16. Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER 16
~STARLA~
“ I swear, it’s been one thing after another with this place,” Natalie says the next day. We’re all at the house, and the hot water system has gone out.
“Things happen,” Luke says calmly and makes a phone call, stepping away for the conversation.
“He’ll just call his assistant, and it’ll get taken care of,” Nat says.
“You probably didn’t have to come over,” Levi says. “I could have told him this was the case.”
“Well, we’re landlords, so we should come and check it out.” Natalie smiles. “And it’s always good to see you both. Even though we just saw you last night.”
“Or this morning.” I take a long drink of water. I didn’t drink any alcohol last night, and I still feel dehydrated. But, man, we had a blast.
Luke returns to the room. “My assistant is on it. As soon as we have someone scheduled to come and fix it, I’ll let you know.”
“That’s great, thanks,” I reply just as my phone pings with a message. “Sorry, guys, I’m waiting for an email. I have to check this really quick.”
“No worries,” Nat says as I open my email, and it’s like deja vu, all over again.
God, you’re so fucking smug.
You don’t care. At all. You just don’t care. And that might be the worst thing of all. The worst transgression. Your indifference is going to cost you your life.
I can’t keep reading, and I don’t even check to see if there’s a photo.
“I can’t fucking believe it. This is a brand new email address!”
“Give it to me.”
I pass the phone to Levi.
“I’m supposed to be here on vacation, and I’m as stressed now as I ever was. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I’m done. ” I’m so damn pissed, there’s a red haze covering everything. “I’m done with this whole fucked-up situation. I need to just go away where no one can find me.”
“We’ll go anywhere you want,” Levi says with a calm voice. He’s tapping the screen of my phone, and when he looks up at me, his brown eyes are compassionate and furious. “Anywhere.”
“I have a suggestion,” Natalie says. “We found a little town in Montana called Cunningham Falls. It’s beautiful and private. If you trust me, I can arrange everything. Nothing will be in either of your names, and you can just relax.”
I look at Levi.
“It’s totally up to you,” he says.
“I’m in,” I reply. “Thank you so much.”
“Oh, it’s my pleasure.” Natalie waves me off. “Let me make some calls. Go ahead and pack a bag because we should have you out of here by this afternoon.”
“So soon?”
“Hell, yes, we’ll get you out of here and relaxing in no time.” Luke smiles and starts making calls. “Hey, Christian, I need your plane…”
True to their word, Luke and Nat arranged for us to leave in less than three hours.
On a private jet.
Bound for Montana.
“Have you ever been to Montana?” Levi asks. The pilot just told us we’re about twenty minutes from landing.
“I think I did a couple concerts in Montana back in the day, but I was never there long enough to really know what city I was in. You?”
“Nope,” he replies with a grin. “It’ll be a new adventure for both of us.”
“It’s kind of exciting. I can’t believe they sent a private jet for us.”
“That’s what you do for people you love, Starla. You help them.”
I can’t look Levi in the eyes. I don’t know how comfortable I am with the L word yet.
“It was still nice of them.”
We’re circling around a little town below. The mountains we flew over to get here are gorgeous.
It feels like we’re in a different country.
The plane makes a smooth landing and taxis away from the main terminal toward an area with private planes of all sizes.
Once we’re stopped, the door is opened, and we climb out to find an SUV parked nearby with a couple standing next to it.
“Hey there, I’m Jenna Hull.”
A beautiful blond woman approaches us with a smile.
“Natalie said you’d meet us here,” Levi says. “Thank you.”
“Absolutely.” She shakes both of our hands and then turns to the man. “This is my husband?—”
“You’re Christian Wolfe.” My mouth is open. I probably look like a crazy fan-girl.
I can’t help it. Christian Wolfe is my favorite actor ever. He can sing and dance, and I’ve secretly longed to work with him for as long as I can remember. He’s so damn sexy, it should be illegal.
Of course, I would never say that in front of Levi.
“Guilty,” Christian says with a smile. “And you’re Starla.”
“I’m surprised you two have never met before,” Jenna says.
“I think we’ve been at the same parties after awards shows, but no. We’ve never met.” Christian watches me with concerned blue eyes. “You okay?”
