Sugar and Spice_ An L.A. Candy Novel - Lauren Conrad [22]
“Yeah, sort of. I can finish later tonight. After I destroy you in a game of Monopoly.”
Jane giggled and punched his arm. “You are so on!”
For the next few hours they caught up on each other’s news . . . and drank more wine . . . and ordered in Chinese . . . and played one round of Monopoly (Jane won) and one round of Clue (Braden won) . . . and then moved on to gin rummy. Jane couldn’t remember the last time she and Braden were so relaxed together. There was no drama tonight, no pressure . . . just two friends enjoying a cozy evening in.
During the second round of gin rummy, Braden happened to mention—like it was no big deal—that Willow had a new boyfriend who worked with her at Alt magazine. Jane took in this information as she exclaimed “gin!” and fanned out her cards; she tried to act totally casual about it, but inside, she felt her heart flutter. She wished the news didn’t affect her, but it did.
Before Jane knew it, it was almost eleven o’clock. She forced herself to rise to her feet, even though Braden’s futon couch was so comfy that she could just curl up right then and there. “I’d better go. I have to be at work early tomorrow,” she said ruefully.
“Yeah, no worries. I’m sorry I kept you up so late.”
“This was so much fun. I can’t believe you’re going away for two whole months.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll call you from there, okay? I’m pretty sure I’ll have cell reception and internet. If I don’t . . . well, I’ll talk to you in May or whenever.”
“Don’t be dramatic. You’re going to a movie set, not to war,” Jane teased him.
“Yeah, well.”
Braden gazed at her, and she saw something in his hazel-green eyes: something wistful, warm. She tried to turn away from his gaze, pretending to rifle through her purse for her car keys . . . but she found that she couldn’t. He was not just a friend to her—he had never been just a friend to her—and she knew now that she had never been just a friend to him, either. She raised her eyes slowly and met his gaze openly, honestly, letting him know in the heavy, charged silence between them how she felt about him. And then the next thing she knew, he was pulling her toward him, and she was standing on her tiptoes and raising her face to his, and they kissed. What are you doing? she asked herself. But she couldn’t stop . . . neither of them could. They sank down onto the couch, still kissing.
Chapter 8
You Have to Lie to People if It’s for Their Own Good
Trevor leaned back in his chair and stared out the window. The view from Fiona’s conference room was different from his usual view: There were no buildings, no billboards, just a little park with Japanese landscaping, complete with a koi pond. He knew Fiona was inspired by nature, or at least that’s the image she chose to convey to her clients. He, on the other hand, was inspired by artifice, by the unreal, by the fake it till you make it vibe of L.A. He loved the feeling that anything was possible in this city, as long as you had the brains and the energy and the sheer, unapologetic gall to invent it. Or to invent yourself.
Trevor knew that L.A. Candy was his best invention yet. And Season 2 was already exceeding expectations. The Jane-Madison feud was a ratings bonanza, fueled by Madison’s almost daily media appearances faux crying into a silk handkerchief. Scarlett was cooperating—finally—and was even doing some media herself.
Trevor’s idea about giving Hannah her own love interest was paying off, too. Oliver was working out very well so far, although how painful could it be to pretend to like a pretty, smart, sweet girl like Hannah? Still, he had better be worth it, since Trevor had been forced to sit through several dozen audition tapes to find the right guy.
As for Gaby, well, she had a new publicist, which had annoyed Trevor at first, since publicists could be a nightmare, making all kinds of crazy demands on behalf of their clients. But this one, Annabelle, had some good ideas. Gaby did need to start dating up; Trevor had actually cringed when he saw the tabloid pictures of her with some guy named “Skull” at STK