Premiere (11 page)

“I know…”

“And I watch my little sister just drinking that
Malibu
stuff in like it’s the gospel. Katie sometimes even starts acting like Mia Renwick—as if she thinks she’s this entitled princess too. And then I feel even more strongly about the need for Christians to get involved. In fact, I’m considering switching schools and changing majors after this term ends, or maybe in the fall. I’m not sure yet. But, more than ever, I see the need for Christians to have an influence in film and TV, and I’m sorry I caved to my dad about school.”

“Really?”

He nods. “It made sense at first. You know how it is here in LA, everyone and their great-aunt Mary wants to be in the entertainment industry, and there’s only so much room. But to just give up? I don’t know. I guess I need to pray about this whole thing. But seeing the opportunity that you have, Erin. Man, it just gives me hope, you know?”

“I guess so,” I’m surprised by how much Blake is encouraging me. “To be honest, I haven’t exactly been looking at it from that angle. I guess I’ve been pretty self-centered lately. Ironic since I keep telling myself that it’s Paige who’s self-absorbed. Seriously, I think it’s really me.”

“How so?”

“Like I keep worrying about how this show is going to affect me and my future. Or how things like appearing on
Malibu Beach
makes me uncomfortable. Plus, I find myself judging people like Mia and her friends. It’s like I’m looking at this whole thing backward.”

“Maybe so.”

“I should be asking myself: How can God use me? How can I make a difference? How can I be a light in what seems a pretty dark place?”

“Yes!” He pounds his hand on the steering wheel.
“That’s it!”

“Wow, Blake.” I turn and smile at him. “It’s like I’m still in church. Great sermon. Thank you!”

“Hey, you’re the one doing the preaching, sister.”

I laugh and nod. “I guess so. But you must’ve been giving me the right prompts.”

“I’ll tell you what, Erin.”

“What?”

“I’m going to be praying for you. And I’ll ask the others in our fellowship group to pray too. I know you and Paige are going to be traveling and covering things and you might not make it to church as much as you used to. But you will have a bunch of brothers and sisters praying for you, okay?”

“Thanks. I really appreciate that. And I appreciate your friendship too,” I admit.

“Hey, does that mean I’m off of probation now?”

I laugh. “It’s just that I need a friend more than I need a boyfriend at the moment. Okay?”

“Okay.” He nods. “But when you get to that needing a boyfriend place, you’ll keep me on the list, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“High on the list?”

“It’s such a great long list,” I tease.

“But Lionel’s on it…isn’t he?”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because I can tell he
wants
to be on it.”

“Oh…” I just shrug. “Well, like I said, I’m not in the market for a boyfriend. But the truth is, you’ve been a really good friend lately—maybe even my best friend.”

“Cool.” He grins. “I can live with that. At least for now.”

“Great. So can I.” Okay, I feel a tiny bit guilty for Mollie’s sake because she really is my best friend. At least I thought she was. But, seriously, she’s not been much of a friend recently.

“Do we need five place settings?” I’m help
ing Mom get ready for her big dinner with Jon tonight. But she’s set a stack of five plates on the breakfast bar.

“Yes, didn’t you know that Benjamin is joining us too?”

“Benjamin?” I can hear the complaint in my voice, but it’s too late to nip it.

“Yes. One more person at the table won’t hurt anything.”

“So maybe I should invite someone too?” I suggest this knowing I must be sounding pretty cheeky—and I’m getting really aggravated at myself since I wanted to stop acting so self-centered. Unfortunately, changes like this don’t always come easily. At least not for me.

“Sure, you can invite someone if you want. I’ve made enough pasta to feed an army.”

So, without giving this much thought, I call Blake, and the next thing I know he’s on his way to our house for dinner, and I am setting the dining room table with six places.

“This will be nice,” Mom says happily. “Three guys and three girls.”

“Need some help?” offers Paige when she finally emerges from her room. Naturally, she looks like she’s ready to audition for
America’s Next Top Model.
Yet, instead of offering a snarky comment, I tell her she looks pretty.

