“Is he out? Publicly, I mean?”
“What?” she asked, startled. But she recovered quickly. “No. I mean, I don’t think so. He just told me and his sister this weekend that he’s dating Jackson. I don’t even know if his friends know, though I’d assume they do. One of his best friends is a lesbian. I can’t imagine why he’d keep it from her. And there’s really no reason to hide.” She shut her mouth, realizing that she was rambling. “Sorry. I’m just thrown, that’s all.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close to him. “No need to apologize. Your son’s privacy is being threatened. I’d be pissed too.”
Joy wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. And even though she was still worried about what the press might do, she felt a little better just being in his arms. “Thanks. Who knew that even being a D-list celebrity was going to be so stressful?”
He chuckled. “Babe, you are the furthest thing from D-list.”
“Troy Bixby!” Prissy called, appearing suddenly in the foyer She was wearing a strapless, floor-length dress that had a slit up to her hip on the left side. She gave him a huge grin and made a beeline for him without even acknowledging Joy’s presence. “I have been dying to see you again.”
“You two have met?” Joy asked. Hadn’t Troy told her on the way over that he didn’t know Prissy?
“Not that I know of.” He held his hand out to Prissy and said, “Hello. It’s nice to meet… see you again. Please, refresh my memory. How do we know each other?”
“Oh my gosh, silly. I’m sure you remember me. We met at that gallery opening in LA last year. We made plans to get drinks at Chill.”
Troy frowned. “Chill?”
It was obvious to Joy that he wasn’t acting. He genuinely had no idea what she was talking about.
“That hot new rooftop bar in Hollywood? We were going to meet there, but then your brother called because his car broke down, so we agreed on a rain check.” She slipped her arm through his and held on. “I guess tonight is that rain check.”
Panic flashed in Troy’s eyes as he glanced at Joy. “Uh, yeah, that all sounds vaguely familiar. But tonight I’m Joy’s date, and I—”
“Joy can take care of herself. Can’t you, Joy?” Prissy gave her a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin. “Besides, it’s good for her career if she works the room.”
“I don’t—” he started.
“Troy Bixby!” A very familiar tall man with jet-black hair called out, cutting him off as he rushed over and gave Troy a bear hug. When he let him go, he grabbed his arm and patted him on the shoulder. “How long has it been, brother?”
“Zack Hayes! How long has it been, man?” Troy grinned at him. “I don’t think I’ve seen you since graduation day when you crashed your motorcycle into that bouncy house. Man, Greek row was pissed at you. They were planning to hold wet T-shirt contests in that thing.”
Joy snickered. It sounded exactly like what might have happened at her college.
“Oh, Zack,” Troy said, nudging Prissy out of the way. “This is my girlfriend, Joy Lansing. Joy, this is Zack Hayes. We went to college together.”
Joy held her hand out to him and nearly died when she realized he wasn’t just Zack Hayes, college friend, he was Zack Hayes, television star of the popular family drama Summer Creek.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Joy,” Zack said, shaking her hand.
“You, too,” she croaked.
Prissy rolled her eyes. “Oh. My. God. Please don’t tell me you’re starstruck. I’m so embarrassed for you.” She turned to Zack. “My apologies. The director of my new film took a liking to Troy’s photos of her, and now I’m stuck mentoring a newbie on set. I’m sure you know how it is, Zack.”
The actor stared down at her and then shook his head. “You’re a piece of work, aren’t you, Prissy?”
She shrugged. “I’m just voicing my truth. Don’t tell me you don’t get tired of being fawned over. I know you too well, Zack. This party is supposed to be a place no one has to worry about that.” Prissy shot Joy a look of disgust. Then her eyes narrowed, and she leaned into Joy and tapped her chin as she whispered, “Tell your makeup artist she missed a spot.”
That familiar rage that filled Joy’s gut every time she had to deal with Prissy reemerged, and Joy had to fight to not sneer at the younger woman. Or claw her eyes out. But Joy was the mature one, and fighting with her costar would only cause more problems. She pasted a smile on her face and said, “You’re so helpful, Prissy. Thank you. I’ll let her know.”
Zack peered at Joy. “What the hell are you talking about, Prissy? If you ask me, Joy’s the most beautiful woman here.”
“As if,” Prissy mumbled and grabbed both men by the arm. “You two are with me. There’s someone you both need to meet.”
“I’m going to pass. Like I said, I’m Joy’s date,” Troy said, trying to shrug her off. But she held on tight.
“Oh, no. You’re not getting away this time, Troy Bixby. You owe me a drink. Joy will still be here after we’ve taken care of business.”
He opened his mouth to protest again, but Joy shook her head, knowing that if Prissy didn’t get her way, filming on Monday would be filled with her never-ending tantrums. The entire reason she’d brought Troy there in the first place was to appease the actress. “You go ahead, Troy. It’s fine. Besides, Prissy’s right. There are some people here I need to say hello to.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, a faint note of pleading in his tone.
Her lips twitched, and she gave him a half smile. “It’s okay. I’m sure.”
It took a little work, but he did manage to escape from Prissy’s death grip long enough to give Joy a searing kiss. By the time he let her go, she was slightly winded and her lips tingled. “Wow.”
He winked at her and then turned to Prissy. “All right. Let’s get this dog and pony show on the road.”
Prissy glared at Joy but then put on a bright smile and said, “Troy, do you like blow jobs?”
“What?” he asked and stared over her shoulder at Joy. He mouthed, Help!
“The drink. They’re called blow jobs. They’re the theme of the party. No one ever says no to a blow job.”
Joy rolled her eyes and mouthed back, Good luck.
“I’m down for a blow job,” Zack said. “Great idea, Prissy.”
Joy shook her head, and instead of working the crowd as Prissy suggested, she made her way to the open bar for a glass of wine and then stepped out onto the balcony and settled into a chair to listen to the waves.
Chapter Thirteen
Joy wasn’t sure how long she’d sat on the lounge chair, but she’d have been content to stay there all night. Making small talk at a cocktail party with a bunch of self-important industry people was the last thing she wanted to do. But daydreaming about living in a beach house and having an evening cocktail on the balcony every night kept her quite entertained.
Unfortunately, Prissy found her, ruining Joy’s good time. She dropped into the deck chair beside Joy and let out a disgusted snort. “What are you doing, Joy?”