Glamour (20 page)

“I got your letter,” Blake tells me after we walk over to the waiting area.

“Huh?” I wonder what he means, then suddenly remember that late-night letter I wrote before the Bahamas trip. It seems so long ago. “Oh …” I just nod. “Right.”

“I think we should talk.”

“Yeah, I do too,” I admit. “But the truth is I’m exhausted right now, Blake. I can barely think.” I tell him about the hurricane, Fran’s illness, and the emergency flight … followed by Mollie’s delivery. “I’m emotionally drained.”

“That’s understandable.” And thankfully, without questioning me further, Blake offers to take me home. I don’t refuse. It’s surreal as we walk through the parking garage and get into his car—like
where am I, get here?
I feel like I’m in a fog as he drives me home. But I also feel like I’m safe—like I’m in good hands—and it feels good to be with him. He even walks me all the way to my door.

“Thanks,” I tell him. “You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

He smiles and I’m surprised at how much that smile comforts me. “You seem pretty beat, Erin. Get some rest and then give me a call, okay?”

“I will,” I promise. And still I just stand there, staring at him.

He leans over and gives me a gentle kiss on the forehead. Nothing more … nothing less. But as I go into the condo, I think it was perfect. It could be sheer exhaustion, but I think maybe he understands me better than I thought.

I go into the condo, drop my bag, and take a short shower followed by a nice long nap. When I wake up it’s to the sound of the phone. The house phone. I pick it up to hear my sister wailing on the other end.

“Oh, Erin,” she cries with too much emotion.
“You’re there!”

“Yes. I’m here. What’s up?”

She makes a choked sob. “It’s—it’s
Dylan.”

“Oh no!” I suddenly remember how he’d gone missing during the hurricane—is it possible he was hurt? “What happened?” I ask quietly.

And then she pours out her story—and it’s nothing like I was imagining (a tragic scenario where Dylan was killed beneath a collapsed building or in a car wreck). No, Paige is telling me she’s just discovered that Dylan was with Eliza last night.

“You’re kidding.” I feel a sinking realization as I remember my concerns after we taped the
Britain’s Got Style
show.

“No! He spent the night with her,” she sobs. “How could he do that to me?”

“Oh, Paige. I am so sorry.”

“Mom—she said that you guys saw Eliza and Dylan leave together yesterday — ”

“That doesn’t mean they actually slept together,” I say suddenly. “I mean, you can’t assume that just because they spent the night … There was that storm and maybe they got stuck some — ”

“Eliza admitted the whole thing to me,” Paige says sadly. “Just a few minutes ago, down in the hotel lobby.”

“Seriously?”

“Oh, she was acting all coy, like she had this big secret
and she didn’t want me to figure it out. But when I asked her point blank, she laid it all out. Like she wanted to make sure I understood.”

“That was just Eliza’s version,” I try. “Have you spoken to Dylan yet?”

“No … but I think she was telling the truth.” Paige’s voice is quiet and flat.

“But you don’t know for sure, Paige. And you do know that girl has a mean streak. She’s always been jealous of you. Maybe she’s just setting you up.”

“Oh, Erin, I wish you were here.” Now she’s crying again.

“It’s going to be okay, Paige. You’ll get through this. I know you will.”

“I just can’t believe he’d do that to me. I thought—I thought he loved me.”

“I thought he did too, Paige.”

“But you don’t do that to someone you love.”

“I don’t know … I mean, I don’t think so. You really need to talk to Dylan, Paige. You need to hear his side. Just in case he’s innocent.”

“I
know
he’s not innocent.” Her tone gets cold now. “In my heart, I know he did it. And I have a feeling he was just using me—right from the beginning, Erin. Remember when we were in Paris, he was worried about his future as a designer? He thought he was on his way out.”

“I guess …” Now I remember how I was the one who talked to him during the paparazzi problems in London, how I encouraged him to try again with Paige. I swallow hard. Is this my fault?

