CHAPTER TEN Olive

CHAPTER TEN

Olive

The warm August sun wakes me from sleep, but it's my phone rattling across the bedside table that has me peeling my eyes open and reaching over.

A smile spreads across my face when I see the notification waiting for me.

@JasperRafferty: In case you're wondering ... That musical was just as awful as I thought it would be.

Who thought I'd wake up not one but two days in a row with a message from one of the biggest leading actors in the world?

@OliveMe: I'll bet ten bucks you tapped your toes at least twice.

@JasperRafferty: Then you'll be out ten bucks.

@OliveMe: Nothing? Not even a little head bob?

@JasperRafferty: I guess technically, my head bobbed forward when I fell asleep. Does that count?

@OliveMe: If it nets me ten bucks, then yes.

@JasperRafferty: That feels like cheating.

@OliveMe: Who? Me? *bats lashes*

@OliveMe: For real, I'm sorry it was just as terrible as you were expecting. But if you didn't want to go, why did you?

@JasperRafferty: Well, you're a model, so I'm assuming you understand the obnoxious nuisances of living a life in the public eye.

@OliveMe: Ah. You were forced.

@JasperRafferty: I really love my publicist, but she drives me batty sometimes.

@OliveMe: It's the beast of the business sometimes. We have to do things we really don't want to do in hopes of it paying off nicely one day.

@JasperRafferty: Ain't that the truth.

@OliveMe: You totally hate all the hubbub that goes with being a star, don't you?

@JasperRafferty: That obvious?

@OliveMe: Honestly? No. You look like you enjoy it. But talking to you now, it doesn't seem like you do at all.

@JasperRafferty: Trust me, the media doesn't always portray the truth.

I think back to all the times I've seen articles about Jasper out partying or having a different woman on his arm every month or two. It would seem like he enjoys this life just fine, but I know I shouldn't be so quick to judge. I bet from my photos that it looks like I'm having the time of my life, too, even though there are many nights I lie awake wishing for bigger things.

@OliveMe: You're right. I shouldn't have assumed.

@JasperRafferty: I used to think my parents had the greatest lives ever. Hell, a part of me still does. Then I have a camera shoved in my face a time too many, and I start to rethink all my decisions leading up to this point.

@OliveMe: Do you ever regret following in your family's footsteps and going into acting?

@JasperRafferty: Sometimes.

@JasperRafferty: I know that probably makes me sound like a privileged asshat, but it's true.

@OliveMe: A Rafferty or not, it doesn't make you any less human. You're allowed to be unhappy.

@JasperRafferty: I ... I don't think anyone's ever told me that.

My heart squeezes at his confession. I can't imagine the pressure he feels being from one of the most prominent Hollywood families. That must come with a lot of baggage.

@JasperRafferty: Well, that got a lot deeper than I anticipated.

@OliveMe: That's what she said.

@JasperRafferty: I walked right into that one, didn't I?

@OliveMe: Face-first and everything.

@JasperRafferty: Wish me luck. I'm heading to another live interview. Fingers crossed this one isn't as awful as the last.

Did he have a bad one lately? I can't recall. Then again, I don't watch much live TV. I just wait for the recap on social media, and I haven't seen anything on him.

Either he's just being dramatic or something happened and I missed it.

Curious, I type his name into the search engine and wait for the results to load. It's mostly him being spotted in New York, promoting an upcoming action movie.

Speaking of his brother . . .

He made a total fool of himself, and the headlines prove it. I cringe as I read some of them, feeling awful for the guy. Speculations of drug and alcohol misuse are running rampant, along with accusations he had his dad call in a favor to get the role in his latest movie—it's all a total disaster.

There's a recent snapshot of him coming out of the Broadway show from the night before. I had no clue Jasper was with his family last night. He left that part out. But at least this means he wasn't lying about going out last night. So maybe that means he's not lying about who he is either.

A new notification pops up.

Jasper Rafferty has posted an image.

Already? That's . . . odd.

I click on it, and I know immediately something is off.

