by Josie Brown
SAM: Over a year ago…I used the money to finance Hugo’s distribution. I guess even selling Malibu worked out for the best…since I—I couldn’t live there anymore.
NINA: (Somewhat shocked) Why not, Sam?
SAM: (After a long pause) Because I didn’t want to live there…without you and Jake.
NINA: Oh…my…God…
SAM: You’re telling me. Yep, in fact, I saw the face of God several times that weekend, during a four-day binge down in Tijuana…Well, the good news is that, when I came out of it, I found out you hadn’t married Nathan after all.
NINA: Yeah, my eyes were opened that weekend, too, and just in time…Well, almost, I guess. Frankly, I owe Baxter for that one. (She sighs, and gives a sad laugh) Gee, I guess Forever and Again will be the best thing Nathan will have ever done, what with that lousy agent he signed with after he dumped Riley…what was that creep’s name? Randy Zimmerman, right?
SAM: Yeah, well, Randy has a knack for taking raw talent and pummeling it into primo B-movie fodder. Then again, from what I hear, Nathan has been taking whatever he can get these days…you know with the new baby and all. I think it’s a girl.
NINA: Yeah, Jake told me. Or, to put it in his terms, “Ew yuck! What happened to that baby brother Daddy promised me?” Oh, well, maybe the next one.
SAM: I don’t think there will be another one. Baxter’s column predicts trouble in paradise.
NINA: That’s a shame. I always suspected that Ylva was only in it for the green card. Too bad for Nathan. Both his personal and his professional life are going into the crapper at the same time. He would have been smarter keeping you as his agent. Although it certainly worked out better for you. Speaking of your recent successes, congratulations on Mendocino. I fell in love with it when I saw it. It certainly deserves a few Oscar nominations. I’m proud of you Sam, I knew you could pull it off…producing, I mean.
SAM: Thanks, Nina. You don’t know how much that means, hearing that from you. Hey, but don’t write off Nathan so quickly. In fact, Hugo is considering casting him in his next film—which, by the way, he plans on shooting in Vancouver, too. So if it all works out, Nathan will get to see Jake while he’s there.
NINA: Wow, now that would be wonderful! Jake misses his daddy so much, and he’s growing up so fast…Hmmm, I’d like to seal that deal. Maybe I should stop by and see my old buddy “Wilbur.” Do you think he’d remember me?
SAM: (He pauses before answering) Frankly, I don’t think he’ll ever forget you. I know I won’t.
NINA: (Softly) I feel the same way about you. (She sniffs) Jeez, Sam, you sure know how to make a girl cry.
SAM: I’d prefer to make you happy. Would it help if I talked dirty to you?
NINA: (Laughing uproariously) Just the thought of that is enough to keep me in chuckles for some time to come.
SAM: Hey, come on, now! I don’t think I’d be that bad at it. In fact, I remember that one time you encouraged me to do so, I actually had you all hot and bothered and rarin’ to go.
NINA: Mmmm. How could I forget? Still, I’m sure that was just beginner’s luck.
SAM: Maybe. But we’ll never know for sure if you don’t give me another shot at it.
NINA: (Laughing seductively) Believe me, it’s tempting…Okay, sure, go for it. So, what would you say?
SAM: Well…I’d start off by telling you that not a day goes by that I don’t think about you…that I don’t imagine you lying beside me. Just the mere touch of your sweet, soft skin arouses me. I can’t control the urge to run my hands over your body, to kiss the nape of your neck, to let my lips meander down between your sweet, plump breasts, taking my time with one first, gently flicking my tongue over it, until it gets hard, then allowing my tongue to roam over to the other breast, so that it, too, can enjoy the way my tongue makes it stand at attention—
NINA: (Laughs softly) I just love the way you treat them both so fairly.
SAM: Well, thank you, Nina. I pride myself on never playing favorites with any of your body parts…As I was saying, as my hands roam gently over your body, I tempt you with sweet whispers of all the ways in which I’d make love to you…all the ways in which I love you…
NINA: Sweet…I—I’m impressed, Sam. I think you’ve been practicing, haven’t you?
