“Hmm, I bet.”
“No, honestly, there is.” She then told Pam of the conversation she’d overheard between Candy and Ruby. Since Pam was once a part of the Hollywood crowd, she knew Ruby, but she had left to return to Wyoming before Candy’s arrival in Los Angeles. However, Pam had heard about Candy’s mean-girl persona from her sister Paige.
Paige Novak—who was determined to follow in her oldest sister’s footsteps and become an actress—had been doing well for herself in Hollywood by getting leads in several shows and movies. She had even begun dating Kemp Pierson, who’d been considered one of the sexiest actors in Hollywood. A few years earlier, Candy had arrived in Hollywood after transitioning from lingerie model to an actress. It wasn’t long before she’d targeted any up-and-coming actress who got a role in any movie she’d wanted. At some point, Paige had become her target.
There were some who, to this day, believed Kemp’s affair with actress Mya Roadie had been deliberately leaked to the press by Candy.
If that was true, then things had certainly backfired on Candy when Paige ended up falling in love with and marrying Senator Jess Outlaw, who was even more of a hottie than Kemp ever could be.
“And you and I both know, Pam, that photo only got front-page placement because Ardella Rowe doesn’t like Candy. Anytime she can dig in the screws, she will.” Ardella was a well-known Hollywood gossip columnist who enjoyed sharing tidbits with various tabloids, such as theWagging TongueandThe Tattler. It was reported that the reason Ardella disliked Candy was because she had rubbed her the wrong way more than once. “If Candy sees that spread in the tabloid, she is going to be pissed,” Iris said.
“Who cares? You looked totally ravishing by the way.”
“Thanks.”
“So how did Matt feel about you coming on to him like that in public?”
“He was surprised but only for a second. I whispered in his ear to play along. Then later when I explained why I had done it, he appreciated me for doing so.”
“You were Matt’s date?”
“No, I was Shauna’s. Matt was Deena’s date. However, he feels we were set up just so he could take me home last night. We think Deena and Shauna were trying their hands at matchmaking.”
“Did it work? Did Matt take you home last night?”
Iris snuggled back in the bed, and when she did so, she inhaled the scent of Matt off his pillow. “Yes, it worked, but he didn’t take me home.”
“Oh? And where did he take you?”
“To his place, and that’s all you’re getting out of me.”
“For now. I want details later, Iris. Just answer this one question for me.”
“What question is that?”
“Are you still there?”
Iris knew if she said, yes, Pam would know she had spent the night. She had no problem with Pam knowing that, since she would be getting details later. “Yes, I am. Now, goodbye, Pamela.”
She heard Pam chuckle on the other end of the phone. “Goodbye, Iris, and tell Matt I said hello.”
“Okay. I’ll be sure to tell Matt. Goodbye.”
She had placed her cell phone back on the nightstand when a husky voice asked, “And what do you have to tell me?”
Iris glanced to where Matt leaned in the doorway with two mugs in his hands and a pair of pajama bottoms riding low on his hips. The man looked too good to be real, but she knew he was. Certain parts of her body were sore this morning and could prove it.
Her gaze moved to his hairy chest. She recalled how many times—in between their many bouts of lovemaking—she had lain in his arms and rubbed her hands across his chest, loving the way the curly hair felt beneath her fingers.
“Iris?”
She blinked, remembering he had asked her a question. “Pam told me to tell you hello. We usually talk every Sunday morning around nine. It was my time to call, and when I hadn’t, she thought perhaps something was wrong.”
“I see,” he said, coming toward the bed.
Iris was seeing, too, but not as much as she wanted. Her gaze had automatically shifted lower to his midsection. It was obvious he was aroused. She was convinced the man had a high testosterone level. But then, after last night, she would have to admit she was just as sexually charged as he was. She wondered what he would think if she were to ask him to get out of his pj’s, so she could see what they were shielding.
“I know you don’t do coffee, so I made you a cup of tea,” he said. “You were in luck since Deena drinks tea and coffee, so I have both on hand.”