“And getting engaged to me brought him fresh publicity,” she continues. “It was like his ticket to another season.”

“Really?
You honestly believe that?”

“I didn’t believe it then. I was too swept away. But I believe it now. Dylan knew what he was doing all along. And he used me.”

“Oh …” There’s so much I want to say to her right now. But so much of it would be useless … thoughtless … pointless. I just don’t want to go there. Besides that, I’ve barely recovered from all that’s happened to me in the past twenty-four hours. I don’t trust myself to say what I really think. And so I simply say, “I’m sorry, Paige.”

“I wish I’d come home with you. I can’t stand being here. And Mom just doesn’t get it. She’s acting like it’s all going to blow over—like the aftermath of the hurricane. We’ll just sweep it up and everything will be peachy keen.”

“I really am sorry, Paige. I wish there was something more that I could do or say. This shouldn’t have happened to you. You don’t deserve this.”

She sniffs. “I
trusted him.”

“I know you did. And you can’t be sorry for that.”

“But it hurts so much. To give my heart like that … and now this. What is wrong with me, Erin? Why do I attract this kind of trouble? I mean, first Ben, and now Dylan. I just want to know why!”

“I don’t know why. You are an amazing person, Paige, and you deserve an equally amazing guy.”

“Thanks.”

“And you know that I love you, Paige. Even if Mom’s acting weird right now, you know she loves you too. We’re both here for you, Paige. You’re not alone in this.”

“I know. And that’s a comfort. I just—just want to come home,” she sobs.

“Why don’t you? It sounds like there’s not much more you can do there anyway. Why not just wrap it up?”

“Yeah … maybe so.”

“And when you get home, we’ll sit down and talk this all out. Just like sisters should.”

“Yeah … and maybe I’ll do like you, Erin — just keep the guys at arm’s length for a while.”

“Maybe … but maybe not. There’s some guy stuff I want to talk to you about too, Paige.”

“Really?” She sounds genuinely curious.

“Really.” I sigh. “I need my sister.”

She sniffs. “I need my sister too.”

We express our love for each other again and as we hang up, I feel genuine grief for Paige’s loss. I know she is hurting—deeply. But somehow I believe this is going to be a good thing too. She’s going to learn some powerful lessons from all this pain, and eventually it will make her stronger. I also know I will be here for her. I will stand by her through her heartache, just like I hope she would stand by me. Growing up is hard to do, but I think if we don’t give up and if we help each other, we can get through it. And someday we’ll look back on this whole thing and just laugh. That’s my hope.

ON THE RUNWAY SERIES

Premiere
(Book One)
Catwalk
(Book Two)
Rendezvous
(Book Three)
Spotlight
(Book Four)

CARTER HOUSE GIRLS SERIES

Mixed Bags
(Book One)
Stealing Bradford
(Book Two)
Homecoming Queen
(Book Three)
Viva Vermont!
(Book Four)
Lost in Las Vegas
(Book Five)
New York Debut
(Book Six)
Spring Breakdown
(Book Seven)
Last Dance
(Book Eight)

BOOKS FOR TEENS

The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor series
Diary of a Teenage Girl series
TrueColors series
Notes from a Spinning Planet series
Degrees series
Piercing Proverbs
By Design series

WOMEN’S FICTION

These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking
On This Day
An Irish Christmas
The Christmas Bus
Crystal Lies
Finding Alice
Three Days

1. According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary,
   glamour
   is defined as “a magic spell; an exciting and often illusory and romantic.” How does the definition impact your understanding of the title of this book?
   
2. Erin takes on a lot of responsibility in
   Glamour
   because of Fran’s illness. She takes care of Fran, helps keep the show running, and keeps an enormous secret from Helen and Paige. Do you think Erin did the right thing by keeping Fran’s secret? How would you have handled the situation?
   
