Love Won't Let You Get Away

Being momentarily blinded by the bright flash of a camera was a sensation that Olivia Bellamy had grown accustomed to. The prospect of dozens or even hundreds of shouting photographers and reporters didn’t seem as daunting as it had just a couple of years earlier.

“Olivia! Olivia! Over here, Olivia! Olivia! Over here! Over the shoulder! Olivia!”

Olivia worked herself along the red carpet with expertise. She gracefully posed for the photographers while always keeping a smile on her face. As Olivia approached the very end of the red carpet, her publicist, Emma Jones, gently grabbed her hand and guided her towards a television reporter.

“One last interview before you head inside,” Emma stated quietly.

“Okay,” Olivia nodded.

Once they had reached their destination, Olivia greeted the reporter, Felicity Adams, whom she had met many times before at similar events.

“When you walked the red carpet here at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party two years ago, you had just become the youngest Best Actress winner in history for your beautiful performance in the incredible movie Violet Sky. How does that night compare to this one?” Felicity asked.

“This one is so much better,” Olivia answered without hesitation.

“Is that so?” Felicity inquired.

“Yes, because tonight I haven’t had to worry about the possibility of having to speak in front of millions of people. Plus, I’m old enough to drink here in America now so I can just get completely wasted tonight if I feel like it,” Olivia explained with a twinkle in her eye which made the reporter laugh.

“Tonight is basically a night with less stress and more booze than two years ago,” Olivia stated before giggling lightly. “But I still get to wear a pretty dress so it really is the best of both worlds.”

“What’s next for you in your career?” Felicity asked.

“I’ll be going to Minnesota in a few weeks to shoot an independent film there,” Olivia replied. “But first we’re about to finish the filming of the Mountains of Fire sequel which will be released later this year. And I’m also doing some work in television, but after that I don’t have any definite plans.”

“You’re taking it one day at a time?” Felicity asked smiling.

“Yeah, I think that’s best way for me to do it right now,” Olivia said.

“We’ll be looking forward to seeing you on the screen again soon,” Felicity said as she ended the interview. “Thank you so much for your time.”

“Thank you,” Olivia smiled and began walking to leave the red carpet.

“Olivia! Olivia! Olivia! Give us a smile! Olivia! A quick smile!” the photographers shouted.

Olivia posed for the photographers a final time before she entered the party with Emma by her side. The two were immediately surrounded by a crowd of people who wanted to chat with Olivia.

“Olivia! Emma!”

Olivia looked around to find where the voice, which she knew belonged to her personal assistant Nicholas Potter, was coming from. She eventually saw him waving his arms over his head at a table further inside the room. Sitting by his side was Olivia’s best friend, Jessica Watson, who had been completely enamored with Nicholas since she first laid her eyes on him.

“I think I should go and save Nick. Are you going to be alright on your own?” Emma questioned.

“I’ll be fine,” Olivia smiled. “Go and have some fun, Emma! I’ll see you in a little bit.”

Olivia continued to mingle cheerfully and confidently until she was overcome by the feeling that someone behind her was staring at her. She glanced over her shoulder and instantly found that a dark-haired man was watching her from across the room. Olivia couldn’t believe how handsome he looked.

Once the dark-haired man realized that he had been caught looking at Olivia, he quickly flashed a smile at her. Olivia’s heart sank as the man turned his attention to the beautiful woman he seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with. Olivia quietly scolded herself for even hoping that a man like him would take notice of her.

“We’ve got so much to talk about,” Claire Danes smiled.

“Yes. Let’s have lunch together and chat,” Olivia suggested as she turned her attention away from the dark-haired man.

Olivia genuinely adored Claire. She had been one of Olivia’s co-stars in Violet Sky and the two had kept in touch regularly ever since.

“That would be lovely! I’m free on Wednesday; would that be good for you?” Claire asked.

“Wednesday is perfect,” Olivia smiled. “Oh, we’ll have so much fun!”

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Claire replied as her publicist whispered something in her ear. “Listen, I’ll call you tomorrow so we can organize everything. I really have missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Olivia admitted as she and Claire kissed each other’s cheeks goodbye.

“I’ll see you soon, darling,” Claire smiled as they parted.

Olivia continued mingling through the room and was happy to see Jennifer Westfeldt.

“Jennifer, you look incredible!” Olivia exclaimed as they hugged. “That dress is absolutely gorgeous!”

“Yours is stunning too,” Jennifer genuinely smiled. “Who designed it?”

