Hollywood Wives - the New Generation (17 page)

'Look, it's not Lissa's fault,' Nicci pointed out. 'Ramone's all
over
her.'

'It's not
my
mom's fault either when every guy I ever
brought home kissed her ass and ignored me.'

'Some night!' Nicci said, wrinkling her nose.

'Yeah,' Saffron agreed, and then she started to giggle. 'Why am I
getting mad anyway? The dude's not worth it. He's just another stud
with a big dick and no brains.'

'Dime a dozen,' Nicci said, suddenly giggling too.

'You got it, girl,' Saffron agreed.

And then they both broke up laughing.

Carol was learning new tricks. Either that or she'd decided that
hooking Michael sexually was the way to go.

'Oh, my
God
, I'm
so
wet,' she moaned, as they
made love balanced on the edge of the bed. 'You make me so very hot,
Mikey. I
love
the way you fuck me.'

He did not appreciate her sudden vocal abilities. Nor her calling
him Mikey, an abbreviation of his name he'd never liked. Sex to Michael
was not a lot of explicit talk, it was more touching and feeling and
being together as one. Carol's dialogue reminded him of his ex-wife,
and that wasn't a good thing.

'
Please -
I want you to put your cock in my mouth,' Carol
crooned. 'I want you to come all over my—'

'Be quiet,' he said abruptly, interrupting her.

'What?' she said, startled.

'Don't speak like that.'

'But I thought—'

'It's not for me, Carol,' he said. What he
really
wanted
to say was 'It makes you sound like a cheap hooker - exactly the way my
wife turned out to be.'

Carol was crushed and humiliated. Amber had assured her that after
cooking, the second best way to a man's heart was a little sexy talk in
bed. 'Low down an' dirty does it every time,' Amber had confided, with
a wicked chuckle. And Carol had listened.

'Sorry,' she muttered, highly embarrassed.

But it was too late, he'd already withdrawn.

After half an hour of being hit on by Saffron's boyfriend, tempered
by a few surly remarks from Evan's stoned brother, Lissa realized she
had made a big mistake. Excusing herself, she hurried into the bedroom
and called Michael from her cellphone. 'Sorry about this,' she
whispered. 'I know I'm probably interrupting you in the middle of
dinner or something.'

'It's ten o'clock,' he said, keeping an eye on Carol as she scurried
into the bathroom, obviously upset. 'I'm not in the middle of anything.
Why are you whispering?'

'I did something stupid.'

'You didn't go home I hope.'

'No, I, uh… took a cab up to my daughter's fiance's house for
dinner.
Not
a good idea. I am now trapped.'

'In other words,' he said, ridiculously pleased to hear from her,
'you need rescuing?'

'I hope you're in the rescuing business.'

'Give me the address,' he said, reaching for a pad and pencil.
'Rescuing is my specialty.'

'Please get here fast, Michael. I'll wait outside.'

'You're
that
desperate?'

'Believe me.'

She gave him the address, clicked off her cellphone and returned to
the living room.

'You're not leaving?' Nicci said, coming in from the patio.

'Fraid so.'

'Everything all right?' Evan asked.

'Uh… yes. It's just that I have an early rehearsal for my Vegas
show, so I should get going. My back-up dancers are all twelve,' she
joked. 'Gotta keep up.'

'I'll walk you to the door,' he offered.

'No need,' she said quickly. 'My driver's right outside.'

Ramone was on his feet in a second. 'Better give you my number,' he
said, frantically groping in the pocket of his tight pants for a piece
of paper.

'Give it to Nicci,' Lissa said. 'I'll be sure to pass it onto my
agent.'

'I'm makin' you a promise,' he said, honouring her with another
long, smouldering stare. 'I
am
the man for your next video.'

'I'll keep that in mind, Ramone.'

'See you at the wedding, Mother-in-law,' Brian said, with a lazy
grin.

Little stoned shit
, she thought.
He knows I don't like
the title. Thank God Nicci chose the other brother
.

Once outside she took a long, deep breath.
What a bad move that
was
, she thought.
Nicci and her friends - no thank you
.

'I gotta go out,' Michael said, as Carol emerged from the bathroom.

