Page 7 of 7 Dirty Lies

“It’s not Lonnie,” he said, turning the phone over and setting it on the table furthest from me—a clear sign the message wasnotgood.

My stomachknotted.

“My sister?”Elizabeth was in the middle of globetrotting with her Formula 1 engineerhusband.

“Edita.”

My lawyer.“What isitnow?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.She’s just updating you on the state of the lawsuit and—” he glared at my phone as it vibrated a second time.“And the current headlines.All things that can wait.Go get dressed and I’ll give Edita a call letting her know you’re going offline for the rest of the trip.Then I’m putting it in airplane mode.You can have it back for your date if you promise to only turn on the cell service in case ofemergency.”

I wrinkled my nose.I really wanted to know what was going on so I could manage it, but if there was anything I’d learned on this trip, it was that I wasn’t actually managing any of it.I was worrying and watching and worrying some more.So I clasped my itchy fingers and pushed my anxiety into the background.“No.You keep it.He’s taking me to the Starboard.It will be very public and if I’m worried I’ll have security walkmeback.”

Ted scowled at me but agreed.“Fine.I’ll have them check on you in a couple of hours as long as you promise to have fun.You do remember how,right?”

I’d become so focused on breaking out of the box Hollywood had put me in that I think I’d forgotten what it was like to throw caution to the wind andfeel...free.

Becausethatwas what it really was.I didn’t feel free to be anything other than the super professional, hard working, serious actress I wanted them to see me as.One misplaced photograph, one word misunderstood, and everything I’d been working for was out thewindow.

That was how Hollywoodworked.

So I watched everything I said, never partied, always kept my game face on.It was fucking exhausting.It was also incredibly limiting.I didn’t feel free to be myself anymore—because Lily Lawrence was an image, not aperson.

“I will have fun tonight,” I promised.“Wait...are you trying to get rid of me so you can harass that poor woman without myinterference?”

He chuckled.“No Princess.I miss seeing you smile and I know you’re going to get this part in my movie and be incredibly amazing—but entirely too serious again.So before it all goes back to being crazy I want to see you smile.Please?”

He really was an incredible best friend.I kissed his forehead as I stood up.“Iloveyou.”

“I love you, too.Now go.While the night is stillyoung.”

---