She marched on him, but he pushed her against the wall and pinned her with a long kiss.
"Lovely fight between lovers," Shantel said, delighted.
"Oh, gods." Astrid sighed when Pierrick allowed her to breathe again. "You're crazy, Pierrick."
"Yes, I'm crazy for you," he replied, holding her tight.
She freed herself with a huff and went back to Shantel.
"So you're leaving again for the ceremony?" she asked.
"Yes. And you're coming with me. I'm taking David as my partner on the red carpet, since you already have one!"
"I don't know, I don't think that I deserve that award," she grumbled, staring at her feet.
"Of course you do! And then we can come back, relax for a couple of weeks and then plunge right back in!"
"I don't know, Shantel..."
"What? You're giving up the dream?" Shantel glared at her.
"No, she's not. She's going to make a few more movies," Pierrick answered faster than Astrid. "Chun Stawbridge has a great script for you both – a sweet comedy to lift our spirits – with Pierrick Asher-Sorrell producing. Then she's going to get married to her producer who will lead her to galactic fame with more and more projects that will make her beauty shine among the stars, making her the queen of movies!"
"Will you stop kidding?" Astrid protested.
"I'm very serious," he replied, as his smile vanished. "I will boost your career, but only if you marry me. And I'll always be by your side, protecting you from nasty journalists and horny co-stars."
"Would that be Waylon Shilling?" Shantel asked with a chuckle.
"One of them," Pierrick replied. "Are you on, Miss Malandra? Polygamy is not allowed, so I will not marry you, but I can be your manager too, if you wish."
"No thanks, unless you take on theater productions. I'm a stand-up comedian, and I joined the Galactic Theatrical Company."
"Yes, we saw you when you played at the Mega Arena, but someone was too shy to come backstage and say hello." Pierrick winked.
Shantel glared at Astrid. "You should have come. I might have been able to let you in. That company is everything I dreamed of. And I love the live audience's reactions."
"Which I hate," Astrid grumbled. "I still get stage fright."
"I don't. Never did," Shantel said with a huff. "But now I better go home – got things to discuss with my parents first. See you later."
"Hey!" Astrid tried to stop her, then turned to Pierrick, furious. They'd forgotten to ask her if she agreed! "I won't let my boyfriend and my best friend to decide my life for me!" she warned.
"I thought you'd be up to it," Pierrick replied with a big grin. "I produce screen stories and you like to act for the screen. You can fire that useless agent of yours and let me take care of your career for the time being. I love you, Astrid, Anjali or whatever you want to be called, and I want to spend my life with you and make all your dreams come true."
"But..."
"Leave the 'but' for later," he whispered, pulling her in his arms to kiss her with love and tenderness.
Acknowledgments
Star Minds Next Generation - Kaylow
Beta-readers Barbara "Abby" Palmer and Joleene Naylor and mighty editor Zoe Markham.
King of Music – Zaphadin
Beta-readers: B-Abby P., Eve Marie, Joleene N. and Jennifer B. Editing by Eve Marie.
Star Minds Next Generation – Astrid
Beta-reader: B-Abby P. Editor Zoe Markham.
***
About the Author
Barbara G.Tarn had an intense life in the Middle Ages that stuck to her through the centuries. She prefers swords to guns, long gowns to mini-skirts, and even though she buried the warrior woman, she deplores the death of knights in shining chainmail. She likes to think her condo apartment is a medieval castle, unfortunately lacking a dungeon to throw noisy neighbors and naughty colleagues in. Also known as the Lady with the Unicorns, these days she prefers to add a touch of fantasy to all her stories, past and present – when she’s not wandering on her fantasy world of Silvery Earth or in her science fantasy Star Minds Universe. She dabbles into historical fantasy with her Vampires Through the Centuries series and has started post-apocalyptic/steampunk series called Future Earth Chronicles. She’s a writer, sometimes artist, mostly a world-creator and story-teller. Two of her stories received an Honorable Mention at the Writers of the Future contest and one was published in Pulphouse Magazine #5 (March 2019). She writes, draws, ignores her day job and blogs at: http://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com.
For more info on the series or other titles go to Unicorn Productions.
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review on your retailer of choice, thank you.
Did you love Star Minds Chasing Stardom? Then you should read Rogue (Star Minds Lone Wolves) by Barbara G.Tarn!
Hal Keller has been hiding on Friport for two years when the Galaxy Police offer a bounty for the capture of Mr. H. Unable to catch the interstellar thief who might be his biological father, Hal decides to follow in his footsteps.
