Star Struck Read Online Free PDF Page A

against mine, and the entire world faded away.
    “Would you like to go get some dinner?” he asked.
    “Yes, I’d love to,” I replied. “I’m famished.”
    I grabbed my bag, turned off the light, and we headed out the door.
    We went to this hole-in-the-wall restaurant not to far from the beach. The restaurant was quaint; the atmosphere was pleasant and welcoming. The waitress gave us the best service I could’ve imagined, mostly because she recognized Gavin. I don’t think she ever said one word to me all night, but she gave him full attention, often returning to the table to check on things just a minute or two after the previous time she checked on us. He was very gracious about it- polite to her, but focusing on me the entire time.
    Gavin ordered a bottle of red wine for us to share. The conversation flowed as smoothly as the wine did. He told me all about his childhood, his family, and his hometown. I told him all about mine, too. He gazed at me the entire meal, a gentle smile resting on his face the entire time. Gavin was an amazing listener, and talking with him was one of the easiest things I could ever remember doing.
    “So you went to college back home?” he asked me.
    “Yea,” I replied, sipping my wine. “I wanted to do acting, but my parents knew be a stable career. They supported me in whatever I wanted to do, but encouraged me to have a back-up plan. So I studied English, thinking I’d be a teacher someday.”
    “Do you like to read?”
    “Oh yes, I love it. Probably one of the reasons I decided to study English- I wanted to read, and what better way to get in a lot of reading than to study English? I took a lot of literature classes. But I woke up one day and realized that ready was a hobby for me, not a passion, so I packed my bags and headed out to Hollywood. I’d been doing auditions here and there, hoping something would come along, but I didn’t get much until I was here. I figured if I didn’t do it now, I probably never would.”
    “Very smart to have a back-up, though.”
    “Do you have a back-up?”
    “Yea, but it’s not as interesting as yours,” he said, laughing.
    “What is it?” I smiled at him, and rubbed his hand across the table.
    “Well, my dad owns a small antique shop back in Roseau. My sister helped him out from time to time when he needed it, but she wants to become a veterinarian, so when she started school she didn’t have a lot spare time. I loved the shop, and I loved working with my dad. If my acting career falls flat, I’d be happy to return home and work in the shop.”
    “That sounds fantastic, I love that! That’s more interesting than mine.”
    “The cool thing is that the shop was my dad’s dream. Like acting was mine, he dreamed of having his own shop, taking care of customers, and finding interesting objects and matching them with the perfect person. Just a humble dream, but it’s what makes him happy.”
    “How wonderful,” I said. “Maybe I’ll get to see it sometime.”
    Gavin grinned widely, and leaned in closer to me, holding my hand.
    “I’d like that. I’d love to take you home and have you meet my family sometime.”
    The waitress came back over to ask if we needed anything else. Gavin asked for the check, and she brought it seconds later, along with a complimentary slice of the restaurant’s best cake. Gavin held the door open for me as we walked out into the street.
    Flashing lights and loud voices greeted us when we exited the restaurant, throwing me off guard. I held my hand up to shield my eyes from the bright lights. A crowd of people had been waiting for us, descending upon Gavin and I as we walked out, taking pictures and asking questions. Everyone was yelling, and I was feeling lost in the chaos.
    A man pushed me out of the way to snap a picture of Gavin, and I almost fell over. I had no clue how vicious paparazzi would really be just to get a picture. I scanned around the crowd, looking for Gavin, who had been