Lovestruck in Los Angeles (17 page)

He didn’t seem to notice anything was wrong, however. “Hey, guys,” he said easily, shaking Thomas’s hand. He leaned down to kiss both my cheeks. “I’m so glad you could make it, Lizzie. It’s very nice to see you again.”

I was impressed he had remembered my name, and more impressed by how warm and welcoming he was.

“Come in, come in,” he urged us, leading the way into the great room. “There’s plenty of food and drink, so help yourselves.”

“Thanks, Jenner,” Thomas said. I was momentarily surprised to see his grim mood from the car completely gone. Had our little giggle over the size of the house cheered him up so much? Or was it possible I was witnessing some of his lauded acting skills in person? It gave me a bad feeling, for some reason, to see him so suddenly cheerful.

“Your house is lovely,” I said, wanting to be polite. “It’s actually kind of breathtaking.”

“Thanks.” His tone was casual, as if we weren’t talking about a twenty-million dollar piece of property. “It’s good for privacy.”

“I was telling Lizzie about the basement pool,” Thomas said, winking at me. “You’ll have to give her a tour later.”

Jenner laughed. “It’s a little silly, isn’t it? The guy I bought this place from was a real show off. Didn’t help him much when the economy went bust.”

So Jenner hadn’t installed the pool himself. I wondered, vaguely, what his house in Michigan was like. I had a feeling it wasn’t anything like this.

“I have to go have a word with the caterer,” Jenner said, once we’d joined the crowd of guests milling about the room, drinking and socializing. “I’ll find you guys later, okay?” He pointed at the long buffet tables on the far side of the room. “Help yourselves.”

After he was gone, I took the opportunity to look around the room. Without Jenner there, it suddenly felt intimidating. It was vast and open and filled with amazingly good-looking people in expensive cocktail dresses and suits. Would they all be able to tell that my dress had cost $39 on sale at Macy’s? I caught a statuesque brunette’s eyes on me—surely she was a model, with a body like that—and was sure she could, in fact, tell exactly how much I had spent on my dress.

I tightened my grip on Thomas’s hand, and he wordlessly pulled me toward him. “Let’s get a drink,” he said. “Then I’ll introduce you to a few people.”

I nodded, terrified at the prospect of talking to anyone in this room.
Get a hold of yourself, Lizzie
.
You have no reason to feel bad about yourself. You don’t even know these people.

Thomas poured us each a glass of gin and tonic. I tried not to gulp mine too fast. The icy fire of the drink was exactly what I needed to calm my nerves. “Okay, let’s get some of this unpleasantness over,” Thomas muttered, his eyes scanning the crowd. “Then we can both relax.”

It dawned on me that Thomas was no more comfortable in this kind of crowd then I was. The realization made me feel better immediately, as if we were allies, and I squeezed his hand. I could smile and be polite for a few hours, even if I would rather be at home with a bottle of wine and a book. It was for Thomas’s career, and he needed me to be supportive. So I plastered on my biggest smile and followed him over to a small cluster of people.

“Hello, Jonathan,” Thomas said warmly, placing a hand on the shoulder of the closest man. He looked to be in his late forties, dressed in a dark suit with no tie and the top buttons undone to show off his tanned chest. His hair was dark, wavy, and over-styled with gel. I had no idea who he was, but I could tell just by looking at him that he was important. There was something in the way he carried himself, something in his air, that bespoke success.

“Thomas!” Jonathan replied warmly, shaking his hand with enthusiasm. “How wonderful to see you. I’m hearing good things, my man, very good things.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Thomas said, grinning. He pulled me forward a little. “Gentlemen, this is my lovely girlfriend, Lizzie. Lizzie, this is Jonathon Ginelli, the producer of our little film. And these are his associates, Peter, Ken, and Henry.”

Jonathon stepped toward me, taking both of my hands in his and leaning down to kiss my cheek. “Lizzie, I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s wonderful to meet you.”

“Thank you.” I did my best not to mumble or blush, though his greeting had been a bit overwhelming. Maybe it was a Hollywood thing. The other men in the group raised their hands in greeting, but no one else tried to kiss me, thankfully. With the introductions out of the way, Jonathon quickly asked Thomas something about the film. I thought they were talking about the cinematography, but it sounded complicated and technical to me. I did my best to look engaged even though I was bored within a few seconds.

