Sugar and Spice_ An L.A. Candy Novel - Lauren Conrad [41]
Caleb caressed her bare arm, giving her goose bumps. “So. Are you free for dinner tomorrow night?”
Jane gazed up at him. “Umm . . . well . . .” She’d had lots of good reasons to decide to take a break from dating. Lots. But at this moment, with Caleb, she was having a hard time remembering any of them.
“You like Italian, right? I found this great place just off Will-sher. Did I say that right?”
“You said it perfectly,” Jane said. God, he was adorable. And why did he have to have those amazing dimples?
Okay, maybe one date. “Caleb. Listen. If we’re going to . . . um, hang out, I need you to understand something. This show is my job. Well, my other job, anyway. When I’m out, there’s usually a crew with me. Are you okay with that?”
“By ‘hang out,’ do you mean this?” Caleb cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. Jane hesitated at first, then kissed him back.
When they stopped for air, he pulled her in even closer, holding tightly. “I know exactly what you need right now,” he whispered in her ear.
“You . . . do?” Jane said breathlessly.
“I do.”
Then, before Jane knew what was happening, he swept her off her feet and turned toward the pool. “Caleb!” she screamed. “Don’t you DARE!”
But it was too late, and Jane felt herself hitting the cool water with a loud splash. When she resurfaced seconds later, Caleb was right beside her, laughing hysterically.
“You’re still a jerk!” Jane scolded him, swatting a wet strand of hair out of her eyes.
“Yeah, but you’re still crazy about me,” Caleb teased her.
Jane glared at him. And broke into a smile. And wrapped her arms around his neck. This was definitely like old times. Better than old times.
Maybe she didn’t need to swear off all boys. Didn’t she deserve to have some fun, after everything?
Chapter 15
The Two Sisters
“I need you to get on the phone ASAP and leak some details about Jane and Caleb’s dinner date,” Trevor told Melissa. The PopTV publicist was standing in the doorway of his office, stifling a yawn as she scribbled in a spiral-bound Mead notebook. “We’re fast-tracking that episode and airing it a week from—I’m sorry, am I boring you?”
Melissa snapped to attention. “No, no. I’m writing all this down.”
Trevor sighed. His employees were going to have to get used to coming in early on Sunday mornings if they wanted to rise to the top at PopTV. L.A. Candy Season 2 was already surpassing Season 1 in ratings, which meant working around the clock if necessary to keep it that way.
“I want the story to make this week’s issues so that people watch that episode next week. Mention that Jane and Caleb went to La Dolce Vita last Thursday. They were ‘holding hands and looking very cozy,’ etc., etc.,” Trevor said. “Paint a picture—you know, first love, high school romance, he went away to college, can they rekindle the flames?” He added, “Get something in there about Jesse, too. Don’t talk about his DUI. I’m thinking along the lines of, ‘Can Caleb help Jane get over her broken heart?’ If they bring up the DUI, just say that Jane is happy that Jesse is getting the help he needs.” Jesse had checked into a rehab clinic in Palm Springs and was apparently going to be there for a while. Which was good news. It occurred to Trevor that Jesse might not take the news of Jane and Caleb’s rekindled relationship too well. He only hoped it wouldn’t derail Jesse’s new sobriety.
Melissa nodded. “Got it. Anything else?”
“Yeah, but I’m still working on it. Check back with me in half an hour. No, give me an hour. Madison’s coming in at nine thirty to talk to me about something.”
“Okay, then,