The Ivy House - By Drea Stein Page 0,18

had always seemed to be around when they went on dates. “And it turned out he was all about my connection to Savannah.”

“Sounds like you were burned by someone.” Lynn looked at her. “Come on, spill. If you tell me about yours, I will tell you about mine. Can’t be worse than someone who got turned on by ‘playing doctor.’”

“Dumped me about a week after Savannah’s funeral.”

“What?” Lynn said, her voice disbelieving. “That creep. What reason did he give you?”

“It was him, not me, you know. The same old stuff. I realized I had just about outlived my usefulness, especially since he had just gotten cast on a new show. And I had this rule: no dating actors. I thought I had learned my lesson, but Garrett was so charming, I just couldn’t resist.”

Lynn’s nose crinkled. “Do you mean Garrett McGraw, the one who’s going to be on the new medical show?”

Phoebe looked at her glass. It was almost empty. There was a group of guys, late twenties, early thirties, casually dressed. One of them tried to catch their eye. Phoebe sent a quick smile and then turned to Lynn. Somehow, a blond cutie in a fleece wasn’t doing it for her tonight, not when she had spent the afternoon drawing pictures of a dark haired, blue-eyed lurker.

Phoebe shook her head. “He’s the one. I thought he was different. We actually went to high school together and, believe you me, he was not that cute back then. So when he showed up looking all yummy and delicious, fresh off that other show, I thought I was being the shallow one, you know, giving him a second chance.”

“But let me guess, he was just using you?” Lynn said, her eyes wide and knowing.

“He wanted to impress Savannah. Turns out, he wanted her to make a few phone calls to some producers, which I guess she did. She never could resist a cute face. Or tight abs. And before I know it, he goes from having a few bit parts in a TV show to being cast as the charming yet deep doctor on the most anticipated show of the season, ‘Mercy.’” Phoebe shook her head and looked into her drink. She had managed to finish her entire margarita.

“Well, if it makes you feel better, real doctors hate those shows. Everything’s always so dramatic and over-the-top. And trust me, none of us look that good in scrubs,” Lynn said.

“Thanks, but I don’t think that makes me feel better.”

“So did you ever act?” Lynn asked.

“No way. Not for me. Let’s just say I am definitely a behind-the-scenes girl. I worked as a set designer for a while and then as a graphic designer and then a designer. Pillows, fabrics, and things. I have my own company, but I mainly do consulting work.”

“Would I have bought any of your stuff?” Lynn asked, and Phoebe could tell she was curious.

“Sort of,” Phoebe answered.

“Sounds like another story.”

Phoebe sighed. Not even tequila could make this story better. “I told a client that she had the taste of a hillbilly.”

“A client?” Lynn was puzzled.

“I was hired by a certain celebrity, one with her own cooking show, to help her develop a line of dinnerware. She and I had different ideas on what things should look like,” Phoebe said simply. The taste of that defeat was still far more bitter than what had happened with Garrett. She had gotten what she asked for when she dated an actor. But the breakup of her professional relationship had come out of left field.

It had hurt when CallieSue Owens hadn’t bowed to Phoebe’s far superior design sensibilities. And that manufacturing company, the one paying Phoebe’s fee, had chosen CallieSue’s white-trash design sensibilities over her own.

“You don’t mean CallieSue…” Lynn started to guess.

“Shh. No one is supposed to know she’s not designing it herself. But yeah, I mixed it up with a gal from Texas and guess what?”

“What?” Lynn asked.

“You really don’t want to mess with Texas,” Phoebe said.

Lynn hooted with laughter. The blond guy in the fleece was starting to make his way over to them, and Phoebe decided she didn’t care if he came over or not. Perhaps a preppy guy in fleece was just what she needed to block the thoughts of Chase out of her mind.

“Did you get another job?” Lynn asked.

“No, not at the moment. I am clientless.” Phoebe only hesitated for a moment. CallieSue Owens had made sure of that. Phoebe had underestimated the amount of pull