She knew immediately it was because of what she'd said, the dirty
words which were so foreign to her. She was mad at herself. Why the
heck had she listened to Amber? 'Michael,' she said, wrapped in his
white toweling robe. 'I have to explain. You see, it—'

'No need to explain anything,' he said, anxious to get going. 'I
really
do
have to go out.'

'Oh,' she said, deflated.

'There's a client who's in trouble,' he explained, trying to let her
down easily because she looked so crestfallen. 'An important client.'

'Can I help?' she asked hopefully.

'No.'

'Then I'll wait up for you,' she said, clutching his robe tightly
across her body.

'Uh… Carol, I think it's better if you go home tonight,' he said,
pulling on his pants.

'Why?'

'Cause I'll probably get back late,' he said, reaching for his
favourite sweatshirt. 'And I wouldn't want to wake you. It'll suit me
better if you go home.'

'It'll suit
you
better,' she repeated, a touch
tight-lipped.

He could smell a fight a mile away, and now was definitely not
showdown time. 'For me, honey,' he said, giving her a quick kiss to
soften the blow. 'Sometimes I need to be alone. You can understand
that, can't you?'

She nodded miserably. He wasn't giving her much choice.

Michael arrived in record time. Lissa hurriedly climbed into his
jeep before he had a chance to get out. 'Thanks for coming,' she said
breathlessly.

'No problem,' he said, shooting her a quick look.

'The hotel was closing in on me,' she explained, noting how good he
looked in Levi's and an old sweatshirt. 'I had to get out.'

'No explanations,' he said, starting to drive.

'I wish I could go to my own home now,' she said wistfully, as they
headed down the hill.

'And what'll you do if Gregg turns up at four in the morning ready
for a fight?'

'You think he might?'

'Pissed-off husbands are capable of anything,' he said, shooting her
another quick look. 'You're not gonna like me asking this - but does he
have a gun?'

'Aren't you being overly dramatic?' she replied, drumming her
fingers on the dashboard.

'Does he?' Michael persisted.

'Not that I'm aware of.'

'Maybe he keeps one on him.'

'Now you're making me nervous.'

'Didn't mean to do that.'

'Are you suggesting that if he
did
have a gun he might use
it?'

'You never know with people,' Michael said, his handsome face
serious. 'I've seen things you wouldn't believe.'

'Really?'

'Yes, really, Lissa.'

She was silent for a moment. Why had she phoned Michael to come and
get her? She could've called for a cab, summoned Chuck, contacted Danny.

But no, she'd called Michael Scorsinni. Why?

Because you like him.

No. I don't. Well, yes, maybe I do, but not in a romantic way.

Sure
.

'I hope I didn't drag you out of bed with your
girlfriend,' she said, fishing for information.

'
What
girlfriend?' he responded with a half-smile.

'There must be
someone
special.'

A beat while he didn't answer. Then - 'Do you fancy stopping for ice
cream?'

'Ice cream?' she said, laughing softly. 'What are we - back in high
school?'

'I'm having a sugar-attack,' he explained, which was a lie: he
simply wanted to spend more time with her.

'Ice cream - no,' she said slowly. 'But I wouldn't mind a drink.'

'I don't drink,' he said, staring straight ahead.

'How come?' she asked, studying his almost perfect profile.

He took a long slow beat. 'Lissa, I'm a recovering alcoholic,' he
said at last, wondering why the hell he was revealing such a personal
piece of information to a woman he barely knew.

'Oh,' she said, suddenly uncomfortable. 'Sorry.'

'Hey,' he said easily, 'there's nothing to be sorry about. I've been
sober ten years, it's no big deal.'

'Then why do you call yourself an alcoholic?' she asked curiously.

'Because that's what I am,' he stated flatly, 'and that's what I'll
always be.'

There, he'd told her. He usually waited a while before telling
people. But he kind of liked the idea of being totally up-front with
this woman. Not that they were headed towards anything other than a
business relationship.

'Do you go to AA?' she inquired.

'I try to make it to a weekly meeting.'

'Even though you don't drink any more?'

'It keeps me sane.'

'Well, then,' she said lightly, 'I wouldn't want to tempt you by
luring you into a bar.'

