“Thank you so much for getting us tickets,” Rada said. “My Bella’s so jealous she might never talk to me again, but I can live with that!”
“I wish I could have gotten four, but Charlie had to literally beg for three,” Piper said. She didn’t add that three of Charlie’s close friends had to be dumped from the list, but, as Rada said, she could live with that. Even though Piper was happy with her job, she’d given up a lot to take it. Staying connected to her old buddies was a good way to keep one foot—or at least a few toes—in the normal world.
“Piper!”
She turned to find Ilsa London, the studio publicist who’d wanted to pay off Charlie’s blackmailer, slapping her hands together like she was calling a dog. “Let’s go!”
“I believe I’m being summoned,” she said, turning back to her friends. “See you guys at the party.”
Her friends started to walk down the red carpet, waving and blowing kisses to the huge crowd. No one knew who they were, of course, but the throng was so bored after waiting in the hot sun for hours they appreciated anyone who acknowledged their presence.
Piper shrugged Ilsa’s hand off her back, and led Haley to the spot where the limos were disgorging passengers. To her surprise, a long leg hit the pavement, then Lolita slid from the car, with Piper’s neighbor Morty jumping out of the other side to race over to hold her arm. Piper wasn’t sure what had brought Morty to the top of Lolita’s list, but they’d seemed pretty darned chummy when they’d had dinner with them the month before.
“This is the life I was born to live,” Lolita declared, giving Haley and Piper air kisses. She looked fantastic, as usual. There wasn’t a car-wash owner anywhere in the county who put more effort into her look, which was curated like a fine museum. She faced the crowd and waved, regally, drawing a cheer. “Thank you,” Lolita said, big, dark, vintage glasses hiding her eyes as her blood-red lips curled into a warm smile. “And thank you for making this one so happy,” she added, slipping her arm around Haley and giving her a hug. “You’ve hooked a great one, Piper.”
“I’m the last person you have to convince of that,” she said, grinning so hard her cheeks hurt.
“Piper!” Ilsa’s grating voice called out. “Move it!”
The flashes really started to pop, then Meredith slipped from a limo, with Lolita disappearing in the blink of an eye. Knowing her, she didn’t want to show Meredith up. Piper had never met a more confident woman.
After hugging and kissing Tim and Meredith, they said hello to the kids, then watched them pose on the red carpet, with all of the kids seeming to know they were supposed to smile and look like they were having fun, which they couldn’t have been. Having hundreds of flashes pop in your face could not have been a kid’s idea of a good time. But they were used to it, if nothing else.
Then the crowd started to roar as Charlie’s limo pulled up. Piper had been lecturing herself all day, but she couldn’t help it. When Charlie emerged, gorgeous and glamorous in a Hawaiian-inspired tropical print sheath dress, her smile bright enough to light up West Los Angeles, she couldn’t help it. Tears started to slide down her face, almost immediately caught by Haley, who’d brought tissues.
Charlie walked down the line, posing for the rapacious photographers who screamed out instructions.
“She’s as close to a perfect human specimen as I’ve ever met,” Haley said, sounding a little wistful. “If we can keep her dog addiction under control, we’re golden.”
Moving slowly, Charlie let everyone have access to her loveliness. Then she moved to where the crowd was partitioned and signed autographs until people started to get too aggressive. A couple of burly security guys moved in to stand next to her and hold up their hands, keeping people at bay.
Charlie scanned the crowd, with dozens of people on her side of the ropes trying to get close, but she found Piper. Her hand shot up and she waved, just like she had when Piper had gone to pick her up from pre-school. Happy and excited, her eyes filled with appreciation. “Come on,” Piper said, gripping Haley’s hand. “That’s our cue.”
They’d seen her just two hours earlier, but they all hugged each other like it had been years. “So excited!” Charlie murmured into Piper’s ear.
“Me, too. And proud.”
“Who are you wearing?” A woman yelled, clearly an important issue.
“Richard Goldenhersh,” Charlie said. “He’s fabulous, isn’t he?” She did another turn, with the dress hugging her in ways that would have been illegal in many countries. “Now, we’ve got a movie to watch!” She lowered her voice and leaned into the microphones. “It’s fantastic.” She waved to the crowd again, so happy looking that Piper couldn’t help but tear up one more time.
Charlie was swept away in a wave of publicists and studio minions, the whole blob moving into the theater as one. The bright lights then started to dim, with all of the reporters and photographers packing it up, acting like they didn’t even see Piper and Haley, who’d been part of the in-crowd moments earlier.
“Weird,” Haley said, looking a little stunned.
“It’s very weird. Otherworldly, really.”
Haley started to laugh as they threaded their way past technicians who were disassembling lights and cameras and tripods. “Who would have ever guessed that I’d be on a red carpet, almost trying to get the media to notice me? Is life a trip, or what?”
“It’s a huge trip,” Piper agreed, bending slightly to place a soft kiss onto Haley’s lips. “A trip we’re going to take together, never knowing where we’ll wind up.”
“It hardly matters,” Haley said, mesmerizing Piper with the warmth of her soulful eyes. “Just being on the ride with you is the fun part.”
The End
By Susan X Meagher
Novels
Arbor Vitae
All That Matters
Cherry Grove
Girl Meets Girl
The Lies That Bind
The Legacy
Doublecrossed
Smooth Sailing
How To Wrangle a Woman
Almost Heaven
The Crush
The Reunion
Inside Out
Out of Whack
Homecoming
The Right Time
Summer of Love
Chef’s Special
Serial Novel
I Found My Heart In San Francisco
Awakenings: Book One
Beginnings: Book Two
Coalescence: Book Three
Disclosures: Book Four
Entwined: Book Five
Fidelity: Book Six
Getaway: Book Seven
Honesty: Book Eight
Intentions: Book Nine
Journeys: Book Ten
Karma: Book Eleven
Lifeline: Book Twelve
Monogamy: Book Thirteen
Nurture: Book Fourteen
Osmosis: Book Fifteen
Paradigm: Book Sixteen
Quandary: Book Seventeen
Renewal: Book Eighteen
Synchronicity: Book Nineteen
Trust: Book Twenty
United: Book Twenty-One
Anthologies
Undercover Tales
Outsiders
You can contact Susan at [email protected]
Information about all of Susan’s books can be found at www.susanxmeagher.com or www.briskpress.com
To receive notification of new titles, send an email to [email protected]
facebook.com/susanxmeagher
twitter.com/susanx
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