The Stars Shine Down

"Quick! Make a wish," Philip said.

Lara closed her eyes and was silent for a moment.

"Did you make your wish?"

"Yes."

"What did you wish for?"

Lara looked up at him and said seriously, "I can't tell you, or it won't come true." I'm going to make it come true, Lara thought.

Philip leaned back and smiled at Lara. "This is perfect, isn't it?"

"It can always be this way, Philip."

"What do you mean?"

"We could get married."

And there it was, out in the open. He had been thinking of nothing else for the past few days. He was deeply in love with Lara, but he knew he could not make a commitment to her.

"Lara, that's impossible."

"Is it? Why?"

"I've explained it to you, darling. I'm almost always on tour like this. You couldn't travel with me all the time, could you?"

"No," Lara said, "but..."

"There you are. It would never work. Tomorrow in Paris, I'll show you..."

"I'm not going to Paris with you, Philip."

He thought he had misunderstood her. "What?"

Lara took a deep breath. "I'm not going to see you again."

It was like a blow to the stomach. "Why? I love you, Lara. I..."

"And I love you. But I'm not a groupie. I don't want to be just another one of your fans, chasing you around. You can have all those you want."

"Lara, I don't want anyone but you. But don't you see, darling, our marriage could never work. We have separate lives that are important to both of us. I would want us to be together all the time, and we couldn't be."

"That's it then, isn't it?" Lara said tightly. "I won't see you again, Philip."

"Wait. Please! Let's talk about this. Let's go to your room, and..."

"No, Philip. I love you very much, but I won't go on like this. It's over."

"I don't want it to be over," Philip insisted. "Change your mind."

"I can't. I'm sorry. It's all or nothing."

They were silent the rest of the way back to their hotel. When they reached the lobby, Philip said, "Why don't I come up to your room? We can talk about this and..."

"No, my darling. There's nothing more to talk about."

He watched Lara get into the elevator and disappear.

When Lara reached her suite, the telephone was ringing. She hurried to pick it up. "Philip..."

"It's Howard. I've been trying to reach you all day."

She managed to hide her disappointment. "Is anything wrong?"

"No. Just checking in. There's a lot going on around here. When do you think you'll be coming back?"

"Tomorrow," Lara said. "I'll be back in New York tomorrow." Slowly, Lara replaced the receiver.

She sat there, staring at the telephone, willing it to ring. Two hours later, it was still silent. I made a mistake, Lara thought miserably. I gave him an ultimatum, and I lost him. If I had only waited...If only I had gone to Paris with him...if...if... She tried to visualize her life without Philip. It was too painful to think about. But we can't go on this way, Lara thought. I want us to belong to each other. Tomorrow she would have to return to New York.

Lara lay down on the couch, fully dressed, the telephone by her side. She felt drained. She knew it would be impossible to get any sleep.

She slept.

In his room Philip was pacing back and forth like a caged animal. He was furious with Lara, furious with himself. He could not bear the thought of not seeing her again, not holding her in his arms. Damn all women! he thought. His parents had warned him. "Your life is music. If you want to be the best, there's no room for anything else." And until he met Lara, he had believed it. But now everything had changed. Damn it! What we had was wonderful. Why did she have to destroy it? He loved her, but he knew he could never marry her.

Lara was awakened by the ringing of the telephone. She sat up on the couch, groggy, and looked at the clock on the wall. It was five o'clock in the morning. Sleepily, Lara picked up the telephone.

"Howard?"

It was Philip's voice. "How would you like to get married in Paris?"

Chapter Twenty-four

The marriage of Lara Cameron to Philip Adler made headlines around the world. When Howard Keller heard the news, he went out and got drunk for the first time in his life. He had kept telling himself that Lara's infatuation with Philip Adler would pass. Lara and I are a team. We belong together. No one can come between us. He stayed drunk for two days, and when he sobered up, he telephoned Lara in Paris.

"If it's true," he said, "tell Philip I said he's the luckiest man who ever lived."

"It's true," Lara assured him brightly.

"You sound happy."

"I've never been happier in my life!"

"I...I'm pleased for you, Lara. When are you coming home?"

"Philip is giving a concert in London tomorrow, and then we'll be back in New York."

"Did you talk to Paul Martin before the wedding?"

She hesitated. "No."

"Don't you think you should do it now?"

"Yes, of course." She had been more concerned about that than she wanted to admit to herself. She was not sure how he was going to take the news of her marriage. "I'll talk to him when I get back."

"I'll sure be glad to see you. I miss you."

"I miss you, too, Howard." And it was true. He was very dear. He had always been a good and loyal friend. I don't know what I would have done without him, Lara thought.

When the 727 taxied up to the Butler Aviation Terminal at New York's La Guardia Airport, the press was there in full force. There were newspaper reporters and television cameras.