It's a picture of Jasper, but it's the caption that really catches my interest.

On set for Lunch with Kelly and AJ in LA today.

It's from today. It's from today and in LA.

Which means . . .

"Annie?" I call out, hoping like hell my roommate is here.

"Fire escape!" she yells back.

I fly out of my bed, not bothering to stop and put on pants as I make my way to the fire escape.

I poke my head out the window to find Annie with her legs resting on the railing and a fantasy novel in her hands.

"What's up?" she asks, twisting her neck to get a look at me.

"I cha—" She shifts and that's when I see it—something shiny glinting off her finger.

My eyes narrow at her new accessory. "Did you have something to tell me?"

A slow smile forms on her lips, and she lifts her shoulder. "We got engaged."

"You got engaged?!"

"Pipe down over there!" Mrs. Hammish shouts from her kitchen, where I just know she's sitting with her window open so she can hear the neighborhood gossip.

I snicker, then turn back to my supposed best friend. "You got engaged and didn't tell me?"

Another casual shrug, as if this isn't the biggest news of her life. "You were sleeping by the time I got home."

"So? Wake me up! This is huge!"

"Not as huge as your mouth!" Mrs. Hammish hollers.

I flip the old lady the bird, and Annie giggles.

"You better not be making faces at me, little girl!"

We both grin, ignoring our neighbor.

"Well, how did it happen?" I ask Annie. "Oh! Hold that thought. We need celebration wine."

"It's nine in the morning, Liv."

"So?" I shrug. "Time is a construct, especially when it comes to vacations and special occasions. This is a special occasion."

I duck back into the apartment before she can argue any further and head for the fridge, then pull out a fresh bottle of sweet red. I am so glad I made stopping for booze an item on my to-do list yesterday.

When I crawl back out onto the fire escape with the bottle of wine and two mugs, I find that Annie has abandoned her novel and is now sitting up.

I unscrew the booze and fill the coffee cups.

"What's with the mugs?" Annie asks, grabbing one for herself.

"It's morning. We can pretend it's breakfast booze."

She laughs, shaking her head and taking a sip. She makes a face. "Wine and toothpaste are not a stellar combination."

"Good thing I haven't brushed my teeth yet, then." I grin over at her, then take a healthy sip of my own wine. "So, tell me everything."

"Well ..." she starts, drawing out the word and gazing out at the city, our street just starting to come to life with commuters. Early morning is one of my favorite times to sit out on the fire escape. Seeing the sun sparkle against all the different buildings and cars, the people rushing to work ... There's nothing like it in the world. "It was amazing."

"That's it? Just ‘amazing'? No details?"

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there." She takes another sip of her wine, then sighs, resting back in her chair. "He had a bouquet of flowers when he picked me up."

I gasp. I don't know why I do. Maybe I'm just that desperate for any slice of romance, even if it's not happening directly to me. "What kind of flowers?"

"Carnations." She laughs. "But he gets points for trying."

I shake my head with a smile. Carnations are so Remi.

While my best friend is all fire and go, go, go, her fiancé is her opposite. He's laid-back and chill and totally content staying holed up in his apartment working on ... well, whatever he works on. They remind me of my parents. My mom is the one who lives in her own little world, and my dad was always the one wanting adventure. Somehow, they made it work, and I know Annie and Remi will too.

"Anyway, he had flowers, then escorted me—my hand on his arm and everything—to Dolce, where he promptly ordered a bottle of their finest, and cheapest, house wine."

I press my lips together, trying not to laugh. It's cute because it's them, and I absolutely love the glow on Annie as she recounts what happened next—Remi fumbling his way through dinner, knocking over his water, then dropping the ring not once or twice but three times before someone else finally picked it up and helped slide it onto Annie's finger.

By the time she's done, I have tears pricking my eyes, and I want to do nothing but throw my arms around her and hug her.

So I do.

"I'm so happy for you," I tell her.

"Thank you." She squeezes me back just as tightly. "I'm happy too."

I wipe my eyes when we part, and don't miss when Annie does the same. "So, what's next? You're moving out, right?"