“Monique Lhuillier,” Olivia answered.

Their imminent girl talk about all the different gowns they had seen during the night was hindered when Jennifer’s boyfriend Jon Hamm came over to greet Olivia.

“Look at you, Ms. Olivia,” he smiled. “You look very beautiful tonight.”

“You look very dapper yourself, Mr. Hamm,” Olivia giggled.

Olivia sensed that someone was watching her again and began looking around the room to see if her suspicion was in fact true. To her surprise she met the eyes of the same dark-haired, handsome man as before. Once again the man smiled as soon as he realized that he had been caught staring.

“You’re coming to the birthday party we’re having for Jon, right?” Jennifer questioned.

“Of course,” Olivia smiled as she turned back to Jennifer and Jon. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

“Perfect!” Jennifer exclaimed.

“Olivia! Olivia!” Nicholas shouted across the room again.

“Hey, Nick!” Jon called as Jennifer waved to him.

“Jon!” Nicholas called back. “Your woman is looking mighty fine tonight!”

“Are you absolutely sure that he’s gay?” Jon questioned as he turned back to Olivia.

“Unquestionably gay,” Olivia replied with a smile.

“Good,” Jon replied while lightheartedly faking relief. “Otherwise I fear that he might try to steal my woman away.”

Jennifer just giggled and lovingly said, “He wouldn’t even have a chance, Jon.”

The couple shared a quick kiss which made Olivia smile.

“I should probably go and join him. He’s been calling for me ever since I got here,” Olivia explained apologetically.

“He probably needs you to save him from Jessie,” Jon said, only half-jokingly.

“We’ll see you in a few weeks,” Jennifer smiled and hugged Olivia.

“Have a good night, sweetie,” Jon said and did the same.

As Olivia was making her way to Nicholas, the dark-haired man appeared in her thoughts. Her eyes discreetly scanned the room in search of him. But when Olivia found him this time, he was no longer looking at her. She wondered why he had watched her so intently earlier. Was there something wrong with the way she looked?

“Do I look okay?” Olivia asked as soon as she reached the table.

“You’re a vision, Liv,” Nicholas replied sincerely.

“Am I?” she questioned as she sat down.

“You’re absolutely beautiful, Olivia,” Emma confirmed as she handed her a drink. “Why do you ask?”

“I just feel a little bit strange,” Olivia replied. “That’s all.”

Olivia gave in to her yearning to look at the dark-haired man again and quickly found him laughing in a conversation with a small group of people. As she studied him from afar, Olivia tried to remember if she had ever found a man to be so gorgeous.

Olivia was just about to float into her daydreams when she realized that it was now her turn to be caught staring. The dark-haired man looked her straight in the eyes and smiled warmly.

Olivia suddenly felt dizzy as hundreds of butterflies now seemed to flutter around in her stomach. She forced herself to quickly look down into her drink to pretend like nothing had happened. She could feel her blood burning her cheeks as she began to blush.

“Should we head to Elton’s party now?” Nicholas asked.

“Yes, let’s go and hang out with some British people,” Emma agreed.

“British guys truly are the best,” Jessica sighed as she gazed at Nicholas.

Olivia couldn’t keep her eyes away from the dark-haired man any longer. She looked up to where he had been standing before and saw that he was still looking at her. As their eyes met this time, however, Olivia didn’t look away. She contemplated the possibility that the dark-haired man could have been looking at her the entire time.

“What do you say, Liv?” Nicholas asked, while trying to move away from Jessica as tastefully as possible.

“What do I say about what?” Olivia replied and quickly looked at Nicholas.

“Do you want to go to Elton’s party or not?” Nicholas asked.

Olivia hesitated and met the eyes of the dark-haired man again.

“Well?” Jessica asked sounding a little conceited.

“Yes, let’s go,” Olivia answered before quickly finishing her drink.

As Olivia walked behind her friends on their way out of the party she let her eyes wander over to the dark-haired man one last time. He gave her a nod which she acknowledged with a shy smile. This caused the dark-haired man to break into the most beautiful smile that Olivia had ever seen.

Olivia followed her friends and internally tried to make peace with the fact that she would never get to see the dark-haired man again. Meanwhile the dark-haired man internally tried to make peace with the fact that the looks he had exchanged with the young Olivia Bellamy had meant nothing to her.

At that moment neither Olivia, nor the dark-haired man, could ever imagine the impact they would come to have on each other’s life.