“Thanks! Why don’t I take over for you,” she offers. “That way you can go fix up some.”

“Meaning I
need
to?” I tease.

She pats my cheek like I’m about six years old. “No, you look just fine for a little earth muffin.”

I hand her the water pitcher. “Thanks. I can take a hint.”

She just laughs as I go to my room to figure out whether I really want to be a “little earth muffin” tonight or not. Finally, I decide that a little spiffing up probably wouldn’t hurt my image.

It’s around eight by the time all six of us are at the table, and everyone seems to be getting along nicely. And I can tell this makes Mom happy. Jon seems like a genuinely nice guy. He seems interested in
Malibu Beach
as well as
On the Runway
, and he even includes Blake in the conversations too, asking him about where he thinks TV is headed. I can tell Blake appreciates this. I also like the way Jon is treating my mom. He’s respectful and thoughtful and in some ways he’s a lot like Dad. I guess that shouldn’t surprise me. After all, why would Mom settle for anything less?

All in all, it’s a pleasant meal and it’s even fun watching
Malibu Beach
together afterward—and it turns out that both Paige and I end up in some of the scenes. Including the part where I stood up for my sister, which isn’t easy to watch. Partly because it was an uncomfortable moment, and partly because I don’t enjoy seeing myself on the screen. But that’s not the situation with Paige. She’s thrilled to see herself. And
it’s obvious the camera loves Paige. In fact, I think the camera loves Paige even more than Mia.

In the end, I have to admit that I like Benjamin more than I expected. He’s polite and considerate and if it weren’t for the Mia factor, I’d welcome him with open arms. Not that he’s asking me to. I can kind of see why Paige is attracted to him, and I have to admit they make a stunning couple—in that Hollywood sort of way.

We’ve just turned off the TV and are back at the table having dessert when someone’s cell phone rings, one of Mom’s pet peeves on a night when she’s fixed a real dinner. But it turns out to be my phone, and to my surprise it’s Mollie.

“What’s up?” she asks cheerfully.

“Hey! Great to hear from you. We’re having dessert right now, so can I call you back?” I say this quietly, knowing that Mom’s eying me and wondering why my phone wasn’t turned off.

“Sure.” Her voice sounds stiff.

“Okay. Soon as we’re done.” Then I hang up, turn off my phone, and go back to the table. “Sorry, Mom,” I say, “I forgot it was on.”

“Jon was just saying that he should schedule you and Paige to be on the morning show,” Mom tells me as I sit down.

“Oh?”

“For publicity,” she continues.

“Yes,” Jon adjusts his dark-rimmed glasses. “I thought we could do a spot on you girls right before the Golden Globes. That might be fun.”

“That sounds fabulous,” Paige gushes. “I can hardly believe that we’re going to be at the Golden Globes.”

“Just on the red carpet,” I remind her. “It’s not like we get to go inside like the real guests.”

“Not this year.” She smiles slyly. “But just you wait…one of these years.”

Jon laughs. “I wouldn’t doubt it after seeing you on
Malibu Beach
tonight.”

“We’ve been invited to the Golden Globes too,” Benjamin injects.

“The whole
Malibu Beach
show?” Jon asks in surprise.

“No…just Mia and me.”

Paige sits a little straighter, almost as if this is news to her.

“Won’t that be a little awkward?” I ask, knowing I should probably just keep my mouth shut. But, hey, I’m curious. “I mean, if you guys have broken up?”

“The breakup will happen after the Golden Globes,” Benjamin says this as if he’s describing an episode and not a personal relationship, and I’m thinking maybe Mom was right about Mia acting after all. “Our director thought that would be better.”

I want to ask him if Mia agreed with this, but I know that would be stepping over the line. Besides, I’m trying to be kinder and less judgmental—and it’s none of my business anyway.

