the front of the bookstore. “But when you get your heart broken … it’s tough, trying to figure out how you’re supposed to put it back together. I think everybody makes mistakes when it comes to that,” he added a little wistfully.
“Like you?” she replied without thinking. “Sorry, you just sounded like you were speaking from experience. Want to tell me about it? I’ve been talking so long already.”
Forrest looked at his expensive gold watch. “Another time, Gloria. We’ve got to get a wiggle on. But first …” He moved to a table with several volumes laid on top. He picked up a book and dropped it into the basket he’d been carrying. Then he walked toward the cashier and took his place in the long line of customers.
Gloria followed. “What’s that last book?”
“That’s the book I’m buying for you.”
“Oh, you don’t have to. I’m already planning to steal A Passage to India.”
He laughed. “And you’re free to borrow it. But I wanted to buy you one to keep.” He pulled the book out of his basket and handed it to her. “It only just came out, but people are already saying it should snag the Pulitzer for Edna Ferber.”
“So Big,” Gloria read on the cover. “I hope that’s not some kind of comment on my looks.”
“God, no, you’re too skinny as it is. See, the book’s about a girl—a teacher—named Selina. Everyone else thinks getting rich should be the only goal in life, but Selina teaches her kids to follow their dreams.” Forrest paused. “She reminds me a lot of you.”
Gloria’s cheeks flamed. “Thanks,” she managed to choke out.
When they reached the cashier, Forrest began stacking book after book on the counter. Lastly he slapped down The Beautiful and Damned. Gloria was pleased to see he hadn’t put it back as she’d thought he would. “Don’t get too excited, Gloria,” Forrest said when he noticed her expression. “I’m buying this for Ruby. I want her to star in Moonshine Melody. I hope this wins her over.”
Gloria watched Forrest’s face as he gazed at the book. His features lit up—with hope or love or maybe just the thought of Ruby. She suspected that Forrest wanted to win more than just Ruby’s name on a contract.
He nodded at the elderly cashier and gestured at the books on the counter. “Now, we’ll take all of these, and then I wanted to also order fifty yards of books, chosen by your manager. I spoke to him the other day, and he said he’d fill my library. I don’t have time to pick and choose all of the books to fill the shelves. I’ll pay on delivery.”
“Of course, sir,” the cashier replied.
Gloria studied Forrest for a moment and decided she liked him. He seemed kind—a gentleman—and was a patron of the arts, which she admired. But also he seemed real, as though maybe he, too, knew the struggles of life and love not just from books, but from personal experience.
It was going to be such a shame when she turned him over to the FBI.
CLARA
“You wouldn’t believe it from how she looks in her films, but she’s a tiny little thing,” Parker explained, swilling his martini. “Barely five feet tall.”
“Really?” Clara asked with more interest than she felt.
“Really! But the woman has presence, all right. She may be small, but Gloria Swanson fills every room she enters with that wondrous charisma of hers.”
Why did Parker think his stories needed to be dotted with celebrities to be interesting? It was pathetic. “Mmm. Was she wearing her peacock feathers when you met her?”
“Ostrich, actually.”
Clara pasted a smile on her face. When she’d first come to New York what felt like a lifetime ago, Parker’s association with one of Clara’s fashion idols would’ve earned him at least a dozen points on the potential-beau scale. He’s an absolute sheik, ex-Clara would have told her girlfriends at home. He dresses well, he took me to a swanky spot, and he even knows Gloria Swanson.
But now Clara was seeing things with clearer eyes: So he’d interviewed a celebrity; that was part of his job, wasn’t it? What was the big fuss? In the end celebrities were just people like everyone else.
“She’ll look fantastic on this month’s cover, don’t you think?” he asked, but didn’t wait for Clara’s response. “We’ll have our highest sales to date, I’m willing to bet.” Parker went on and on, happy to bask in the glow of his own success.