Livvy lay back down on the couch, fighting the urge to run to the bathroom and find something to make it better. She propped her head on her hand. “You have to be more careful, kid. Don’t want you breaking your wrist before your big break.” Livvy winked at Judy, but her heart wasn’t in it.
Judy flattened her lips into a thin line. “You mean we don’t need a hospital bill to deal with before either of us are making money.”
Livvy’s face fell. “That’s not what I meant. But I can’t say you’re wrong. Anyway, tell me more about the Sphinx Club. I’ve never heard of the place.”
“It’s only been around a couple of years. It’s on Hollywood Boulevard.”
A prickle of worry poked at Livvy. “Oh, Judy, I’m not sureabout that. Isn’t Hollywood Boulevard kinda seedy? Can’t you at least try for a job at the Trocadero?”
Judy twisted her face into a moue. “No. They don’t have any vacancies right now. Besides, I don’t have enough experience yet to dance at the Troc. This could be a real opportunity, Livvy. The manager of the club, Billy Wilkes, doesn’t just employ girls at the club. He’s sorta an agent too. He helps select dancers for Hollywood parties and movie extras and things like that. Besides, you know we need the money.”
Livvy sat up and patted the couch cushion next to her. Judy plopped down on it and Livvy wrapped her arm around her sister, pulling her close until Judy laid her head on Livvy’s shoulder. “Okay, Judy, I trust you. And you’re right, we do need the money. I only want to know you won’t find yourself in a situation over your head. It’s my job to keep you safe. We already lost Mother and Father. I can’t lose you too.” Judy nestled into the crook of Livvy’s arm more tightly at the mention of their parents. “I’ll be at the studio all the time, and I don’t want to worry about you.”
“You will anyway.” Judy sighed. “But Livvy, I’m not a kid anymore. I can take care of myself.”
“You’ll always be a kid to me.”
Judy giggled and snuggled her head against Livvy’s shoulder. “Oh, Livvy, I love you.”
“I love you too, kid.”
Judy shoved Livvy lovingly. “Now, tell me about your day. Did you meet Flynn Banks? What’s he like? Everything you ever dreamed?” Judy batted her eyelashes and put her hands under her chin.
Livvy drew the pillow out from behind her and swatted her sister with it. “He’s my costar now, Judy!”
“So? Joan Davis and Dash Howard were costars for years. They’re married.”
Livvy rolled her eyes. She felt a million years older tonight than she had last night. She hadn’t told Judy about meeting Flynn at the Troc. She had told Judy she was going out for a drive to clear her head, and when she’d gotten home, Judy had already fallen asleep. Livvy wasn’t even sure Judy would believe the story. It still felt like some strange dream. Surely, she had not rescued Flynn Banks from a nightclub and then proceeded to put on airs while driving him all the way to his house.
“Well, for your information, yes, I did meet him. And he’s…not at all what I thought he’d be like.” Judy frowned. “Oh, he’s handsome and charming and all of those things. But he’s a horrid flirt and has an ego the size of the Empire State Building. He’s trouble, and the last thing I need is to get mixed up with a man like him.”
Judy chuckled. “You honestly expected otherwise?”
Livvy lifted her shoulders and curled her arms around her legs as she drew them up on the couch. “I don’t know. Maybe? I thought he’d be more like the characters he plays on-screen, a real dashing type, you know? But in reality, he’s a…a…a…scoundrel.”
“Oh brother. And you thought I would be the one getting in over my head?”
“What can I say? I’ve always been a hopeless romantic.” Livvy threw herself backwards and kicked out her legs toward her sister’s lap.
“But I thought you liked it in the movies when Flynn was a bit of a rogue,” Judy teased, tickling the arch of Livvy’s foot and making her squirm.
Livvy pulled her feet away and stuck her tongue out. “Pest!”
Judy giggled but kept her hands to herself.
“I did.” Livvy sighed. “I do. But he wasn’t like that. He was…a bit ridiculous actually. I pretended I didn’t know who he was. That I’d never seen one of his pictures.”
Judy’s mouth rounded into a big O and her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “Livvy! That’s a bald-faced lie!”
Livvy laughed. “It is. But I didn’t want him to see me as this starstruck kid who used to moon over him. Besides, I can’t let my head be turned by a British accent and a winning smile.” She paused, collecting herself. “We know what happened the last time I did that.” Judy squeezed her sister’s foot, reassuring her.
“He and I have to work together. So I acted like I didn’t know him from Adam.”
“My God, you’re a better actress than I thought if you convinced him of that.”
“It wasn’t hard. I just pretended to be one of the ladies of the court fromLancelot and Arthurlike we used to do. You remember?” Livvy lifted her chin, pursed her lips, and sucked in her cheeks and her nostrils, overexaggerating the look of a snooty woman.
Judy shrieked with laughter and imitated her sister. “Your Grace, I would not deign to let you kiss my foot.”
