Page 41
Chapter Nineteen
“Oh my gosh! I’ve always wanted to go here!”
As amazing as the limo ride had been—Tessa was never going to tire of that experience, even though she’d had it several times in the past couple of days—seeing the Griffith Observatory up close was even better.
“Well, no trip to L.A. is complete without a visit to the Observatory,” Damon said as he held the door for her so she could exit the luxury automobile. “I guess you’re not just visiting the city. So, let me rephrase that. Every Angeleno has to come to the Observatory at least once.”
Tessa was going to respond but couldn’t quite find the words as she looked up at the sprawling Art Deco structure that stood prominently atop Mount Hollywood.
Behind it, Los Angeles stretched on and on.
But that was far below, on the ground. Up here, it was a whole other world full of magic and wonder. Not only would Tessa be able to see space from there, she’d be close to it too!
She didn’t realize Damon had her hand in his and was guiding her until they were a few feet away from the limo as it safely pulled away.
Mmm. That felt nice. But it didn’t last. He let go as soon as they were off the pavement and on the grass.
The building was still quite a distance away, but the manicured lawn with its shady trees and smooth, paved pathways was just as inviting, so Tessa wouldn’t mind the walk.
In the center of the front grounds was a tall monolith, and Tessa grabbed Damon’s hand once she spotted it and yanked him behind her as she began to run.
“That’s the Astronomers’ Monument! And did you know it’s a working sundial? It’s the coolest!”
Damon chuckled. “Whoa there, honey. Slow down. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
She realized what she was doing and let go of his hand while she slowed her speed to a regular walking pace.
“Sorry. It’s just that I’ve dreamed of coming here for so long.”
“Really? The city or the Observatory specifically?”
“Both. But this place. I guess because it’s so famous. I mean, you see it in a ton of movies. But I would go to the library and check out books about Los Angeles and a lot of them had this building on the cover! And every one of them had at least one chapter about it. I read as much as I could find. I’d get on the library computer and use different street-view apps to look at it all, imagining I was here.” She sighed. “And now I am.”
Tessa drank in the sight of the monument and building beyond it.
It didn’t bother her that there were dozens—probably hundreds—of people milling about. Griffith was a popular place!
That was a good thing, though. The magic wasn’t just for her. It belonged to everyone.
“Come on, Little Miss Tessa. Let’s get you inside the place you’ve dreamed of,” Damon said.
Inside was like being transported to outer space, and Tessa loved every second of her time in there. But the real treasure, she decided, was outside, where she could look off the mountain, see the Hollywood sign in the distance, and wonder what all the people down on the ground were doing as they marched along the maze that was Los Angeles.
The only thing that could have made the moment better was if Damon would have stood behind her, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist while giving her soft kisses on the neck.
Stop thinking like that right now! This isn’t a date, Tessa!
Eventually, Damon would work things out with Lissa. There was no world in which he would pick poor Tessa Kincaid from a factory city outside of Pittsburgh over Lissa Keller, one of the planet’s hottest movie stars.
Things like that only happened in those rom-coms that Lissa was famous for!
“So, is the city as magical as you thought it would be?”
Tessa stopped contemplating the feelings she was developing for Damon but kept her eyes trained on the sprawling urban scene that lay down the mountain.
“It’s even better.” After glancing around to make sure there wasn’t anyone nearby along the cream-colored, waist-high plaster railing that stretched around the scenic lookout spot, she continued. “I’ve known I’m a Little since, well… I guess as far back as I can remember. At first, I didn’t know there were other people like me. But once I got online, and started reading romance books, and stuff like that, I realized that I wasn’t alone. That’s when I got the idea to move to a bigger community one day. A community that had people like me.”
Her eyes darted from the awe-inspiring view to Damon. He was watching her, not the city.