We continue the discussion, talking about who’s been nominated for what and who everyone thinks will win and why. It’s after ten by the time we finally start saying good-night, only because Jon informs us he has to get up in six hours to be ready for the morning show. But as he tells Mom good-night, I’m surprised to see them exchange a kiss. A real kiss. And it’s kind of surreal. I mean, I’ve never seen my mom kiss anyone except for my dad. I suppose it’s kind of upsetting too, but I try
to act natural as I offer to walk Blake downstairs. Mostly I want to get away and just let this strangeness of this settle.

“Is it weird seeing your mom dating?” Blake asks as we stand in the courtyard by the parking lot.

I nod. “Yeah. I guess I wasn’t as ready for it as I thought.”

“Jon seems like a great guy.”

“Yeah…” I look over at the stand of palm trees being lit by the spotlight. And then I notice that Benjamin and Paige are coming down the stairs. I assume, like me, she came down to give Mom some space and to tell Benjamin good-night in private. But the next thing I know she hops into his Porsche and off they go.

“Wonder what they’re up to?” Blake asks.

“No idea,” I say, trying to relax some of my overly protective-sister attitude.

Now Blake takes my hand and I’m not sure what he’s about to do, but to my relief he just shakes it with both hands. “Thanks for a great evening, Erin. It was fun seeing you and Paige in your big debut.”

“Thank you for coming,” I say as he releases my hand.

We just stand there for a couple of minutes and I’m actually wondering if I want to move this up a notch—maybe I really do want him to kiss me like he used to do back before he broke my heart. On second thought, maybe I’m not ready for that yet. Just then Jon comes down the stairs. He calls out “good-night,” then gets into his car and leaves.

“I should go back in,” I say lamely.

“I’ll watch until you go up the stairs,” Blake offers.

“Oh, it’s perfectly safe here,” I assure him.

But he just smiles. “Maybe I just want to watch.”

I laugh. “Okay then.” I call out good-night as I hurry up
the stairs. And I’m still thinking about the boyfriend thing. Maybe I’ve been wrong about this. Maybe it is time to elevate Blake back up to “boyfriend” status. Or maybe not.

“So…” Mom is cleaning up the dinner things. “What did you think of Jon?”

“He’s great,” I tell her as I start to load the dishwasher.

“Does it bother you though?” She continues rinsing something in the sink. “I mean because he’s not your dad?”

“I guess it kind of took me by surprise,” I admit, trying to be mature about the whole thing. “But that’s probably natural.”

She just nods.

“Hey, listen,” I say. “You have to get up early tomorrow. Why don’t I finish up in here?”

She turns to me with what seem like misty eyes. “Thanks, Erin.” And then she hugs me. “I appreciate it.”

As I work in the kitchen I wonder why my mom got misty over me offering to do the dishes, and I also wonder about my sister and Benjamin. If they were a normal couple, I might assume they went to a club. But because they’re still staying beneath the radar, I doubt this. Unless they both simultaneously lost their minds—and that’s possible. Finally, instead of obsessing and getting mad, I decide to just pray for them. Then I finish up the kitchen and go to bed.

The next morning I wake up to the sound of our doorbell ringing. I look at the clock to see that it’s nearly ten. So, knowing Mom is long gone and Paige is probably sleeping in since I heard her roll in around one, I get up to see who’s disturbing my sleep.

“Mollie?” I say in surprise. “Hi! Don’t you have classes today?”

“Not until one.” Without waiting for an invitation, she comes inside as if she’s on a mission.

“Want some coffee?” I offer as I head for the kitchen.

“Why didn’t you call me back last night?” she demands as she tosses her jacket onto the back of a counter stool and sits down.

“Oh, yeah!” I slap my forehead. “I totally forgot. Last night was kind of crazy.” So as I fill the coffee carafe, I explain about who was here for dinner and how Paige is dating Benjamin and Mom’s dating Jon and that I’ve been talking to Blake again. “And it was late and I went to bed.” I click on the coffee maker, turn around, and hold up my hands and just smile. “Sorry about that.”

