Secrets (33 page)

But he felt sad anyway as he walked into Mel's office that afternoon. It was like coming home to visit his father and he felt as though he had let him down. But Mel was as warm and friendly as he always was, as Bill took a seat across from his desk.

You're looking better again.

I feel a whole lot better than I did the last time I saw you. He smiled. With or without the job, he would be grateful to Mel for a lifetime. He was a decent man, a good friend, and a great producer. I want to thank you for everything ' for being there ' and ' He felt his eyes mist despite his best efforts for them not to, but it was an emotional time for him. It was like having been terminally ill and suddenly recovering. You've done so much for me ' the show has been wonderful ' He almost choked on his words. I'm going to miss you.

Where are you going? Mel looked puzzled by his speech, and Bill was confused by the question.

East with Gabby for a few weeks, but I meant'

Suddenly Mel understood. Don't be so noble. I asked you here today to give you your new contract for next season.

You did? Bill's eyes grew wide.

I did. Although I think we'll hold that final scene we shot just to keep you in line if you get in a funk again.

I won't. Do you mean it? You mean I'm back for next season? Bill stared at him in disbelief.

You are. You should see how it all came out in post-production, Bill. The show looks so good, people will love it and you! America is going to be riveted to Manhattan. You don't want to miss that, do you?

Hell, no. Bill grinned. He had been lucky twice in the past week. It was too much to hope for.

Mel handed a thick envelope to him. Show that to your agent and your attorneys, and get it back to me next week sometime. I'm going to Europe as soon as I can, and I'd like to know it's signed before I go.

I'll sign it right now. He was all set to go, but Mel held up a hand.

It'll wait. Run it past your attorneys, you never know if they want to make some changes. The morals clause is the same he grinned just please try not to get arrested. And there was nothing in it that forced him to be single, which was just as well, because he'd been thinking for weeks about asking Gabby to marry him. But he wanted to wait until the end of the summer, to see how she felt after he met her parents and they'd been together for a while, without any major drama.

Mel ' thank you so much ' I'm so grateful to you ' His eyes said everything, and Mel walked him to the door with a fatherly arm around his shoulders.

There's no need to be grateful. You're a hell of a good actor. Just wait till you see what the public says in two months. It's going to be something.

He was totally confident in the show, and Bill felt as though he were walking on air as he ran to his car, and drove to Rodeo.

He hurried into the shop on the corner with the yellow-and-white-striped canopy and he looked around but he didn't see Gabby. He asked one of the salesgirls and she said she'd ask, and when she came back, she said that Gabby was in one of the dressing rooms, trying on some clothes. She pointed to the one, and he tiptoed to the door, and carefully opened it, as she stood in a red silk dress trying to decide if she liked it.

What are you doing here? She looked thrilled to see him, as always.

That would look nice with your hiking boots. He looked her over approvingly and she was instantly impatient.

What did he say?

Who?

Bill, stop it!

He said he can't fire me, because I have to keep you in line next year. He grinned at her and she exploded into his arms.

Are you serious?

I am. The contract is in the car. I'm on again, for the second season.

Fantastic! She took off the dress, and stood in her underwear, as the salesgirl came in and smiled. They were used to scenes like that at Giorgio.

Did you like the dress? The girl inquired pleasantly.

We loved it. Bill grinned. He bought it for her, and five others, and they went home to make love by the swimming pool.

You'd better start behaving yourself if I'm taking you home to Newport.

Oh, no, he groaned, as he lay naked next to her. Can't I just meet you in Maine?

Nope. I wouldn't deprive my parents of the pleasure. She grinned at him, and rolled over on her stomach in the hot sun, as the dog yawned, stretched, and leapt into the pool, covering both of them with water.

Their days in the East flew by, and Gabby's parents thought Bill was charming. He stayed at their house near Bailey's Beach, and he was surprised at how at ease he was with her father. They had lunch at the Beach Club every day, even on the day it rained, and they went to the Clambake Club for dinner. It was notorious, Gabby told him, because it was where Jackie Bouvier had made her debut.

You know, I really like your mother, he had told her as they lay side by side in the guest room one night. It was across from her bedroom, and she padded across the hall every night to be with him, and then went back to her room to rumple the sheets every morning. She's a lot smarter than you think.

She's all right. Actually, they were getting along better than usual that year, and of course her parents had no idea of the trauma they'd just been through in California. They just thought he was a nice young actor in Gabby's show, as they called it. They promised to watch the three-hour special the first night it came on and Everett told him to come to see them in New York when they were back on location in the fall. They were going in September this year, and Gabby's mother had announced that she was going to give them a little dinner.

That means a hundred people in black tie, all the people I hate most in the world will be there. You'll love it.

Don't be such a spoiled brat. They love you.

Okay, okay. She looked at him disparagingly and he laughed. She was so young, and a real beauty. There were days when he wondered how he had gotten so lucky. And only a year before, he had been picking up Sandy's needles on his bathroom floor and begging her to get help. But he hardly ever thought of that now, and he didn't think of it at all as they took the ferry to her friends' place in Maine. It was simple and quaint and the terrain around them was solemn and rugged. It was just her kind of thing and a far cry from Bailey's Beach, which she had complained about when they were there. But she had played the social game well, and pleased her parents.

They went back to California a week before shooting began, and Jane and Zack had just gotten in from Europe the night before. She and Jane had lunch at the Polo Lounge and giggled when they saw Warren Beatty and Paul Newman. They were just like two kids, instead of two television stars, and Jane told her they'd seen Sabina with Mel in Saint-Tropez that summer.

