L. A. Candy

by Lauren Conrad

  29

  SMALL PARTY, HUH?

  “So who’s gonna be at this party?” Madison asked. She smoothed a coat of lip gloss across her mouth, then loudly kissed the passenger’s-side window of Gaby’s BMW: mwah! The shimmery pink imprint looked ghostly against the neon-lit darkness outside.

  “Braden said it’s gonna be small,” Jane replied from the backseat, where she was sitting next to Scarlett. She tapped her foot absentmindedly to the beat of Rihanna’s “Disturbia” playing over Gaby’s speakers.

  “Small? Lame. I hope I didn’t just waste a good outfit,” Gaby complained.

  “Not sure if I’d classify that as ‘good,’” Madison said, eyeing Gaby’s white ruffled blouse. “Did you just come from church? How was choir practice? Did you tell the monsignor I said hi?” she mocked.

  Gaby glared at Madison as she undid one more button on her top.

  “Gaby, it’s gonna be hoppin’! We’re gonna be eating finger sandwiches and playing bridge. Maybe even a little charades if things really get wild,” Scarlett joked. Gaby stared ahead blankly. She wasn’t amused.

  While the three girls bantered, Jane checked over her outfit for the third time since Gaby had picked up her and Scarlett at their apartment. She found a long, loose string on the hem of her floral silk top and yanked hard. She smoothed it over her dark skinny jeans that had a small cuff just above her black stilettos. She was nervous about her ensemble, which she had spent about two hours trying to pick out. Was she too dressed up? Not dressed-up enough? She didn’t know what was appropriate for a small house party in the Hills. She wanted to look nice, but not like she was trying too hard.

  She was also nervous because Gaby had told Dana they were all going to a house party, and Dana had managed to track down Braden’s number through his agent. As a result, the event was now being filmed. Jane hoped that Braden wasn’t upset by it. She felt bad, like she had ruined his party.

  “Oh, there’s Dana,” Gaby said, pulling her car to the side of the road. She rolled down her window as Dana approached them, talking rapidly into her Bluetooth.

  “Let’s get you all miked right away,” Dana said without bothering to say hello first. “Yeah, they just pulled up,” she said to the person on the other end of the phone.

  One by one, each girl was miked outside. As usual, Madison’s outfit proved the most difficult.

  “I’m a challenge tonight,” Madison said, looking down at her skintight red minidress. She smiled charmingly at one of the sound guys.

  “I have a lot of words I could use to describe Madison. But ‘challenge’ isn’t one of them,” Scarlett whispered to Jane.

  “Play nice, Scarlett,” Jane said. She was trying to be patient with Scarlett, but it wasn’t easy. Her best friend was getting worse instead of better about hanging out with Madison and Gaby. Why couldn’t she be a little more…cooperative? This was an important part of the show. Trevor expected the four of them to do stuff together once in a while.

  After a few minutes and a few failed attempts at a leg strap, Madison reentered the car so they could park closer to the party and officially get out of the car. She had the mike pack sticking out of the back of her dress, resembling a large hump.

  “They’re gonna try and shoot around it,” Madison explained, shrugging.

  Gaby drove on for another minute until she reached Braden’s house. Jane glanced out of the tinted window as they pulled up. She had never been to Braden’s house before. It was pretty far up the twisted roads of Laurel Canyon. It looked big from the front. Braden had told her that he lived with his best friend, Jesse—the one he’d told her about at Cabo Cantina. It was a really nice house for an aspiring actor and a…what? Actually, Braden had never mentioned what Jesse did. But whatever it was, he didn’t appear to be struggling.

  Jane spotted two of the L.A. Candy camera guys near the front door, waiting to shoot the girls getting out of Gaby’s car and going into the party.

  “It’s showtime, girls!” Madison said eagerly, checking her reflection in the overhead mirror one last time.

  “Oh, goody.” Scarlett rolled her eyes.

  “Scar!” Jane snapped under her breath.

  The girls climbed out of the car and made their way toward the front door. They knocked, and after a moment, Braden came to the door. Noise spilled out from behind him: loud music and voices and laughter.

  “Hey!” he said happily when he saw Jane. “You made it!”

