by Lisa Rinna
Once all of the introductions had been made and everyone was seated in the dining room, Tally clapped her hands to get her guests’ attention. “We have a great treat. After dinner, we’ll be moving into my new screening room to view a rough cut of Cloistered.”
Elena looked at Mac in awe.
Great, thought Tally. Here’s hoping she likes what she sees.
Even without sound effects or the music dubbed in, the last scene of the movie was chilling, with Tally’s character, Emma, running for her life from the man she thought was her savior but who in fact had his hand in the atrocities that had all but destroyed her village.
Out of the corner of her eye, Tally watched as tears dropped onto Elena’s cheeks, and there was silence until Josh rose to flip on a light.
Everyone seemed a bit dazed, then one by one rose to applaud Kent, who in turn clapped ecstatically at Mac.
Mac acknowledged the accolades with a nod of his head. “Thank you all for being a part of this grand adventure. And let’s hope this isn’t the end of the road.”
That roused Elena from her emotional trance. “What do you mean by that, Mac?”
“I got word from Royalton earlier this week that they are pulling their funding from the film. Apparently, they don’t see the merit in it.”
“How could that be? In my homeland, Belarus, my aunt was persecuted for being a nun. This could have been her story! And you, Tally, you are quite an actress. This film must be seen by millions of people!”
Mac took her hand in his and looked her straight in the eye. “Perhaps you can help us, Elena. You understand this project. Would you agree to replace Royalton as the film’s principal backer?”
“I would be honored to finance this movie,” Elena said. She seemed genuinely touched to have been asked. “What is the amount you need?”
Mac hesitated a second before saying, “Twenty million.”
Tally was on edge as Elena walked slowly out of the room, toward the front foyer. Well, there goes our last hope, she thought.
When Elena reappeared a moment later, she had her Louis Vuitton clutch with her. From it, she pulled a checkbook. “More fun than a race horse, my friends. Now, we should talk percentages and points?”
Hours later, after all the guests had left and the last candle had been extinguished, Mac and Tally went outside to look up at the stars. As they sat together in one of the double chaise longues by the pool, he’d just taught her how to tell a comet from a satellite—how the former shot straight across the horizon, while the other hovered somewhat awkwardly in the sky as it made its way across—when he asked softly, “Will you marry me?”
She turned toward him to see if she could make out his face. “You would marry me, despite the fact that your parents think so little of me?” Her voice trembled as she asked.
“I don’t need their approval to love you. I only need yours.”
He kissed her, but it wasn’t a kiss of desire. It was the kiss of a man who had found his way home.
You’re my home, too, Tally thought.
Memories rolled over her: the two of them in Paris, their small daily rituals at work and at play, the many ways he showed his obvious pride in her. Then, for some reason, she remembered the bearded stranger who had hovered around her during her waitressing stint at the Sunset Tower on the night of Vanity Fair’s Oscar party.
Tally bolted upright. “Oh my God! That was you!”
“What was me? What are you talking about?”
“The burger monster! The guy who kept coming up to me for more cheeseburgers that night at the Sunset Tower!”
Mac laughed so hard he almost fell off the chaise. “You just figured that out now?”
“Well, you have to admit, you did look different with that crazy beard.”
All of a sudden, his face went serious. “I was a fool that night. I saw Gabriel make his move, and my ego was bruised, so I walked away instead of introducing myself to the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen.”
“Oh.” Tally leaned back into his arms. “I guess in life, timing really is everything.”
“You can say that again. I could have talked to you at Sadie and Josh’s wedding, too, but by the time I got up the nerve, again Gabriel had found you first. You were standing on that terrace overlooking the ocean. Do you remember?”
“You were there, too? Wow.” Tally took a moment to let that sink in. Finally, she said, “Mac Carlton, I love you with all my heart. And you’ve proven you love me. You’ve waited for me. You’ve bet your career on me. What other man would do that? I would love to marry you.”
She sealed her words with a kiss. Then they made love, right there, under the stars.