I don't know how she does it. That woman always looks terrific.

It's hard work, Gabby commented over her salad and wine.

Don't kid yourself. It takes more than that. She just has a kind of presence. Everyone stares at her wherever she goes.

Wait till Manhattan airs, she'll really be hot stuff then.

You know, she went topless on the beach. Everyone does there. She's got boobs like an eighteen-year-old. Jane sounded envious. And looking at Sabina, she had decided hers were sagging.

She should look eighteen. Gabby smiled wickedly. I know the doctor who did them.

Jane laughed. It was fun to be back in Hollywood again. They were all looking forward to going back to work and the four of them played tennis on their last day and had dinner at Spago. It was like a family reunion but it was nothing compared to the scene on the set the next day. Everyone went crazy, hugging and laughing and talking about the summer. And the old sound man even threw an arm around Sabina. But she didn't mind. She was happy to see all of them too. It had been a great summer. The fittings had gone well with Fran+oois Brac, and she had had a fabulous time with Mel in the south of France. They were all in high spirits, as they talked about the new scripts. There were apparently big surprises in store too. Someone was going to get fatally wounded. Jane was going to fight Sabina for Zack. And someone else was going to get pregnant.

Not me, I hope, Bill quipped over a glass of wine. Their first day on the set was to get back in the groove again. Scripts were distributed to everyone, and they were told that they were leaving on location in two weeks. There was a festive atmosphere in the air, and everyone was excited about their first night on the air. Mel was turning it into a gala event, and they could hardly wait. He had rented Grauman's Chinese Theater, and was having a giant television screen put up on the stage. The press would be there, and hundreds of other people.

I have nothing to wear, Jane moaned as they left, and Gabby laughed.

What about all your new stuff by Fran+oois Brac?

I'm so tired of it. They're my work clothes! Jane grinned. Want to go to Giorgio with me on Saturday?

Sure. They turned it into a major shopping trip, and Gabby bought a new dress for the party too. A shimmering tube of black sequins with no back. Wait till Bill sees this! she said, as she twirled in the dressing room. She kept it hidden in the box until the night of Mel's party, and his jaw dropped when he saw her.

Wow! Who is that? There were no hiking boots in sight now. Her hair was piled high on her head, and she was wearing black satin pumps, and she was carrying the white fox jacket her father had sent her.

Her mother called just as they left the house, in tears, to tell her that she'd been watching the show, and they were just wonderful, both of them. In New York, they had already seen it, and she told Gabby she'd never been so proud of her, and Gabby felt a warm glow as she took Bill's arm and they walked out to the limousine Mel had sent for them. It was a magical night, and she felt as though her whole life was about to change. She was right, but it already had. In all the ways that really mattered.

The photographers looked as though they were ten-deep as Sabina got out of the car on Hollywood Boulevard in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater. The Oriental decor was familiar to everyone, along with the foot-and handprints in the cement outside, and Gabby had always thought it was fun to see who was represented there, but she wasn't thinking of them tonight. None of them were.

Sabina swept inside in a white satin sheath made for her by Fran+oois Brac and a floor-length mink coat that Mel had bought her at Revillon in Paris. It was an astonishing piece of fur, and she looked dazzling, with her mane of blond hair, her brilliant green eyes, and diamond earrings that reached almost to her shoulders. There was no question as to who was the star, but Jane acquitted herself well too in a midnight-blue dress made of sari fabric that dove deep enough in the front to reveal her fabulous cleavage, and her red hair stood out in the crowd, as she took Zachary's arm and they made their way through the crowd, with the cameras flashing everywhere around them. And she was wearing a beautiful pair of sapphire earrings Zack had bought her in London. He had wanted to buy her a ring, but neither of them was ready for that yet. They weren't in a hurry. And they looked happy and at ease as they moved inside to the enormous champagne reception Mel had arranged. Everyone important in Hollywood was there, and every newspaper and syndicate was well represented. George Christy was there too, looking dapper and elegant, and covering the event for the Hollywood Reporter.

Can you believe this crowd? Jane was still in awe of everything as she chatted with Gabby once they arrived, and Gabby smiled as she looked around.

This is it ' isn't it? They had been put on opposite the toughest opposition the other networks had been able to come up with, and it was tough. A new Sidney Sheldon novel filmed for TV directly opposite them, and a major sports group later. But Mel still insisted they had nothing to worry about. They had it made. And Gabby hoped he was right, as they took their seats a little while later.

Everyone settled down as the show came on, and there was alternately silence and cheers and roars of approval from the crowd. And during the commercials everyone talked about how good it was. But there was no way to know until the next day, when they would know the ratings.

Jane was exhausted as they walked into the lobby again. She wasn't sure if she'd been good or not, she was sure that the others were. And Sabina sailed out looking like a queen, without a doubt in her mind, as far as anyone could see. The photographers went to work again, and they went on all night long, as fleets of limousines took them to Chasen's, where Mel had arranged for a midnight supper and dancing for three hundred in the Oak Room.

It was a magical evening for all of them, and that night, when they got home, Gabby dove into the pool, leaving her sexy black dress draped over a chair, as Bill watched her in the new dinner jacket he had bought at Bijan for the occasion.

Well, what do you think? She smiled up at him from the edge of pool. It was four o'clock in morning.

I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. He was more than a little drunk and so happy he was flying, as he loosened his tie, and stripped off his clothes, and a moment later, he was in the pool beside her.

Think it'll be a hit?

I think Mel's right.