“Good choices. Do you have a model yet?”
“No, but I’d better line one up soon. The assignment’s due, like, next week.”
“Well, if you’re desperate, I’m happy to volunteer. I’m cool having you shoot me,” Naveen said, grinning. “And since I’m so naturally good-looking, I never require Photoshop.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes at him. She knew he was joking, but as far as she could tell, he was physically practically perfect—no Photoshop or other enhancements required. Of course, she meant this in a purely objective, artistic way. Unlike that night at Hendry’s Beach, when he’d peeled off his T-shirt, and she’d almost stopped breathing at the sight of his sculpted abs and . . .
Stop it! she told herself. She stood up abruptly. “Uh, I’m just going to check on Jane in the kitchen.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, I’m good! I’m great! Just stay here and eat more fish tacos!” Scarlett insisted.
The camera swiveled to follow her as she headed toward the kitchen. Camera, singular. Scarlett noticed that the other camera guy was planted in the kitchen doorway, filming. She had to get away from Naveen. She didn’t want to give Trevor any more opportunities to edit her in a compromising light, making it appear as though she and Naveen were milliseconds away from hooking up. Despite his slight jealousy, Liam was the most awesome boyfriend she’d ever had—actually, the only real boyfriend she’d ever had, period.
“’Scuse me,” Scarlett muttered, inching past the camera guy. “Hey, Janie, do you need some help with—”
She stopped dead in her tracks.
Jane and Caleb were leaning against the sink, kissing.
Uh-oh, Scarlett thought.
Chapter 14
Déjà Vu
Jane sat down on the edge of the pool and gazed at the moon’s reflection on the dark, glassy surface. Caleb sat down next to her and curled his arm around her shoulders. It was after midnight . . . the PopTV crew was gone . . . and the entire apartment complex seemed to be asleep. Naveen had gone home long ago, and Scarlett had gone to bed.
Or maybe Scarlett was standing out on their terrace with a pair of binoculars, spying on Jane and Caleb? Jane didn’t really believe Scar would do that, but sometimes her best friend could be more overprotective than Jane’s own mom and dad.
“Hey,” Caleb said, interrupting her thoughts, “you wanna take a dip?”
“Um, no, thanks. You go ahead, though.”
“What? Where’s the old Janie Roberts who used to dive headfirst into the surf when it was freezing out?” Caleb teased her.
Jane laughed. “She grew up? The new Janie Roberts likes to stay warm. Besides, most of the time you used to push me in, jerk!”
Caleb laughed, too. “Oh, yeah.”
“Soooo. Did you have fun tonight? Was it okay? With the cameras, I mean.”
“It was kind of weird at first. But after a while I figured out that I should just ignore them and be myself.”
Like in the kitchen? Jane wanted to ask him. She slipped off her sandals and dipped her toes into the water. Brrr, chilly. Still, she made herself keep her toes there, figuring they would eventually get used to the temperature.
When she and Caleb had headed into the kitchen to make more drinks, she had barely had a chance to pick up the bottle of margarita mix when Caleb pulled her close and started kissing her. It had been so nice, so familiar, as though they’d taken up right where they’d left off. Or even further back in time, when he’d kissed her for the first time in the front seat of his parents’ Subaru, with “Déjà Vu” by Beyoncé and Jay-Z playing on the radio, and she’d thought, I’m in love.
She’d had a crush on Caleb Hunt for what seemed like forever, dragged Scarlett along to watch him at his swim meets, and secretly hated his girlfriend at the time, a cute, vapid cheerleader named Kailey. After that spontaneous, unexpected kiss—he’d given her a ride home from a student government meeting—he broke up with Kailey (who began hating Jane back, not so secretly), and he and Jane became an item. They were practically inseparable. They lost their virginity to each other (or that’s what he told her, anyway). When he decided to go to Yale, all the way across the country, and she decided to take the year off to explore her options and travel, she had sincerely thought they could make a long-distance relationship work. After all, she loved him, and he loved her, and they were meant to be together . . . and maybe even get married someday.
