“Sydney.” Jane looks at me with her kind brown eyes. “Go to London. Work, figure out how to be Sydney Tannen, interior designer, grown daughter of celebrities, tabloid target. Then, when you’re done with that you can figure out how to be Sydney, the girl who’s loved by Andrew Forrester.” She smiles and makes little air quotes with her fingers around mine and Drew’s names as she speaks.
“But…”
“But nothing. I’ll stay here and work on your man while you’re gone.”
“What if he doesn’t want me anymore?” I whisper.
“Sydney, I’ve known Drew for over six years. I’ve never, ever seen him in love with anyone. He doesn’t let anyone get close enough. He still wants you, believe me.”
I leap up from the couch. “I need to change my flight to one tonight, can you arrange it for me? If I see him, I’ll chicken out and stay.” I start to run into the bedroom to pack my things.
Jane grabs my hand before I can leave the room. “I’ll take care of everything dear.”
Drew is so lucky to have her. Hell, I’m lucky to have her.
Chapter 14
I laugh out loud when I see the name on the big white sign being held by my best friend in the baggage claim of Heathrow Airport. I wouldn’t have thought that I had any laughter in me after the roller coaster of emotions that I’ve been through over the last few weeks, but Leah always manages to make me feel better.
“Betty Bangzer? Really, Leah? What, are we fourteen years-old again?” I giggle as I pull her in for a huge hug.
She laughs with me. “Well, I sure as hell wasn’t going to put Sydney Tannen on a sign and stand here with it. No way do I want to attract a giant crowd of lookie-loos as I pick up my best friend from the airport.” Leah looks me up and down and smirks. “Nice hair by the way.”
I flick back my shaggy black wig and pretend to be sexy, puckering up my lips and posing for her. “I didn’t wear it on the plane, it’s too itchy. But I didn’t want to get mobbed walking through the airport so I put it on in the bathroom when I got into the terminal. I know that this airport has a huge paparazzi problem.”
I did my research on the flight and found out that Heathrow and LAX tend to have the biggest permanent herd of photographers that just hang out all the time, aggressively pursuing celebrities as they come and go from all over the world. For some reason that I can’t figure out, fans are beyond excited to purchase pictures of famous people at the airport. Bizarre.
I also found out that the U.K. has antagonistic paparazzi in general. The people here love their tabloids, hence the disguise. I choked up a little when I put the wig on, reminding me of the fun Drew and I had when we would go out wearing our disguises.
Leah grabs my carry-on from me as I wheel my giant suitcase outside. “Yeah, it’s pretty bad here. Ryker gets swarmed whenever we’re out. It definitely sucks.”
“Oh really? Who would have thought that dating the newest hottie in Hollywood would come with its own pack of paparazzi and fangirls?” I roll my eyes then smile sweetly at Leah.
She gives me the evil eye and we both crack up.
“We’re both so fucked up, you know that, right?” Leah jokes.
“Yeah, I know,” It comes out sadder than I meant.
“You guys will be okay. This will be good for you both.”
I give my best friend a weak smile as we hand my luggage to her driver and climb into the back seat of the car. We settle in for the twenty mile ride from Heathrow to the Warren Hotel and chat about Leah’s time in London so far.
“So Leah, what do you do all day when you don’t go to the set?”
“I go to the set most days and hang in Ryker’s trailer or with his assistant, Brittney. But sometimes I go shopping with her or out with other friends.” I give her a confused look so she continues. “I spend a lot of time with the same people, so I’ve made a few fairly close friends.”
“That’s great.” I’m genuinely happy for her, and a little jealous. It’s easier to make friends when you don’t think everyone has an ulterior motive to hang out with you. Then it occurs to me, people do have an ulterior motive to be friends with Leah now that she’s with Ryker. “How do you know who to trust? You know, who wants to get with you just to meet Ryker?”
“Oh, I don’t know who to trust. That’s why I only hang out with the crew, friends of the cast or crew, or friends of Ryker’s. No way am I going to let someone use me to get to him.”
I sigh. Leah makes life seem so easy. Why is it that the exact same problems become monumentally unsurpassable as soon as they enter my world?