeah, right. What about the beach tomorrow morning?”

“What about it?”

“Don’t you think he’ll be there again?” she asked.

“I have no idea,” I lied. “And even if I did, I really don’t want to see him again.”

“Sophie, do you know how often something like this happens to a girl like you?” She looked at me. “Never. So if you don’t go to the beach in the morning, then I will, and believe me, I have a lot of stories I will happily share with him.” She stood up and dried her feet.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“You know me well enough to know I would.” She looked at me.

“Do you know how much I despise you right now?”

“Yes I do, and I also know that you’ll thank me later.” She grinned before leaving the room.

“I wish I could hate her,” I groaned.

My internal alarm clock woke me up at five thirty the next morning. I had every intention of ignoring it and going back to sleep until the sound of Erin’s laughter echoing throughout the house made me realize she was keeping her promise, or better yet, the threat she made.

If you don’t go to the beach, then I will.
Erin’s words rang through my thoughts.

“She’s really going to do it,” I mumbled and flew out of bed. It took me less than a minute to throw on a pair of shorts, wrap a sweat shirt around my waist, pull my hair into a ponytail, grab my shoes, and run for the front door, hoping I would make it out before she could.

“Sophie, where are you going in such a hurry?” The happiness in Erin’s voice was annoying.

Instead of taking the time to warm up, I just started running toward the cove. It wasn’t hard to find something to keep my thoughts occupied while I ran. Every thought I had was about Geoff and what I was going to say when and if I saw him. The closer I got to the cove, the more excited I got. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I couldn’t wait to see to him again.

When I arrived, I had fully expected to see Geoff standing on the edge of the cliff, just to prove that he actually jumped and hadn’t fallen. So to say that I was a little taken aback when I saw him sitting on a blanket with a small picnic basket next to him instead would be a lie. I was more than just little taken back. I was living a dream.

He stood up as soon as he saw me walking toward him, and the smile on his face grew with every step I took. The fact that he was dressed in jeans and a nice shirt said that he had no plans of jumping this morning. I couldn’t help feeling a little out of place, since I was wearing my jogging clothes, and sweating from head to toe.

“I was really hoping you would show up,” he said with a smile.

“It’s amazing what people will do when they’re pushed into a corner.” He looked confused by my reply.

“I’m sorry. That was never my intention.”

“No, it wasn’t you.” I stumbled over my words. “Can we forget I just said that?”

“It’s forgotten.” He inched closer to me. “I hope you don’t mind, but since I wasn’t sure I could get you to agree to dinner, I was hoping you would agree to breakfast instead.” He tucked his hands into his front pockets like a nervous teenager asking out a girl for the first time. “I promise it’s just us, no one hiding behind rocks with cameras waiting to make you, my next best thing.”

“Darn. I was looking forward to having my face plastered on the cover of every magazine in the world.” He laughed at my reply.

“In a roundabout way, would that be you agreeing to breakfast?”

“I could eat.” I smiled.

“Really?” He sounded surprised. “Good, because it just so happens I brought some of the best homemade muffins to be eaten.”  He guided me to the blanket and helped me sit down.

“I like muffins,” I replied.

I like muffins, really
?  I couldn’t believe I had said something so stupid, and since I had to keep reminding myself not to get lost in his eyes, or stare at his mouth while he was talking, or gawk at his body, I made the decision to look even more crazy and watch myself twirl my fingers instead.

“I tried making them myself, but then I thought if I ever wanted to see you again, I shou
ld probably have someone who knows how to bake make them.” He sat across from me and offered first choice of a muffin. I was unable to hide my smile as I watched him poke a straw through a juice box before handing it to me.

“So we don’t spill,” he said.

“Thank you.”

I was hoping my facial expression didn’t show how surprisingly impressed I was, or that I was once again trying not to pinch myself in front of him. In my wildest dreams of him, I would have never dreamed that he would do something so normal. Of course, I have no idea what girl in her right mind would consider having a picnic on a beach, and drinking from a juice box
with one of the most gorgeous man in the world, normal.

After a few awkward moments of us both silently chewing, and me reminding myself that just like me, he was only human, even if he was extremely famous, and every girl in the world would give anything to be where I was now, I somehow mustered up the courage to start a conversation.

“So.” I picked at my muffin. “Aren’t you supposed to filming in South America somewhere?”

“How did you know that?”

“Erin is a celebrity gossip freak. She knows pretty much everything about all the beautiful people.”

“You think I’m beautiful.” He smiled.

“I think you’re really pretty,” I teased him

“Pretty? That’s not a very manly word.”

“No, but neither is beautiful,” I replied.

“It is when a man is saying it to a woman.” I blushed. “To answer your question, yes, I was filming in South America, but we wrapped a few weeks ago.”

“What’s the movie about?”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” He smirked.

“Really?”

“I’m just joking. It’s pretty much the same old story line. Man meets girl, falls in love, some kind of tragic event happens, man dies, and the girl cries,” he said.

“Sounds predictable.”

“Very.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be doing some kind of promoting or something?” I asked.

“I will
right before it’s released.” He sipped his juice. “One more question, then it’s my turn.”

“Why are you here, instead of off living the life of the rich and famous?”

“Sometimes, you just need to go home.”

“I agree.”

“My turn.” He smiled.

“Fair enough; fire away.” I put down my muffin.

“Where to begin?” He smiled. “How much did you hate me yesterday?”

“More than you want to know.”

“How much do you hate me now?”

“A little less.” I smiled.

“Just a little? I’ll have to work on that.” His eyes smiled at me. “What brings you to Italy?”

