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?’
‘It’s amazing,’ Olivia said. She sat down at the table and let out a laugh as she watched the city swing past her through the rounded glass walls. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this.’
‘I know it’s not exactly Franklin Grove.’ Jackson grinned as he sat down across from her. ‘But do you think you could get used to it?’
‘Well . . .’ Olivia frowned, as one of the waiters leaned over to stack her plate with food. Jackson seemed to be able to ignore the service, the way her Transylvanian grandparents could at one of their fancy banquets, but she couldn’t help being aware of the waiters’ presence as she spoke.
‘International travel is exciting,’ she said, ‘and the movie business is, too . . . but honestly?’ She leaned forwards, dropping her voice as she admitted: ‘Just between the two of us, I’m already exhausted, and we haven’t even started filming yet. I don’t know how you put yourself through this so many times a year!’
Jackson nodded, looking sympathetic. ‘Honestly? I’m not sure, either. But . . .’ He shrugged, picking up an avocado wrap from his plate. ‘I’ve already got more projects lined up, so I can’t let myself worry too much about it.’
‘That’s right!’ Olivia beamed. ‘I just heard you got that role as the teenage super spy! That sounds fantastic!’
Jackson stared at her, his wrap frozen halfway to his mouth. ‘Did you see that in Teen Talk?’
‘Um . . .’ Olivia’s mouth went dry. She couldn’t tell him the truth – that she’d read it in VAMP magazine! ‘I think . . . I don’t remember,’ she mumbled, wincing.
Jackson shook his head, looking disgusted. ‘Don’t believe anything you read in Teen Talk. Seriously. They’re hardly the high standard of journalism, even by celebrity journalism standards.’
Olivia forced herself to chew endlessly on a single piece of lettuce, cursing herself. Why did I have to say anything about it in the first place?
VAMP Magazine was far more credible than Teen Talk, but it was also a secret kept by the vampire community. And even if it hadn’t been, she couldn’t bring herself to admit that she’d been reading any celebrity gossip articles about him. If she did, she’d come off as a gullible fangirl.