“Hey, I’m not picky. I just like what I like.” Sam grinned as she grabbed a chip. “I’m having the strip with baked potato and veggies. And a salad out first so I don’t inhale all these chips.”
“I’ll have the same, but with chicken. And ranch instead of the vinaigrette Sam’s having.” Rarity pushed the menu away from her.
“I don’t know why I even ask before putting the order in with you two. Did you see the salmon special? It’s Friday.”
“Oh, no, I’ll have that instead.” Rarity changed her order. “Thanks.”
“I’ll stay with the steak. Last time I went for blood work, my doc said I was anemic.” She handed Malia the menu. “My annual’s coming up and I’m feeling a little worn down again. I don’t want him to think I didn’t take his advice last year.”
“I’m not sure changing your eating habits now will fix a year of not taking his advice,” Rarity said, then saw the look Sam was giving her. “Fine, your body, your choice.”
“I think that’s a different motto, but whatever. I’ll get these in and bring out the salads. I’m so excited about the party. Katie’s invited guys from her classes. Maybe Mr. Right will show up and sweep me off my feet.”
“I thought you were dating someone, Dane O’Conner. What happened to him?” Rarity found it hard to keep track of Malia and her friends.
“Dane broke up with me before he joined the army. He said it wasn’t fair to ask me to wait or have a long-distance relationship. His loss, right?” She nodded to a man trying to get her attention. “We can chat about it on Sunday. I’ll be right back.”
Sam sipped her wine, avoiding eye contact.
“You knew about Malia and Dane breaking up. Why didn’t I?”
Sam shrugged. “I don’t know why, probably because I overheard the conversation. She and Holly were talking about it a couple of months ago at one of the book clubs. She didn’t want to seem weak, so she asked me not to tell anyone. I assumed she’d tell you when she was ready.”
Rarity felt hurt that Malia hadn’t shared such a big change with her, but she decided to let it go. And, she thought, she needed to hang out with the girls more often. Between the bookstore and Archer, she’d been pretty busy and had turned down impromptu get-togethers. She needed to be better at saying yes.
When Sam touched her hand, she looked over at her. “It’s not a bad thing to have a busy life. Just don’t forget to make time for friends. It’s a hard learned lesson, otherwise.”
“Which is why you came to St. Louis to sit with me during chemo days.” Rarity nodded. “I need to prioritize these types of nights more.”
“Yes, you do. Besides, I only came to St. Louis because that rat Kevin was ghosting you even though you lived together. There was no way I was going to let you go through that time alone.” Sam squeezed Rarity’s hand. “Not on my watch. Now tell me about Darby being stalker-free. I missed that discussion.”
When they got to the theater, many of the stars of the films were outside, signing autographs and talking to the small crowd. Rarity looked around at the dresses. “Maybe we should have upped our game here. Tomorrow we’ll have to dig out the formal wear.”
“That will be fun.” Sam pulled out her lipstick and refreshed it. “Hopefully we’ll both have dates tomorrow. Let’s take a selfie in front of the festival sign.”
They did, and as they wandered through the crowd, they heard excited chatter. Rarity joined a group of moms who attended the Mommy and Me class. “What’s going on?”
“Rumor is that Bret Black was just cast as a lead in the next Marvel movie. And we get to see his latest movie tonight. I hear Talia Brooks is negotiating a new series with Netflix. This is all so exciting to think that we saw them back when.” Cate grinned at Rarity. “Oh, there’s Talia now. Excuse me, I need her autograph. Maybe I can sell it later and pay for Junior’s college.”
Sam stood next to Rarity as the rest of the crowd rushed to where Talia was holding court. She looked at Rarity. “You don’t believe the rumors.”
“No, because Talia said she was just starting to do auditions next week. Unless this has been in the works for a while. And if so, why would she be working on the auditions? Something smells bad.”
“Oh, I hope it’s not me,” Terrance said from behind them. “I haven’t used this cologne for a while. Maybe it turned to vinegar.”
Shirley patted his arm. “Hush, I think you smell amazing. You girls look lost. Where are those handsome men of yours?”
“Working. At least that’s the story. Can we sit with you guys? That way we don’t have to swat the men away like flies?” Rarity asked Terrance.
His smile widened. “I get to go to the movies with three lovely women. My teenage self would be going out of his mind.”
“Just remember you’re outnumbered, so in any discussion, we win.” Shirley nodded to the doors. “Shall we get some popcorn and get settled?”
As they walked to the door, Rarity and Talia locked gazes. Talia dropped hers first. But before that happened, Rarity saw the flash of fear. She had been lying about the Netflix series and she knew Rarity had caught the lie. Talia probably started the rumor herself. And if it proved to be untrue tomorrow? She could deny starting it and say she hoped that she would be considered in the future. The woman was an actress. She knew how to play a crowd.
Rarity just wondered what else she had lied about and to whom? Now that she’d found the notebook from Mason, she knew that he and Talia had been planning on getting back together. So why would Talia lie about that now? Wouldn’t it give her sympathy points in the press?
Nothing about this Hollywood crowd seemed real. Including the plastic spider the killer had left on Mason’s chest. But had the killer left it there? Or had Mason tried to leave them a clue?
