The Sweet Life

by Francine Pascal

  Elizabeth roared away from Bruce’s mansion and before she’d had time to think about it found herself on the road to the only safe place in the world for her: Jessica’s house.

  Chapter Six

  Jessica, of course, had her own problems. It had already been a week since Todd had left her at Le Bouchon, dashing any hope she held of reconciliation. Jessica had been devastated; there simply wasn’t any other way to describe it. The only thing that saved her had been Liam, who called the day after Todd had walked out on her and asked her out again. Jessica should’ve said no, but she didn’t. She needed the attention and no one was more attentive and adoring than Liam.

  And that’s how she ended up out with him on a swanky dinner date just two days after Todd left.

  When they walked into the jammed bar of Blu, Sweet Valley’s new it-restaurant and she took one look at the sea of Stella McCartney dresses, she immediately wanted to go home. She was in no mood to rub elbows with twenty-two-year-olds squeezed into designer microminis and carrying around oversized martini glasses as if they were the latest must-have accessory. Normally, she’d be more than up for the challenge, but tonight her heart just wasn’t in it.

  “Maybe we should go somewhere else,” she told Liam, who had his arm draped protectively around her shoulders. Jessica had noticed that he liked to keep his hands on her, as if he thought she might bolt when he wasn’t looking. And maybe there was some truth to that.

  But Jessica wasn’t out with Liam for fun; she was out to prove to herself that she was strong—that Todd hadn’t broken her, that no one could break her.

  It also helped that Liam was gorgeous and just Jessica’s type. Even she noticed the micromini brigade at the bar who scoped out Liam’s lean, muscled figure, his stark blue eyes, and floppy, close-up–ready jet-black hair. Not to mention, she already saw that a few of them recognized him. He was a certifiable star now, and they knew it. The whispers intensified as they passed by. They’d be whispering even more if they knew Jessica had already slept with him.

  The old Jessica would’ve been proud to be with Liam, would’ve loved all the cold looks of envy from the girls at the bar. But the new Jessica couldn’t enjoy it because she was pining for Todd. No matter how hard she ordered herself to forget Todd, she couldn’t seem to manage it.

  Now that Todd knew she’d slept with Liam and had lied about it, there’d be no reconciliation. He’d made that much clear the night he’d left her at Le Bouchon.

  Just thinking about Todd at all made her want to cry.

  “Come on, luv,” Liam purred in his lilting, faint-but-there Irish accent. “I admit, I was a little worried when I didn’t hear from you after our amazing evening together. It was for me anyway.”

  “And me, too; it’s just that I’ve been busy, but now I’m free.” Jessica beamed at him. She didn’t want to tell him the reason she’d been avoiding his calls before now was that she thought she could reconcile with Todd. The less Liam knew about that, the better.

  Jessica glanced at Liam and, as usual, nearly drowned in the pool of devotion in his eyes. It was scary sometimes how deeply and completely Liam had come to love her in such a very short time, but Jessica didn’t like to dwell on that. Because Liam was all she had.

  She’d just quit her job at VertPlus.net for Todd, and then Todd had left. She felt bereft. Jessica might not have loved Liam, but she needed him. Jessica did feel a little guilty about using him, but decided she shouldn’t. The old Jessica wouldn’t have. The scheming, manipulative Jessica wouldn’t have cared all that much about Liam’s feelings. The new Jessica had become soft, weakened by love—by Todd—and now she’d lost almost everything she’d cared about. Her job. Todd.

  Now her little boy, Jake, would grow up without a father. Or at least, with only a part-time father. And Todd would probably go on to marry that awful Sarah Miller, the plagiarizing, lying bitch.

  Jessica pushed the unwanted thoughts from her head. She was supposed to be out tonight with Liam, trying to put the past behind her and attempting to have a good time.

  Liam moved easily through the crowd in the lobby of Blu, taking care to pull Jessica along with him. He stopped in front of the restaurant’s hostess, a tall, leggy redhead with dazzling green eyes. She took one look at Liam and lit up like a slot machine.

