Free Destined for the Star (Starstruck) by Teresia Dell

after all that effort.”
    ”Shut up. It wasn’t like that at all. If he’d asked me to stay the night with him or whatever, I probably would have,” she confessed. ”I’ve never felt like this about anyone, ever, Sasha. I want him so much it hurts.”  
    ”Huh.” Sasha seemed momentarily at a loss for words. From experience, Olivia knew it wouldn’t last long and quickly finished.  
    ”Dinner was amazing and after that we went for a walk in the park.”
    ”In the dark?” Sasha asked, skepticism thick in her voice.
    ”Actually, no.” Olivia squirmed a little under Sasha’s scrutiny. ”He had arranged for lanterns to be hung from the trees.”
    ”Get out of here! This dude is either too good to be true, or else he’s a serial killer.”
    ”No!” Olivia protested. ”Don’t be gross. He’s not a psycho. He might be too good to be true, but he’s a good guy, I can feel it.”
    ”Aha?” Sasha cocked a doubtful eyebrow in her direction. ”So, dish, did you two kiss or what?”
    Suddenly Olivia felt reluctant to tell her anything more. She realized she didn’t want to share the magical details of last night, with anyone. The memories were hers - they felt sacred somehow.  
    ”We’re going to Skype each other while he’s gone,” she said instead.
    ”But you suck at everything computer related,” Sasha pointed out. ”Do you even know how to Skype?”
    ”No, I know that, but the twins will help me. I think they liked Nate.”
    ”Did they meet him?!” Sasha sounded more than a little envious. She was a curious person, and would no doubt have loved to check Nate out for herself.
    ”Yes, he came in a cab to pick me up for dinner. That’s when he met them. I wasn’t ready when he came - I was late as usual, you know.”
    ”So, what did they think of him?”
    ”I haven’t really had the chance to ask them, yet. But they seemed pleased this morning, when I told them he’s coming back in a few weeks. So I guess that must mean they liked him, right?”
    ”Guess so,” Sasha conceded, still a little stunned it seemed. ”This guy really is something else. He actually took a cab all the way out to your place to pick you up? I thought stuff like that only happened in the movies.” Her voice trailed off in wonder. ”What did you say his name was?”
    ”Nate.”
    ”Yeah, I know, but his last name?”
    ”Montgomery.”
    ”Nate Montgomery. You know, that sounds familiar somehow, but I can’t place it.”
    ”You’re probably thinking of my mom’s favorite actor, Montgomery Clift. You remember? She made us watch ’From here to eternity’ with her once.”
    ”Yeah, I remember. That’s the movie where they roll around on the beach kissing, right?”
    ”Yes, although that’s not Montgomery Clift, that’s Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr.”
    ”Okay, whatever. It’s in black and white so I don’t really care. I need color to get my juices flowing, you know.” Sasha winked at Olivia, who laughed. ”But I don’t think that’s why it sounds familiar to me. I just can’t think of where I’ve heard his name before.” She was interrupted by a knock on the still locked front door and went to open. It was a flower delivery guy with a huge bouquet of gorgeous red roses in a crystal vase.
    ”Is there an Olivia Berg here?”  
    ”Yes, right over there,” Sasha answered with a flirtatious smile for the young delivery guy who looked momentarily flustered and then smiled back at her.  
    Olivia just stood there, trying to understand who would send her such an enormous arrangement on an ordinary Wednesday. The delivery guy put the vase down on the table beside her and said his goodbyes after unsuccessfully having tried to get Sasha’s phone number. She liked to flirt but seldom took it further than that.  
    ”Let me see the card,” Sasha ordered and snatched it from the bouquet. Olivia was still too taken aback to stop her.
    ”I knew it!” Sasha exclaimed. ”It’s from the gorgeous