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My heart sank the following morning when I woke up, knowing that Orlando was leaving that night, between my two performances. I had just enough time to see him to the airport before I had to be back at the theatre. It was after eleven when I awoke, and I had to be at the theatre for noon, to get into make-up for the two o’clock show. I leaned over and kissed Orlando’s sleeping face before getting out of bed to shower and get ready to go.

After the two o’clock matinee performance, I hurried back home. When I walked in, Orlando’s bag was sitting on the sofa, and he was in the bedroom, on his cell phone.

“Oh, love, I’m glad you’re here,” he said when I walked in. “I’m on with my mum. She wants to know what day we’re flying home.”

I pulled my day planner out of my purse and opened it to December. “My last show is the twenty-third,” I said, looking at my schedule. “After that, it doesn’t matter.”

“We’ll fly in Christmas Eve,” he said into the phone. He listened for a minute, then said, “Right, I’ll ring you when I get back off the plane tonight. I love you, too. Bye.” He flipped the phone closed. “I’ll have someone book the tickets for us as soon as I get back to the hotel tonight.”

“I still haven’t told my dad I’m not coming home,” I said, going to him and letting him take me in his arms. “I’ll do that this week sometime.”

He kissed my temple, and squeezed me closer. “When do you have to be back?”

“Actually, Nick said they’re shutting us down until New Year’s Eve,” I said softly. “So I get a full week, which surprises me.”

“I’m due back on the set a few days after New Year’s,” he said. “We’ll go to England for a week, then come back here for you to work, and I’ll fly back to the set from here. Sound good?”

I smiled up and him and nodded. “Sounds perfect,” I said, and kissed his lips lightly. “We should go so you don’t miss your flight.” I buried my face in his shoulder. “I don’t want you to leave, Orlando.” An overwhelming sadness swept through me, out of nowhere, at the thought of watching him fly away. It was almost better the last time when he’d left without me really knowing it.

“I know, sweetheart, I know,” he said, resting his cheek on the top of my head. “But it’s only for a little while, and then we’ll be together again.”

“I keep telling myself that,” I said, sighing as I reached up to kiss him softly. “It doesn’t make you leaving any easier.” I pulled away from him and went into the living room.

“Charlie, love, I have something for you,” he said, following me. I turned to face him. “I was going to wait until Christmas to give it to you, but I think you need it more now.” He went to his bag and pulled out a small velvet ring box. My breath hitched in my throat. He handed me the box. “Open it,” he said.

I took the box, trying to keep my hands from shaking. My thoughts were racing as I opened it, to reveal a small white gold ring, with a heart made out of diamonds. It was elegant and beautiful, and I absolutely loved it. I looked up at him, tears in my eyes. “Orlando, it’s stunning,” I said, taking the ring out of the box. “What’s it for?”

“It’s just a little something to let you know how much I love you,” he said, taking the ring from me and slipping it on my left hand. “A promise ring, you could say.”

I grinned. “Why do I feel like I’m in the fifth grade?” I teased, looking down at the pretty little heart. I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Thank you, darling,” I whispered, lightly nipping his earlobe.

“Things haven’t been easy lately, love, and I wanted to do something for you, to show you how special you are to me,” he said, his hands kneading my back gently. “I love you more than you’ll ever know.” He kissed me, a warm, gentle kiss that made my knees weak and my body tremble.

“You’re going to make me cry,” I said when we’d broke the kiss. “And you’re not making it any easier for me to say good-bye, you know.” I smirked up at him through the tears that had welled in my eyes.

“Shall we go, then?” he said, releasing me and picking up his bag. “The car to the airport is probably waiting downstairs.”

“If we must,” I sighed, going to the door. We went downstairs and into the waiting Lincoln Town Car Orlando’s agent had arranged for us. The ride to the airport was quiet, as neither of us felt the need to say anything. I leaned against his chest, with his arms around me, and savored the closeness of him, the warmth I felt from him.When we arrived at the airport, there were photographers and girls waiting and watching while Orlando and I walked quickly to his terminal. He checked in with the attendant at the gate, then turned to take me in his arms.

“Orlando, there are people everywhere,” I said, feeling a blush spread over my face as I noticed the camera flashes start.

“I’m not getting on that plane until I kiss you properly,” he whispered, his eyes intent on my face. “Just pretend they’re not even here.” He leaned in and brushed his lips lightly over mine, with just the barest contact, before locking me in a firm kiss. I wrapped my arms around him and stood up on my toes, to fit myself better against his body. The people around us just dissolved, and the only thing that mattered was Orlando. We didn’t separate until his final boarding call came over the PA system.

I pulled away, tears in my eyes. “Call me when you land,” I whispered as he pressed his forehead to mine. He looked down at me with sadness in his beautiful brown eyes, and I felt my heart plummet. I couldn’t bring myself to let go of him.

“I will,” he said, then kissed me again, briefly. “I love you, Charlie.”

“I love you, too,” I said as I let go of him. “Go, before I change my mind and take you back home with me.” I grinned up at him through my tears.

He nodded once, kissed me one final time, and boarded the flight. I stood there and watched until I couldn’t see him anymore, then sighed, turned, and walked out of the airport, back to the car. I didn’t say a word to the reporters who hounded me as I went, and breathed a sigh of relief when I got into the car. The tears finally started to roll down my face, and I cried the whole way home. I knew I’d be counting the days until Christmas Eve, when I’d see him again.

* * *

There was one final obstacle to take care of before I could fly to England with Orlando for Christmas. My dad had asked me about my time off numerous times, and I kept putting him off, telling him I wasn’t sure. A few days after Orlando left, I knew I had to tell him.