A young, untrained telepath quickly becomes a thief with skills nobody else has, except maybe his mysterious biological father. A rogue lone wolf loose in the Milky Way, a Star Minds Universe novella.
Includes "Mother" or how Lyssa Keller met mysterious Hal during a festival and gave birth to his son, raising him on her own.
Read more at Barbara G.Tarn’s site.
Also by Barbara G.Tarn
Future Earth Chronicles
Brainwaves (Future Earth Chronicles Book 1)
Wanderlust (Future Earth Chronicles Book 2)
Across Continents (Future Earth Chronicles Book 3)
Himalayas (Future Earth Chronicles Book 4)
Airships (Future Earth Chronicles Book 5)
Silvery Earth
Books of the Immortals - Air
Books of the Immortals - Earth
Books of the Immortals - Ether
Books of the Immortals - Fire
Books of the Immortals - Water
Chronicles of the Varian Empire - Volume 1
Chronicles of the Varian Empire - Volume 2
Chronicles of the Varian Empire - Volume 3
Male Lovers of Silvery Earth
Amazon Spring
Amazon Summer
Books of the Immortals
The Hooded Man
Kilig & Hakeem
Saif & Kilig
Kilig the Sword
The Young King
Firebird
Beautiful
Amazon Fall
The Path of Water (Quests Book 1)
The Path of Fire (Quests Book 2)
Tales of the Northern Kingdoms volume 1
Tales of the Northern Kingdoms volume 2
Male Lovers of Silvery Earth Volume 2
Fairy Tales Revisited on Silvery Earth
Tales of the Queendom of Maadre
More Tales of the Southern Kingdoms (One Volume Edition)
Tales of the Southern Kingdoms (One Volume Edition)
The Path of Air (Quests Book 3)
Quests Volume One: The Paths of Water and Air
The Path of Earth (Quests Book 4)
Quests Volume Two: The Paths of Fire and Earth
Talwar and Khanda - Assassins in Love
Saif's Story
Honorable Assassins
Axelle, Wanderer (Silvery Earth Heroines)
The Complete Chronicles of the Varian Empire Box Set
Assassins Guild of Silvery Earth Box Set
Fall of the Southern Kingdoms
Angelica, Scholar (Silvery Earth Heroines)
Two Stories of the Varian Empire
Male Lovers of Silvery Earth Volume 3
The Sun Sword (Legends of the Moren Empire Volume 1)
Quests Box Set
Star Minds Italiano
Angelo Tecno
logico (Star Minds #1)
Mercanti di Schiavi (Star Minds #3)
Star Minds - la trilogia
Stella Cadente
Legame Mentale (Star Minds #2)
Star Minds Frammenti - Donne
Star Minds Frammenti
Star Minds Universe
Star Minds - The Trilogy
Star Minds Snippets
Star Minds Next Generation
Star Minds Next Generation Diaries
Star Minds Chasing Stardom
Star Minds Interregnum
Star Minds Third Generation Snippets
Star Minds Starter
Adventurer (Star Minds Lone Wolves)
Pilot (Star Minds Lone Wolves)
Hacker (Star Minds Lone Wolves)
Thief (Star Minds Lone Wolves)
Mercenary (Star Minds Lone Wolves)
Freelance (Star Minds Lone Wolves)
Star Minds Lone Wolves Shorts
Star Minds Lone Wolves Team - Missions 1-5
Star Minds Lone Wolves Team - Missions 6-10
Star Minds Lone Wolves Team - Missions 11-15
Star Minds Lone Wolves Team - Missions 16-20
Star Minds Lone Wolves Team - Missions 26-29
Rogue (Star Minds Lone Wolves)
Terra d'Argento in italiano
Amori Maschili a Terra d'Argento
L'eredità di Saif
Smeraldo e Kyrio
Il giovane re
Saif e Kilig
Vampires Through the Centuries
Charioteer of Buddha
Indestructible
Kaylyn the Sister-in-Darkness
Kristine the Youngest
Norman Blood
Rajveer the Vampire
Shashank the Fledgling
Vampires Through the Centuries Novellas
Standalone
Johnny & Marian
Six Months and Other Love Stories
Best of Friends
Ciaran & Harith
Happiness is...
Choices, Changes and Other Stories
Pat & Babs
Body Switches
Yash and Ryo Lost in the Milky Way
Today People
Soul Thieves
The Fern and The Cross
Otherside
Joint Operations
Relationships (5 Short Stories of Love and Friendship)
Mumbai Dreams
Watch for more at Barbara G.Tarn’s site.