  “Of course,” Jane said, hugging him. He looked really good tonight, casually dressed in jeans and a soft blue T-shirt. “You know Scarlett. This is Madison and Gaby. Gaby and Madison, this is Braden.”

  Madison leaned over and kissed Braden on the cheek. “Thanks for inviting us,” she said smoothly. Madison looked back at Jane and shot her an approving grin. Jane prayed Braden hadn’t seen it.

  “So where can we get drinks?” Gaby asked Braden.

  “This way.” Braden waved the girls inside. He touched Jane’s arm. “Your show sent over a couple of camera guys, plus some girl named Alli,” he said in a low voice. “But you probably already knew that, right?”

  “Yeah. They told me. But they didn’t ask my permission or anything. Sorry; they haven’t been a pain, have they?”

  “No. They’re mellow. That girl Alli got a bunch of people to sign releases,” Braden went on. Then he leaned in and whispered in Jane’s ear, “Jesse and I said it was okay for the show to shoot here. But I didn’t sign a release to let them film me, personally. Hope you don’t mind.”

  “No, not at all.” Ugh. She felt awful to have inflicted all this on him.

  “Yeah,” he said, moving his head away from hers, “my agent told me it wasn’t a good idea. If I’m on any reality show, it’ll be harder for me to get parts.”

  “No worries. So how are you?” Jane quickly changed the subject.

  “Great! Come inside and say hi to my friends.”

  Braden led her down the hallway to a large living room that opened up to a beautifully landscaped patio and backyard. The place was nicely decorated. It looked like the ideal bachelor pad: brown leather couches, dark wood furniture, and several large pieces of artwork hanging on light-colored walls. They passed a couple of surfboards propped up in the corner of the living room. Explains his beachy smell, Jane thought.

  The place was filled with guests—about fifty or sixty people, Jane guessed. If this was Braden’s idea of a “small party,” she’d hate to see what a blowout would look like.

  Music blared through the speakers. Outside, some of the guests were splashing around in a pool that stretched across the backyard, with the Los Angeles city lights as the backdrop.

  “Small party, huh?” Jane teased Braden.

  “It was supposed to be small,” Braden complained cheerfully. “It’s Jesse’s fault. He always does this.”

  “You two look like you need some drinks!” Jane heard from behind them.

  She turned around to find a familiar-looking guy holding out a couple of frozen margaritas in plastic cups. Jane tried to hide her surprise. It was Jesse Edwards, the playboy she’d seen with the Victoria’s Secret model at Area.

  “Hey, man, we were just talking about you,” Braden said, slapping Jesse on the back. “Jesse, this is my friend Jane. Jane, this is Jesse.”

  Jane smiled at him, trying to keep her composure and appear unmoved by his presence. This was the Jesse Braden lived with? Was she supposed to pretend like she didn’t know who he was?

  Jane was stunned that Braden—Mr. Anti-Hollywood—was best friends with someone like Jesse, who basically defined the lifestyle. On the other hand, Braden had told her that the two of them had been friends since childhood and that they were opposites. Still, it was kind of a shock.

  Jesse handed Jane one of the plastic cups. “Braden told me about you.”

  “Did he?” Jane looked at Braden, a little surprised.

  “Yeah. And I’ve seen you on L.A. Candy. Kind of a girly show, but it’s cool.
I was at Area for the premiere, but I didn’t see you there. It was pretty crowded.”

  “Oh, you were there?” Jane said, pretending she hadn’t seen him.

  “Here, gimme that,” Braden said, swiping the other drink from Jesse. “How’re we doing on food?”

  “Good, I guess. The pizza went fast, so I called for more,” Jesse replied.

  Braden’s gaze bounced around the crowd. “Oh, God, there’s Andrew. I gotta talk to him. Excuse me, Jane, I’ll be right back.”

  “’Kay.”

  Jane sipped at her mixed drink and glanced around the room, wondering if she’d spot Willow. But the place was packed, and it was hard to make out everyone’s faces. There was Scarlett, already swarmed by half a dozen cute guys. Madison and Gaby were at the bar, flirting with the bartender. Jane tried to think of a polite excuse to get away from Jesse. She didn’t want to be rude or anything, especially since he was Braden’s best friend. But judging from the tabloids, he probably hit on anything with a heartbeat, and she didn’t really feel like waiting around for him to make his move. It was justifiable to blow him off.