“I haven’t put up the tree yet, I thought we could do it together when you get home,” he was saying, excitement clear in his voice. “When does your time off start?”

“Dad, I need to talk to you about that,” I said hesitantly. My stomach was knotting wildly, and I had to take a deep breath to stop from shaking. “I’m not coming home for Christmas.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Charlotte,” he said, sounding amused. “They can’t make you work over Christmas.”

“That’s not what I mean,” I said, a slight tremor in my voice. “I’m going to England with Orlando for Christmas.” I waited for the explosion.

“No, you’re not,” he said simply, his tone firm. It was the same voice he’d used on me when I was young and wanted to climb trees and stay out late with the other kids. “You’re coming home. Christmas is about family.”

“Dad, I’m going to England,” I said calmly, fighting to not let his tone affect me. “This is my first Christmas with Orlando, and I plan to spend it with him.”

“What would your mother say?”

I froze. Of course he had to bring her up, had to throw her in my face. I wouldn’t take it. “I’m hoping she’d be happy that I’ve found someone who loves me and who I love,” I said softly. “I’m sure she’d understand.”

“Why do you never put your family first?” He sounded sad this time, rather than angry.

I sighed. “I do normally,” I said, my stomach wrenching uncomfortably. I had to sit down on my bed to keep from collapsing.

“No, Charlotte, you don’t,” he said. “Not since Orlando came along, anyway.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Language,” he said, almost absentmindedly. “It means simply that you’ve done nothing but choose him over us since you met him. I’ve watched your morals go steadily out the window, watched you lie to us and spend nights with him, both of which are things you were brought up to know better than. I don’t think he’s been a good influence on you.”

“Then why did you bring him to my opening?” I said, a single tear sliding down my face. “And why can’t you accept that I’m an adult, and can make my own decisions?”

“Tess invited him to the opening, not me,” he said firmly. “And the decisions you’ve made haven’t been so great. I’m disappointed in the way you’ve handled yourself, Charlotte.”

“I’ve made choices that make me happy, why can’t you just deal with that?” I was starting to get angry at him for not understanding me. I knew lying wasn’t the smartest thing I could have done, but I didn’t regret any of the other choices he’d talked about. My mother had always taught me to take love where I can and run with it, and watching her die had made me realize that I needed to take what happiness I could while it was there for the taking.

“I refuse to ‘deal’ with you being irresponsible and selfish,” he said, his voice pitched low, with anger very apparent in it. “You’re coming home for Christmas, and I don’t want to hear another word about it.”

There was such finality in his tone that I had trouble arguing with him. But I saw Orlando in my mind’s eye, heard him telling me how much he wanted me with him, to meet his family. I decided to try a different approach.

“Dad, do you think it’s fair that Orlando has spent an abundant amount of time with our family, and yet I’ve never met his?” I took a deep breath, waiting for his response.

“You can meet them another time, when it’s not Christmas.”

“We don’t have a lot of time off from work,” I pointed out slowly. “And the trip to England is a fairly long one. This is the only time that makes sense to go. I think he deserves the same respect that he’s given to us, don’t you?”

He didn’t say anything. “I still maintain that you’re putting a lot of effort into this fling,” he said after a pause.

“Is that what you think this is?” I said, anger bubbling up again inside me. “A fling?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I think it is,” he said. “I think you’re infatuated with a movie star, and in time it will wear off. Either he’ll tire of you, or you’ll just grow apart.”

“That was cruel,” I said, another tear sliding down my face. “And totally wrong. Orlando loves me, Dad, really loves me, otherwise, why would he be putting so much effort into seeing me? He doesn’t have to fly all over the place to be with me, but he does. He doesn’t have to call me from the set every chance he gets, but he does. And he didn’t have to give me a ring, but he did.”

“Oh Charlotte, don’t tell me you’re engaged.” I could almost see him rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“No, nothing like that,” I said quickly. I looked down at the ring Orlando had insisted I wear on my left hand. “He wanted me to know how much he loves me, Dad. And I love him.”

“You loved Ramsey, too, remember? And look how that turned out.”

“That was a low blow,” I said. “You should know by now that Orlando is nothing like Ramsey. He’s decent and caring, and he’d never do any of the things Ramsey has done. Why can’t you just accept that I’ve found who wants to be with me for the right reasons? Why can’t you let me live my life without always having to interfere?”

“I don’t interfere,” he said, and I could hear the hurt in his voice. “I only want what’s best for you, you should know that.”

“Then let me do what makes me happy.”

He sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, Charlotte, I shouldn’t have said what I did about Orlando. I have to tell you, it hurts that you’re not coming home for Christmas, but I’m sure we can work it out. It’s just hard to think of not having you here.”

“I know, Dad, believe me,” I said, my anger dissolving. He was finally starting to see this from my point of view. Lord knows I’d spent enough time worrying about his. “But it’s only one holiday, right? I’ll be home for the next big one. I just don’t want you to be alone, okay?”

“I’ll go to Tess’s and spend the day with the family there,” he said softly. “Don’t worry about me, you just do what you need to do. I’d say you’ve earned it.”

“How so?”

“You’ve put up with me being overprotective and overbearing since your mother died,” he said. “I’d say you’ve earned the right to go where you want when you want without me giving you a hard time.”

“You’re my dad, silly,” I said, smiling, even though he couldn’t see me. “You’re allowed to worry about me. I’d be a bit concerned if you didn’t.”

I felt a huge wave of relief flow over me. Now that I knew he wasn’t angry with me, I could have a better time with Orlando and his family. I’d miss my dad, of course, but I could deal with that. When I got off the phone, I pulled out my day planner. Less than ten days, and I would be on a plane with Orlando. I couldn’t wait.