Unlucky Break (13 page)

James leant forward and looked into her eyes. ‘You ever wanted something to be different? Like, you can see what life would or could be like, but you know you can’t have it – things are too far down another track now.’

Andie felt herself nodding, mesmerised by his face and his words. She knew exactly what he was saying. He was describing exactly what she felt every minute she was in his life.

James leant back in his chair. ‘My mistakes are always apocalyptic,’ he said. ‘You’re different – you get to make mistakes like a normal person,’ he said. ‘With normal consequences. It’s easier for you.’

Andie said nothing as she cleared the dishes onto the tray and walked inside. She knew that normal people made mistakes as well, and that the consequences could be just as apocalyptic for normal people as they were for celebrities.

10

Andie looked at herself in the mirror. The sapphire-blue Thakoon evening dress hung beautifully on her frame. And the black Givenchy heels were actually manageable to walk in, thank goodness.

Andie had washed her hair and and dried it into smooth waves, following the instructions in a YouTube video. She’d ended up with a fairly good result, if she said so herself.

She checked her phone. There were a few minutes to spare before she had to get James, so she hung the rest of the clothes that had come for her and zipped them back into their garment bags.

They were gorgeous, she thought as she ran her fingers over the luxurious silk and lace creations.

She gave herself one last look in the mirror.
That’s as good as it gets
, she thought. Perhaps even Jess would approve. She snapped a quick picture of herself with her phone and texted it to Jess.

Within seconds Jess’s reply came back.
Love everything. Now go and put on some make-up, FFS.

Andie laughed as she closed the door to her room and walked out to the kitchen. James was standing at the bench struggling with his cufflinks. Andie’s knees buckled slightly when she saw him in his suit.

‘You okay?’ asked James, obviously seeing her falter.

‘Yeah. Just the shoes,’ said Andie, blushing at her awkwardness.

‘Can you help me with these?’ asked James, holding out the cufflinks.

Andie nodded and fumbled with the first sleeve, trying to hold her trembling hands steady.

‘You look lovely,’ said James as she folded the cuff over.

‘Thanks,’ she said, not looking at him.

‘The clothes were okay?’ he asked.

‘They’re amazing,’ said Andie as she pulled the cuff down on his other hand. ‘I’ve packed them up so they can be returned tomorrow. I’ll get this dress cleaned as well.’

James shook his head. ‘No, no. They’re all yours.’

‘What? No!’ Andie looked at him, frowning.

‘Yeah.’ He smiled at her. ‘They’ve got so many clothes. It’s one of the perks – don’t worry about it.’ He winked.

Andie was overwhelmed. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Will you thank the magazine for me?’

‘Sure,’ said James. ‘No problem.’

‘You have a lot of bracelets on this arm,’ she said, and then wanted to smack herself for stating the obvious.

‘I know,’ he laughed, ‘but they aren’t just for fashion. They all mean something.’

‘Oh yeah?’ asked Andie as she adjusted the cuff.

James stretched out his wrist. ‘Yeah. Like, this one has the evil eye on it, to protect me from bad hoodoo.’

‘Hoodoo?’ laughed Andie.

‘You know, bad energy thrown your way. You’d be surprised at the amount of crap I get saddled with.’

James adjusted his crutches and winced in pain.
Clearly his talisman was having some time off when I drove into his life
, she thought guiltily.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked, instinctively putting her hand under his elbow to support him.

‘Yeah, these crutches aren’t the easiest things to use.’ He laughed. ‘The driver’s here, by the way.’

‘I can’t believe you have to go to this premiere with a broken foot,’ said Andie.

‘Ah well, you work hard for your money,’ said James, inching towards the front door. ‘People think it’s all glamorous and shit but really, it’s hard work. Long hours, crazy people outside your house, continual worry about who’s coming up behind you to steal your roles … fame can be a bitch.’

Andie raised her eyebrows. ‘And you’re … how old?’

‘Twenty-one.’

‘Twenty-one and already jaded.’ Andie smiled.

‘Do I sound jaded?’ he asked, looking her in the eye.