  “So, Jane. How are you liking L.A.?” Jesse said, cutting into her thoughts.

  “I like it,” Jane replied, trying to keep her voice on the cool, distant side. She didn’t want to give him even the slightest impression that she was interested in him. “Scarlett—that’s my best friend from Santa Barbara. She and I moved here a couple of months ago.”

  “Scarlett from the show, right?”

  “Oh, right.” Jane would never get used to strangers knowing about her life. “Yeah, she’s the hot one with black hair.”

  “What are you talking about? You’re all hot.” Jesse smiled at her. “So you work for Fiona Chen. What’s that like? I’ve heard she’s nuts, but her events are awesome.”

  “Exactly!” Jane was impressed that Jesse actually remembered whom she worked for. “Right on both counts.”

  “Yeah? So what do you do for her?”

  As Jane described her job to Jesse, she noticed one of the L.A. Candy cameras focusing in on them. She wondered if Jesse had signed a release. She tried to see if he was wearing a mike. If a guy was miked she could normally tell because the tape pulled from the underside of his shirt and made a mark. These days, she never knew who they were planning on miking.

  Jesse told Jane some funny stories about a Fiona Chen party he had been to. Despite her resolve to get away from him, she found herself laughing and feeling entertained. He didn’t seem like a player at all—just a nice, funny guy. She told him about Fiona asking her to help out with Anna Payne’s New Year’s Eve party, and how nervous she was about meeting with the actress on Tuesday.

  “Don’t stress, just make sure there’s a lot of booze at the party,” Jesse offered. “So when you’re not working or filming, what are you doing?”

  “Not too much, but the show keeps us pretty busy,” Jane replied.

  “Well, listen. If you think you could find an opening in your oh-so-busy schedule, we should have dinner sometime. Maybe away from your entourage?” Jesse motioned toward another camera pointing in their direction.

  Jane stared at him. “Ummm…” She wasn’t sure what to say. On one hand, she had zero interest in going out with the famous/infamous Jesse. On the other hand, he seemed like a sweet guy in person. Maybe his press image wasn’t the real Jesse? If she’d learned one thing from being on TV, it was that things weren’t always what they appeared.

  Still, he was Braden’s best friend. There was no way she was going to date Braden’s best friend. Braden was the one she wanted to date. On the other hand, if Braden was interested in dating her, wouldn’t he have told Jesse that? If he had, Jesse would not have asked her out. Which meant that Braden couldn’t possibly be interested in her. Great.

  She wished Braden would come back already. Jane’s eyes flitted around the room and she spotted him on one of the couches. Willow was sitting on his lap, and they were…making out. Jane felt her stomach twist. So Willow was here. She hadn’t dropped off the face of the earth. She was here, now, very much with Braden.

  Jane blinked and forced herself to turn her attention back to Jesse. He was still smiling at her…still waiting for her answer. He seemed oblivious to the disappointment that filled Jane’s eyes.

  “Sure, I’d love to have dinner with you sometime,” Jane heard herself say. “But me and the cameras are kind of a package deal. I know it sucks, but it’s what I signed up for.”

  “Well, if that’s the only way, then I guess I’ll just have to deal. Do I have to buy them all dinner too?” Jesse joked.

  Jane was surprised at how easily he had agreed. “Nope. Just pretend that they don’t make the whole first date thing that much more awkward.”

  As Jane punched her contact info into Jesse’s BlackBerry, she saw out of the corner of her eye that Braden was no longer playing Couch Twister with Willow, but was sitting back with his drink. Willow was next to him, adjusting her neckline and checking messages on her cell. Braden had definitely noticed her and Jesse, and he had an intense expression on his face that she couldn’t quite translate. If she had to guess, she’d say it was disapproval mixed with anger. But maybe she was reading too much into it. Whatever, Jane thought. Braden has no right to care. He chose Willow, didn’t he?

  30

  HOLLYWOOD’S #1 PLAYBOY FALLS FOR THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

  “Jesse Edwards?” Trevor said to Dana on the other end of the phone. “And he signed a release?”

