Jeremy shook his head. “This is not a good plan. I’ll tell you what—I’ve got a better idea for you.”

Curious, Jason leaned in as Jeremy lowered his voice conspiratorially.

“Now I know it’s a bit radical, but in desperate times—”

Jeremy paused dramatically.

“Give her . . . time to trust you.”

He glanced around furtively to make sure no one had overheard his devious plot.

Jason glared, unamused by Jeremy’s antics. “I don’t want to give her time to trust me. That’ll take too long.”

“So what if it does?” Jeremy asked. “Are you going somewhere? Dying? I better get the Aston Martin.”

“I’m just tired of waiting,” Jason said. “I want to know how she feels. I need to know how she feels.”

Jeremy glanced over, intrigued by this choice of words.

But seemingly not wanting to discuss the matter further, Jason turned away and headed back inside the house.

UNDERNEATH THE BALCONY, Scott and Rob huddled in a corner of the patio, out of view. They had just overheard everything Jason had said.

Scott grinned victoriously. “I told you they weren’t together.”

Rob nodded. “It’s the same thing I saw in Vegas—he has seriously got a thing for that girl.” He peeked around the corner, trying to get a better look at Taylor. “I wonder what her deal is? I mean, the guy could get anyone he wants.”

Scott yanked Rob back into the alcove. Perhaps a little rougher than necessary.

“Hey,” Rob complained, fixing his shirt. “I just meant, what’s so special about her?”

Scott thought about this for a moment. “You know, I think we should find out.” He moved Rob aside in order to have an unobstructed view of Taylor. “I think it’s about time that Jason Andrews’s Mystery Woman became a little less of a mystery.” With a purposeful grin, he headed back into the party.

Rob watched him go, calling after him. “Great! Sounds like a plan.” He pointed to the buffet table. “I’m just gonna grab a few snacks first.”

Sixteen

JASON FOUND NAOMI Cross out by the koi pond, chatting intimately with a group of women. He approached her with a warm smile.

“Hello, Naomi. Are you enjoying yourself?”

The actress turned when she heard Jason’s voice. She was long and blonde and tan, appearing every inch the California girl until she spoke.

“Darling, you know I always enjoy myself at your parties. I’d never miss one.” Her smooth British accent was the only indication that she was London born and bred.

“Got a second?” Jason gestured to a table off to the side. When Naomi nodded, he led her away from her girlfriends.

As Jason was about to sit down at the table, he spotted Taylor across the pool, still talking to Hayden Stone. Deciding it was high time to put an end to that, he grabbed a bouncer who was walking by.

“Got a cell phone?”

The bouncer nodded affirmatively.

“Good.” Jason pointed. “Hayden Stone is over there, talking to a dark-haired woman. Walk up to him with the cell phone and say that his wife wants to speak with him.”

Satisfied when he saw the bouncer take off in Taylor’s direction—that should take care of that—Jason joined Naomi at the table.

“So Cindy told me that she and Marty have been talking,” Naomi said, referring to her publicist.

“The two of them seem to be quite the matchmakers these days. Marty suggested that you and I have drinks at the Peninsula.” Jason rolled his eyes at the unoriginality of the idea. “It was the same place he sent Jen and Vince before the release of The Break-Up.”

The two actors shared a grin. Although this was the first time they’d worked together, they had known each other for years and got along well.

“Drinks at the Peninsula?” Naomi laughed. “I give it three weeks before the tabloids say we’re engaged.”

“And five before you’re pregnant.”

Naomi groaned. “Another bump watch. Cindy would love it.”

Jason leaned in, peering at her across the table. It was time to get down to business. “Naomi—I need to ask you for a favor. There’s something I’d like you to help me out with tonight.”

Always one for a good intrigue, Naomi met Jason halfway across the table, tilting her head in toward his. She lowered her voice to a secretive whisper.

“What exactly did you have in mind, darling?”

TAYLOR NODDED ALONG politely as Hayden Stone rattled on about his newest project, a romantic “dramedy” about a self-centered man at a crisis point in his life who becomes a better person through the love of a quirky-but-cute woman, all set to an eclectic classic rock soundtrack. Given that Hayden was the only person at the party who had bothered to talk to her other than Jason, she resisted the urge to point out that this sounded strikingly similar to the plot of his last three films.

While Taylor was talking to the director, she couldn’t help but see Jason out of the corner of her eye, sitting at a table near the pool with Naomi Cross. She recalled the People magazine article Linda had given her a few weeks ago that suggested Naomi was Jason’s “next conquest.”

A few weeks ago, Taylor could have cared less about such gossip. But now, for some reason, seeing them together made her stomach feel as though it was tied up in knots.

She forced herself to look away from Jason and the actress, just as Hayden wrapped up his ten-minute diatribe on the protagonist’s “character arc.”