‘A little,’ she said, then laughed. ‘Well, a lot, actually.’

‘Fuck,’ said James as the driver opened the door. ‘I’ve turned into an asshole.’

Andie held his crutches as he eased himself into the car, then made her way to the front passenger door.

‘Aren’t you going to sit back here?’ he asked.

‘No, I like being in the front,’ she said.

‘Now I really am an asshole, being carted around in the backseat.’ He laughed.

Andie stared ahead at the mention of the word ‘cart’. She didn’t answer, afraid she wouldn’t be able to keep her voice steady. Thankfully, her thoughts were broken by the sound of James’s phone in her clutch ringing.

‘Hello,’ she said.

‘I want to speak to James.’ The voice was nasty, tight and bitchy.

Andie was silent. ‘I’m sorry, who is this?’ She already knew it was Nikki.

‘I want to speak to James. Tell him I can’t make it tonight, I’m stuck in New York.’

‘You have the wrong number.’ It was amazing how easily lying came to her in LA.

‘I fucking don’t. Now put him on.’ Nikki screamed down the phone.

Andie hung up and put the phone back into the small black clutch.

‘Was that her?’ asked James, leaning forward.

Andie turned around in the seat to look at him. ‘Yes. Sorry, I didn’t know what to say, so I lied. She said to say she couldn’t come tonight because she was in New York.’

James shook his head, ‘She wasn’t invited. Not that that ever stopped her before,’ he said, almost to himself.

They drove in silence until Andie turned around, and stared at him.

‘Why does she still ring you?’

James thought. ‘I guess because she thinks she can.’

‘She’ll ring back,’ said Andie.

‘I know.’

‘Do you want to talk to her?’

‘I guess I will. Probably. Eventually.’ James seemed resigned, as though he had given up. Andie felt herself lose a little respect for him.

‘So, this is just a game between you two?’ asked Andie, her mouth tight.

‘No,’ said James, frowning. ‘It’s just … it’s hard to explain.’

‘Right,’ said Andie, and she turned to face the front again.

‘She and I understand each other,’ James said, sounding almost pleading. ‘We come from the same world.’

Andie said nothing. She didn’t know why she felt so jealous. She didn’t have any right to – she knew that. But the way Nikki had asked for James like she owned him annoyed her. He deserved so much better. Why couldn’t he see that?

The car arrived at the movie theatre and pulled up at the red carpet. The driver got out to open the door for James, helping him with his crutches.

Andie got out of the front seat. There were people behind barricades, standing, and tiers of fans on bleachers, screaming. At the sight of James, the crowd went crazy, the noise rolling over Andie like a wave. She stood in shock at the sight. Girls crying, waving signs with James’s name on them, posters of him and Nikki together, people calling his name over and over.

Amanda Seyfried stood in the red carpet a little way away from them. She was luminescent in a silver dress that floated behind her as she walked. Andie suddenly felt frumpy in comparison.

‘Oh my god, that’s Amanda Seyfried,’ she whispered to James, who was waving at the crowd of screaming fans.

‘I know,’ he said, looking at her oddly. ‘She’s in the movie too.’

Andie’s mouth dropped open. ‘Bullshit.’

James started to laugh as he was guided away to the waiting crowds, who screamed even louder at his approach.

Andie resisted the urge to put her hands over her ears and followed at a dignified distance.

James looked back at her to check she was coming. She caught his eye and gave him a wry smile, raising her eyebrows at the fuss. He laughed and winked at her. Her stomach flipped and for a moment she could see how easily she could become one of the crazy girls in the stands. James turned back to the barricades and, with the help of a security guard, signed autographs and had photos taken with fans for the next forty minutes.

Andie watched him interact with his fans. Despite his crutches, he gave each person his time and one hundred per cent of his attention. Andie knew she wasn’t the only one having a visceral reaction to him. He was hypnotic.

And then Andie understood. She was just like any of those screaming girls, wishing for something that would never happen. Even though she was closer to James than they would ever be, he was still as unattainable for her as he was for any of them.

