of his eyes. “Speaking of getting shot, did the police talk to you?” she asked.
Troy nodded. “A couple of detectives came by yesterday and I told them what I remember. Not that I saw much. The shooter was covered from head to toe in black.”
“That’s more than me. All I saw was the red carpet in my face. I’m supposed to come up with a list of anyone who might want to hurt me.” She rolled her eyes again. “Seriously? I get a ton of weird fan mail, but no one’s said they’re going to kill me. They usually love my movies, hate my movies or want to marry me. This is way too over the top.”
“They’re just covering their bases. I’m sure they’re talking to everyone on the scene.”
Julie exhaled a sigh. “It didn’t sound like they had too much information so far. I hope they find something that helps them catch this guy.” She lifted an eyebrow. “I would be happy to sit on the witness stand and put him away for a long time.”
A nurse walked by the room and glanced in. Her mouth rounded in a silent oh and her brows pulled together in an accusing glare. “Mr. Mills! There you are. We’ve been looking all over for you. Marco is frantic that he lost you.” Red curls escaped her French braid.
“My physical therapist,” Troy told Julie as he got to his feet. “Tell Marco I did an extra couple of laps and had to sit down for a second.”
“He’s threatening to put a GPS on your IV,” the nurse said.
“Only if I get a LoJack to go with it.” He winked at Julie and a silly grin stretched her lips.
“Good luck joking your way out of this one,” the nurse replied. “Marco is going to go ballistic on your skinny white butt.” She looked down the hallway and motioned someone forward. Presumably Marco.
Troy looked back at her with mock horror in his eyes. “If my physical therapist does me in before I see you again, it was nice talking with you.” He watched her for a second and Julie’s pulse quickened. His dark serious eyes said more than words. “I’m really glad you’re okay,” he said. A half grin lifted the corners of his lips before he followed the nurse out the door.
Julie leaned back against her pillow and a little shudder rippled down her spine. Troy Mills had one hell of a powerful smile. As she lay there thinking back on their conversation, she realized she still knew next to nothing about him. Was he from L.A.? Did he have a girlfriend? Could he cook?
“Julie!” Her assistant, Abbey, stormed into the room. Her straight light brown hair was in its usual ponytail high on her head, making her look even younger than normal. She wore very little makeup, if any, and had the most gorgeous mocha-colored skin on the planet. “Oh, my God, I can’t believe it. How are you? What do you need? What should I do first?” Abbey, bless her California-native heart, had been her right hand for over two years. Julie knew the day would come when Abbey would find a better job, her dream job of dancing, but so far she’d stayed. The twenty-three-year-old with a BA in communications put all the trash on Julie’s tray and organized everything she saw.
“I’m okay,” Julie told her. “Just really tender and sore.”
“I saw the footage from my parents’ place and got back as soon as I could. I knew I shouldn’t have left when you had an award weekend.” She moved the tray to the windowsill and refilled the water cup.
Julie waved her hand. “Pft. It wasn’t like I was nominated. Besides, you being here wouldn’t have changed anything.”
“You’re wrong.” Abbey collected the cards and letters scattered on the end table and put them in a neat stack. “It would’ve made me feel better about being here for you sooner.” She took the chair Troy recently vacated, her dancer-posture perfect as she sat forward. “So what did the doctors say? What happened?”
“I have one less organ to worry about since they removed my spleen.”
Abbey’s nose crinkled up. “That sucks. How important is a spleen? Do you need a transplant?”
“Apparently the body can survive without a spleen.”
“That’s a relief. What else?”
“I needed a blood transfusion, but Mom donated so it all evened out.”
“Wow. Your mom didn’t mention that.”
Julie shook her head. “That’s why you cut your trip short, isn’t it? Mom asked you