SAM: No, Nina. I’m rusty in that department. I guess I’m a one-man woman. The only person I’d ever want to share my dirty little secrets with is you. To tell you the truth, there’s a lot I want to share with you.
NINA: (Wistfully) Me, too, Sam. But we’re both leading different lives now, in different places.
SAM: So, move back home.
NINA: (Laughs) Los Angeles isn’t my home anymore.
SAM: I didn’t mean L.A. I meant me. I’m your home, Nina.
NINA: There was a time I truly believed that was the case, Sam. When I felt that wherever you were, that was where I should be, too…But I just can’t do L.A. again. I’m too notorious there. It will be awful, both for me and for Jake.
SAM: That’s all in the past. You know that the town has a very short memory. Heck, you may be a pariah one moment, but have your own reality show the next.
NINA: (Laughing) I don’t think so…Besides, I made a promise to myself never to go back. Believe me, a reality show would certainly be a deal buster.
SAM: Good, we’ll nix the reality show then. Which means the rest is doable, right? Hey, this is a once-in-a-lifetime offer that will be withdrawn at the end of this call, so, if I were you, I’d jump at it…I can’t live without you. I love you, Nina. And I want you to—
NINA: Sam, will you excuse me? (She covers the phone partially with her hand, muffling her words) Jake, honey, will you get the door? Someone is ringing…I’m sorry, Sam, you were saying?
SAM: Only that I can’t live without you. Will you ma—
NINA Oh! I—I’m sorry, Sam, but Jake needs me. Can you hold on a minute…He’s—he’s got…a dog! (She puts down the phone) Jake? Jake, sweetie, where did that dog come from? Yes, I see that he’s friendly, but that doesn’t mean…What man says he’s yours? Omigod—SAM!
SAM: As I was saying, Nina Harte, will you marry me?
Unlike the rest of Hollywood, in Sam and Nina’s household, there was no pecking order. Everyone got to vote on everything. Believe it or not, even Jake.
For example, Nina was outvoted on her stance that she would never, ever again step foot in Los Angeles. In making his case, Jake pointed out that he missed Ben too much. In fact, he even missed Plum. And he ached to be close enough in proximity to Nathan that they could resurrect Team Harte again. So Nina compromised: As long as they could spend summers in Vancouver, she was open to winters in Los Angeles.
Being the great negotiator that he was, Sam called it a done deal.
Another mandate in the Godwin-Harte household: No one was to keep any secrets from anyone else. However, if a secret did need keeping (as invariably was the case), there was an ironclad rule: Don’t come running to Sam with it, because he was no longer the keeper of the realm. From now on, that was Towser’s responsibility.
Besides, Sam had a more important job: to keep Nina happy—something he did to her complete satisfaction, both on and off the telephone.
About the Author
JOSIE BROWN is a feature writer whose relationship articles and celebrity interviews appear in numerous publications. She is also the editor of the internationally syndicated “John Gray’s Mars Venus Advice” newspaper column.
Other books by Josie include the novel True Hollywood Lies (HarperCollins/Avon Trade) and the humorous fictionista chick lit dictionary, Last Night I Dreamt of Cosmopolitans (St. Martin’s Press).
She is also the coauthor, along with her husband, Martin, of Marriage Confidential: 102 Honest Answers to the Questions Every Husband Wants to Ask, and Every Wife Needs to Know and the coeditor of the Relationship NewsWire.
Josie lives in Marin County, California, with Martin and their two children.
Check out her
website at www.josiebrown.com. You can also communicate with Josie via [email protected].
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
By Josie Brown
IMPOSSIBLY TONGUE-TIED
TRUE HOLLYWOOD LIES
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
IMPOSSIBLY TONGUE-TIED. Copyright © 2006 by Josie Brown. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition September 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-198524-9
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