Sweet Little Lies (16 page)

“Scarlett? A word?” Dana snapped. Her face looked even more stressed than usual.

“Love to stop and chat, but, um, I have an appointment with my adviser,” Scarlett improvised. “We’ll talk later.”

Scarlett escaped into the hallway—and practically ran smack into a familiar figure.

“Hey, Scarlett!” Cammy was standing there, waving like a maniac, dressed in super-short denim shorts
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and a maroon USC baby tee that barely contained her very fake, oversize chest. “How’s it going?”

Talk about a blast from the past—the recent past, anyway. Scarlett had met Cammy during her first week of the fall semester…and had been dodging her ever since. Which wasn’t easy: Cammy had become determined to befriend her once she saw theL.A. Candy cameras.

“I’m great, Cammy,” Scarlett replied, fake-smiling. “See you around! Bye!”

“Wait!” Cammy grabbed her arm. “I’ve been soooo worried about you.”

“You have?”

“Yeah, ’cause I heard that your best friend, Jane, moved out?”

Scarlett frowned. Jane had moved out all of two days ago. News didn’t travelthat fast—did it?

“Uh, Cammy? How do you know that?” Scarlett asked.

Cammy ignored her question. “You guys had a big fight, huh? Personally, I think it’s that girl Madison’s fault, don’t you?”

Scarlett stared at her. And then she stared at Cammy’s very fake oversize chest. Scarlett could just make out the outline of a wire in the general area, running down and around her torso.

Cammy was miked.

Scarlett glanced around the crowded hallway and spotted the other camera guy (not Liam) standing nearby, his lens pointed at the two girls. This was a setup. A Dana (and Trevor?) setup.

Assholes!

Scarlett turned her attention back to Cammy. “Actually, Madison is one of my BFFs,” she said with another fake smile. “She’s not doing very well, though.”

Cammy scrunched up her face. “Huh?”

“Madison has this condition that makes it difficult for her to control her bowel movements,” Scarlett explained. “That’s why Jane moved in with her temporarily. To take care of her.”

Cammy’s eyes grew huge. “Oh!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty serious. Anyway, gotta go. Bye!”

“Wait! Scarlett!”

Scarlett started down the hall, along the way ripping off her mike pack and tossing it to the camera guy (who barely managed to catch it, or the finger she flipped him). She saw a door for the women’s room and rushed in, finding an empty stall.

She sat down and put her face in her hands, sucking in a deep breath. What a crappy day. What a crappy week. What a crappy month. What a crappy year.

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Maybe she should just get off the show. And maybe she should leave L.A.? But then what? Go back to Santa Barbara? Not an option. Transfer to another school after all? Maybe. Jane was the real reason she was living here to begin with. And now that they were on the outs, Scarlett had nothing tying her to the city.

Except for Liam.

Her phone buzzed.Damn Dana, Scarlett thought irritably and fished her phone out of her pocket to turn it off.

But she saw that this latest text was from Liam, not Dana.

HEY R U OK? he had written.

Scarlett was anything but okay. She hit Reply and typed, IM FINE.

ANYTHING I CAN DO? he wrote.

NOPE, she replied.

WE STILL ON 4 TONITE?

Scarlett hesitated. Liam was taking her out to dinner at his favorite French restaurant tonight because he thought she would enjoy practicing her French on the fluent staff. He also just wanted to cheer her up after everything she’d been through lately.

CANT, SORRY, Scarlett typed finally. RAIN CHECK.

Liam didn’t reply.

Now I’m being the asshole,Scarlett thought.

But she couldn’t help it. She willed her guilty conscience to go away. The last thing she needed was to have Liam trying to cheer her up or save her or whatever. She wasn’t some sort of helpless little victim.

She could get through this mess on her own. She had always managed alone in the past. And she would continue to manage alone in the future.

24

BE GOOD

“Okay, can you two stop making out?” Gaby giggled. “The show’s PG, remember?”

“We’renot making out,” Jane said, blushing as Jesse kissed her neck. Jane leaned back on the comfy leather couch, enjoying the atmosphere at Teddy’s. The room was dark and intimate, with high, arched ceilings and a stylish chandelier glittering over the upholstered leather bar. The effect was very old-style Hollywood glam. “I really like it here. I’ve never been before, have you, Jesse?”