Which is why it had been so devastating when Caleb told her last May that he wanted to call it quits. Had she been naive, thinking they could survive being three thousand miles apart? Now, he was back in her life . . . and maybe even wanted to get back together. Was she ready for this? Was this what she wanted, too? Or was she being naive—again? And what about her decision to stay single for the near future?
Jane peeked at Caleb’s silver diving watch, the same one he’d had since high school. God, it was almost 1 a.m. She had to be up in six hours. “I’d better head upstairs. It’s late, and we’re filming at the office tomorrow,” she told Caleb.
“Wow, seems like the cameras are with you all the time,” Caleb said.
“It feels like that sometimes. We’ve been so busy at work lately. There’s Aja’s engagement party I told you about, plus I’m organizing some smaller parties, too. Oh, and Trevor asked me to plan a birthday party for Scar next weekend. It’s a surprise, so you can’t say anything! Promise me!”
“My lips are sealed,” Caleb assured her.
“You and Naveen should be getting your invites in a couple days. Someone at PopTV’s handling them.” Jane added, “It’s gonna be huge, like fifty or sixty people. Trevor’s devoting a whole episode to it. Scar has no idea!”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. She’s not a big birthday person—remember? Trevor thought it would be fun to do this for her.”
Actually, Jane had had her reservations when Trevor first approached her with the idea last week, mostly because she was worried that Liam would feel out of place at a PopTV event, even if it was a party for his girlfriend. But Trevor had assured Jane that he or one of his staff would speak to Liam personally and clear everything with him. Jane really hoped Liam would come to the party for Scar’s sake, even though he couldn’t film, and even though he might not love hanging out with his ex-coworkers. Although . . . she wondered how things were going between him and Scar lately. Earlier, Jane had asked Scar if he was okay about Caleb and Naveen coming over for dinner, and she had mumbled something about how Liam would just have to deal because she was a “free woman.” Huh?
Caleb got to his feet, then grabbed Jane’s hand and helped her up. From somewhere in the distance, Jane could hear the faint strains of “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. She and Caleb had slow danced to it at prom. She flashed back to that night, to how long she’d spent getting ready (she smiled to herself, thinking of her long blue chiffon dress from Macy’s and her rhinestone earrings from Claire’s—and the fact that her mother, not some fancy L.A. stylists, had helped her with her hair and makeup). How gorgeous Caleb had looked in his black tux (she could picture him standing in the doorway as he handed her a wrist corsage of white and lavender roses, and her dad in the background, snapping away with his finicky digital camera that he kept meaning to replace). And later, during that song, dancing with Caleb and knowing that they were graduating soon and that everything was going to change. But here they were, almost two years later. Everything had changed . . . and yet, in this moment, it felt like everything was still the same.
Caleb caressed her bare arm, giving her goose bumps. “So. Are you free for dinner tomorrow night?”
Jane gazed up at him. “Umm . . . well . . .” She’d had lots of good reasons to decide to take a break from dating. Lots. But at this moment, with Caleb, she was having a hard time remembering any of them.
“You like Italian, right? I found this great place just off Will-sher. Did I say that right?”
“You said it p
erfectly,” Jane said. God, he was adorable. And why did he have to have those amazing dimples?
Okay, maybe one date. “Caleb. Listen. If we’re going to . . . um, hang out, I need you to understand something. This show is my job. Well, my other job, anyway. When I’m out, there’s usually a crew with me. Are you okay with that?”
“By ‘hang out,’ do you mean this?” Caleb cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. Jane hesitated at first, then kissed him back.
When they stopped for air, he pulled her in even closer, holding tightly. “I know exactly what you need right now,” he whispered in her ear.
“You . . . do?” Jane said breathlessly.
“I do.”
Then, before Jane knew what was happening, he swept her off her feet and turned toward the pool. “Caleb!” she screamed. “Don’t you DARE!”
But it was too late, and Jane felt herself hitting the cool water with a loud splash. When she resurfaced seconds later, Caleb was right beside her, laughing hysterically.
“You’re still a jerk!” Jane scolded him, swatting a wet strand of hair out of her eyes.
“Yeah, but you’re still crazy about me,” Caleb teased her.
