"Yes, dear?" the woman said in a beautiful Irish lilt. "May I. . . ?" Julia gestured to the magazine, completely unable to finish her sentence, certainly incapable of walking twenty feet to a newsstand to buy her own copy.
"Why, certainly, dear," the woman said, and handed the
magazine to Julia, who felt her breath catch as she looked down at the black-and-white photo on the cover.
She ripped through the pages until she saw his face again. She looked at the smile that he used to give to her and realized that he was now giving it to America. A pang of jealousy ripped through her, and she began to read.
LANCE COLLINS: NOT JUST A PASSING FAD
In an all-night bakery in TriBeCa, Lance Collins looks like a lot of other men. Look closer. You might notice his smile first; most people do. Or maybe his gray eyes and dark brown hair. Maybe his large hands and firm grip as he stands and welcomes you to the table. You think you've seen him before, but you just can't put your finger on where. Well, don't worry. In seven months, when the first of his three new blockbuster films hits theaters, his will be a face you won't be able to forget. For now, you remember the pictures of him with a certain self-help diva who shall remain nameless, and you think, again, that he reminds you of someone you maybe had a crush on once. Guess what? You're probably right.
When I met Hollywood's latest "It" boy, a few blocks from where he's just begun shooting a new movie, I had to do a double take myself.
FAD: Thanks for making the time to meet with me. Our readers are dying to learn more about you.
LC: Oh, thanks. It's really no trouble. Glad to do it.
FAD: So, I'm just going to lay this out there. What is your relationship with Julia James?
LC: (laughs) She's a friend. A wonderful person. I wish her all the best.
FAD: Is it true that your relationship was fabricated to boost her sales and launch your career?
LC: That would be kind of hard, considering we never had a relationship and neither one of us ever claimed to. Look, people can believe what they want, what they read, if they're gullible enough. But there's no way a guy like me deserves a woman like that.
FAD: Our female readers will find that hard to believe.
LC: Don't worry, your male readers will know exactly what I'm talking about.
FAD: You're working with A-list people on an A-list project now. How does that feel?
LC: I'm eating better than I have in years, and I'm not tending bar anymore, (smiles) But all joking aside, it feels great. This is what I do. I act. It's great to be acting, period. If you get to do it with the best in the business, all the better.
FAD: What about fame?
LC: (sips his coffee) What about it?
FAD: You saw it growing up with your dad. Academy Award Winner Robert Wells, but you're not using his last name now. Your former agent released that fact to the press, that you come from acting royalty and yet have chosen to use Collins, your mother's maiden name. Why?
LC: (he smirks—ladies, watch out for that) I changed my name. My dad is pretty famous. Okay, We look a lot alike, but we're not cloneThe nepotism in life, in any career, especially good show or bad. I wanted to make it, but I wanted to own merit. That's why the Julia thing never ( ? ) .Why would I do that to her, put her through that, My Iast was a famous name? I had that to begin with.
FAD: You're just friends?
LC: (takes a slow drink of coffee) Yeah.
( ? ) Lance Collins might have had two stble at <«m« th# «»»t way and turned them down, but as the sun ri««t ant M»«> tan, I look at the eyes and smile he inherited from his father and I realize that like it or not, when AmufnJ y> close look at Lance Collins, fame is probably ■ i i
Unlike the barrage of reality-show sti , ,i . generation wannabes, this "It" boy is de-.tn . i.« % ,■<, but just another fad. ( ? )
Julia dropped the magazine. The woman looked at her then at Lance's picture on the cover. "He's handsome, UH dear?" the woman asked.
"I know him," Julia mumbled.
"Oh, do you now? Tell me." The woman Irritate assuming ( ? ) the posture of a confidant. "How well you know him?"
"I love him," Julia said, surprising easy.
The woman took in a sharp breath. "What a handsome pair you must make." But Julia was crying.