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“A couple times,” Jesse replied. “But never with you—so it’s like the first time all over again.” He gave Jane hisI know I’m a cheeseball smile and took a sip of his Jack and Coke, swishing the ice cubes around in the glass. Jane noticed that after a few weeks of soft drinks (and some wine and beer here and there), he was back to cocktails. “Friend of mine is a promoter, and he does a night here. Quentin Sparks.”

“Quentin, I know Quentin!” Jane said. “D introduced him to me at the series premiere party at Area.”

“Is he cute?” Gaby asked eagerly.

Jesse laughed. “His boyfriend, Todd, thinks so.”

Gaby shrugged and proceeded to scope out the scene. “I’m sure there’s some hot guy here tonight who can’t wait to buy me a drink.”

The mostly B-list, well-dressed crowd was dancing to a jazz band that played everything from Billie Holliday and Etta James to Norah Jones. Jane wondered if any of them were miked, or if it was just her, Jesse, and Gaby tonight—and Madison and Scar, if and when they made it.

Trevor and Dana had arranged for the girls to attend the event, which was for some new magazine called Alt. Jane had noticed theAlt logo all over the step-and-repeat when she and Jesse walked in, and again on the cool-looking metallic blue gift bags that some stressed-out assistant named Emily was arranging on a table. (Jane had felt an instant wave of sympathy for Emily, being an assistant herself.) Trevor was actually here tonight, along with Dana and the rest of the crew. Jane wasn’t sure if he was here for the party or for work, and whether she should talk to him or ignore him.

Jane didn’t know what she should do when she saw Scar, either—she hadn’t seen or talked to her in almost a week—not since she’d moved into Madison’s apartment. What would Scar do when she eventually showed up at the party? Would she be polite to Jane? Cold? Bitchy? All of the above? Having Jesse and Madison there definitely wouldn’t help things. Jane just prayed Scar wouldn’t pick a fight with them, especially with the cameras present.

She felt Jesse’s warm lips brush up against her ear. “Can we leave yet?” he whispered.

Jane punched him playfully on the arm. “No! Be good!”

“Iam being good. I just wanna see what you’re wearing under that little black dress.”

“Shhhh!” Jane knew the mikes wouldn’t pick him up at that low volume, but still!

“Hey, kids!”

Jane’s head shot up. Madison, clad in a gold minidress with a narrow V-neck that plunged down almost to her belly button, was approaching their table. She smiled at Jane, Gaby, and Jesse—especially Jesse.

“Hi, Maddy!” Gaby stood up and air-kissed her on both cheeks. Jane used to think the two were best friends, but lately she hadn’t seen them hanging out together much. “You want a Cosmo? They’re really good here.”

“Sure, sweetie. Please don’t call me that. Hi, you lovebirds,” she said, sliding onto the couch next to

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Jesse. “How’s the party?”

“This place is beautiful,” Jane said, her gaze shifting nervously between Madison and Jesse. Jesse wouldn’t acknowledge Madison, and his expression was tense. “Have you been here before?”

“Ohmigod, all the time. Hey, Jesse? Can I talk to you privately?”

Jesse turned to Madison, looking surprised. “What? Why?”

“One minute. That’s all I need.”

“Uh…okay.” He turned back to Jane and flashed hisWTF? smile—he had a lot of different smiles, and Jane was getting to know them all.

Jane watched as Madison and Jesse wandered off, weaving through the crowd. What wasthat about?

Madison had promised her that she would try to get along better with Jesse. Maybe she was going to apologize to him?

“Uh-oh. Madison’s trying to steal your man,” Gaby warned her.

“I don’t think so,” Jane said, wishing Gaby wouldn’t say stuff like that on-camera. She knew it was too easy for Trevor to use it out of context. “Hey, you and Hannah and I have a meeting tomorrow, right? I can’t believe the Valentine’s Day party’s less than a month away.”

“Why are we having a meeting? Didn’t we decide everything already?” Gaby said, scanning the room.

“We’ve got a venue, we’ve got a sponsor, we’ve got the DJ. What else is there?”