  “Liam O’Connor, we’re honored,” the hostess said, recognizing him instantly. She used a voice that implied she would be more than happy to take him home and show him something decidedly naughty in the confines of her own bedroom. It should’ve bothered Jessica, but the fact was she honestly didn’t care. This made it obvious that while Jessica liked Liam, she just wasn’t in love with him.

  “We don’t have a reservation, but…” Liam said, flashing his Crest-ad ready smile. The hostess melted.

  “Oh, no worries at all. We will find you the perfect table.” She beamed at him. Her eyes slid very briefly to Jessica, but then wiggled eagerly back to Liam. Clearly, she didn’t see Jessica as competition. Now that irked Jessica. Did she have “my husband left me for a two-bit skank” tattooed on her forehead? Just because Todd had dumped her didn’t mean that Jessica had lost all her juice. She cozied up to Liam, wrapping her arm around his back. Liam responded like a puppet on a string, stepping closer to her and affectionately nuzzling her neck.

  “Thank you so much for the table.” Jessica addressed the hostess in her sweetest voice and flashed her brightest smile, all the while showing her just how much Liam was hers. For a second, Jessica felt like her old self as she soaked in the discomfort and envy radiating from the hostess’s pinched face. That’s right, Jessica thought, I win.

  This time, at least.

  The hostess grabbed two menus from the hostess stand and nodded at Liam.

  “This way,” she said tightly.

  The feeling of triumph quickly faded. What had she won, really? A date with a man she wasn’t in love with? She’d trade a million of them for just one more chance with Todd.

  At some point, her life had become like a clichéd country song about heartbreak. She hated it.

  The hostess led them to a table front and center in the restaurant, right by the window. Jessica slowed her gait. The table faced the outside. It couldn’t get more public.

  “Something wrong?” Liam whispered in her ear.

  Sure, something was wrong. Jessica’s heart was broken and she wasn’t sure she could really fake it anymore. Her confidence fled and she felt like going to hide in the bathroom. All she really wanted to do was go home and drown her sorrows in a bottle of wine and cry. But she knew she couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t do that.

  “It’s fine,” Jessica said, thinking she needed to stop being such a wimp. She slid into the chair Liam pulled out for her. Reluctantly, she took the menu the hostess held out for her.

  “My agent told me the crab cakes here are amazing,” Liam said.

  “Oh?” Jessica tried to muster some enthusiasm but failed miserably.

  The waiter came by and Jessica hardly even acknowledged him. Liam took over easily, ordering drinks and appetizers for them both—without consulting her. Under different circumstances, this controlling part of Liam’s personality might grate, but tonight Jessica honestly couldn’t pull together enough energy to care.

  Liam gently took her hand across the table as if he planned to single-handedly lift her out of her funk. Jessica let him.

  “Have I told you how gorgeous you look tonight?” Liam asked her.

  The compliment got Jessica’s attention.

  “Maybe—once or twice.” She managed a wan smile. He’d told her at least five times in the car alone. So far, it hadn’t gotten old.

  “I was hoping after dinner tonight, you’d come home with me.” Liam’s eyes rested on hers steadily.

  “To your house in Los Angeles?” Jessica shook her head. “Liza’s not staying over. It’s just me and Jake tonight.”

  “Maybe I could come to your place then?” Liam offered.

&nbs
p; “I just think it’s too soon, Liam. Jake would be confused if you stayed over. He’s only two.”

  In truth, Jake might not mind. But Jessica would. Despite the fact she’d slept with Liam hastily at his hotel room not that long ago, she wasn’t ready to repeat the experience. She’d lied to Todd, claiming nothing had happened between them, but thanks to Caroline Pearce and her vicious blog, the truth had come out.

  Technically, Jessica was single now, and there wasn’t anything to stop her from sleeping with Liam again. Except that she just couldn’t manage to really want to do it.

  Liam wasn’t good at acting patient. Even now, Jessica could see he wanted nothing more than to take her home and rip off her clothes. She could see the desire in his eyes, like an addict with a fix in reach.

  “Another night. Soon.” She smiled at him and squeezed his hand, his unspoken reward for being patient and understanding.