“So Benjamin was
here
last night?” Her brow is creased like this is a big concern. And it’s not that I don’t agree, but I wonder why she should care so much.

I nod. “Yeah.”

“But after that, he and Paige went out, right?”

“How do you know—”

“Everyone
knows.”

“Huh?”

“You mean
you
don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“About your sister and Benjamin Kross.”

“Of course I know. But how do
you
know?”

“Because someone tweeted me and then I went online. One of the gossip sites has a photo of the two of them sneaking into an all-night diner. I’m sure it’s already all over the place.”

“Seriously?” I lean forward on the breakfast bar and just stare at her. She seems to be enjoying being the bearer of bad news.

“Go get your laptop,” she says eagerly. “I’ll show you.”

Then, as we’re sitting there sipping coffee and perusing the gossip sites where news of Benjamin Kross’s new romance is spreading like wildfire, Paige comes meandering out of her bedroom, looking just as lovely as ever even though I know she just crawled out of bed.

“Morning girls,” she says sleepily.

“Paige,” I say. “Uh, you better come look at this.”

“What?” She yawns as she comes over to join us, leaning over to see the screen better. Then suddenly she stands erect. “Oh no…”

“Oh yes.” I nod at her trying to withhold an I-told-you-so expression.

Paige lets a swear word escape. “Sorry,” she says quickly. “But this is
so
not good.”

“Ya think?” I go back for another cup of coffee.

Paige sits down on a stool next to Mollie and stares blankly at the granite countertop.

“So what do you think?” Mollie says lightly.
“Are
you the next Angelina Jolie?”

“That was so last decade,” I say. “Couldn’t they come up with a more recent couple-crasher?”

“I’m
not
a couple-crasher,” Paige says quietly.

“Well, Benjamin and Mia are still seen as a couple in the public’s eyes,” I remind her.

“And in Mia’s eyes, it says here,” Mollie points to the screen. “Want me to read it?”

Paige doesn’t answer, but I nod. We might as well get this over with.

“Mia is quoted as saying that
Paige Forrester is a manipulative, backstabbing little witch.
And then she goes on to say
that you’re a frenemy and that you crashed her birthday party, pretended to be her friend, and went behind her back to steal her boyfriend.” Mollie just shakes her head now. “And she also says that she hopes your show is cancelled or that they can at least find a host who knows how to behave herself better in both public and private and yada-yada.”

“This is such a mess.” Paige says.

I take a sip of coffee and wonder how my smooth sister is going to slip out of this mess.

Paige’s phone is ringing, but she just sits there.

Before long, our landline rings and I pick it up with an approving nod from Paige. “I have Helen Hudson for Paige Forrester,” Sabrina says stiffly.

“Just a minute,” I say as I hold the phone toward my sister and mouth “Helen.”

But she just stands up, shakes her head, then runs back to her room.

“I’m sorry,” I say into the phone. “She’s unable to—”

“Listen, Erin,” Sabrina snarls, “tell Paige to get her little—”

“I’ll have her call you back, okay?”

“Get her on the phone
now,”
she seethes.

“I’ll try. Hold on.” I go and knock on Paige’s door. “You have to take this call,” I tell Paige. Then I open the door, finding my sister in a heap on her bed. “It’s Helen Hudson,” I say firmly. “And you need to talk to her.”

Paige sits up and reluctantly holds her hand out for the phone, but her expression is like I’m handing her a loaded gun that she’s about to place against her head.

“Just get it over with,” I say gently. “Really, how bad can it be?” I place the phone in her hands, then force a little smile. “And I’ll be praying for you, okay?”

She nods blankly and mutters into the phone, “This is Paige.”

I consider sticking around to eavesdrop, but then decide Paige probably doesn’t need any additional pressure right now. Besides, I said I’d pray for her. So I go back out and tell Mollie about my promise and the two of us bow our heads and ask God to help Paige through this difficult situation that she seems to have gotten herself into.