Jane glared at him. And broke into a smile. And wrapped her arms around his neck. This was definitely like old times. Better than old times.
Maybe she didn’t need to swear off all boys. Didn’t she deserve to have some fun, after everything?
Chapter 15
The Two Sisters
“I need you to get on the phone ASAP and leak some details about Jane and Caleb’s dinner date,” Trevor told Melissa. The PopTV publicist was standing in the doorway of his office, stifling a yawn as she scribbled in a spiral-bound Mead notebook. “We’re fast-tracking that episode and airing it a week from—I’m sorry, am I boring you?”
Melissa snapped to attention. “No, no. I’m writing all this down.”
Trevor sighed. His employees were going to have to get used to coming in early on Sunday mornings if they wanted to rise to the top at PopTV. L.A. Candy Season 2 was already surpassing Season 1 in ratings, which meant working around the clock if necessary to keep it that way.
“I want the story to make this week’s issues so that people watch that episode next week. Mention that Jane and Caleb went to La Dolce Vita last Thursday. They were ‘holding hands and looking very cozy,’ etc., etc.,” Trevor said. “Paint a picture—you know, first love, high school romance, he went away to college, can they rekindle the flames?” He added, “Get something in there about Jesse, too. Don’t talk about his DUI. I’m thinking along the lines of, ‘Can Caleb help Jane get over her broken heart?’ If they bring up the DUI, just say that Jane is happy that Jesse is getting the help he needs.” Jesse had checked into a rehab clinic in Palm Springs and was apparently going to be there for a while. Which was good news. It occurred to Trevor that Jesse might not take the news of Jane and Caleb’s rekindled relationship too well. He only hoped it wouldn’t derail Jesse’s new sobriety.
Melissa nodded. “Got it. Anything else?”
“Yeah, but I’m still working on it. Check back with me in half an hour. No, give me an hour. Madison’s coming in at nine thirty to talk to me about something.”
“Okay, then, I’m off to be another ‘anonymous source.’”
Trevor used to be annoyed by leaks to the press about upcoming L.A. Candy story lines. But after a while, he realized that they were actually good for the show and for ratings. Viewers read the stories in the tabloids, then tuned in, curious to see what would happen: Was Jane getting back together with her old high school boyfriend? Would Jane’s best friend and Caleb’s best friend hook up? Who was spotted kissing, and where?
This was especially important right now, since the footage from Jane and Caleb’s official first date as a newly reunited couple needed some . . . editing. Their chemistry wasn’t exactly obvious. Hopefully that would change. In the meantime, their story line would have to get by on media hype, clever editing, the right music (A Fine Frenzy?), and Caleb’s classic good looks.
Trevor knew that Annabelle Weiss, Gaby’s publicist, had also been feeding stories to the press—about Gaby and Madison allegedly feuding with Jane and Scarlett—which had not only helped ratings but increased Gaby’s visibility as well. Speaking of Gaby, he wondered when she was due back from her “vacation.” He would have to check with Annabelle so he could arrange the shooting schedule.
Trevor turned back to his desk and pulled out his notebook, a brown crocodile-skin Smythson, definitely a step up from a spiral Mead. His wife had given it to him for his birthday so he could start “keeping a daily journal” and “learn to be more in touch with his feelings” or whatever. Of course, he had no interest in writing down his moods . . . but the notebook was useful for jotting down ideas about the show.
Trevor opened it to a clean page and wrote:
S & N. (Same episode as La Dolce Vita date.)
Underneath, he wrote:
(1) C & N came over to J & S’s apt. last Wednesday for an intimate dinner party. Imply there is something between S & N. Need quote from J or S re “double date.” (2) Do S & N have a history? Maybe dated briefly in high school? Shoot a scene with J & S to discuss. (3) Scene with S & N. Gym?
Of course, Trevor had no idea whether Scarlett and Naveen had any history. Regardless, he knew it would be difficult to persuade Scarlett to film alone with Naveen. He would have to sell it to her as production needing a scene of two people talking about Jane and Caleb—and who knew them better than their best friends? And if all else failed . . . well, the “accidental” run-in always worked.