“Sorry, Lizzie,” Thomas said suddenly, squeezing my hand. “We’re talking too much shop, aren’t we?”

Jonathon laughed before draining his drink. “This can’t be too interesting for you,” he said, winking at me. “So, tell me, how are you enjoying Malibu?”

“It’s wonderful. Such a beautiful place to live.” I felt shy with all of their eyes on me. “We just love being so close to the water.”

“Are you originally from a place near the ocean?”

I laughed. “No, I’m from Detroit. Quite a ways from the ocean.”

“You’ll miss it when it’s time to go home,” Jonathan said, and I nodded.

“We’re just trying to store up as much sunshine in our bones as possible. We’re in London now, and it gets pretty cold there in the winter.”

“Well, if I have my way, this guy will be spending plenty of time here in Los Angeles in the future,” Jonathan said, slapping Thomas on the shoulder again. He grinned in return, but I was pretty sure there was a tightness near his eyes. Was this Jonathan person trying to convince Thomas to relocate to L.A.?

“He tells me the two of you love London, though. What do you think, Lizzie? Wouldn’t you rather move here where it’s sunny and warm?”

I looked from Jonathon to Thomas, not knowing how to respond. “Well, London is home. We have been very happy here in California though.”

Jonathon laughed again. “I like that. A very diplomatic answer in a town that’s usually very opinionated. Hang on to this one, man.”

“Oh, I plan to.” Thomas winked at me.

“Look, there’s Hunter,” Jonathon said, waving at someone across the room. “Will you all please excuse me?” He turned to me again, taking my hand. “It was delightful to meet you, Lizzie. I hope we’ll see you again soon. My wife and I have a weekend place in Malibu. You must have dinner with us.”

“Of course.” I managed not to flinch this time when he kissed my cheek, then Thomas was saying goodbye to the other men and pulling me along.

“Well done, love. That man controls all the money for the entire production.” He let out a long breath. “Hardest part’s over.”

“You’re better at schmoozing than you led me to believe,” I said.

He poked me. “You’re one to talk. You were pretty charming with those guys, Lizzie. You could have a career in L.A., you know.”

I snorted. “Yeah, sure.” I paused. “Are we going to have to have dinner with him and his wife?”

It was Thomas’s turn to snort. “‘Wife.’ That woman is about nineteen years old and has more plastic in her than flesh.”

I moaned. “Oh, God. I have no idea how to entertain people like that.”

“Don’t worry. Jonathan is usually really busy, so I doubt he’ll get around to it. I’m surprised he was here, actually.”

I was about to ask Thomas what Jonathan had meant about wanting him to move to LA., but another party-goer chose that moment to call out a greeting to him. “Sorry, love. Here we go again,” Thomas said, kissing my wrist before leading me to the next cluster of people he needed to network with.

It went on like that for most of the night. Everyone in that room seemed to know who Thomas was, and most of them were eager to get their few minutes of face time with him. The reaction to me was anywhere from genuinely friendly to patronizing to complete disinterest. I did my best to keep a broad smile on my face regardless. My cheeks ached within the first hour.

I wasn’t truly happy to talk to anyone until Thomas finally led me to a group that included Jenner himself and the co-star of the new movie, Annie Duncan. Annie was a gorgeous redhead about Thomas’s age. I’d met her once before and was pleased to find that she was a totally normal, down-to-earth person. And, best of all, she was from Detroit, too.

“Lizzie,” she said, smiling broadly at me. “I’m so glad to see you.” She poked Thomas in the side with her elbow. “Working with this guy I feel like I know you already, he talks about you so much.”

For a brief second I felt a stomach-clenching jolt of jealousy. It was hard, sometimes, knowing that Thomas’s job included working so closely with gorgeous movie stars. But the look in her eyes when she looked at him quickly put me at ease. It was clear that she liked Thomas, but there was nothing but friendly admiration in her face. And I could tell, somehow, that she wasn’t joking when she said he talked about me all the time. I felt better.

“I hear a lot about you too,” I said, realizing that my face no longer ached with this smile—probably because it was the first genuine one of the evening.

“This is my Nate,” she said, nudging the tall blond man next to her. He was handsome and tall but looked pretty much like your average guy—not really who I would expect a movie star to be dating.

“Nate is from Michigan, too,” Thomas told me. “Right, Annie?”

She snorted. “Hardly. He’s from the east coast. He just likes to pretend he’s cool enough to be a Detroiter.”

