“Really? That’s so cool,” Josie said. “Would I have seen you in anything?”
Jules laughed. “You might have, but you probably wouldn’t remember me. I’m usually a member of the ensemble, although I’ve got a small supporting role inParadiseright now. I guess you could say I’m still waiting for my big break.”
“Aren’t we all?” Josie agreed, taking an immediate liking to Jules. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“I’ll try the Whiskey Kiss,” Jules said.
“Coming right up.”
“Actually, I was hoping to meet you tonight,” Jules said as Josie mixed her drink. “I’ve been watching your videos, and I guess I’ve gotten kind of attached to those kittens since I named them.”
“Thinking of adopting?” Josie asked as she set a tumbler on the bar in front of her.
“I am, actually.” Jules lifted the glass to her lips and sipped. “Mm, that’s good.”
“Well, they aren’t officially available for adoption yet,” Josie told her, “but I’m always willing to make exceptions in unique situations.”
“Unique situations?” Jules gave her a hopeful look before taking another sip of her drink.
“Such as when the person who donated a bunch of money to name them takes the time to come to my bar’s grand reopening,” Josie told her. “It’ll be a while before they’re ready to go home with you, but I’d be happy to give you the pick of the litter, assuming you pass my adoption screening.”
“Yes.” Jules fist-pumped the air.
“Don’t leave tonight without me getting your information, okay?”
“You got it.”
Josie looked up to see Eve watching her from across the room, eyes narrowed, and then she was walking straight toward her. And if Josie wasn’t mistaken, she looked pissed.
16
Eve turned off her mic pack as she crossed the room to where Josie was leaned against the bar, laughing and talking with a very attractive woman. Flirting. It looked like flirting, and while it was certainly Josie’s prerogative to flirt with whomever she wanted, she didn’t need to do it in front of the cameras. Or in front of Eve.
She slid into an opening at the bar, catching Josie’s eye. “I sent the crew on their break if you want to turn that off for a little while.” She gestured toward Josie’s mic pack.
“Yeah, sure,” Josie said, reaching behind herself to switch it off. Her lavender hair shone beneath the overhead lighting like she was some sort of fairy, a very adorable fairy who made Eve’s heart beat too fast every time she looked at her.
“Everything okay over here?” Eve asked.
Josie nodded enthusiastically, waving a hand toward the woman Eve had hoped to ignore. “Actually, I wanted to introduce you to Jules.”
Reluctantly, Eve turned toward her with a polite smile, extending a hand. “Eve Marlow.”
Jules’s eyes widened as she took it and shook. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I love your show.”
“Thank you.”
“Jules named our kittens,” Josie told her. “And now she’s thinking of adopting a couple of them.”
“Oh?” Eve had to think for a moment to figure out what she was talking about. She’d forgotten all about Josie’s fundraiser to name the kittens. “That’s great.”
“Eve’s the one who found them in a trash can,” Josie told Jules. “And she raised them for the first week or so until I was able to take them in.”
“Wow,” Jules said. “I had no idea you’d found them. That’s so horrible. I can’t imagine how someone could throw them out like that.”
Eve nodded.
“Anyway, I hope you put up a new video of them soon,” Jules told Josie. “I’ll give you my number before I leave.” With a friendly wave, she picked up her drink and went to join several other women at one of the high-top tables along the wall.
