made her pulse leap and her palms sweat? Troy Mills was the kind of guy movie heroes were made from, the quiet, macho type with the dark good looks and hard body that women drooled over. Including her.
She may have been Hollywood’s current “it” girl, but the town changed “it” girls as fast as actors went through rehab. She knew it well. Today’s most beautiful woman was tomorrow’s worst dressed. This year’s Oscar winner was next year’s Razzie winner. She never deluded herself into thinking her star would shine forever, and she hadn’t started acting for that reason anyway. For as long as she could remember, she’d wanted to act, to lose herself in the identity of another. To bring emotion to people’s lives and make them feel. It was a rush when she did her job right.
Thanks to Troy Mills, she’d be able to continue to do her job.
She’d never met a man so low-key. So quiet. Usually, meeting a new guy meant deflecting a come-on or pickup line. Although there was an occasional man who interested her, she’d never been great at letting him know. She tended to let the guy lead the way, and had discovered there weren’t too many regular men capable of handling the pressure of her fame. Especially actors. She’d have thought that men competed with men and women with women, but she’d learned the hard way that vying for work was a relationship killer. The most ridiculous thing of all was the fact that she’d never hunted for fame. It had landed on her doorstep with the emergence of her first sitcom, and her life had hardly been her own since. She’d learned to take control, to swim the murky waters of Hollywood, but the reality of her life was nothing that she’d ever planned or expected. Breaking into movies had been more about gaining respect from her peers than the resulting attention. Dealing with a boyfriend like Lucas, who wanted what she had with alarming desperation, was something she vowed to never live with again.
Cal strolled into the room with a Snickers bar and soda from a vending machine. She split the candy in half and handed it to Julie. “That man is delicious,” she said around her bite. “I’ll fuck him if you don’t want to.” She waggled her eyebrows.
Julie sighed as she savored the chocolate. “Mmm, this is good. I needed a chocolate fix. Thanks. And, yes, I think I want to, so hands off.”
Cal chuckled, then executed a mock bow. “Your wish is my command, Your Highness.”
Julie bunched her eyebrows together. “Hey, isn’t there some Chinese proverb that says since he saved my life, I’m his for the rest of time?’
“You’re his or he’s yours.” Cal shrugged. “Something like that. I’ll Google it when I get home and get back to you.” She took another bite of chocolate, then sat on the chair next to the bed, her eyes full of remorse.
“What’s the face?” Julie asked. “Don’t tell me you still feel guilty for just now getting here. I told you I understood.”
“Yeah, well maybe you understand, but I don’t. The whole show must go on thing is bullshit. I should’ve been here with you. I should’ve...” She trailed off and closed her eyes.
“Cal, if anyone understands the demands of a movie set, it’s me. There was no way you could leave, and I totally understand. Now if you had missed my funeral...I might have been a little pissed off.”
Cal’s eyes shot wide open. “That isn’t funny. Don’t joke about something like that.”
Julie chuckled. “Relax, would you? I’m fine. I’m going to be fine,” she amended because Cal gave her banged-up arm a very deliberate look.
Acting class had brought them together over thirteen years ago. They were paired up for a scene and had been fast friends ever since. They’d even been in auditions together, trying for the same roles, but that hadn’t stopped their friendship from being stone solid. Julie’s career had blossomed with The Only Way, but Cal hadn’t been as fortunate. Though she’d worked steadily for years and made plenty of money, she hadn’t achieved the stardom she craved. Cal insisted that as long as she continued to work she didn’t care about her Hollywood status. Especially since Tinseltown changed its mind so often. She might not be the “it” girl now, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be a few months from now.
Julie had told her that the notoriety wasn’t all it was cracked up