A-List Kiss: A Laugh-Out-Loud Romantic Comedy

by Brenda Lowder

  He opened his mouth to say something but seemed to think better of it. He shook his head again. “Whatever. Take your phone and your life back and hand over mine.” He held his hand out.

  “Of course.” I fished in my purse for the phone. My fingers stumbled over multiple items, none of which were phone-shaped. “Um, you missed a call from your brother,” I said, buying time.

  “You mentioned that.” His brows pulled together and he put his hands on his hips. “You need some help there?” His words were sharp and clipped, his jaw tight. “Need me to hold something?”

  “No, no. I’ve got it.” I so didn’t have it.

  His eyes lit up.

  “No. I mean, I will have it. Soon. So I definitely don’t need help looking for it.” I stuck my face into the depths of my bag. No phone. My fingers continued their fruitless search. I pulled everything out of my purse and piled it on the nearest surface. My wallet, sunglasses, pens, lip gloss, hairbrush, receipts, tissues, keys, a protein bar, and two different absorbencies of tampons migrated to the table.

  My bag was empty. There was no phone.

  My gut clenched and my mind flashed back to Corey kicking over my purse last night. This morning my bag was on its side and I’d had to shove my wallet and sunglasses back in. Matthew’s phone must have fallen out.

  “So! Totally funny story…” I paused as some of the top-most pens and tampons from the giant pile made a break for the floor. “How about I tell you all about it at my place?”

  Chapter Six

  I barely beat Matthew to my apartment, even though I exceeded the speed limit the entire way.

  “Does your mother know you’re living here?” He growled at the unopened front door. “I can’t believe Lila would sign off on this.”

  The location of my apartment was not as crappy as he made it sound, but it was obviously not the address he was expecting. I ushered him in. Sophie was home, watching TV and eating Chips Ahoy cookies, but I didn’t bother introducing them. He wouldn’t be here—or in my life—long enough to matter. As we went through the door, I dropped to the floor and crawled around the couch, hunting for his missing cell phone. Just as I’d thought—it was on the floor under the chair and had obviously fallen out of my purse the night before.

  “Found it!” I stood up, brandishing the phone in front of me, waving it under Matthew’s nose. “Here you go.”

  He was still standing awkwardly by the front door.

  “Your phone! The one you can’t live without! The one I stole.” I handed it to him, and he curled his fingers around it, brushing my own. The warmth of his fingers on mine lingered after I’d released it to his custody. I pulled my hands back, clasping them in front of me. My hands shouldn’t like him. They liked Gavin.

  I glanced at Sophie who was peering at us over the back of the couch with way too much interest.

  “Hi! I’m Sophie. You must be Matthew. We spoke yesterday.” She giggled and gave him a coy little wave.

  I narrowed my eyes at her. She was flirting.

  “Yes, of course.” He walked over and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you in person.” Nice to meet you? So he was capable of being polite with other people. Just not me. Note taken.

  “Yes!” Sophie beamed a smile that took in both Matthew and me. “It’s really nice to see you in person as well. I like being reminded that I’m never wrong.”

  “Excuse me?” Matthew’s brow furrowed in confusion.

  “Nothing.” I angled myself in front of Sophie, blocking her before she could spout any made-up famous sayings about bedroom secrets. I took Matthew’s phone-holding hand and lifted it to his chest, physically reminding him that he’d gotten what he came for. His chest was a solid wall through his shirt.

  “You have your phone back, I have my phone back, no harm done, sorry about all the trouble.” I reached up and put my hands on his shoulders—distractingly wide—and attempted to turn him toward the door. He stuffed the phone in his pocket, then seemed to think better of it and pulled it out again. He tapped the screen like he was making a call.

  My cell phone rang. Seriously? I glared at Special Agent Matthew.

  He clicked a button on his phone. “Now you have my number if you need me.”

  I frowned. “Okay.”