“I’m going to be great, thanks. And it’s a pleasure to meet you. I didn’t realize you and your wife were our hosts. I guess I didn’t connect the dots, but now I realize you were in a Luke Williams’ film last year.”
“And doing another one next year,” Christian confirms. “Come on, let’s get you guys settled.”
We climb into the back of the SUV, and Christian drives us away from the airport toward a big mountain.
“So, this is Cunningham Falls,” Jenna says. “It’s a small town, but we do get a lot of tourists in the summer and winter because of all the outdoor activities. It’s pretty calm right now thanks to it being the off-season.”
“I’ll need to be in touch with local law enforcement,” Levi says.
“That’s my brother, Brad. He’s the chief of police,” Jenna replies. “I’ll give you his number.”
“Perfect.”
We drive through a town that’s something out of a Hallmark movie. The downtown area is cute with plenty of shops and restaurants. The backdrop of the mountain is picturesque.
“This is beautiful.” My face is practically pressed to the window. “Didn’t Joslyn Meyers grow up here?”
Joslyn is another famous pop singer. She’s quite a bit younger than me, but she’s incredibly talented, and although I’ve only met her a couple of times, she seems nice.
“She did,” Jenna says. “We’ve had quite a few people go on to be famous. And we get our share of celebrities who come here for vacation. Some buy homes here.”
“Really. I’m intrigued. Don’t you have paparazzi issues?” I ask.
“Not really,” Christian says. “It’s one of the reasons I love it so much. The locals are used to seeing celebrities and rarely make a fuss. It’s been refreshing, to say the least.”
“Nice.”
Once he’s driven through town, Christian turns onto a windy road that leads up the mountain.
“This is Whitetail Mountain,” Jenna informs us. “It’s a world-class ski resort. But again, it’s quiet this time of year. Most of the tourists are gone. I don’t have any other guests this week, so you’ll have plenty of privacy.”
“This is incredibly generous,” I reply.
“We like Luke and Nat a lot, so when they said they had a friend who needed anonymity and relaxation, we were happy to help,” Christian says.
We drive past a small village. There are ski lifts that are currently not moving.
“They run the lifts on the weekends,” Jenna says as if she can read my mind. “I recommend going up to have a look around. The view is crazy beautiful.”
Levi takes my hand in his, links our fingers, and gives me a squeeze. I never thought I’d like a man so physically affectionate.
But I do. I so do.
“Here it is,” Christian says, and I feel my jaw drop for the second time today.
Ahead of us are three treehouses. They’re at least thirty feet in the air, and they sit right next to one of the chairlifts.
The one on the far left is bigger than the others, but aside from size, they all look exactly the same.
“Whoa,” Levi says.
“Wait until you see inside of them,” Jenna replies as we all climb out of the SUV.
Levi and Christian grab our bags, and Jenna leads us into the biggest of the three units.
“I’ve stocked the kitchen with plenty of staples, but there are two grocery stores in town if you need anything else. Unfortunately, all of the stores are closed up here on the mountain for the off-season.
“The Wi-Fi information, along with a list of restaurants and other things to do in the area is in this book.” She lifts a binder on the kitchen counter for us to see and then leads us through the living room to the deck beyond. “This door is heavy.”
“Whoa,” Levi says again when we step outside. The deck is spacious, big enough to hold at least twenty people. There’s an outdoor eating space and a fantastic view of the entire ski resort.
“You’ll have to come out here at night,” Christian says. “The stars are amazing here.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Come on,” Jenna says, leading us back inside. “There’s more to see.”
She’s not kidding. Downstairs, there are more bedrooms and bathrooms, and another deck with a private hot tub. The main floor has the kitchen and living space, and a large master bedroom and bathroom.
“Now, the top floor,” she says with a grin. “This is my favorite.”
I can see why. There are more beds up here, and a ladder leading to a turret.
“Watch,” Christian says as Jenna flips a switch and the ceiling of the turret lights up with hundreds of tiny twinkle lights, making it look like a night sky.
“I’ll be writing songs up here,” I whisper as Levi hugs me from behind. “This is beautiful. Thank you again.”
“Our pleasure,” Jenna says. “How do you feel about a trip to the spa tomorrow?”