3. When the two sisters hit the beach in the Bahamas, Erin refuses to take off her sarong and reveal her body. As
   
4. result Paige claims Erin isn’t helping her body image cause. Erin eventually relents and unties her sarong, saying, “This is for all you girls out there who worry about not looking like a model. I don’t look like one either. We need to just get over it and be thankful that we are the way we are.” Would you have done what Erin did? Why or why not?
   
5. When Erin finds out Fran has cancer, she’s understandably upset. Shauna, the girls’ makeup artist, says a positive attitude is life changing, a kind of “internal makeover.” When you’re down, what do you do to make over your attitude?
   
6. Throughout the series Erin continues to have a mixed attitude toward fashion and
   On the Runway.
   After unintentionally missing a big fashion show Erin states, “I decide I don’t really care. Let them fire me. It’s not like I
   
7. ever wanted to be part of this crazy ride in the first place. Fashion is
   so
   not my thing. And yet I was actually enjoying it today. It figures that as soon as I’m having a good time, I make everyone else mad.” What do you attribute to Erin’s attitude? Do you think Erin continues to do the show solely for Paige’s benefit? Or is something else pulling inside Erin?
   
8. After taking care of Fran and receiving very little thanks in return, Erin feels unappreciated. Have you ever been in a similar situation? What did you do?
   
9. Erin and Paige fight when Paige allows Dylan to spend the night in the girls’ condo. Paige defends herself claiming she and Dylan are engaged and therefore it’s normal and completely acceptable. Regardless of her sister’s reasoning, Erin is adamantly against the idea. What do you think of the situation?
   
10. While Paige has no problem attaching herself to Dylan, Erin is more reluctant in relationships and continues to keep Blake at a distance. Why do you think she continually pushes Blake away though she claims to care for him?
    
11. The book ends with Paige thinking Dylan cheated on her. Erin suggests that Eliza is lying to Paige and that Dylan merely slept in Eliza’s hotel room. Paige is still unsure. Did Erin do the right thing? How do predict the situation will be resolved in the final book?
    
12. Both Paige and Erin’s lives have been affected by appearing on
    On the Runway
    —both have fame and gain some personal satisfaction from their involvement, and grow closer as sisters, but in this book they also suffer some personal losses, from Erin losing her connection to Mollie and almost missing Fern’s birth to Paige getting involved with Dylan and dealing with emotional highs and lows because of him. Looking at all the girls’ experiences, do you think the show as a whole has been a good thing for them?
    

Los Angeles is always hot in the summertime,
but when July stays in the triple digits for a week straight, I am ready to evacuate to my grandma’s house in the mountains.

“You can’t leave me,” Mollie protests as I’m visiting her and two-week-old Baby Fern. “I’m stuck here and I would be totally lost without you.”

“You guys could come with me,” I say quietly as I rock the baby in my arms. Fern’s almost asleep now, sucking on her pacifier, eyelashes fluttering on her cheeks.

Mollie chuckles. “Yeah, right. You’ve told me how your grandmother lives—it’s like going back in time. No, thank you. Besides, what about your grandma’s new boyfriend? She might not want any company with him around.”

“That’s possible.” I lean over the side of Fern’s crib, trying not to disturb her as I gently lay her down, adjusting her pacifier and tucking the baby blanket around her. Fortunately, Mollie’s basement apartment stays nice and cool despite this heat wave.

Satisfied that Fern is down for the count, we go to the other side of the room where we open some sodas and I pop
my
Britain’s Got Style
disc into her DVD player. The episode already aired in England, but it won’t be on our show until early August. “Like I told you, Paige was supposed to be a judge,” I explain as Mollie turns on the TV.

“But she was nursing a hangover,” Mollie fills in.

“Right. Anyway, I was wearing an earpiece, and Dylan was supposed to be feeding me fashion critique.”

“Seriously?” She frowns at me.

“Yeah, it sounds lame now, but at the time it made sense.”

“So what’s going on with that jerk anyway?” She pauses the DVD. “Give me the dirt on Dylan.”