deep sleep. It was the morning of the Golden Globe award nominations. In years past she had trouble sleeping longer than a few hours. Perhaps it was the fact the fall season of Follow the Sun was dominating the number-one spot in the Nielsen ratings, or Elle’s confidence in her show’s role within the network, but for whatever reason she had slept in, only to be woken by the excited voice of Whitney.
“Oh my God, did I seriously just wake you?”
“Yes,” she grumbled into the receiver, unable to focus her hazy eyes.
“Hurry up! Best Drama is next!”
Elle reached out her arm, still heavy with sleep, to grab the remote. Her nerves got the best of her and her fingers fumbled with the numbers.
“Oh my God,” Whitney grumbled on the other end of the line. “You’re going to miss it.”
Elle struggled to focus her eyes. “I’m doing the best I can. Don’t be a pain in the ass.”
Finally, Elle turned to the proper channel just as Follow the Sun was read from the list of nominees. She and Whitney sat in silence for a moment. She’d done it. They’d done it. Elle’s eyes filled with tears and she bit down on her bottom lip to prevent her emotions from spilling over.
“You did it,” Whitney whispered.
Elle took a deep breath to calm her pounding heartbeat, and swiped a tear from her cheek. She had to remember to keep things in perspective and not to get her hopes up. “It’s just a nomination.”
“Stop it. Don’t do that. Don’t you dare do that. You freaking did it! This is something to celebrate!”
“I know, I just—I’m overwhelmed.” Elle stared at the screen in awe.
“Just soak it in, my friend,” Whitney said. Elle could hear Whitney’s smile in her voice. “Soak it in.”
“I will, I promise.” Elle ran her fingers through her hair, finally allowing a satisfied smile to pull at the corners of her mouth.
“By the way, sleeping through the award nominations? So unlike you. I thought you’d be up hours ago, cleaning out your cabinets or something.” Whitney chuckled into the phone. Whenever Elle was nervous, she had to keep her mind busy. Cleaning, rearranging, organizing were some of the things she ran to when anxious. Because of this, her cabinets were extremely well organized.
“I know, I’m shocked myself. So what did I miss?”
“Nolan and Gina are up for Best Actor and Actress. And now Best Drama. Maybe we’ll grab it this year.”
Elle released a sigh, not even realizing she was holding her breath. This was their second nomination for the award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. They’d lost the previous year to a stellar drama in its final season. They hadn’t stood a chance. But this year . . . well, this year they had a shot.
“This is . . . wow, this is phenomenal. Any tough contenders for the spot? I missed the other nominations.”
“Yeah, a couple. But I think we can take ’em, especially after last week’s Nielsens. Maybe Nolan will win this year, too. God, he’d be so happy.”
“Gina would, too.”
An uncomfortable pause passed over the phone. “Well, yeah.”
“Things still weird between you two?” Elle asked.
“She’s just a bitch on a mission to erase my existence from the planet. Seriously, she hasn’t made eye contact with me in months . . . even when I apologized. Whatever, I’m over it. But speaking of her crazy ass—do you mean to tell me she’s been nice to you?”
Elle chose not to share Gina’s antics regarding a proposed showmance with Luke. If she did, she knew how Whitney would react, and she wanted to hold on to her good feelings regarding the nominations. “Well, no, but she’s the star of my show. I have to try, no matter how much she pisses me off. The show comes first, you know that. We’re losing Nolan, there’s no way I’m losing her, too.”
“You’re a better person than I am, my dear.” Whitney laughed. “Enough about her. We should celebrate tonight. Drinks? Dinner? Dancing? All of the above?”
“I wish I could. But I’m actually seeing Troy tonight. He’s taking me to see a Beatles cover band at Levitt Pavilion.”
“Ah, Vegas is stepping it up, huh?”
Whitney didn’t sound impressed. Elle knew her best friend’s claws came out when it involved Troy. Yes, she finally understood his reasons for leaving Elle the way he did, but as time had gone by, she reminded Elle of his decade-long absence from her life, and that if she hadn’t