'Nothing tempts me, Lissa,' he said, rubbing his chin with his index
finger. 'I got will-power of steel.'

'Lucky you,' she murmured. 'I wish I did.'

'So,' he said, 'we'd better come up with a place where you won't be
recognized.'

'How about my hotel room?' she suggested, realizing that it probably
wasn't appropriate, but it was the only private place she could think
of.

'No,' he said, shaking his head.

'I promise I won't jump you,' she responded, amused.

He ignored her stab at humour. 'It's not a clever idea for me to be
seen going into your room,' he said. 'If Gregg got to hear about it…'

'I'll give you the key,' she said, strangely reluctant to say good
night. 'Wait five minutes,
then
come up.'

He glanced across at her. 'You're serious?'

'Why do I have to explain myself?' she said, a tad irritated. 'I'm
not tired and I feel like talking. Is that okay with you?'

'
You're
the client, Lissa,' he said evenly. And then he
smiled. 'Although you gotta realize I'll have to charge you overtime.'

'You drive a hard bargain, Mr Scorsinni,' she said, smiling also.

'Yeah.' Another long beat. 'I know.'

'You're very quiet,' Larry said, on the drive home. 'I had a good
time. How about you?'

Taylor adjusted her seat-belt. She didn't know
what
to
think. She'd just spent an evening with Oliver Rock's parents, his
proud
parents
, for crissakes, and Larry wanted to know if
she'd had a good time. 'It was enjoyable,' she managed.

'Yes,' Larry said firmly. 'It was. I'd like to see more of Isaac and
Jenny.'

'We will,' she murmured.

'You're our social director,' Larry said. 'Make it happen.'

Was he
giving her an order? She wasn't one of his minions he could boss around.

Maybe she should give him a blow job just to prove who the
real
boss
was. Then again, maybe not. She was tired and hardly in a terrific mood.

'The Rocks were nice, too,' Larry said. 'We should invite them over
with Isaac and Jenny. Make a date for next week. Okay?'

'No, it's not okay,' she wanted to say. 'They're my lover's parents,
for God's sake. It's not okay at all.'

But, of course, Larry didn't know that. And she had no intention of
him ever finding out.

'Thank
God
Lissa's gone!' Saffron exclaimed, jumping up
and cornering Nicci. 'I'm dumping Ramone big-time,' she confided. 'Have
you ever
seen
such a suck-up loser?'

Nicci wasn't listening, she had one eye on Brian, who was also on
his feet.

'Thanks for dinner, Nic,' he said, heading for the door. 'Now I
gotta split.'

'It was horrible, wasn't it?' she responded, half hoping he'd
disagree.

'Pretty bad,' he said, with a jaunty wink.

'We can always do it again,' she said, observing that Miss Russia
was already standing by the door - no doubt anxious to get him to
herself so she could ravish his sexy body.

'Gonna pass on that.'

'Maybe at
your
house next time?' she suggested, imagining
him and the Russian indulging in wild sex.

'Don't have a house. Got an apartment, an' it's a pit.'

'Why am I
so
not surprised?'

He gave her a long, stoned look. 'Don't ever use that chef again.'

She stared right back at him. 'Don't ever bring Miss Russia here
again.'

A slight grin. 'Oh, so now you're a girlfriend critic?'

She moved a little closer to him. 'Can I ask you something, Brian?'

'Ask away.'

'How come you're with someone who doesn't even speak English?'

'Who needs conversation?'

'Is sex the only thing on your mind?'

'You've been spending too much time with my brother, Nic. Better get
yourself a life.'

And so the evening ended. Nicci was crushed. It had not turned out
exactly as expected.

'That was a shitty night,' Evan grumbled, after everyone had finally
left.

He was right, it couldn't have been any worse.

'
Now
can you turn that crap music off?' he said, busily
emptying ashtrays. 'It's giving me a headache.'

She did as he asked and waited for him to say something nice. He
didn't.

For once they went to bed without making love.

Their first dinner party.

Their first fight.

If this is what marriage to Evan was going to be like, then maybe
she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life.

Lissa called room service, ordered a selection of ice creams with
hot chocolate sauce, and instructed the operator to have the waiter
leave the cart outside the door. Then she raided the mini bar and
poured herself a brandy.