Chapter 25
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF their engagement ran as a oneliner in the Hitched column of Variety, in its usual understated style—“Tally Jones and Mac Carlton, on November 15 in Bel Air, Calif. Jones is an actress, Carlton is an independent film producer”—but that didn’t keep it from being big news in Hollywood. In no time at all, their engagement was being touted in People, Page Six, and Us Weekly.
“I like the idea of a big wedding,” Mac said to Tally over breakfast that Sunday. “You’re a big star, so why not?”
“I guess it’s because I’m in the limelight so much anyway that something this personal seems like it should be just us—along with friends and family, of course.”
The minute the words were out, she wished she hadn’t said them. Mac’s face clouded over at the thought of how his parents had rejected her. She then realized that by having a big wedding, he felt she might forget how cruel they were to her. To him.
She could do that for him. For both of them.
Tally put on a big smile and threw her arms around his neck. “You know what? We might as well invite everyone we know and make it the party of a lifetime. Why not?”
Over drinks at the Polo Lounge later that afternoon, Tally asked Mandy and Sadie if they would be her bridesmaids. When they were through squealing, she turned serious. “Sadie, I’d like to ask you another favor. Are you up to the challenge of planning another wedding? We’re going into sweeps season, and things are so hectic on the show—”
Sadie nearly spit out her martini. “Of course!” Taking a moment to consider, she added, “But if you want to give Mac Hollywood’s ‘wedding of the decade,’ I suggest we call in the big guns. You know, someone who really knows about planning an epic event.”
Tally sighed but nodded. “OK, sure. And who would that be?”
“Preston Bailey, of course! He did the Donald’s wedding and Liza Minnelli’s and Melissa River’s, too. In fact, Preston will be Josh’s and my gift to you. I’ll run interference, of course.”
Tally laughed. “Do you think Josh could throw Mac’s bachelor party? Or am I asking for trouble, considering how things turned out at his own?”
Sadie frowned. “I still haven’t let him off the hook for Susie’s little gift. With all the long hours he’s been working lately, I’m beginning to wonder if the party she threw him wasn’t just a one-time thing.”
“Long hours are part of the job,” Tally reassured her. “You saw it when you worked there, too.”
“Yeah, sure, I saw a lot of things. And that’s what scares me.” Sadie took a long, slow sip of her drink. “Oh, maybe I’m just overreacting. It’s just that I feel as if I’ve been replaced in his life. It doesn’t help that all my calls go through Seth. I’m used to picking up the phone and talking to Josh twenty times a day.”
“But now that you’re not his assistant, wouldn’t that be an awful lot?” Tally asked.
Sadie laughed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just know how easy it would be for Josh to fall back into some of his old bad habits.” She sat up straight. “I’ll tell you what, if he behaves himself during Mac’s bachelor party, I’ll know I’m just imagining things.”
“Hey, speaking of parties, I’m going to take on the task of throwing you a bachelorette party par excellence,” Mandy an
nounced.
Tally and Sadie exchanged concerned glances. Tally started to say something, but Mandy held up a finger to silence her.
“Before you say anything, I’m laying down a rule of my own: no matter how much you beg, no strippers.”
Tally showed her appreciation with a deep sigh of relief.
“Unless you absolutely insist on it,” she added mischievously. “Then, of course, I’ll work my contacts and pull together one hot show. Just kidding! What do you take me for, some kind of skank? I’m thinking a high tea at the Hotel Bel-Air. Hats and gloves mandatory. Gstrings optional.”
“I can’t believe she actually hooked him! Ooooh, that just makes my blood boil.” Susie threw her copy of People on the floor and pushed her eye mask back over her lids. Jared, her neurotic costar, had been keeping her up late at night, and she was particularly cranky this morning. No matter how many times she’d warned herself that screwing a costar only led to hurt feelings when the inevitable happened—her stomping on his heart, just for kicks—she just couldn’t help herself when it came to buff young buns with stiff cocks.
And Jared could sure keep it up.