“Erin,” I quickly rep
lied. “And, well, Mario and Nonna. I haven’t seen them since I lost my mom six years ago.” I couldn’t help choking up.

“I’m really sorry.”

“So am I.” I tried to smile. “We used to come here every morning and comb the beach for sea life.”

“That used to be one of my favorite things to do when I was younger.”

“Did you ever find anything?” I asked.

“A few crabs, and maybe a starfish here and there, but mostly sand dollars.”

“We only found sand dollars, but only because we ended up playing more than looking,” I said.

“Would you like to test our luck and see what we find?”

“Sure.”

We spent the rest of the morning combing the beach for any signs of life, and kept the rest of our questions and
conversation as basic as we could. I talked about Brown University, and he talked about all the places he planned on visiting during his so-called sanity break. I told him about my boring life, and he tried to convince me that his was just as equally boring, in between complaining about all the parties, award ceremonies, and the special treatment he received, definitely not the same kind of boring as mine.

Before we knew it, morning turned into afternoon, and I knew
if I didn’t head home soon, Nonna would have the whole Italian Military out looking for me.

“I need to be heading home.” I tightened the sweatshirt around my waist.

“I guess time does fly when you’re having fun.” He looked at his watch. “Would you like a ride home?”

“No thanks. I need to work off all the muffins I ate.”

“May I walk you home?”

“Normally, I would say yes, but I’m not walking. I’m jogging.”

“Jogging?” He winced. “Well, not my choice of exercising, but if it means I get to spend more time with you, then may I jog you home?” I started laughing.

“Can you keep up?”

“I consider myself in decent shape, so I don’t see it being a problem.” He patted his perfectly sculptured abs.

Better than decent
. I made myself look away. “You do know it’s at least five miles to my Nonna’s house?”

“Five miles, h
uh? Then we better get a move on.” He took off down the trail.

I could tell within the first ten minutes that even though he was in great shape, he didn’t lie about running not being his choice of exercise. Every few seconds, he kept grabbing his side as he gradually sl
owed down, and since I was more than impressed that he would consider torturing himself just to be with me, I played nice and decided to walk the rest of the way.

“I know you’re only stopping because of me.” He heaved. “Thank you.”  He collapsed to the ground.

“I told you it was a long run.”

“Yea, and apparently, I’m not in as good as shape as I thought.”

“Running isn’t something you just pick up; you have to work your way into it.”

“Now you tell me.” He smiled. “On a scale from one to ten, how much of a bad impression am I making right now?”

“Ten being bad or good?”

“Bad.”

“It’s a firm eight.” I smiled.

“Any chance I can convince you to forget this part of the day?” He looked up at me with puppy eyes.

“Forget what?”

“Thanks. I was afraid this would make you one notch away from hating me again.”

“You’re about two away,” I teased.

“I’m doing better than I thought.” He smiled.

Since I knew it was going to be a few minutes before he could walk and breathe at the same time, I took the time to do some warm down stretches.

“You should probably stretch out your muscles, or you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”

“If I got into the position you’re in now, Ant would have to carry me home,” he replied.

“Who’s Ant?”

“My bodyguard.”

“Oh, you mean the freakishly large man that was pulling girls off you yesterday?”

“That would be him.” He smiled.

“I can see why he’s your bodyguard. I would definitely think twice before approaching you with him around.”

“He wouldn’t hurt a fly, but don’t tell him I told you. He likes being feared.”

“I won’t.”

“Thanks.” He said.

“Do you think you can walk, or would you like a piggyback ride home?” I asked after I was done stretching.

“I would love a piggyback ride.” He grabbed the back of my shoulders.

“I was joking.” I tried to squirm away.

“Well, I wasn’t. Hold still.” He pretended to climb on my back.

“You’re going to break me!”

“Great, that means I have to actually walk back.”

“I can always run ahead and send a car back for you,” I offered.

“That would be really embarrassing.” He started wobbling down the road. “Are you coming?”

“I will if you stop walking like that.” I caught up to him.

“Why? Am I embarrassing you?”

“No, it takes a lot more than that to embarrass me.”

“That sounds like a challenge to me.” He grinned.

“A challenge you would lose.”

“I don’t know. I’ve embarrassed a lot of people in my lifetime,” he said.

“I can see that about you, but I won’t be one of them.”

“I accept your challenge,” he replied with a roguish smile.

“Are you sure you want to start something you’re not going to win?”

“Absolutely.” 

We were
less than a mile away from Nonna’s house, when our conversation got a little more personal than our everyday lives, hopes, and dreams.

“I have a confession to make.” He kicked at the rocks beneath his feet. “The café yesterday wasn’t a coincidence. I knew you were going to be sightseeing in Rome.”

“How would know something like that?”

“I asked Mario,
after I our little meeting yesterday morning.” he said.

“Wait, that means you had to have known who I was if you knew to ask Mario about me.” I looked at him.

“That was going to be my next confession.”

“So, I wasn’t the only one lying yesterday morning.” I glared at him.

“No.” He smiled. “However, I knew you were lying, but you had no idea I was.”

“That’s because you get paid to be a good liar, I mean, a good actor.”

“True, and I may have been lying about knowing your name, but I wasn’t lying about wanting to get to know you better.”

Okay, this isn’t happening. I’m dreaming, and for some reason, I can’t wake up. Wait, I’ve heard about this. False awakening, even though it feels like I’m awake, I’m really still snuggled up in bed, dreaming. I tried making sense of the moment.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things uncomfortable.” He said. My thoughts must have taken more time than I realized.