Together Forever Ch 03 1

It turned out that Colin was everything Victoria had hoped and more. He was warm, very approachable, a flirt and every bit as handsome as he was on film, even more so. He looked a lot younger than his age of twenty-three, probably around nineteen or twenty. She was still a little concerned about how he treated the young girl he had been talking to before Victoria was introduced to him. She couldn’t help but wonder if she would be next to being swept off her feet and then dumped at the last minute.

She was real nervous about dancing with him, but she was glad that she had been practicing. She had even enrolled in a dance class to learn a few new dance steps. Colin was naturally a fabulous dancer and Victoria found herself actually keeping up with him. He made a comment about her dancing ability and she silently mused how he would have a good laugh if he knew she had been practicing just for him.

She was floored when he though she was his age, maybe two years older. Poor guy! She hated to burst his bubble and let him know that she was an “older woman” of thirty-one. But he acted like that didn’t bother him at all. And to top it off, no models were on his arm tonight. It seemed as if God had indeed worked this out for her. Needless to say, they had a wonderful evening and carried on a great conversation. His friends that accompanied him that evening were friendly, but immature. Victoria was amazed at how mature he seemed in comparison, but then realized Hollywood had probably forced him to grow up quick. She knew that sometimes circumstances like that can turn on you and turn you into an idiot, but not so with Colin.

Standing to one side of the bar as Colin took a long drink of an Absolute and cranberry juice cocktail, he asked, “Now, why are you all the way over here in Los Angeles? How long are you staying and where?”

“You’re just full of questions, aren’t you?” she teased, taking a sip of her drink, another club soda with lemon. Then, to her surprise, he asked if he could call her.

“You’re very intriguing, Victoria. I don’t think I’ve met anyone quite like you before. I would really like to get to know you better.”

Her blue eyes held his for a long moment and she smiled, completely forgetting where they were. For a moment, she had completely forgotten her job and all she could see was Colin, and how appealing he was. He was someone she definitely wanted to get to know better. “I’d like that,” she replied and then her heart tightened around the thought that she had gotten this far and wasn’t even a model! She quickly wrote her hotel’s name and number on a cocktail napkin and handed it to him. He offered her a ride home, but she declined with a smile that made him want her. There was a quality about her that drove him wild, a sensuality mixed with cool reserve that made him want to tear her clothes off, just to see what the rest of her looked like. He suspected that it looked damn good.

She turned back to look at him one last time as she headed back towards the front entrance, and he watched her as she ran back into Nick, hugged him and too quickly, was out of his sight. But the thought of her haunted him all evening and he wasn’t sure what he wanted from her. All he knew was that he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

The next day dragged by slowly for Victoria. The signing at the local bookstore in a suburb of Los Angeles was a success and she was thrilled for that reason, but her heart was already at the hotel, hoping Colin had called. Inwardly, she chastised herself, wondering what in the world was giving her this false hope! Why would a young handsome movie star, with millions of adoring fans and beautiful models falling before his feet, give a thirty year old woman from Texas the time of day, much less a chance to become integrated in his life? She felt like it was more than she could hope for, but here she was … wearing her heart on her sleeve, hoping and daring it to come true. Tom could tell that something or someone was keeping Victoria from focusing on the job at hand. It wasn’t that she wasn’t doing a good job; because she was … it came so naturally for her. Writing was Victoria’s life, what she lived and breathed for, but she could feel this fascination with Colin slowly taking over and flooding over her like warm honey. It just felt right for her to be this emotionally involved with him, but she knew she was to be devastated if things didn’t work out. How could she go back to Texas now that she had met him and live without this dream being fulfilled? She couldn’t. She just couldn’t!

Tom had rented her a car for the week and it couldn’t get her back to the hotel fast enough, but when it did, Victoria rushed to the front desk, hoping desperately that she had a message. “Hi!” she greeted the hostess breathlessly. “I was just wondering if I had any messages.” She flashed a smile at the elderly woman, looking over her shoulder, searching for her room number.

“And your name, ma’am?” she asked.

“Oh. Uh, Victoria Harrison. Room 219.” Victoria watched with hopefulness which quickly turned to disappointment as the elderly woman informed her there were no messages. Talk about your stomach dropping down into your shoes. Victoria’s did, quickly and heavily. She felt like she would be sick right there in front of the kind elderly woman. Then the disappointment came, quickly filling her eyes with unshed tears, threatening to spill over heavy eyelashes. She quickly blinked, trying to force them back. She caught the hostess closely watching her, so she held her head up and forced a smile. “Thank you for your help. I appreciate it.” She turned on her heel slowly and headed for the elevator to take her up to the sanctuary of her room.

After a hot bath and a good cry, Victoria sat down at her laptop to work on a new manuscript when Tom called. “So, how did it go?” He wanted to know if Colin had called. He did his best to sympathize, but she knew he wouldn’t be any help. After getting off the phone and giving up on getting any work done, she turned on the T.V., intending on letting a good movie take her away. Little did she know the show she picked starred you-know-who. It was a romance and again, Victoria was taken away by this character, which seemed to mirror the Colin she had gotten to know at the club. After the movie was over, her resolve returned to make this guy take notice. After all, she didn’t come all this way JUST for business.