Making and keeping him angry helped keep things hot in the bedroom, and every chance she got, she played on his easy tendency toward jealousy. Lately, she’d been flirting with Spencer Cowle, the actor who played her husband, Hank, on Dana Point. Already, Jared had threatened Spencer one night when he ran into him in the men’s room of Dan Tana’s. Poor Spencer couldn’t just come out and tell Jared that he was in the closet, which made the whole incident even funnier when Jared relayed it to Susie. As always, the fight led to some great sex. If you called anal plugs and nipple clips great sex. And Susie did—as long as she was the one doing the plugging and the clipping.
Garfield quit fussing with the wig he was teasing for her and glanced at the magazine, which lay open to the article on Tally and Mac. They looked adorable in the photo, which had been taken by some pap while they walked hand-in-hand through the Farmer’s Market. He gave a grudging nod. “Well, if it’s any consolation, you’re not the only one. Miss Elizabeth isn’t too happy about it, either.”
Susie yanked the mask off one eye. “Who the hell is Miss Elizabeth? What are you babbling about?”
Garfield’s back stiffened with pride. “I was referring to the legendary actress Elizabeth Hayden Carlton. She happens to be Richard Carlton’s wife—which also makes her the darling groom’s mama. Many of us from the studio’s glory days still remember her as a sweet young thing, and no one but moi has touched a thinning hair on her precious head since her contract days.”
Susie sniffed. “And why does she rate?”
“Darling, it’s one of the perks of being married to the boss man.”
Susie’s lips curled up on one side. “Ha. Must be nice. Get back to what you were saying about her being pissed at Mac.”
Garfield didn’t need much prompting. “Well, if you must know, she is just fit to be tied about his pending nuptials. She actually called Tally Jones a slut—and a druggie—to her face! Heaven knows where her poor addled little brain came up with that.”
Susie batted her lashes innocently. “Truth be told, that one’s been floating around for quite some time. And you know what they say: where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
Garfield gave her a knowing glance. “I can just imagine who lit the match on that one.”
Susie shrugged. “So, when is Miss Elizabeth due back for her next appointment?”
“Tomorrow, as a matter of fact, right at five. When it comes to her hair color, she prefers ebony to ivory. I do her color, then Sir Richard takes her home in the corporate limo.”
“My last scene shoots at three. Maybe I’ll pay you a little visit afterward. You know, to keep the old girl company. I’m guessing she’ll like that.”
Susie assigned the task of finding Gabriel McNamara to Jared, and he came through with flying colors. Through their mutual pot dealer, he’d tracked Gabriel down at the Venice Beach cottage of one of his old buddies, where he’d been crashing on the couch ever since being terminated from his job on Intensive Care and blacklisted by every studio in town.
He gladly accepted Susie’s invitation to meet her for a drink at the Viceroy, and after four Stoli martinis, Susie’s overt display of cleavage, and some gentle prodding, he told her about defiling Tally Jones.
“Honey, eh?” Just the thought of it had Susie licking her lips. “Yummy. Sounds like fun.”
“Yeah. I guess it’s a fetish of mine.” He stared at her breasts as he said this, and she knew just what he was thinking.
Some honey-coated tit for tat would certainly be in order, if and when he completed the mission she was about to assign him. To make him more amenable, she slowly undid another button on her sheer blouse so that even more of her black lace bra was exposed. “Oh, I’m sure she loved every minute of it. But I’ll just bet she squealed about it to that boyfriend she was two-timing you with—you know, that producer Mac Carlton—so that he’d be jealous. In fact, I’m guessing he made up some kind of story about you raping her and went crying to his daddy. That’s probably why you got canned, Gabriel. And what a shame, too.” She clicked her tongue in mock despair. “Word gets around fast in this town. No one wants to hire a rapist.”
“But I’m not a rapist! I tell you, she wanted it!” His hand shook violently as he lifted his martini glass to his lips and downed what was left in it. “Damn bastard!”
“He’s marrying her, too.”
Gabriel’s anger deflated. “Yeah, I heard. It’s all over the press.”
