‘Hey.’ Brendan stepped up behind her to murmur into her ear. ‘Just so you know? As far as I’m concerned, you are still the coolest girl in the world. Even if your hairstyle is no longer the “in”-thing . . .’
‘Oh, shut up.’ Laughing, Ivy turned and threw her arms around him.
Over his shoulder, she took another look around the darkened halls of Franklin Grove High. Students milled around in their groups, chatting happily.
High school was definitely weird . . . but maybe it wouldn’t eat her alive, after all. If anything, she was now intrigued. Over in one corner of the hallway stood Finn with his friends. He was staring hard at another place in the hall, where Amelia’s goth pals crowded around her.
A star-crossed romance, Ivy thought. Even I’m curious to see how this will end . . .
Olivia looked up into Jackson’s face, which was more gorgeous than the sea of red petals in her trailer. She felt as if she were in a waking dream. ‘You did this . . . for me?’
He nodded. For once, he wasn’t wearing his megastar smile. He looked nervous . . . and vulnerable. He pulled away from her. ‘Of course,’ he said, and swallowed visibly. ‘I thought you knew how I felt about you?’
‘I didn’t,’ Olivia said softly.
But now . . .
Suddenly, so many things made sense. She understood why he’d wanted to walk by the river together, and why he’d organised the private lunch on the London eye. She knew now why he’d been so moved by the Shakespeare play . . .
She knew everything!
They were gazing into each other’s eyes, so intensely that Olivia could hardly breathe. Now was the perfect time for her ‘spontaneous’ speech . . . but, right now, she couldn’t find the words!
Oh no! She grabbed a rose from the side-table by the door and pretended to inhale deeply, to hide her face.
Unfortunately, she breathed a bit too deeply. The strong scent made her choke! She doubled over, coughing. As her eyes watered, Jackson hurried over to slap her back.
Argh! Waving him off, she straightened up. ‘Why,’ she gasped, ‘can I never do these scenes properly in real life?’
‘Don’t ask me.’ Jackson was smiling again. ‘I can’t see a single thing wrong with the way you’re playing this one. You know, you’ve never looked as pretty as you do right now.’
Olivia snorted. ‘What, because of my red, watering eyes and flushed face?’
Jackson reached out and stroked a strand of hair away from her face. ‘No,’ he whispered. ‘Because I had to spend so much time away from you to realise how beautiful you are . . . inside and out.’
Olivia couldn’t keep it inside any longer. She had to tell him. Right now . . .
But Jackson got there first. ‘I love you.’
As relief and joy rippled through her, Olivia felt all the tension she’d been carrying around for weeks simply disappear. It was the easiest thing she had ever done to reply: ‘I love you too.’
Jackson’s lips curved into a smile that had nothing to do with Hollywood . . . and everything to do with her. As his warm arms wrapped around her again, Olivia knew down to her bones that, somehow, everything was going to work out just fine.
I can’t wait to tell Ivy!
Six hours later, Ivy was grinning as she sat at her computer, talking to her twin on Lonely Echo. ‘You’re kidding,’ she said. ‘You actually confessed your love to his body double? How alike are they? I mean, if Jackson’s busy, does Will go to his doctor’s appointments for him?’
‘Oh, hush!’ said Olivia, but she was laughing. She looked cosy in a fluffy pink bathrobe, her legs tucked up beneath her on what looked like a very plush hotel bed. ‘You’re just lucky I can laugh about it now. For the first couple of hours after it happened, I almost fainted every time I thought of it.’
Ivy laughed as she scooped up another spoonful of her after-school Marshmallow Platelets. ‘So, I guess, all’s well that ends well, right?’
‘Totally.’ Olivia beamed out from the computer screen. ‘Everything’s absolutely perfect with Jackson . . . and I’m not leaving Franklin Grove.’
‘Really and truly?’ Ivy set down her cereal. ‘You’re not going to get talked into moving to Hollywood and enjoying the high life once Eternal Sunset is done?’
‘Nope.’ Olivia shook her head firmly. ‘The moment this shoot wraps, I’m coming back to Franklin Grove – for good.’
‘That is the best news ever.’ Contentment flooded through Ivy as she took it in.
With Olivia around, even Franklin Grove High might start to feel even more normal. And life was always better with her twin. Then a thought occurred to her.
‘But what about your rekindled romance?’ she asked. ‘Isn’t that going to be difficult with you in Franklin Grove and Jackson going to film sets all over the world?’
Olivia shrugged. She didn’t look unhappy. ‘We’ve learnt a lot from last time,’ she said. ‘We’re going to make much more of an effort to make time for each other.’
Ivy settled back on her chair. ‘Tell me the story again,’ she said. ‘Exactly as it happened.’
Olivia looked surprised. ‘Ivy Vega, are you becoming a die-hard romantic?’
Ivy felt herself wriggle with embarrassment. ‘Never! Don’t ever say that in front of anyone else. I just . . . you know . . . want to make sure you don’t forget any crucial detail. You’ll probably be telling this story to your grandchildren, so you want to get it right!’
The two of them burst out laughing, then Olivia cleared her throat, ready to repeat the story. It was a good one, after all . . .