No, men like James loved girls like Nikki. Beautiful, fucked up girls – not average girls with split ends and borrowed clothes. Andie took stock of her surroundings and what she was actually doing.
Get it together, girl,
she said to herself as she pulled out James’s phone and checked for messages.

This was her job now and there was no chance she was going to let a crush get in the way. That’s all it was – a crush.

She followed James up the carpet towards the cinema doors and finally they were inside.

‘God, I can’t wait to get out of here,’ he muttered to her, exhausted. ‘Just gotta get through the interviews now.’

‘Huh? Aren’t you going to stay for the movie?’ asked Andie, puzzled.

‘No way. I never stay for the movie. I always sneak out,’ he said. ‘Doesn’t Cece do that?’

‘No,’ said Andie firmly, assuming her aunt would never be so rude.

‘Oh,’ said James, frowning.

‘I think you should stay,’ said Andie firmly. ‘All these people came to see you. You should stay, because they believe in you, and you believe in your movie.’

James made a face as if to say how bossy she was but Andie stood her ground. They stared at each other defiantly. Then James smiled and rolled his eyes.

‘Okay, so I’ll stay,’ he said. ‘If you insist.’

‘I’d like to see the movie,’ said Andie as a waiter with a tray of champagne passed them. She grabbed two glasses and handed him one. ‘I love Amanda Seyfried.’

‘What about me?’ he whined.

‘Don’t pout, it doesn’t suit you, Captain Needy,’ said Andie, mock-sternly. He started to laugh again.

‘James? Hey.’

Andie turned to see Amanda Seyfried standing next to her.
Breathe, Andie
, she reminded herself.

‘Hey, Mandy-Pandy,’ said James, kissing her on the cheek.

Amanda punched him lightly on the arm. ‘I told you not to call me that,
Jamie
.’

James grinned. ‘Amanda, this is my assistant and friend, Andie,’ he said.

Amanda smiled at her. ‘Love your dress,’ she said. ‘I wore that one for the Toronto Film Festival. Thakoon is a genius.’

‘Totally,’ said Andie, nodding as though she knew something about fashion. She waited for Amanda to kick her in the stomach like Nikki had done, but so far she seemed normal.

Andie sipped her champagne and looked at Amanda’s face. She was truly beautiful. Why didn’t James go out with someone like her rather than Nikki? Andie tried, but she couldn’t see anything between them but friendship.

A woman came and whispered in Amanda’s ear and she smiled apologetically at Andie and James. ‘I have to go and meet a reporter from Japan who’s a big fan, apparently. Speak later?’

Andie nodded, starstruck, and James kissed Amanda on the cheek again. ‘Bye, Mandy,’ he said.

‘Bye, Amanda,’ Andie squeaked and she reached out and hugged the star. It was an impulse she couldn’t control. Maybe it was her relief that Amanda was normal, or because Amanda had complimented her dress. Whatever it was, it was awkward.

Andie pulled away from Amanda. ‘Oh my god. I just hugged you, didn’t I?’ she said.

Amanda nodded and laughed.

‘Okay, can you just pretend I didn’t just go all fan girl on you?’ said Andie, knowing she was bright red.

Amanda shook her head, ‘It’s fine, really. You’re gorgeous.’ And then she looked at James and gave him a knowing look. ‘I like her.’

James was laughing so hard, Andie thought he might fall off his crutches. ‘I know, right? I like her too.’ He gave Andie a look that nearly knocked her to the ground.

‘Excuse me, Mr Hawthorn? It’s time for interviews,’ said a voice behind Andie. She turned to see a man in a suit, wearing a headset and carrying a clipboard.

James followed him to the press area, where there were interviewers and recording equipment set up in front of posters for the film. Over to one side, Andie could see Amanda being interviewed by the adoring Japanese reporter.

James settled in a seat opposite a very pretty reporter. The man in the suit handed Andie a piece of paper and a timer.

‘Here’s his list – everyone should stick to the three minutes, but if you could make sure he’s on time, that’d be great.’

‘Oh. Sure, okay,’ said Andie, trying to look like she knew what she was doing.