  He wrapped her hand inside both of his. “I know it’s not easy being a single mom. I just wish you’d let me help.”

  It was at times like these that Jessica thought she really should try to like Liam more. Maybe even love him. He was a nice guy, really. He leaned over the table, and Jessica knew where this was headed. She decided to let him kiss her.

  A bright flash of light from outside brushed across her eyelids. Her first thought was Lightning? but then she opened her eyes and saw three paparazzi staked out on the sidewalk, their large round lenses of their cameras pointed straight at her.

  Jessica grabbed the menu and held it up to the side of her head, but it was too late. They’d gotten her and Liam kissing of all things. The thought of that picture all over the Web made her feel queasy. But, why should it? she thought. Todd doesn’t want me, and Liam does.

  Still, Jessica couldn’t shake the feeling that the walls were closing in. This night was not turning out at all as she’d hoped. More flashes exploded in the dark. Liam, Jessica noticed, didn’t bother trying to hide behind a menu. He even waved and smiled at one of the cameras. But he was an actor, and no actor she ever knew could turn down a little attention.

  Liam turned back to Jessica.

  “Sorry,” he said, and shrugged. “It’s just part of my job. If they’re bothering you, I could tell them to leave.”

  Jessica could see the headline now: Liam O’Connor Caught in Altercation with Paparazzi over Girlfriend.

  No, she thought, that would just make things worse.

  Her small silver clutch vibrated in her lap. Someone was calling. She slid out her phone and saw it was Michael Wilson, her old boss at VertPlus.net.

  “Excuse me,” she said, relieved to have a good reason to flee the paparazzi ambush. She answered the call as she walked away from the table. “Hello?”

  “Jessica? Am I catching you at a bad time?”

  “No, Michael, not at all.” If he were here right now, Jessica would’ve hugged him.

  “Well, good, because I would really hate to reschedule my daily groveling session for another day. I’m all ready to beg. And plead.”

  Jessica laughed. She couldn’t help it. Michael had been hounding her since she’d quit, hoping she’d come back to work for him. Just hearing Michael’s voice reminded Jessica how much she missed working for him and everyone else at VertPlus.net.

  “You’re laughing, so that means I’m wearing down your resistance.”

  “Do you call every one of your ex-employees on a daily basis?”

  “Only the good ones or the pretty ones,” Michael said.

  “Which one am I?”

  “Both,” he said. “That’s why I’m calling every day and texting.”

  The flirty tone was new to their relationship. Jessica knew Michael probably had a crush on her, but so far he’d never actually acted on it.

  “Michael, you know I miss work, but—”

  “Before you say another word, I want to tell you that we landed Bobbi Brown this week. Thought you might be interested.”

  He knew that was one of Jessica’s favorite makeup companies. Already, her mind started spinning about how to package a new environmentally sound line for them. But as soon as the wheels started to turn, she put on the brakes. As much as she would love to go back to work at VertPlus.net, she’d given up her job for Todd. And while Todd wasn’t speaking to her at the moment, she still held on to a small sliver of hope that he would change his mind. If she went back to work, Todd would assume she was just using leaving her job as a lure.

  Eventually, she felt she could prove to Todd that she could handle being a mother, a wife, and an amazingly brilliant PR woman, but she needed to get him to talk to her first. That would likely never happen if Jessica went back to work so soon.

  Even if Todd was truly done with her, Jessica wasn’t done with him.

  “You know I would love to, Michael but—”

  “No, don’t say ‘no.’ My fragile ego cannot take another refusal. So, do me a favor and say ‘I’ll think about it.’ “

  “There’s nothing about your ego that’s fragile, Michael.”

  “Four little words, Jessica.”

  She sighed.

  “All right. I’ll think about it.”

  “That’s what I like to hear.”

  Jessica ended the call and nearly collided with Liam’s broad chest. She craned her neck to look up at his face and saw he was frowning.

  “Who was that?” He sounded suspicious and more than a little bit annoyed.