Someone knocked on his door. “Trevor?”
He closed his notebook and tucked it away in a drawer. “Yes?”
Madison walked in, looking less put together than usual in a pair of faded jeans, a pink hoodie, and minimal makeup. Trevor wondered whether she was feeling okay; maybe it was just another late night of partying? “Good morning! You’re right on time,” he greeted her, standing up.
“Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice. I . . . wanted to introduce you to somebody.”
Trevor raised his eyebrows. “Oh? I thought it was just you and me today.”
“Sorry. I know. It’s just that . . . well, it’s kinda important.”
Madison stepped aside, and a young woman walked in. No, not just a young woman . . . one of the most stunning young women Trevor had ever seen. And that was saying a lot, considering his line of business.
Trevor studied her, scrutinizing every detail of her appearance, not as a guy checking out a girl (although no one would blame him for doing so) but as a producer checking out potential talent. She oozed sensuality, everything from her all-black outfit (leather skinnies, suede platform ankle boots, and a sheer, oversize T-shirt that showed off her slender yet voluptuous figure) to her features (big, brown eyes darkly rimmed with smoky eyeliner, full, lush, glossy lips, high cheekbones, and a sleek, shoulder-length platinum bob).
Madison spoke up. “Trevor, this is my little sister, Sophia.”
“Your . . . sister?” Trevor did a double take. Hmm, okay, he could see a slight resemblance. Maybe. “Nice to meet you, Sophia,” he said, extending his hand.
Sophia shook his hand, gazing at him with an expression that was at once seductive and contemptuous. How old was she? Seventeen, eighteen? She was too young to have adopted—and perfected—such a look. “Hey,” she said in a low, throaty voice.
“Sophia, this is the guy I was telling you about. He’s the producer of my show,” Madison said.
My show? Trevor suppressed a smile. “Are you in town for a visit, Sophia?” he asked, indicating for the two girls to sit down.
“I was. But now I’m thinking of moving here, you know, permanently. L.A.’s pretty cool,” Sophie replied, casting a quick sideways glance at Madison.
Madison nodded. “Yeah, she’s staying with me for a while, until she finds her own place. That’s what I wanted to ta
lk to you about, Trevor. Do you think it would be okay if she lived with me? I mean, could she be on the show, or . . .” Her voice trailed off uncertainly.
Trevor leaned back in his chair and regarded Madison, then Sophia, all the while keeping his face neutral. This was a totally unexpected surprise—Madison wanting to add her sister to the show, a sister he never knew existed, a sister whose looks were sure to boost ratings (at least with the eighteen to thirty-five male viewership). It would also be helpful to have someone for Madison to recap scenes with other than Gaby.
But why now? Why hadn’t Madison brought Sophia in to meet him before or at least mentioned the fact that she had a sister? Come to think of it, he didn’t know a lot about her family or her background.
“Well, what do you think, Trevor?” Madison sounded anxious, on edge. What was up with her today?
“I think it’s a great idea,” Trevor said finally, and he could actually see Madison’s entire body grow slack with relief. Had she seriously been worried that he wouldn’t let Sophia be on the show? Sophia, on the other hand, looked less relieved than smug. Her mouth curled up in a scornful half grin as she sat back in her chair, throwing her shoulders back and displaying her assets more prominently. The girl was intriguing.
“Isn’t this awesome, Sophia?” Madison said, turning to her sister. “We’re gonna be on TV together!” Her voice cracked with tension.
“Yeah, awesome,” Sophia replied, picking at her manicure. “Hey, Trev? How much am I gonna get paid? I’m assuming it’s a lot, cuz when I used to do modeling they paid me, like, ten thousand dollars a day.”
Madison shot Sophia a furious look. Sophia smirked at her. Hmm, more intriguing by the minute. Trevor wasn’t positive, but he was pretty sure that Sophia had never modeled: She was a little too short, and a little too well-endowed, and besides, wouldn’t he have heard of her or seen her somewhere if she commanded that kind of daily rate? So Sophia was a liar on top of everything else. And her dynamic with Madison was fascinating, too. Maybe there was a Season 2 story line there?
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