Hollywood Ever After (Red Carpet 1)

es, I think he does.”

Natalie started chattering happily. “We’re going to take a tour of London tomorrow with them? Helen is so cool. She’s barely five years older than me, did you know that?”

No, I didn’t. But it didn’t matter, because he was a great deal older than Natalie. And he was far too old to be her boyfriend—but not too young to be mine.

Once we made it to the hotel, our little group was dragging. As everyone shuffled off to their rooms, my mother turned to me and said, “You could have gone with him, Claire. Next time, go. I thought the two of you were going to attack each other.” Then she went to bed.

I paced the room, took a long shower, and paced the room again. I knew I’d get tired eventually. I just hoped it was soon.

***

After tossing for four hours, I gave up and went for a run on the path in Green Park. It was invigorating and absolutely gorgeous.

When I got back to the hotel, I had a long and steamy shower and settled in to write a bit. But Will woke up early, bouncing gleefully. My “boingy bed” had a significantly better bounce to it and he felt the need to prove it. He demonstrated the superiority of the mattress for a good ten minutes. I had to admit, watching him, it did seem to be a perfect bed for bouncing.

The phone buzzed. Will stopped bouncing and stared at me.

“I don’t think it’s the bouncing police, Will. Just keep the noise down, okay? Go ahead and put your shoes on so we can go to breakfast, please.” I answered the phone.

“Ms. Collins? We have a delivery for you.” The desk clerk had a magnificent accent, enunciating clearly. “May we bring that up now?”

A delivery? I smiled. “Yes, please.”

I dressed quickly in some snug jeans, a side-tie cream sweater, and sturdy wedge-heeled boots–ready for exploring the city. I braided my hair back loosely and fastened my compass in the V-neck of the sweater. By the time I was dressed, Natalie and Will were both sprawled across my bed.

“I’m starving.” Natalie watched me put on mascara, opening her eyes wide in imitation.

I assessed my reflection. It wasn’t going to get any better. “Well, let’s go check on Grams. If she’s ready, we can probably go down to breakfast.”

“What about Helen and Josh?” Natalie followed me as we walked through the suite’s sitting room.

“I’ll check in with them. It’s barely eight and they don’t have kids to get them up.” I ruffled Will’s floppy hair and shot Natalie a grin. “Not that I’m complaining, not in the least.”

“You were up writing when I came in, Mom. And you’d had a shower already too,” Will said. “So we didn’t wake you up. Maybe you woke us up?”

I shot him a smile. “Did I wake you up, Will? I’m so sorry. I’ll make certain you get a nap today to make up for it.”

His blue eyes—my eyes—went round. “You didn’t wake me up! I was teasing you.”

“And she’s teasing you, Willy,” Natalie said. She knocked on the bedroom door. “Grams? Are you decent?”

“Yes, dears, come on in,” her voice called from inside.

There was a knock on the suite’s door. “I’ll get it.” I opened the door to find Shannon and Arthur peering around a huge arrangement of flowers.

“Ms. Collins?” the bellboy asked, leaning back to hold the flowers.

“Yes.” I stepped back. “Please come in. Let me get out of your way.”

Arthur and Shannon followed the young man in, watching as he wobbled a bit before depositing the huge basket on the entry table. It was an impressive bouquet. I tipped the bellboy and closed the door.

Shannon was rifling through the flowers. She held the small envelope toward me, her eyebrow arched. “Here’s the card. I would read it, but something tells me it might be for your eyes only.”

I flipped open the envelope and pulled the card out.

Missing you more each day. Can’t wait to get home to you and the kids. Love always—Daniel

I stared at the card, going cold. The cold was replaced with dread, and nausea began to fill my stomach. I had enough sense to shove the card into my pocket.