Chapter Sixteen
“Pam!”
“Who else? When you hadn’t called at nine, I got worried.”
Iris released a deep sigh. For the past twenty or so years, it had become a ritual for them to take turns calling each other every Sunday morning around nine, unless they were on vacation or indisposed for some reason.
Even with the latter, they would give each other a heads-up so the call wouldn’t be expected.
“But then I stopped being worried when Paige forwarded me the photo that appeared in this morning’s issue of the Wagging Tongue. Then I understood fully.”
The Wagging Tongue was a Hollywood tabloid popular among those who wanted to stay up-to-date with actors, actresses and the rich and famous. Iris rubbed her hand down her face while yawning and wondering where Matt was.
“What are you talking about?” Iris asked as she glanced around the room.
The covers on the bed were a mess. A scene that suddenly flashed through her mind reminded her why.
It had been a wild night. She’d made love in a single night with Matt more times than she had with Karlton during the entire time they’d been together.
She could probably say the same for Warren.
“I’m talking about you cutting in front of Candy Sumlar to kiss Matt on the lips. The shocked look on Candy’s face was priceless. The headlines read, Candy Strikes Out Again.”
Iris knew what photo Pam was talking about. “There’s a reason for that photo, Pam.”
“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 the Wagging Tongue and The 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.”
“Thanks,” she said, pulling up in bed to accept the mug from him.
When their hands brushed, she felt an immediate tingling between her legs.
When had she become so lusty that the mere touch from a man would cause sexual hunger to stir to life inside of her?
But she knew it wasn’t a touch from any man, just this one.
“Would you like to take a shower with me later?” he asked.
Boy, would she. “I would love that, but other than my gown and panties, I don’t have any other clothes.”
“That won’t be a problem. I have plenty of large T-shirts you can use. Better yet, Deena left some of her clothes here. I’m sure there’s something of hers you can wear. She wouldn’t mind. In fact, I think she would be pleased after orchestrating this entire thing.”
“With Shauna’s help,” Iris added.
He nodded. “I know what Deena is getting out of a Matt and Iris affair. What’s in it for Shauna?” he asked.
“Before I tell you what Shauna is getting out of it, I’d like to know how an affair between us would benefit Deena?”
He eased down in the chair across from the bed.
Even doing something as simple as that looked sexy.
“I believe the reason Deena is playing matchmaker is because she knows the relationship between her and Alisdare is more serious than either is letting on. Granted, I think they are just friends for now, but I can see that friendship evolving into more, sooner rather than later. And when it does, my daughter will not want me to be alone. She would want me to have someone of my own to care about.”
Iris believed what he said about Alisdare and Deena. Anyone who’d observed them together for any period of time would reach that same conclusion. She’d heard through the grapevine that some of those gambling Westmorelands were taking bets as to how long the “just friends” claim would last.
That other piece of what Matt had said should give her concern. It sounded like Deena thought any affair between Iris and Matt would last forever. It wouldn’t. She would not discuss what was happening between them right now, but it was something they would need to address eventually.
“I think the reason Shauna wants me to find someone has something to do with Garlan.”
“Your son?”
“Yes. He considers Shauna like a big sister. She lived with us for a year after finishing college while pursuing her acting career. At the time, Garlan was in junior high school, and she helped me out by picking him up from a lot of his after-school activities. I think he has confided in Shauna that he feels I don’t have a life, and if I had one I wouldn’t worry so much about any decisions he might make that I disagree with.
He doesn’t want me to throw a hissy fit. ”
“What kinds of decisions?”
She paused and then said, “I have a feeling Garlan is thinking about leaving Harvard after this semester and transferring elsewhere. For all I know, he might have already applied with plans to change his major and not attend law school.”
Matt took a sip of his coffee. “I recall Garlan mentioning his major going into law school is political science. As you know, students change majors all the time, so it would not surprise me if he did.” He paused.
“Deena didn’t decide on going to law school until her junior year.
Before then, she considered getting an MBA and working for Dominic in an executive role like my mother did for Marcello. ”
The room got silent as she sipped her tea, and then Matt asked, “Would you do that, Iris? Would you throw a hissy fit if Garlan decided not to go to law school?”
After taking a sip of her tea, she said, “No.”
“Then why does he think you would? Are you the one who pushed him into attending law school?”
“No. It was his idea. A few summers ago, after spending time in Westmoreland Country, he returned home and said that he thought it was cool that Canyon was an attorney. He accompanied Dillon to court and observed Canyon in action. From that experience, Garlan was sold and wanted to become an attorney.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Matt said.
“When we played poker that night at Westmoreland Country, Canyon Westmoreland said he’d wanted to follow in his brother Micah’s footsteps and become a doctor.
However, after two years of medical school, he knew a healthcare career wasn’t for him and switched to law school.
That’s a prime example of it not being too late to change a career choice. ”
“I know that, Matt, and I don’t have a problem with Garlan changing his mind if that’s what he wants to do.”
“Then maybe you need to ask yourself why he thinks you would have a problem with it. Maybe you should have a talk with him and assure him that you don’t.”
Iris didn’t say anything for a long moment as she thought about what Matt had suggested. “You’re right. That’s why I intend to have a heart-to-heart discussion with him when he comes home for Thanksgiving. Hopefully, we can get everything out in the open then.”
She placed her mug on the nightstand and glanced over at him. Why did he have to look so sexy sitting in that chair, shirtless and just in his pj’s? “Are you expecting Deena to drop by today?”
“Nope. In fact, while making my coffee and your tea, she called to let me know that she and Shauna plan to hang out with Charm today and do a lot of shopping. She said she would see me in the office tomorrow. She also mentioned we made the tabloids.”
“So, I heard. Pam mentioned it, too.”
“Dang, news travels fast. How did she hear about it all the way in Denver?”
“Paige. As you know, she was an actress before marrying Jess, and she still subscribes to some of those newspapers to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in Hollywood. Do you have a problem that the media is trying to make a big deal out of what happened?”
He shrugged and smiled. “You did kiss me.”
That smile would be the death of her yet. “Yes, but you know why.”
He placed his mug on the nightstand next to hers. “Yes, I know why, and I have no problem with it. As far as I’m concerned, like I said, your timing was perfect. From what Deena said, Candy Sumlar isn’t a nice person.”
“She’s not. I’m sure Deena got that information from Shauna. She’s on Candy’s hit list. Not only Shauna but any up-and-coming actress who gets a role in a movie Candy might have wanted.”
“She sounds like someone with a very personal problem she might need therapy for,” he said.
She watched as Matt eased up from the chair and moved toward the bed. Then he slid his pj’s off and slipped into bed with her. “Now that you know we won’t be having any surprise visits from anyone, I say let’s make this a play day, Iris.”
She chuckled when he pulled her into his arms. “A play day?”
He smiled. “Yes, and I’ll show you how it’s done.”