A New York Love Story Read Free

please them, within limits and quickly.” He sighed. “However, you shouldn’t believe everything you read in magazines: seventy per cent of those articles are pure fantasy.”
    Clover faked surprise. “Are you telling me that it’s
not
true that you keep a spaceship in the garage of your mansion in LA?”
    â€œNo, I’m sorry to disappoint you…”
    â€œAnd don’t even have a girlfriend in every continent?”
    â€œI would be crazy! I would have to support each and every one of them.”
    â€œâ€¦ and you are not even an alien sent to earth to inseminate American women to improve our race?”
    Now he looked puzzled. “Where did you read
that
?”
    She laughed, “On a website!”
    â€œWe are bordering on the ridiculous.”
    â€œSuch a disappointment! You showed up here to deprive me of all my beliefs…”
    â€œYou already know that Santa Claus doesn’t exist, right?”
    Clover, melodramatically, put her hand on her heart, “That is a low blow! You are a monster.”
    â€œAnd you’re a nutcase!” He opened the gate with a sarcastic smile. “My friend should have warned me of the danger of having you as a neighbor, when he offered me his house.”
    Suddenly Clover got tense. “Your friend doesn’t know me at all…”
    â€œOr perhaps it’s exactly for this reason that he spends so much time out of town!”
    â€œMaybe…” Her good mood had disappeared in a flash. “I’ve got to go now. Have happy holidays, Mr Harrison.”
    She left, heading to her house. She tried to appear dignified, walking with confidence and purpose, not daring to look back. She had acted like a fool in front of
Mr
Hollywood
and didn’t want to give him even more of an advantage. She cursed through her teeth at the gate, when it squeaked in a sinister way, but she walked on with her head held high. Only when she was in the sanctuary of her house did she allow herself to turn. She looked through the peep hole on the front door. She couldn’t help feeling attracted by the magnetic presence of that actor on the other side of the street.
    â€œBravo Clover! Great performance…” she mumbled to herself, watching as he climbed the steps with a feline grace. “You find yourself face to face with a famous movie star, and you become aggressive and start talking about butts and magazine rumors, mercilessly provoking him!”
    As soon as she saw him disappear into his house, she moved away from the door, taking off her scarf, her hands trembling. Maybe her mother wasn’t so wrong to be ashamed of her.
    Nadia O’Brian was intent on living life and looking her best as she faced her middle years. She had decided to become
someone
. Actually she was only the testimonial for an anti-aging brand of cosmetic products, but to be in this milieu often gave her a chance to meet celebrities. Regardless of what they might think of her, she liked to count them among her dearest friends. Of course Clover never met any of these VIP’s: after all, her mother had a
reputation
to maintain. Clover, with her unrestrained attitude and rude behavior, was too much of a liability. She always exhorted her daughter to try to be more elegant and sophisticated, but without any success. Clover didn’t really care about appearances. She didn’t spend hours in front of the mirror, trying to match makeup, clothes and accessories. Although her style couldn’t really be called classy, nobody could accuse her of lacking honesty, or of playing the game. Ok, maybe she was too impulsive, sometimes even reckless, but what was the point of trying to be the new Grace Kelly? Whom should she enchant? Her mother? Truthfully, she had tried to, but without obtaining any more attention or consideration, she had given up. She seldom regretted being who she was, but now at this moment she thought that maybe a bit