Sugar and Spice_ An L.A. Candy Novel - Lauren Conrad [79]
“If you’re here to gloat, I’m not interested,” Madison snapped, swiping at her eyes angrily.
Jane moved into the room and knelt down next to Madison. Madison saw that she was holding a glass of champagne.
“I saw you come in here,” Jane said, handing her the glass. “Thought you could use this.”
Madison stared at her in surprise. “You’re offering me a drink?”
“Yep.”
“But . . . why?”
Jane shrugged. “I don’t know. Because you had a really, really bad night?”
Madison frowned suspiciously. “You’re not miked, are you?”
“I turned it off. Don’t worry, Trevor didn’t send me in here. Anyway, that’s all. I’ve gotta get back to work now.” Jane rose to her feet.
“Wait! Jane!”
“What?”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. You’d better check your compact—you’ve got mascara all over your face, and one of your eyelashes is, like, falling off.”
Madison smiled weakly. “Great. My life is ruined, and I look like hell.”
“Your life isn’t ruined,” Jane told her. “You’re obviously a survivor, and you’ll figure it out. You do look like hell, though. And no, this doesn’t mean we’re gonna be friends again. But I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.” With that, she turned and left.
Madison watched her old friend go. Then she tipped back the glass of champagne, polishing it off, and reached into her clutch for her compact.
Jane was right. Madison was a survivor. She would turn this nightmare into an opportunity, somehow. She had always managed to claw her way out of the abyss before. And she would find a way to do it again.
Chapter 32
How Awesome was That?
It was almost midnight when Scarlett arrived at Liam’s apartment, still wearing her sequined black gown and insanely high heels and dragging her rolling suitcase behind her. She had managed to get the last seat on the 9:35 out of Las Vegas, then caught a cab at LAX, miraculously avoiding paparazzi the whole way.
She knocked, praying he was home. Praying he was home alone. Praying he wouldn’t want to be alone any longer when he saw her there.
Scarlett was about to knock again when the door opened. Liam stood there, wearing only a pair of baby blue pajama bottoms. She tried not to stare. God, she had missed him. It took every ounce of willpower not to throw her arms around him and start kissing him right then and there.
“Scarlett?” He rubbed his eyes. “What are you doing here? And why are you dressed up?”
“I’m sorry, did I wake you? Cuz you usually don’t go to bed till later.”
“I’ve got an early shoot tomorrow. My friend Taylor needed an extra camera on a commercial. What’s up?”
“Can we talk?”
“Sure. Come on in.”
Scarlett followed Liam down the hall and into the living room. “It’s just you and me. Ry and Danny are out,” he said, sitting down on the couch. “You want something to drink?”
“I’m good, thanks.” Scarlett sat down next to him and toyed with her bracelet. She tried to gauge how he felt about her being there; was he happy, relieved, angry, confused, or all of the above? It was hard to tell from his guarded expression.
“Okay, so the reason I’m dressed like this is because I just left Aja’s engagement party,” she began. “I left before it started, and I didn’t even clear it with Dana and Trevor.”
“You mean the Venetian hotel shoot? Seriously?”
Scarlett nodded. “I ran to my room and packed my stuff and took a cab to the airport.”
“Why the rush?”
“Because I wanted to tell you something.” Scarlett paused and gazed into his eyes. “I love you. And I’m so sorry about our fight.”
Liam’s expression softened. “I love you, too, Scarlett. I really, really love you. And I’m sorry, too.” He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her.
Scarlett leaned into the kiss. She was in love with Liam. And he was in love with her. How awesome was that?
But she had to tell him the rest of it. She broke away from the kiss and added, “There’s something else.”
“Hmm?” Liam caressed her hair.
“I’m leaving L.A.”
“Wait, what?”
“You know I’ve never been totally happy at USC, right?” Scarlett explained. “Well,