‘I will,’ Olivia promised. As she listened to her parents’ bustling departure, she propped her shoulders against the wall and tucked the strange, fluffy ‘duvet’ around her, making herself a nest. It felt like she was walling herself in from the world. I just can’t face going out. Not yet.
Between jet lag and culture shock, she had lost all sense of what time it was. The clock on the wall claimed it was early afternoon, but she felt a strange craving for cereal. Maybe my body just doesn’t want to admit that it’s left America!
It wasn’t just her body that was in trouble, though. Her heart rate rocketed every time she thought about exactly where she was and exactly who she would be seeing on-set once the filming began. Playing two different vampire twins was going to be tough . . . but trying to act normal around Jackson was going to be Olivia’s greatest acting challenge this summer.
A knock sounded outside, and Olivia blinked, startled out of her worries. What were her parents doing back so soon?
Then she realised: the knock hadn’t come from the connecting door. It had come from the hallway outside.
As she stood up, she knew – somehow – exactly who she would find waiting for her.
Her heartbeat pulsed against her throat. There didn’t seem to be enough air in the hotel room as she walked across the lush carpet. Pasting a welcoming smile on her face, she opened the door . . .
. . . and found a scruffy, unfamiliar boy standing outside, wearing baggy shorts and a jersey for some English soccer team she didn’t recognise. A baseball cap was pulled down low over his face, his shoulders were slouched, and no one in the world would have had any idea who he was . . .
Except Olivia.
‘Hi, Jackson,’ she said softly. ‘Come on in.’
Jackson Caulfield pushed up the brim of his baseball cap to give her a rueful grin, his blue eyes intense. ‘You weren’t even fooled for a moment, were you?’
Olivia only shook her head, smiling. But inside, she answered honestly: I would know you anywhere.
She couldn’t say that out loud, though, could she?
Absolutely not, she told herself. If she said that, she’d sound like she was still in love with him. He’d think she was pathetic! But now no one was speaking, and the silence felt like pressure building all around them, until she was ready to burst.
Olivia clasped her hands together so she wouldn’t fidget. Just say something, she begged him silently. Anything!
She’d never seen Jackson looking so awkward before. He always knew what to say; what to do.
‘So . . .’ Jackson stuck his thumbs in his shorts pockets, rocking awkwardly on his heels. ‘I guess . . . maybe we ought to shake hands now?’
Olivia’s eyes widened in disbelief. She let out a startled laugh. ‘OK . . .?’ She casually held out her hand. Inside, though, she was in shock. We were boyfriend-and-girlfriend for months. Now we’re shaking hands like strangers?
Jackson took her hand, then gave a baffled laugh. ‘This is dumb, isn’t it?’
‘Well . . .’ Biting her lip, Olivia started to step back. At the same moment, Jackson tugged on her hand, pulling her into a hug.
The unexpected move upset her balance. Olivia tipped forwards – and their noses bumped hard. ‘Ow!’ she yelped.
Jackson almost leaped backwards in his hurry to let her go. ‘Sorry!’
Olivia stumbled back, hanging on to her aching nose and laughing nervously. ‘It’s OK,’ she said. ‘So . . . do you want to come in?’ She gestured to her hotel room.
Jackson gave her the same megawatt gorgeous smile she had seen on so many movie posters and magazine covers. ‘Nah.’
Ouch. Olivia couldn’t stop herself from wincing. The rejection hurt even more than her bumped nose! So much for being friends now.
‘Wait.’ Jackson stepped closer, his eyes widening. ‘I didn’t mean it like that!’
‘You didn’t?’ Watching him warily, Olivia lowered her hand from her nose.
Jackson sighed. Pulling off his baseball cap, he ran one hand through his thick blond hair. ‘I’m such a doofus! I meant, I want to take you out. We still have a few more days before filming, right? And here we are in a beautiful foreign city. Don’t you want to see some of it?’
Olivia glanced back through the open doorway of her hotel room to the panoramic view of London outside. ‘It would be nice to see London for real instead of through plate glass,’ she admitted. And without a joke guidebook playing pranks on me!
‘But . . .’ She turned back to Jackson, frowning. ‘Are you sure that it’s a good idea? I mean, we might not be in America any more, but we are still on Planet Earth. Don’t you need to keep yourself well-hidden?’
Jackson’s grin was wide, relieved, and even more megawatt gorgeous than before. ‘Don’t worry about that part,’ he said. ‘Trust me. I’ve made us a reservation for lunch in a place where we’re guaranteed not to be disturbed.’
An hour later, Olivia had to admit that he was right. No one would be able to intrude on them now, not even the most obsessed fangirl – because the lunch that Jackson was treating her to would be served in mid-air!
Ever since Olivia had spotted the London Eye on her limousine journey from the airport, she’d wanted to ride the giant Ferris wheel that stood on the edge of the River Thames. But now, as Jackson ushered her into one of the Eye’s big, egg-shaped glass pods, she looked around with a combination of enchantment and confusion. I never thought I’d see it like this!
Inside the glass pod, an elegant table awaited them, set for two with silver that glittered in the sunlight. A light vegetarian lunch of sandwiches, wraps, hummus, pitta bread and fruits lay set out on china platters while fruit juices glimmered in crystal glasses.
A uniformed waiter bowed politely to Olivia as the door of the pod slid shut silently behind her. A second waiter hovered in the background, keeping as discreet a distance as possible in such a confined space. Outside, brightly coloured boats filled the Thames, pedestrians scurried around the streets, and the city bustled with activity while, inside the glass pod, Olivia felt the ground lift beneath her feet.
The pod gently swung into the air as the London Eye began its big circle, carrying Olivia and Jackson in an enchanted bubble.
‘Well?’ Jackson asked. He stood watching her, a tentative smile on his face. ‘What do you think?’