  Matthew stared down at the phone in his hand for a beat. “I don’t know you well, but judging by one day in your life, you seem to get into trouble a lot. You might need a friend if you find yourself in a ditch somewhere.” He smiled, and against my will my stomach flipped over like it does when I’m riding a really good roller coaster, like Goliath at Magic Mountain. Matthew’s smile transformed his handsome face into someone friendly, someone who cared, someone more than a little appealing.

  “Thanks.” Friend? Confusing, but I liked the idea of the FBI not hating me anymore.

  “No problem.” His eyes lingered on me a moment and heat crept into my cheeks. He leaned past me. “Sophie, it was very nice talking to you again.” His eyes darted to mine. “Goodbye, Eden.”

  “Goodbye.” I walked him to the door and closed it softly behind him.

  “Whoa!” Sophie collapsed against the back of the couch, head lolling. “He is seriously hot! Was I right, or was I right? As the saying goes, ‘The smart woman smells the roses first’. I knew from his voice that he was going to be seriously attractive. I’m never wrong!” She fanned herself with her hand. “I can’t believe you’re not more interested in him.”

  “He was mean, remember?”

  “Are you sure you’re not just PMS-ing? He seemed awfully sweet to me. And you did mess up all that work for him, so maybe he was justified.” Sophie grabbed a cookie and spoke through the crunching crumbs. “Looks like he got over being mad at you, though.”

  “Great.” I sank down into the easy chair. “I’m going on a date with Gavin Braddock tonight,” I reminded her, just because I liked mentioning it. Also because although Matthew was frustratingly confusing, Gavin Braddock was heart-stutteringly straightforward.

  “Oh, I know!” she gushed. “In fact, I just talked to Corey, and we’re going to take you to Rodeo Drive and help you pick out a dress for tonight.”

  Corey used to work retail, so he was a complete snob when it came to shopping—of course it had to be Rodeo Drive. At the moment he was between jobs, so it was good that his parents subsidized his standard of living…as did mine. It was unavoidable. Rent in LA was insane.

  “Rodeo Drive?” My nerve and my wallet balked. “No, I don’t need to buy an expensive dress. I could just rent one online from Posh for Pennies.”

  “By tonight?” Corey executed an elaborate eyeroll when he joined us moments later. “That’s not possible.”

  “Eden, this is truly a once in a lifetime experience. You owe it to the universe to do something iconic.”

  I shook my head at their overly hopeful faces. “There’s no reason to go all the way out to Rodeo Drive when we can just go to The Paseo.” The Paseo was an upscale outdoor mall just up the street. I was sure they’d have plenty of dresses to choose from. But Sophie wouldn’t settle for convenient when she could upsell me to fabulous.

  “You must be joking. You’re going to the most exclusive, most elegant, most Hollywood party that any woman would kill to get into with none other than the biggest, hottest movie star in the world, and you want to get your dress at the mall? Are you crazy? Besides, you have that emergency credit card your parents gave you that you’ve never even touched.”

  It was true. My parents would sanction the use of the card once they knew what I wanted to buy. They were the most supportive parents on the planet. Since I’d never betrayed their trust, they always abetted my schemes, as bland as they might have been up until now. My sister, Maggie, however, was a different story. She wasn’t trusted with a key to the family car, let alone an emergency credit card. I knew my parents would be behind me on this, but I didn’t want to take any chances. This would be hundreds of dollars.

  “Okay,” I sai
d, and called my mother.

  ∞∞∞

  “I don’t know why you’re so nervous. He fell instantly in love with you. There’s nothing to be nervous about. He’s completely smitten! And why wouldn’t he be? You’re the most beautiful girl in the world.”

  Yes, my mom was really that supportive. And delusional. And relentlessly confident in my abilities. But she was never to be believed. She had to say things like that—she was my mother. My mother who’d wanted to know why I hadn’t interviewed the President yet. Or won an Emmy.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised at her complete lack of surprise that I had a date with the biggest movie star in the world. “You’re brilliant and gorgeous! Who else would he date?” In LA? Try anyone.

  Of course she insisted on paying for the yet-to-be-found dress, she was that invested in my success.

  “Thanks, Mom. I love that you think I’m equal to a blockbuster movie star.”

