the phone. Hi, Daniel, we met a long time ago at the Vanity Fair Oscar party.”
He stood up. “That’s right. You won that year for best actress for Skye’s The Limit.” They awkwardly shuffled about, not knowing if they should kiss cheeks or shake hands, although Star’s arms were full, so the two of them kind of blew kisses in the air. The type of greeting I knew Daniel hated with a vengeance. Well, Star blew kisses, he sort of half winced, half smiled.
“Well, I’ll be off then,” he said. “Nice seeing you, Star.” He bent down and let his head rest beside mine and breathed me in, inhaling my hair. I was glad I’d washed it that day or I would have felt awkward. He stayed that way for several beats as if he just didn’t want to leave me but felt forced to because of Star’s presence. His lips rested on my cheek without actually kissing me. Then he finally whispered, “Please take more care of yourself, Janie. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you. See you tomorrow.” He squeezed my limp hand and then left the room.
“Only five more minutes,” a voice said, peeping through the doorway. It was a whippet-thin nurse wearing horn-rimmed glasses. She looked like she belonged in another era. “You need some light in here.”
The room flooded white with hospital glare, and the nurse disappeared. I was still reeling from Daniel’s apparent one hundred and eighty degree turn. Desperately concerned. Personally involved. Invested in me. As if I were his bona fide girlfriend.
“I had a heart attack when they told me you were here, even though I heard it wasn’t life threatening,” Star said, ripping open the chocolate box.
“Who let you know?”
“Pearl.”
“This whole thing’s pretty crazy. I had no idea at all that I was anemic. I mean, years ago I suspected, and I had myself checked over, but they told me I was fine.”
“That was a surprise, seeing Daniel here.” Star popped a chocolate into my mouth and then chose one for herself.
“He was here when I woke up,” I said, the toffee in the chocolate sticking between my teeth. “Am I allowed to eat these? I mean, it doesn’t mess with my sugar levels or something, does it?”
“The more you eat right now, the better. You’re not diabetic, you’re just anemic.”
“Anyway, he was staring at me, watching me sleep. If I wasn’t so crazy about him I would have been creeped out.”
“Yeah, well, he is kind of giving you mixed messages.”
I nodded. Star was right. “The latest message is that he’s going to play opposite me in the movie, as well as directing—he’s back in the picture, in more ways than one. Simon got fired. Cal got fired. Damn it, I forgot to ask Daniel about Cal! I’ll call Cal later. Crap! All this has been so crazy and intense!”
Star stopped chewing. “What? Daniel wants to direct the movie again? And play the leading role? I thought he didn’t want anything to do with Samuel Myers!”
“Samuel Myers has given him artistic and creative control and is going to let Daniel do whatever he wants now.”
“Which is?”
“Shoot the sex scenes in black and white and make it all arty and classy. Or so he says.”
Star grabbed a bunch of grapes. “I can see why you’re all riled up about him. There’s no denying that he’s very hot. Jeez, did you see his eyes?”
“I know,” I said helplessly. Those eyes that had been my undoing for all these years. Those eyes that ripped through the very fabric of my being. “You think I haven’t noticed?”
Star shoved five grapes into her mouth at once. “So you’ll do the movie, right? I mean you have to.”
I told her the whole story, about how the no-nudity clause would be null and void and how I’d be Daniel’s pawn, putting my trust in him completely if I said yes.
She moved onto an apple. Something told me the fruit hamper and chocolates were her breakfast, lunch, and dinner. “Stop being so fussy. Just do the goddamn movie already and enjoy yourself.”
“This is a far cry from your earlier advice, Star, when you warned me to keep away from him because he was fucking Natasha Jürgen lookalikes.”
“This is work. He’s got great artistic taste and is very respected as a director. The movie will be well received and look great. Just be professional about it. Think of it as a job—which it is.”
I remembered what Daniel