Panic shoots through me because what about rent?

I instantly feel bad. This isn't the time to be worried about me. This is about Annie.

"Maybe? I don't know. We'll see." She shrugs, and I let out a relieved breath. "I'm not in any rush. Clearly." She laughs, then tips her head toward me. "What'd you need?"

"Hmm?" I ask over the rim of my coffee cup.

"When you came out here. You looked panicked. What's going on?"

"Oh. That."

With all the excitement of Annie's engagement, I'd almost forgotten about my Jasper drama.

"Is it Jasper?" she guesses, and I nod. "Uh-oh. What happened?"

"Nothing. Yet. At least, I don't think yet." I dig my phone out from my pocket, then navigate back to what I found on Instagram. "He's in LA."

She grabs my phone, looking at the photo for several moments before saying, "Okay. Is that a bad thing?"

"Well, he was in New York last night."

"And he's a gazillionaire." She hands my phone back to me. "He probably has his own private jet and flew out early this morning. Or maybe it was his assistant that posted it. You never know."

Leave it to Annie to be practical about this ...

"True," I acquiesce. "But this morning when we were messaging, we—"

"You're still messaging him?" She sounds surprised by this, and I nod.

"I am. It's nothing earth shattering, but it's ... fun. Easy, you know?"

"If it's easy, then why are you worried about him being in LA?"

"That's the thing, Annie. It's easy. Too easy. We get along well and it's just ... Well, it's ..."

"Too good to be true?" she finishes for me, knowing I can't bring myself to give a voice to my doubts.

"Yeah," I whisper. "That."

She smiles softly. "But maybe it's not too good to be true. Maybe it is true. Did you ever think about that?"

Of course I did. I thought about that way too much over the last two days. But just because I've thought about it doesn't make it any more possible.

But it doesn't make it any less possible, either, I guess. Crazier things have happened. I've heard of people meeting their celebrity crush and falling in love with them. Heck, I just saw an article recently about a hockey player from North Carolina falling for his now fiancée after he started training her daughter, who was a mega fan of his. It could happen.

Besides, if Annie isn't worried about him being in LA this morning when he was just in New York last night, then I shouldn't be either.

"You're probably right," I say, clicking off my phone and setting it down, exchanging it for my morning wine. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"I'm sure too," Annie says, kicking her feet back up on the railing with her own wine mug in her hands. "But if you need Remi ..."

I shoot her a grin. "I know, I know."

"Good." She closes her eyes, letting the morning sun wash over her.

That's how we sit for the next five minutes, both of us soaking in the rays and enjoying our breakfast of champions, her probably reeling over the fact that she's now engaged and me trying hard not to think about how wrong this thing with Jasper could go.

But the more I try not to think about it, the more frustrated I get.

Why do I always have to assume the worst? Why can't I just be happy that something good is happening to me? Why do I always—

"I can hear you thinking, Liv," Annie says.

I grimace. "Sorry."

She laughs, then sits up and empties the rest of her cup. Her brown eyes bore into me, a mischievous grin pulling at the corner of her lips.

"Want to go look at wedding dresses with me?"

And just like that, all thoughts of Jasper are gone.

Who needs boy drama when there's a wedding to plan?

"You know, you don't have to find the right dress today. We're just supposed to be having fun and doing some pre-shopping shopping."

"I know! But I think I found the one!"

I huff, tapping my foot and flipping my phone in my hand as I sit on a couch in the eighth—or is it ninth?—dress shop we've been in today.

"You've been saying that for hours," I mutter.

"I heard that!" Annie calls from the dressing room. "Seriously, this one is perfect. Just wait."

I have been waiting ... all damn day.

But I won't say that out loud. She's having entirely too much fun running from shop to shop, trying on all the different dresses, sipping complimentary champagne while we browse. She's been glowing since this morning, and I don't want to rain on her parade.

Who cares if all this has done is remind me of the fact that I'm single and lonely? This day is about her. Not me.

My phone vibrates in my hand, startling me enough that I drop it.

