“Hell of a job, Mei,” I said.
“You have no idea, Norah.”
Over in the corner, Angie stood talking to Jack. He actually seemed to be dancing on her last damn nerve, as per normal. Her dramatic hand movements when she spoke almost smacked him in the face a time or two. And they were about the only ones I’d met before. Many more people stood nearby, waiting to say hello to us. Or they were just watching us out of interest. I don’t know. As usual, everyone was very glamorous and many were vaguely familiar. No doubt from the silver screen.
Patrick leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Norah, you okay with all this?”
“What would you do if I said I wasn’t?”
“I don’t know. Guess we could make a run for it.”
I smiled. “It’s all good, Paddy.”
We hadn’t actually discussed what level of togetherness we were now displaying in public. And this definitely qualified as public. Damn near every eye in the room seemed to be on us. Which made sense, seeing as it was supposed to be our party. Just because we were now having sex didn’t mean everything had to change. Or anything. I should probably stop overthinking things sometime soon. That would be wise.
“I just need a minute to go put on some makeup,” I said.
He nodded. “I think you’re beautiful as you are. But whatever you want.”
And my heart basically just rolled over and offered up its belly at his words. Nothing I could do.
“C’mere,” he demanded.
“You know, you seem all cool and aloof. But you’re quite the carnal bossy boots once you get going.”
“Boo.”
“No,” I said.
“Bae?”
“Hell no.”
He smiled. “Give me those lips.”
I did as asked.
“You make him happy, you know?” said Jack, sidling up alongside me.
While I hadn’t been hiding exactly, I was kind of taking a moment to catch my breath. Patrick stood around the corner talking to a producer. And I hung out in the darkened hallway leading to the bedrooms. After hours of meeting people and making conversation, I deserved a break.
“Hey,” I said. “Was wondering when I’d run into you.”
“I’ve been around.”
“How are things?”
He took a long pull on his beer. “Good. Looked at a couple of condos nearby. Got offered another gig touring with a band I like. Big name, nice money. And they’re fun to hang out with.”
“That’s great.”
“Are we just going to ignore what I said?”
I smiled. “I’m glad Patrick’s happy. He makes me happy too. We’re good friends.”
“Friends . . . sure.”
“So you’ll be buying somewhere and moving out soon?”
“Eh. I need somewhere to put my stuff.” He shrugged. “The latest ex might get my place in Santa Monica in the settlement. Easiest way to make it all go away, by the look of things.”
“For two months of marriage?”
“Love hurts, Norah.”
“This is true.” I took another sip of my drink. The rare sound of Patrick’s laughter drifted down to us and I smiled. My stomach got all fluttery. This was crazy. We hadn’t even been sleeping together for twenty-four hours. I needed to calm down and stop writing happy endings for us. Think with my brain instead of my vagina.
“As for Paddy’s ex, Liv’s a nice girl, but I think her heart is being pulled in two directions. Makes for a shitty situation.”
I raised my brows. “I didn’t realize you knew her.”
“It’s a small and sparkly town.”
“Right.”
“She starred in her first movie at around thirteen or so. We’d all wind up running around together at parties and events,” he said. “Both the kids that were in the industry and the children of the stars, movie moguls, music industry bigwigs, and other assorted rich pricks. They were the only ones who had the money to keep up, but they could also be trusted to keep their mouths shut. If they were over your house and saw your dad on a bender, they knew better than to talk about it. Next week, it might be their parent doing something dumb like hanging from a sex swing in the kitchen. They also know what it’s like to be a kid and have the papers calling you on your cell phone to ask for a comment on your parents’ divorce. To get recognized on the street. To have your first after-school job be sorting your parent’s fan mail.”
“Huh.”
“If I ever have children, not that I’m planning on having any, but if I do,” his mouth flattened, “they will sure as hell not be running around doing whatever they want and getting into trouble. My first car was a custom-built Lamborghini. It’s not normal.”
I said nothing.
“But back to you and Paddy,” he said, taking another mouthful of beer. “Do you realize you get all mushy-eyed when you look at him?”
I shrugged. “He’s really pretty to look at.”
“He also seems to have a problem letting you out of his sight, which is not normal behavior for him.” Jack nodded at the man who was indeed peeking around the corner to check on us. “Pathetic.”