  “What? No one.” Jessica paused. Something about the set of Liam’s mouth made her feel a little uneasy. “Just Michael Wilson. My old boss.”

  “What did he want?”

  “The usual—to offer me my old job back.”

  “I don’t think you should take it.” There came that controlling Liam again. Why did he care if she took the job or not? Except that then she wouldn’t be available for spur-of-the-moment brunch dates or late-afternoon lunches. Since he was currently between movies, he had a lot of time on his hands, and he seemed to want to spend every minute with her.

  Liam, sensing Jessica’s disapproval, softened his own expression and tried a different approach.

  “I mean, Jessica, things are tough at home right now, and the last thing you need is more stress with a job that has you working all kinds of hours. And if money is an issue, you know I’m happy to help. You and Jake could even move in with me.”

  Jessica suddenly wasn’t angry anymore. Liam was just trying to help, wasn’t he? Besides, she didn’t want to alienate one of the few people who still loved her.

  “Thanks, Liam, I really appreciate that.” She touched his arm gently. “I’m fine for now, though, really.”

  Liam looked at her for a long second. Then, deciding to drop it, he broke into one of his genuinely warm smiles, the disarming one that currently graced the cover of Entertainment Weekly.

  “Come on, luv, let’s get out of here. We can sneak out the back and ditch the paparazzi.” Grateful, Jessica smiled back at him and looped her arm through his.

  Chapter Seven

  Not too long after Jessica and Liam’s big night out, Todd Wilkins stopped at his local 7-Eleven to pick up some disposable razors. He glanced up at the tabloid magazines lining the checkout counter, and that’s when he saw them: Jessica and Liam, kissing.

  He felt the shock like a bucket of cold water. What the—?

  He grabbed the tabloid so hard it ripped.

  “Sir, you’ll have to pay for that.” The clerk glared at him from behind the register. Todd didn’t answer. He was too busy thumbing through the tabloid, trying to find the article that went with the cover photo.

  He saw the headline: Liam O’Connor Gets Cozy with Mystery Girl. There on the page were two more pictures of them at some swanky restaurant, laughing, and one of Liam with his hand on the small of her back, leading them outside to his waiting car.

  His blood began to boil. He wanted to hit somebody. Preferably Liam O’Connor.

  Todd knew Jessica had slept with him, b
ut he still hoped they were just a casual thing—maybe a one-night stand. But this tabloid dispelled any hope of that. The two of them having a romantic dinner didn’t look casual. They looked like they were a full-blown couple.

  Damn it. He felt like a fool. Here was more proof that Jessica had played him. She didn’t look like she was missing him at all. She certainly didn’t seem sad or the least bit heartbroken. On the contrary, she was having the time of her life.

  Maybe she’d never really loved him at all. Maybe she didn’t even care about anybody. Or maybe she just couldn’t get enough people to love her. Some people were like that. No matter how much love you poured into them, it was never enough.

  “Sir? You’ll need to buy that.” The cashier nodded at the tabloid.

  Insult on top of injury, he thought. “Whatever.” Todd threw down his money on the counter and marched out of the store. On the way out, he almost tossed the tabloid in the trash. But then he decided he couldn’t quite let it go. He knew he’d go home and read every word about Jessica and Liam, no matter how much torture it was. He knew he wouldn’t be able to help himself.

  He barely remembered driving home, his thoughts entirely on the tabloid that sat next to him in the front seat.

  He pulled into the driveway of the town house where he lived and saw a familiar car parked in front—Sarah’s battered old red Volvo. Sarah herself sat on his stoop, a large duffel bag next to her.

  “Sarah? Everything okay?” Of course, he knew it wasn’t. Sarah looked like she wanted to cry.

  “I couldn’t pay rent and my landlord changed my locks,” she declared, and threw herself into Todd’s arms. A sob caught in her throat. “Oh, God. I have nowhere to go. I have no money. What am I going to do?”

  Todd wrapped his arms around her. Immediately, he felt a surge of guilt. Sarah wouldn’t have been in this mess if she hadn’t lost her job. And she would never have been fired if Jessica hadn’t twisted the truth because she’d been jealous of her.