"What'd you break?" Annie asks.

"Nothing!" I call back, hoping I'm not lying as I pick my phone up off the bridal-shop floor.

Phew. No cracks.

I click on the screen and am surprised to find a waiting notification.

@JasperRafferty has sent you a message.

I waste no time clicking on it, eager to see what he has to say.

I'd like to say that I haven't thought about him or my doubts surrounding him at all today, but that wouldn't be true. There have been too many instances where I think of something funny or something I want to remember for later and go to write it in my journal, only to remember that I can't do that anymore—at least, not like I used to.

@JasperRafferty: How many interviews are too many interviews in one single day? I'm all interviewed out, I think.

He's doing interviews all day? I guess Annie was right, then. It is possible for him to be in LA this morning after being in New York just last night—he's busy promoting his upcoming movie. I've been seeing promos for it, a rom-com coming out in the early fall that looks hilarious. He's going to be flying all over the world, I'm sure.

Guess I worried for nothing.

@OliveMe: Well, that was a lot of interviews just right there. I think you are, indeed, interviewed out.

@OliveMe: Honestly, I don't know how you do it. I'm tapped out for days after a photo shoot. Jumping from interview to interview, where they likely ask the same questions, has to be tiring.

@JasperRafferty: I repeat myself all. Damn. Day.

@OliveMe: Sorry, could you repeat that?

@JasperRafferty: You're kind of a brat, you know that?

@OliveMe: Oh, I'm aware. I'm just glad you are too.

@OliveMe: If it makes you feel better, I've been repeating myself all day too.

@JasperRafferty: Sorry, could you repeat that?

@OliveMe: Ha! Very funny, mister.

@JasperRafferty: I'm a natural comedian.

@OliveMe: Clearly.

@JasperRafferty: Why have you been repeating yourself all day?

@OliveMe: I'm wedding dress shopping, so it's a lot of "This is what we're looking for" and even more "No, next."

@JasperRafferty: ... you're getting married? I think we might have skipped over some information.

@OliveMe: What? No! It's for Annie.

@JasperRafferty: The roommate?

@OliveMe: The one and only.

@JasperRafferty: I thought she was breaking up with the boyfriend?

@OliveMe: She was bluffing. She always does. He proposed last night.

@JasperRafferty: And you're already wedding dress shopping?

@OliveMe: PRE wedding dress shopping. Allegedly.

@OliveMe: But we've been in so many stores today that I've honestly lost track, so I'm not certain it's "PRE" anything anymore.

@JasperRafferty: That sounds like a big nope for me.

@OliveMe: Good thing you weren't invited, then.

@OliveMe: You did give good advice in Always the Bridesmaid, though. Maybe we could use your help after all ...

@JasperRafferty: Um, what?

@OliveMe: You know, the movie with all those wedding dresses. You played the best friend to the girl who was always the bridesmaid and never the bride until your character finally realized what was right in front of him the whole time?

@OliveMe: It starred you and Lucy Newsome?

@OliveMe: Did you block that out too?

@JasperRafferty: Must have.

@JasperRafferty: I remember it now.

"Why are you staring at your phone like that?"

I startle, nearly dropping said phone again, and whip my head up to see Annie. All thoughts of Jasper fly from my mind. She's standing before me in a floor-length mermaid-style dress that hugs all her curves, creating the perfect silhouette. It's a beautiful cream color, with a heart-shaped cutout right under her breasts, and it's stunning on her.

I slide my eyes to the saleswoman—she's looking at Annie with the same knowing look in her eyes.

This is the dress.

"You look perfect," I tell her, still unable to take my eyes off the little beaded details. "This is the one."

She chews on her bottom lip, her brows pulled in together. "Do you think so?"

"I know so," I assure her. "You look ... Wow. Remi is going to be as speechless as me."

"You don't think it's too soon? We've hardly even looked. This could be a fluke. We could find something better down the line."

I shake my head. "No. This is the one. I have a feeling."

"But—"

"How many dresses have you tried on today?"

