Sugar and Spice_ An L.A. Candy Novel - Lauren Conrad [45]
“Maybe she got it wrong,” Scarlett suggested. Or maybe you’re just being delusional, as usual, she thought.
“Look, this is my cover, and you’re trying to steal it from me!” Madison said angrily.
A young woman standing nearby was looking at them with a little too much interest. That’s all Scarlett needed, for some eavesdropping stranger to call the tabloids with a hot tip about the two of them arguing over the stupid August cover.
Scarlett fake-smiled, shifting gears. “I’m soooo late for a dinner date,” she told Madison apologetically. “I’ll catch you later, okay? Good luck with your meeting!”
With that, Scarlett turned and rushed out the door, trying not to laugh at the stunned expression on Madison’s face, and savored her tiny victory.
“Hey, these fish tacos are great! I thought you said you didn’t know how to cook.” Liam was seated next to Scarlett at her apartment, scarfing down the tacos she had just made.
“I don’t. This is all I know how to make. And the main ingredient was in the freezer twenty minutes ago,” Scarlett said, secretly pleased.
Liam grinned and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. “I’ve missed you,” he said.
“I’ve missed you, too. I wish the semester was over already, and we could spend more time together.”
“That’s, like, in a month, right?” Liam said, taking another bite of his taco.
“Yeah, I’m counting the seconds.”
“I’m gonna teach you how to wakeboard this summer.”
“Wrong, Ferguson! I’m gonna teach you how to wakeboard this summer.”
Liam laughed, then kissed her again, this time on the lips. Scarlett twined her fingers through his long, light brown wavy hair, then pulled him closer. She had wanted to prepare him a special dinner, complete with candles, wine, and romantic music in the background. It was a little cheesy for her taste, but she wanted to make up for being so MIA lately. (Jane was out with Caleb, so they had the place to themselves.) And to put him in a relaxed, happy mood before she had The Talk with him about Naveen.
She had been avoiding the issue for a while, and she really couldn’t put it off any longer. For one thing, she knew that the episode featuring the Caleb-Naveen dinner party (as well as Jane and Caleb’s official “first date” at some fancy Italian restaurant) was airing next week. After it aired, the blogs would be buzzing with insane headlines like: THE NEW BOYS OF L.A. CANDY and SCARLETT’S NEW MAN?
But more important, one of the big tabloids had hit the stands this morning with a trashy piece about Scarlett and Naveen filming together, going on dinner dates, and becoming an item—compliments of a “source close to Scarlett.” WTF? Where did reporters get this crap? Liam apparently hadn’t seen the article yet, judging from his pleasant mood tonight. But she couldn’t exactly keep him away from magazine stands, bookstores, grocery store aisles, and the internet.
“Soooo.” Scarlett sat back in her chair and began fiddling with her napkin. Just get it over with, she told herself. “You remember those two guys Janie and I know from high school? Caleb and Naveen?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’ve never met them. But I saw their pictures in a magazine at my dentist’s office, remember?” Liam said wryly.
“Um, right.” Add “dentist’s offices” to the list, Scarlett thought. “Well, I wanted to tell you . . . that is . . . Trevor kind of made us invite them over for dinner last week,” Scarlett blurted out.
Liam frowned. “I don’t get it.”
“Trevor said he wants us to hang out on camera as a foursome because there needs to be guys on the show,” Scarlett babbled on. “He said it’s not good for ratings that Jane isn’t dating anybody, and I’m dating you, except you can’t be on the show, so as far as the public is concerned, I’m not dating anybody, either. Except now Janie is dating Caleb.” She didn’t stop to voice her opinion on the subject, namely, that she wasn’t thrilled, and she hoped her best friend wasn’t going to get hurt—again. “That’s going to be on the next episode. And so is the dinner party with the four of us. And I just wanted to let you know that dinner party was totally innocent