“I am a sucker for the spa.”
“It’s a date, then.”
Once Jenna and Christian say their goodbyes and leave, Levi and I stand in the kitchen, just staring at each other.
“Did the past five hours happen?” I ask, feeling shell-shocked.
“Seems so.” He crosses to me and pulls me in for a long, tight hug. “What do you want to do first?”
“Sleep. I didn’t sleep well without you.”
He kisses my forehead.
“Let’s sleep, then.”
“This is incredible.”
We’re lying on the mattress in the turret. All the lights are off, including the twinkle lights, and it’s late, well past sunset. The sky through the big windows is clear and alive with so many stars, it would be impossible to count them all.
“Did you see that?” Levi asks, pointing.
“Yeah, that’s the third shooting star I’ve seen.”
“Did you make a wish?”
I turn to look at his handsome face in the moonlight. “Am I supposed to wish on shooting stars?”
“Well, sure. It’s a thing.”
He looks at me and leans over to brush the tip of his nose against mine.
“Didn’t you know that?”
“Never heard of it. But there are still a lot of things I’ve never heard of.” I shrug and look up again, transfixed by the night sky.
“How did you learn?” he asks. “After you left and made it to LA, you would have been unaware of not just academic things, but pop culture of all kinds.”
“I was a sponge,” I admit. “I watched TV constantly. Read magazines. I couldn’t get enough of the radio, listening to everything I could get my ears on.
“After Donald took me on, he sent me to a tutor, five days a week, until I had the basics under my belt. I read fine, and I can do basic math, plus I learned a lot about history. I didn’t even know who the president was when I met Donald. So I pay attention, and I soak it all in.”
Levi rolls to his side, bracing his head on his hand, looking down at me.
“You’re smart, Starla.”
“Yeah.” I drag my fingertip down the length of his nose. “I am. If I wasn’t, I would still be there.”
“I’m glad you’re not.”
My finger lands on his lips, and he kisses it sweetly.
“Me, too. Okay, enough of the depressing stuff. I need an L word.”
He raises an eyebrow, and I look back up through the window.
“Why?”
“I’m writing a song, and I want an L word in this spot.”
“How does it go?”
I clear my throat. I’m so damn nervous. Why I thought this was a good idea, I’ll never know.
But here we are, and I already opened my big mouth, so there’s no going back now.
With my eyes pinned to the stars above, I start to sing.
There’s a star
In the sky
Close my eyes
This wish is mine
Through all the pain
All the tears
Loneliness
And worthless fears
He would find me
He would see me
And through my faults
He would still…
I stop singing, and suddenly, Levi is over me, cradling my head in his arms and kissing me like his very life depends on it.
“He does love you.” His voice is hoarse with emotion. The moonlight shines in his eyes. “Is that the L word you were looking for, sweetheart?”
I nod and bite my lip, watching him through tear-filled eyes. I didn’t know how badly I needed to hear the words until now.
“Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
“I’m not easy.” I laugh softly.
“Loving you is,” he insists, brushing his thumbs over the apples of my cheeks. “Even when I want to yell in frustration, I love you so much, I ache with it.”
He kisses my nose and down to my lips again. We’re already naked, having come up to the turret after a vigorous round of sex down in the master bedroom after we woke from our long nap.
He nudges his way between my legs and sinks inside me easily. Fully. Making me sigh in happiness.
He takes my hands, links our fingers, and presses them over my head as he makes slow, sweet love to me, kissing my neck and moving in long, delicious motions, sliding his lean body over mine as if we were made to fit together, just like this.
Every time with Levi is extraordinary.
This time with him is everything.
I lift my legs higher up on his sides, and he sinks even deeper.
“You amaze me,” he whispers against my skin. “You’re so fucking beautiful, I can’t stand it. I never stop wanting you.”
His hands slide down my arms, but I keep them above my head. He slips one hand under my ass, tipping me up just a bit and making the angle incredible.
“Holy hell.”
“You are love for me, Starla. You’re the most important part of my life.”
I cradle his face in my hands.
“I love you, too, Levi Crawford.”
His eyes close as if he’s so relieved he can’t help himself. And with the quiet night around us, we let go.