"Probably twenty or so."

I know she's aiming low with her guess. It's more. It has to be. She grabbed at least five dresses at each shop, which means we're definitely inching closer to the fifty mark, if not more.

"And how does this dress make you feel?"

"Like a queen."

Her answer is automatic. No hesitation.

It's a telling answer.

Annie grins. "This is the one."

I nod. "It is."

She looks over at the saleswoman. "This is the one."

"And you're certain?"

"I am."

"Good." The saleswoman grins brightly. "Because I think your friend is right. This is the perfect dress for you. I'll grab the champagne."

Annie claps her hands, bouncing back and forth. "I can't believe it. I ... I'm getting married!"

Her excitement is palpable, and suddenly I'm on my feet, clapping and jumping right along with her, my phone and the message from Jasper long forgotten.

After celebrating with a glass of champagne—I've lost count of which number we're on of those too—I help Annie unzip her dress, then flop down onto the couch and fish my phone out of the cushions as she heads back into the dressing room.

"Who is that you're talking to?" she asks from behind the curtain, the saleswoman long gone with the dress in hand. "Is it him?"

"It's him."

"And why'd your face look so ... scrunchy when I came out? You were staring at your phone looking super confused."

"Because I am confused. I told him we were dress shopping; then I made a joke about one of his movies, and he didn't get the reference. He did that before, too, when I was talking to him about musicals. He said he hates them, but he's done one before, and I know he has because you made me watch Lease on Love about ten billion times."

"Oh."

That's all Annie says, and I'm not exactly sure what to make of it. Just like I'm not sure what to make of the fact that this is the second time now that Jasper hasn't been able to remember one of his roles. Is his assistant running his account? Or is it just an actor thing? You do a role and then totally brain-dump it?

I don't know, but I do know that it doesn't entirely sit right with me. Something just feels ... off.

Am I being paranoid?

"Possibly," Annie answers, and it's only then I realize I voiced the question out loud. "But maybe not. That is really weird he's done it twice now. Once, sure. He's been in a lot of things. But to not remember two projects like that? I don't know. My fishy meter is starting to spike."

"You told me earlier it was all in my head."

"No." She pokes her face through the curtains, and I try not to laugh at how ridiculous she looks—a floating head in the middle of a bridal shop. "I told you there was possibly a logical explanation for him being in New York and then LA the next morning. You didn't mention this other stuff."

She disappears again, but not before giving me a pointed look.

Because at first, I didn't think it was a big deal. But after the LA thing and now this ...

Well, my fishy meter is spiking too.

Annie shoves open the curtain as the saleswoman comes flouncing back into the room where we've been tucked away for the last hour.

"Did you need help with shoes? Perhaps a tiara for the queen?" she offers Annie.

"I think I'm all shopped out today. We'll save all that for another time. Besides, we're still a really long time away from walking down the aisle."

She says it like she's so sure of it, but I have a feeling that Annie will be saying "I Do" sooner than she thinks.

"Totally understand. You ladies take your time. I'll be out at the register whenever you're ready."

The saleswoman scurries from the back room, leaving us alone.

My best friend throws herself onto the couch next to me with a heavy sigh.

"I'm exhausted," she says. "And hungry. Do you want to grab something for lunch? What about burgers and milkshakes?"

I laugh. "Whatever the bride wants."

"Bride. I still can't believe it." She nudges her knee against mine. "Maybe you'll be next. Maybe even with you know who." She waggles her brows up and down a few times. "You know, after you figure out why he can't remember his own movies."

I force a laugh. "Yeah, maybe."

But I don't share her optimism.

If anything, it makes the alarm bells in my head ring even louder just thinking about him. Or his assistant. Or publicist.

"Are you okay?" she asks, staring down at me, worry filling her brown eyes.

"No," I say honestly, then swallow the lump that seems to have formed in my throat. "I ... I think I need to call Remi."

Her eyes widen. "Are you sure?"

I nod. "I'm sure. I want your fiancé to cyberstalk Jasper Rafferty for me."