“I find the best revenge is always ruining an engagement, and I’ve got an idea. It’ll take a bit of acting, but you can fake an illness, right? Of course you can! You were Dr. Sam Jeffries. You cured them all.”
He leaned in closer. It was easy to listen to Susie’s scheme while he imagined pouring honey on those big, sweet breasts.
Chapter 26
TALLY HAD FORGOTTEN that she’d scheduled her doctor’s appointment for just three days before the wedding. She made up her mind to go anyway. It was just supposed to be an annual checkup, so she’d be out of there in half an hour, tops.
But after her exam, Tally’s gynecologist started asking some odd questions. Had she been feeling more tired lately? Yes, answered Tally, but between working so hard on the show and planning a wedding, that was to be expected, right? As for the question about when she last had her period, Tally had to pause for a moment. “Hmmm.” That was a stumper, but it shouldn’t have been. Maybe … no … certainly before …
“Gee,” Tally finally said weakly, “I guess it was longer ago than I thought.” Then the implication hit her. “Oh my God! Should I pee on a stick?”
The doctor smiled. “Your urine sample is what tipped me off. Tally, you’re pregnant.”
She knew it couldn’t be Gabriel’s. The timing wasn’t right. To make sure, Tally did the math backward and had the doctor double-check it. From what they could tell, it had happened at least several weeks after she’d returned from Paris.
Mac and I are going to have a baby, she thought. She wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time. She floated out of the doctor’s office on a cloud.
Her first instinct was to pick up the phone and call Mac, but then she thought better of it. She’d much rather give him the news on the night of their honeymoon. She wouldn’t even tell Sadie or Mandy—he’d have to hear it first.
She got back to the set just in time to get made up for her next scene. But when Ben asked her why she had a “big naughty grin” on her face, all she could do was giggle uncontrollably. He presumed it was honeymoon anticipation and laughed along with her.
Tally’s last scene of the day finished at seven. Exhausted, she went back to her trailer to change and clean up. The scene had been just between her and Jared, who, now that he was hanging with Susie, was acting like a paranoid pain in the ass. Between takes, he’d gone so far as to accuse her of sabotagi
ng his career, whatever that meant. Instead of waiting to find out, she’d asked Burt to assign her a security guard. She wasn’t taking any chances now that she was carrying a baby. He groused at first but gave in. He didn’t like Jared, either, since he’d fallen under Susie’s spell.
Needless to say, when Tally answered the knock on her trailer door, the last person she expected to see standing there was Gabriel McNamara.
“What the hell are you doing here?” She looked around for her security detail, but he was nowhere in sight.
“Calm down, Tally. I’m not going to hurt you. I was never going to hurt you.” Gabriel looked and sounded like a broken man. “I had an audition on the lot,” he continued. “My first since I got kicked off my show.”
“Oh. Well … how did it go?” Tally clutched the neck of her robe tightly. She was going to stall as long as she had to, until her security guy showed up.
“OK. It’s not much of a role, but it’s for a feature film.” His eyes glassed up. “I’m beginning to think that no one will hire me ever again.”
That got to Tally, and she sighed deeply. The last time she saw Gabriel was not the way she wanted to remember him.
“Look, Tally, can I come in for a minute? I just … well, I want to apologize. But I don’t want to do it out here.”
She thought about it for a few long, hard moments, then stepped aside so he could follow her in.
As he crossed the threshold, he gave her a hug, squeezing her tightly. There was such desperation in it that it stunned her, and she froze. The next thing she knew, his lips were all over her. She didn’t have time to react, and they stumbled into the trailer as he closed the door behind her.
Finally, she was able to shove him off. “I’m calling security now!” she said, and ran to the door.
“No! Please.” He gasped. “You don’t understand. I’ve taken too many pills for my anxiety disorder, and I’m a little out of it. I’m dizzy as hell. Look, just let me sit here for a bit. If anyone sees me like this, I’ll never get the part. Can you just get me some water? That would help a lot.” Not sure what to do, Tally went into the bathroom. At least there was a lock on that door, so if he tried any funny business, she’d just shut herself in.