“I live in the city now,” he said. “I can’t help where I was born.”

She rolled her eyes, but I could tell he enjoyed the teasing.

“So, Lizzie,” Annie said, turning to me. “How are you handling the madness of LaLa Land?”

“What do you mean?”

She held her arms out to encompass the whole room. “I mean, all of this. The lovey-kissy fawning and the behind-your-back death glares. The gossip and the judgment. Isn’t it fabulous?”

Thomas was laughing. “Didn’t I tell you Annie was one of us?” He bent down and said, in a loud stage whisper, “She’s
normal
.”

“Don’t let any directors hear you say that,” she said. “They’ll take away my actress card right away.”

I laughed too, realizing that Thomas was right. Annie was completely normal. “It’s a little strange sometimes,” I said. “Everyone here seems to be very…tall.”

She laughed. “You’re so right. What is with that? Is it something they put in the water, or do all the tall people from the other fifty states just flock here?” She leaned into me. “Has anyone asked you if you have representation yet?”

I nodded. “Yeah, actually. Some guy by the bathroom asked me that an hour ago.”

“Ninety-nine percent of the time they’re creepers. Stay clear.”

“Don’t listen to Annie,” Jenner said, smiling at her in a fond way. “She’s well known for being way too skeptical.”

“I am not,” Annie protested, but Nate only laughed.

A man with a camera approached Jenner and whispered something in his ear. “You’re right,” Jenner said out loud. “Hey, guys, let’s get a few shots of the cast before people start taking off.”

Thomas looked at me uncertainly, but I shooed him away. “I’m fine. Go ahead.”

He still didn’t look completely sold, but he allowed himself to be ushered over to the grand staircase, along with Annie, Jenner, and many of the executives we had talked to throughout the night. I watched them for a minute, smiling when Thomas’s eyes would meet mine.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my arm and turned, thinking maybe it was Nate. I gasped. “Jackson! What are you doing here?”

Jackson Coles grinned at me. “Hello to you too, Lizzie.”

I blushed. “I didn’t mean it like that. You just surprised me! Thomas didn’t say you’d be here.”

“I’m not sure he knew,” Jackson said, his hand still on my arm. “Come with me. I want to get a drink.”

I shot a glance back at Thomas, but one of the suited men was standing in front of him. “Oh, come on,” Jackson said. “You don’t need permission, do you?”

“Of course not. I just don’t want him to be worried.”

“We’ll stay in the room, Lizzie.” Jackson rolled his eyes. “I promise not to abscond with you somewhere.”

I laughed. “Okay, let’s go find a drink.”

Jackson led me to a passing waiter, snagged us each a glass of champagne, and then led the way to an abandoned white suede and chrome couch. “Swanky digs,” he said, plopping down on the couch. I sat next to him, careful not to spill my drink. The couch probably cost more than I made in a year.

“I didn’t even know you were in California,” I said. “Are you working?”

He shook his head, his blond-streaked messy hair flopping over his forehead. “Nah, just making an appearance. My agent is trying to get me into some new project in the fall, and one of the producers is here. Thought I should put some face time in, you know?”

“Wow, that’s a pretty serious flight for some face time.”

He laughed. “My job is much less glamorous than most would think.” His eyes found mine. “Then again, you probably totally get that now, don’t you?”

“I guess I do.”

He looked around. “So where is Tommy, eh? Leaving you alone at a party like this hardly seems like him.”

“Duty called.” I pointed to the group by the stairs.

“Ah, yes, more of that same glamorous life. So, let me guess, you’ve had to suck up to a bunch of rich movie people tonight that wouldn’t give you the time of day if you weren’t here with that guy?” He gave me that cheeky grin of his, and I laughed in spite of myself.

“How did you know?”

“Let’s just say I’ve been to plenty of these things in my day.” He watched me for a minute. “What I haven’t seen much of, though, is someone’s girl going through all of it with him when there’s nothing in it for her.”

I shifted on the couch, not liking the turn of this conversation. “What are you talking about? There are plenty of people here with a boyfriend or girlfriend who isn’t in the business themselves.”

“Think again. I’d be willing to bet that a majority of the plus-ones in this room are hoping to get something out of the event.” He pointed at the same brunette I’d noticed when we first arrived. “Aspiring model, I guarantee it. Her boyfriend gets the honor of escorting a beautiful, impressive woman, and she gets to network with studio big wigs and directors. Win, win.”