  “Equal to?” Her voice sounded aggrieved. “No, you’re better than! Tell Gavin Braddock that he’s lucky to have you on his arm tonight. He’ll have your father to answer to if he doesn’t treat you like the precious jewel you are.”

  Embarrassing, yes, but it was impossible not to love someone whose faith in you was unshakeable. My mom was the best. “I will, Mom, thanks.”

  “Now what about this other young man? The FBI agent, Matthew. He sounds very promising.”

  “Oh.” I sat down on the living room couch and settled in for a longer conversation. “He’s not.”

  “Really? He was so nice on the phone. And crazy about you.”

  I couldn’t help a short bark of laughter. “No, he’s just someone I met briefly on my way to interview Gavin.” What was the deal with everyone and their high opinions of Matthew?

  “He saved your life.”

  I knew we’d get to that.

  “My life didn’t really need saving. I just went to the wrong hotel room when I showed up to interview Gavin.”

  My mother’s voice tightened. “If just going to the wrong room in a hotel gets you shot at in Los Angeles, what would happen if you walked down the wrong street? You could be dead now or worse!”

  I didn’t want to hear about what would be death or worse. I could sum it up for her. Basically anything outside of Georgia was going to get me tortured and dead. “It wasn’t like that, Mom. It was just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And no one was actually shooting at me. They were shooting at each other.” I didn’t realize I was twirling my hair until my finger got stuck. I tried to unwind it and ended up ripping my finger out of my hair, wincing as I took some of my hair with it.

  “Matthew would be a good man to have around for protection. LA is dangerous and it’s a comfort he’s armed.”

  “LA’s not that bad, Mom.” I was back to winding my hair around my finger. I’d have to stop before I twirled myself bald. “I’ve met lots of great people, and you know Sophie and Corey are wonderful friends.”

  “I’m thankful you’ve found some good people there, but I’d feel better if you were home and safe.” She sighed.

  “I know. I miss you too.” I pulled my legs up on the couch, tucking them under the adjacent cushion. “How’s Dad?”

  “Doing well. He’s not home right now—off with the HOA.”

  My father had been elected the head of the Homeowners’ Association of my parents’ subdivision after he retired from corporate middle-management. His duties were vast and time-consuming, as well as unpaid. Before he’d been elected, I’d had no idea that the average adult homeowner was so needy. It was a lot like kindergarten, which my mother used to teach.

  “How’s Maggie?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. Maggie was trouble. And an irritation bigger than Los Angeles to our mother.

  “She got kicked out of school again.” My mother’s sigh was even deeper for this bit of news than it had been for me and my imminent death.

  “Isn’t this the fourth one?”

  “Fifth.”

  “What happened?”

  “She didn’t go to class. Managed a zero point three for her semester GPA.”

  “I didn’t know that was possible.”

  “She’s moving home again. But you know your father. He’ll make her get a job—so she won’t be here for long. We just have to find a new school to accept her.”

  Maggie had worked her way through the Georgia colleges that would take her. But, of course, there were other colleges in other states. Provided my parents were willing to pay, she could keep this up for years.

  “That’s too bad.”

  My mother took a deep breath. “Maggie will be okay. And so will you. I know you’re a grown-up, but you will always be my baby. I worry.”

  “I know.” I wondered if I was even capable of loving someone as much as my mother loved me.

  “Have a wonderful time on your date tonight, spend as much on your dress as you need to, and don’t forget to tell Gavin Braddock what a blessing you are.”

  “Thanks, Mom, I will.”

  I got off the phone as quickly as she’d let me. It was time to show superstar Gavin Braddock how lucky he was to have me.

  Chapter Seven

  Shopping on Rodeo Drive with Sophie and Corey was a treat. I’m not saying that it was something I’d do all the time, but I had to admit there was an iconic glamour about it, unparalleled anywhere else.