  Trevor listened for a few more minutes, thanked her, then hung up. He steepled his hands under his chin and gazed thoughtfully out his office window. The bright lights of downtown L.A. glittered like jewels against the dark sky. Jane Roberts and Jesse Edwards. Now, that was a relationship that would get ratings. Hollywood’s number one playboy falls for the girl next door. It was one thing for Jane to be dating that wannabe-photographer. Granted, he had the looks, but they’d had to edit out about 90 percent of his sound. All the guy could talk about was his passion for Italian food. Not what the audience wanted. Not what Jane wanted. It had been nearly impossible to finesse those scenes to make it look like Jane was even remotely interested in him. The casual flirting at Les Deux and elsewhere didn’t do much for story lines, either.

  Trevor had been nervous that Jane might have been interested in her so-called “friend,” Braden James. Braden was an actor, and actors usually refused to sign releases for reality shows. As it turned out, Braden was no exception. If Jane had decided to date him, Trevor would have had to put an end to it somehow. If someone couldn’t be filmed, then that someone couldn’t be part of Jane’s reality. It was as simple as that.

  But Jesse Edwards…that was a whole different story. Of course he signed the release; it meant getting two of the things he loved most—a pretty girl and attention.

  Trevor picked up his phone again and punched a number. “Tonight’s footage. I want to see it immediately. Have it sent to the edit studio.”

  Trevor could practically see the numbers going through the roof.

  31

  LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

  “Sam Roca Chica,” Jesse said. He lifted his glass in a mock toast.

  Jane pushed her salad around with her fork. “Huh? What’s that?”

  “My porn star name,” he replied, his light eyes smiling. “It’s your first pet combined with the street you grew up on. What’s yours?”

  Jane thought for a moment. “Fluffy Santa Cruz,” she said, laughing. “Sexy, huh?” It was a weird conversation to be having with Jesse on their first date. She used to play this game in middle school with her friends.

  “Was Fluffy a cat or a dog?” Jesse asked her.

  “Umm, she was a hamster,” Jane said, feeling a little embarrassed. “I couldn’t have cats or dogs. My mom’s allergic to them. What about Sam?”

  “Sam was my dog,” Jesse said with what seemed liked a sad smile. “She was part collie, part German shepherd, and part, like, twenty othe
r breeds. My mom wanted me to get some foo-foo purebred or some genetically engineered freak dog like a puggle. But I found Sam when Braden and I went to the pound, and it was love at first sight. She was the best dog.”

  Jane hesitated. “Was?”

  Jesse looked down. “Yeah. She died last year. She was fourteen. I was gonna get another dog. But I can’t replace Sam, ya know?”

  “Aw. I know.”

  Jane stared at Jesse for a moment, studying him as he busied himself cutting his Kobe rib eye steak. He was nothing like she expected him to be. But what had she expected? A smooth guy with a line for everything? A dysfunctional celebuspawn with issues? An egomaniac who couldn’t stop talking about himself (aka Paolo 2.0)?

  But Jesse was none of these things. He had been nothing but a gentleman since the moment he had called her two days ago, asking her out to dinner. He had picked her up in his black Range Rover, and as they drove he played her a mix he had recently made of songs by groups like Death Cab for Cutie and MGMT and Postal Service. He was still getting comfortable in front of the L.A. Candy cameras, which had followed them the entire time and were set up now in the far corners of the dining room of Geisha House. Jane loved the restaurant, which was filled with a glowing red light and had a dramatic square-pillared fireplace in the center of the room, rising to the second floor. From time to time, Jesse typed funny notes on his phone and sent them to her, just to avoid the mikes and make her laugh.

  Jesse was definitely a mystery. She couldn’t quite read him. Was his nice-guy act a part of his player personality? Or was he simply a nice guy?

  “So what are your parents like?” Jane asked him. “I think I’ve seen most of your mom’s movies. She got an Oscar for Best Actress last year, right?”

  As soon as she had spoken these words, she felt dumb. Way to sound like a fan, Jane. You should ask him for an autograph while you’re at it. But Jesse didn’t seem fazed at all. He just took another sip of his drink and smiled at her. “Yeah, she makes me sit through them all,” he joked. “She’s pretty great though. I remember she was always working so hard when I was growing up. Both of my parents were constantly on location somewhere.”