“Uh, Gaby? Like everything?” Jane reminded her. “We’ve gotta decide on a menu, come up with the guest list, design invitations. Not to mention figure out gift bags and the guest list. We’ve gotta—”

“Okay, okay! I hear you! This is soooo much work, it’s giving me a headache,” Gaby complained. “It’s a lot more fun checking out guys. Like that guy over there, by the bar. He’s hot!”

Jane followed Gaby’s glance. The guy in question was thirtyish and balding. He was, in Jane’s opinion, the polar opposite of hot. Although he was probably rich, since his custom Armani suit had likely cost a small fortune. Gaby did have eclectic taste in men. Then Jane spotted Jesse and Madison, who were walking back in the direction of their table with linked arms. Madison was saying something to him, and he was…laughing. Laughing! Jane couldn’t believe it. Seeing the two people she was closest to getting along made her smile. She had no idea what voodoo Madison had performed, but whatever it was, Jane was grateful.

Jane was about to call out to Jesse and Madison when someone caught her eye. She watched as he made his way through the crowd—and felt her heart lurch in her chest. It was Braden. And Willow, his girlfriend (or ex-girlfriend, or not-girlfriend, depending on who you asked).

Jane closed her eyes and wished she’d left a few minutes ago, when Jesse wanted to. She didn’t want to have to see hisoh, hello, former best friend and guy my girlfriend hooked up with smile. She didn’t want anyone else to see it, either.

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25

SOMEONE LIKE HIM

Scarlett hesitated outside the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard, wondering if she should head inside for the party at Teddy’s. There was a small crowd on the sidewalk waiting to get in; luckily, there were no paparazzi. For a moment, Scarlett’s thoughts flashed back to the night in August when she and Jane had to wait nearly an hour in line to get into Les Deux. Now they could just waltz into any club they desired. Not that she and Jane were doing any clubbing together these days. The only times she saw Jane at clubs was when it was for a shoot, and they always arrived separately.

Scarlett had originally planned to skip this thing, because she didn’t feel like having a showdown with Jane and/or Jesse and/or Madison. Then she had changed her mind, thinking that she might use the opportunity to make up with Jane somehow.

Then she’d changed her mind again.

And again.

And again.

And now she was standing there in her usual fancy getup (jeans, black tank, light makeup, no purse), feeling like an idiot because she couldn’t decide whether or not to go inside. Her indecision was about more than Jane, though. It was also about Liam, who was working cameras tonight. After she’d blown off their French-restaurant date on Monday, he’d sent her several (really sweet) texts, telling her that he was thinking about her and that he would be waiting for her call, if and when she was ready to talk—or just hang out and not talk.

Scarlett hadn’t written back. And she wasn’t entirely sure why. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it. It wasn’t that she didn’t miss him. She did—alot. She missed their conversations about books and music and movies and politics. She missed his kisses. She missed the way he wrapped his arms around her, making her feel so desired and so protected at the same time. She missed his face. She missed his eyes.

She missed everything about him.

So why was she ignoring him? Part of it was that she was in a funk, and she didn’t like sharing her funks with another person. She also didn’t like how much she missed him, which seemed crazy and upside down, but there it was. Crazy and upside down seemed to be her hallmarks these days.

“Going inside?”

A young guy was holding the door open for her, eyeing her appraisingly. He looked like every other Hollywood club-scene wannabe: cute, dark hair, stubble, nice build, designer clothes. Scarlett was used to getting hit on by guys like him—and guys, period. In another lifetime (as in, before Liam), Scarlett might have hooked up with him, just for the hell of it. But tonight she had no interest.

“Guess so.” Scarlett headed through the door. She had made her decision to attend theAlt party, after all—or rather, the decision had been made for her by this random stranger.

“I’m Matteo. You look familiar.”

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“Scarlett.”

“Scarlett, Scarlett. Hmm. You’re a model, right? Listen, can I buy you a drink?”

“No, thanks. I’m meeting some people.”

“Okay, lemme know if you change your mind.”

Scarlett smiled briefly at him before heading through the hotel lobby to Teddy’s. She didn’t get very far into the dark, opulent club (she’d heard that Marilyn Monroe used to frequent the place) before she realized that some sort of commotion was happening. A ton of people were standing around a couple of guys who appeared to be…fighting?Uh-oh. A red-haired girl was hanging onto the arm of one, while a blond girl was pulling at the arm of the other guy.