  The five-way-stoplight intersection you had to cross to get there was a total trip to watch. Pedestrians never knew when to walk or when their turn was coming up, and they’d dart out into the street only to return after $300,000 sports cars narrowly missed flattening them. They’d then pause, regroup, and try to cross the street again—like a ritzy game of Grand Theft Auto or Frogger.

  The stores themselves were as shiny and pretty as my new necklace. And sparse. It wasn’t like shopping at Target. Each store contained only a handful of offerings—with plenty of space between them, some outfits completely alone on a wall. They ended up looking more like art installations than clothes for sale.

  But my heart pumped faster with every step. The decadence, the luxury, the sheer aesthetic beauty of the jewelry, clothing, and accessories all painted a picture of the me that could be. Peering into the display windows, I imagined myself as that exquisitely sophisticated, carelessly elegant woman who not only had everything in her life that she ever wanted, but was also sublimely oblivious to the fact that she was the most desirable woman in the room. Every room.

  Rodeo Drive sold dreams, and I wondered just how much I would have to spend to live inside one. I shook off my fantasies and caught up to Sophie and Corey who were skipping with their arms entwined.

  They were taking their jobs as self-appointed fairy godmothers very seriously, and in Corey’s case, very literally. He was sporting a pair of purple costume wings for the venture. After I tried on practically everything in three stores, and Corey and Sophie turned their noses up at several others without even going in, they declared our mission in jeopardy. Unfortunately, they were not ready to give in to my repeated requests to just go to the mall, and they dragged me to still another store, even though I protested my limit.

  When we stepped into the next shop, a stunning midnight-blue dream of a dress caught my eye. The gown was bias-cut and completely off the shoulder. It was slinky and soft and sexy as hell. The light in the room seemed to dance on its silky folds. The rich midnight color was the exact shade of the sapphires in the necklace Gavin had sent me. Now if only it would fit my slightly too curvaceous body. A dress like that wouldn’t be forgiving. I stepped toward it. Sophie and Corey saw where I was headed.

  “Oooh!” exclaimed Sophie. “It’s gorgeous!”

  “Try it on, Eed!” Corey seconded the motion as I picked up the dress.

  “That’s the latest from Vivica Angel,” the sales associate said. Uh-oh. My gown had a name. She hung it in one of the little dressing rooms for me.

  A woman my age made her way to the dressi
ng rooms in the back with her boyfriend tagging along behind her. “Hand me that dress,” she yelled to her boyfriend.

  “I would if the fairy would get out of my way,” he yelled back.

  Corey turned around abruptly. “Who are you calling a fairy?” he demanded.

  The man tugged on one of Corey’s gauzy wings and raised his eyebrows pointedly.

  Corey giggled. “Oh, right, sorry.” He moved out of the way and the man joined his girlfriend, handing her the dress she’d asked for.

  “He wants me,” Corey whispered to me with a nod of his head toward the boyfriend as I was shutting the door to the changing room.

  I nudged Corey out of the way and shut the changing room door on Sophie’s and Corey’s eager faces. Taking the dress off the hanger, my hands shook. I put it on and turned around with my eyes closed to face the mirror. Whispering a little prayer under my breath, I opened my eyes. It was beautiful. I was beautiful.

  The gorgeous inky-blue satin hugged my curves in the most flattering way, making sense of my boobs and hips and highlighting them instead of fighting them like my skinny jeans and T-shirts did. I skimmed my hands over my hips and felt the silky-smooth fabric mold to my skin like a mermaid’s tail. It conjured images of classic Hollywood beauties like Veronica Lake or Rita Hayworth. I killed in this dress. This was The Dress.

  I opened the door and stepped out to Sophie’s and Corey’s puppy-dog faces. Sophie caught her breath.

  “Eden, you’re gorgeous!” she said, and I felt the blood rush to my face. “You have to get that, or I will murder you.”

  “She’s right.” Corey folded his arms and raised his chin in appraisal. “It’s perfect. It’s so Gavin-ish. It’s the one.”

  “How much is it?” Sophie asked.

  “Holy crap! It’s $4,000.” I almost fainted. I was doing that a lot lately.

  “That’s more than my car cost,” Sophie said with regret.