Even as she saw his shoulders stiffen with shock, her words tumbled out. ‘I love you. I do! And I’m sorry things are so difficult. I have to be totally honest and say I just don’t know if I’m going to be doing many more movies in the near future.’
She had to stop for a quick breath, almost panting in the tight corset. What on earth did Victorian ladies do when they got emotional? Ignoring the tightness in her waist, she carried on: ‘I’m pretty sure fourteen-year-olds aren’t meant to be this tired! I mean, I think you’re amazing for being able to do it, but . . . it’s just not for me. And I don’t want to be part of an “it” couple. I want to be a normal boy’s normal girlfriend!’
She sighed. ‘Obviously, I know that’s not going to happen. You’re way too famous! But . . .’ She paused, closing her eyes as she finished: ‘I really think we should give us another try . . . Do you?’
There was a long, terrifying silence. Finally, Olivia opened her eyes.
Jackson had turned around . . . Except, it wasn’t Jackson. It was Will.
‘Oh, stake me now!’ Olivia gasped.
Will frowned. ‘Huh?’
‘Nothing,’ Olivia replied, realising that she could not very well explain to him that she had blurted out something that her vampire twin sister did when she was mortified. Spots danced in front of her eyes. Was it possible to faint from sheer embarrassment? She looked down at the ridiculous prison of fabric that she was wearing and wondered, didn’t she see historical women in movies reach for paper fans at times of distress? Where was Olivia’s paper fan?
Then she burst out laughing, and put her face in her hands. This is the kind of thing that could only happen to me, she thought, shaking her head.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Will, his face flushed as he stood up from his chair. ‘I just didn’t know how to interrupt you once you’d got started.’ Then he smiled ruefully. ‘So . . . I guess you’re the ultimate fangirl, huh?’
Olivia’s jaw dropped open. She stared at him in pure horror. ‘Is that . . .?’ She croaked the words. ‘Is that what Jackson told you?’
‘No! That was just a dumb joke. Sorry.’ Will ran a hand through his hair, in a scarily Jackson-like gesture. ‘Listen, that guy does not shut up about you – like, ever.’
Olivia blinked, trying to take that in. ‘Really?’
‘Really,’ Will said. ‘And hey, look on the bright side . . . at least you got to have a dress rehearsal. Can I give you some advice?’
Olivia nodded dumbly.
Will smiled. ‘Repeat that whole speech to Jackson. Don’t change a word. Now, go get him!’
Olivia staggered out of the make-up trailer, desperately trying to run through exactly what she’d said in the ‘dress rehearsal’. But she could barely remember any of it now!
I can’t do it again. Not yet! She aimed for her own trailer, trying to stay upright. I’ll just take a minute, have a drink of water . . . get myself together. Then I’ll go find Jackson.
She swallowed hard. It looked like she’d be improvising again. But at least, next time, she’d be aiming her declaration of love at the right boy!
Please let it work.
She opened the door to her trailer and was overwhelmed by the smell of . . .
Roses . . . Lots and lots of roses! As Olivia stepped inside, she gazed around in shock.
Her whole trailer had been transformed into a rippling river of beautiful red and white rose petals. Romantic rose petals, everywhere!
They covered her table, her chairs and the carpet, while twelve long-stemmed red roses lay on the side-table by the trailer door.
In one corner sat her laptop, with red-and-white rose petals scattered across its keyboard. As she stepped into the trailer, the laptop screen came to life, playing a pre-recorded message, but she barely even noticed. Ivy and Brendan were yelling, ‘Congratulations on wrapping your first ever shoot! We can’t wait to see you!’ from the screen – but Olivia couldn’t even see them through the mist of tears that had formed in her eyes.
She couldn’t even take in the words that Camilla and her bio-dad added to the message as they appeared on-screen.
All of Olivia’s attention was on the river of rose petals . . . and the sudden feeling that someone else had just entered the trailer.
Slowly, she turned round, hardly daring to hope. But there he stood, with a suitcase at his feet – the boy she’d been looking for all day.
Jackson gave her a slow smile.
Chapter Ten
Ivy almost laughed when she walked past the crowd of blonde skater-girls outside school on Monday morning. They had all turned at exactly the same moment to glare at her, just as if they shared some kind of hive-mind underneath their identical pixie-cuts.
Don’t worry, clones, she thought, rolling her eyes. I have absolutely zero interest in poaching your skater king.
All that Ivy cared about was Sophia . . . who hadn’t been on the school bus. Again. Worse, Ivy hadn’t seen Sophia skating along the sidewalk, either.
Please don’t let her have had another crazy accident! she prayed. Surely, after yesterday, her best friend would have finally had the sense to give up being a wannabe skater-girl?
Up ahead, she saw Brendan standing near the school doorway, talking to Amelia Thompson. Ivy sighed but forced a polite smile for the Goth-Queen.
‘Ivy.’ Amelia nodded back with her usual cool courtesy. ‘I see you were getting a few dirty looks back there. Don’t let those skater-girls get to you. Or at least . . .’ She frowned slightly. ‘Don’t show it if they do.’