Twenty

Kendall

“Are you lost?” A pretty brunette paused on the corner with her dog by her side. It was one of those little dogs, not a Chihuahua, but a small, fluffy white one. One of those yippy breeds, and it was wearing a blue collar with rhinestones that sparkled in the sun. It was Saturday morning, and Kendall had driven down Matthew’s street several times, hoping to spot him, although that hadn’t been the case. And now, just her luck, Kendall thought she’d been spotted by his wife.

“I noticed you’ve driven down the street a couple of times,” said the woman, who had to be Heidi or her twin. “Are you looking for something?”

Kendall considered stepping on the gas, but knew that would only draw more attention. “I, uh, I was just looking for a house.”

“What house?”

“A house to buy, you know,” lied Kendall. “I thought there was one for sale on this street.”

“Oh?” The woman’s brow creased. “You know, there was a house for sale, that gold stucco down there, but it sold a couple weeks ago.”

Kendall nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like it.”

“I don’t know of any other homes for sale.” The little dog was lunging on his leash now, barking and acting as if he wanted to jump onto the rental car.

“Cute dog,” said Kendall. Another lie.

“His name is Finley. He thinks he’s really a Doberman trapped in the body of a Westie.”

Kendall couldn’t help but laugh.

“Sorry about the house being sold. Do you have a realtor?”

“No.” Kendall shook her head. “A friend had told me about the house. I don’t live down here, but I’m relocating for a job.”

“One of my best friends is a realtor.”

“Oh, that’s okay.” Now Kendall was getting worried. What if Matthew popped out of the house and saw her talking to his wife?

“No, it’s fine. If you have a minute, I can write down her number for you.” She pointed to the house—the same house Kendall had been driving past since yesterday. “I live over there. You can pull into the drive.”

So, not wanting to make more of a scene, Kendall slowly drove around and pulled into the circular driveway, stopping short of the security gate.

“I’ll be right back,” called the woman.

Kendall’s heart was racing now. Should she just make a fast break and get out of there? Or wait and see what happened? Part of her was curious and, she had to admit, starstruck. As much as she had pooh-poohed Heidi Hardwick and her fledgling career, which maybe was or wasn’t rising, she could see this woman had something. Still, maybe that proved that her marriage was in trouble. How could two celebrities survive that kind of pressure?

“Here it is.” Heidi jogged back out and handed a slip of paper to Kendall.

“Are you”—Kendall frowned as if trying to think of something—“Are you an actress on that new Fox series?”

Heidi nodded and pushed a shiny lock of hair out of her eyes. “Yeah. That’s me.”

Kendall feigned surprise, then smiled. “Well, that’s cool.”

“Yeah. Anyway, give Kellie a call, and I’m sure she can help you find something. Maybe even in this neighborhood. Sometimes houses are listed without for-sale signs.”

“Thanks!” Then Kendall waved and pulled out of the driveway. She felt silly, but she also felt hopeful. Maybe this would be the key to connecting with Matthew. She drove a few blocks away and dialed the number.

“Hey, this is Kellie,” said a cheerful voice.

“Your friend Heidi Hardwick gave me your number,” Kendall began. “I’m house hunting and she thought you could help me.”

“I’m sure I can.”

So they arranged to meet at a Starbucks about a mile away. Over coffee, Kendall manufactured a story about coming down for an executive job in the film industry.

“Which studio?” asked Kellie eagerly.

Kendall put a finger over her lips. “It’s kind of top secret right now.”

“Oh.” Kellie nodded. “I get you.”

Kendall let Kellie show her several houses. The whole time they chatted away, and Kendall knew she was making Kellie think she was somebody—somebody she wasn’t, but somebody that she might be someday.

“So, you’re probably coming to the birthday party tonight,” said Kellie as they were walking around a sprawling ranch house.

“Oh, yeah.” Kendall smacked her forehead. “I almost forgot. Now where is it again?”

“You’re obviously not a local,” said Kellie. “No one around here would forget Spago.”

“Oh, yeah. Of course.” Kendall wanted to ask what time, but knew that could be pushing it. Besides, it was tonight. How difficult could that be? Kendall glanced at her shiny Cartier watch. “Oh, wow, I didn’t know it was so late. I have to meet up with some, uh, associates, you know. I’m going to have to take off if I’m going to make it on time.”

“Sure, no problem. Did any of these houses interest you?”

“I totally loved the second one,” said Kendall as Kellie locked the front door. “That pool area was awesome.”

“Great, I’ll e-mail you some more details on it, and you can get back to me at your convenience. Although I’ll warn you, houses in that particular neighborhood don’t remain on the market for long.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Great to meet you, Kendall,” said Kellie. “See you tonight!”

Kendall smiled and waved and got back into the rental car. Her plan was to head to her hotel, get a little sun, take a little nap, and then make sure she had the perfect party outfit. The hotel boutique seemed to have possibilities. After that, she’d spend her remaining time primping for the party.

Okay, she was a little curious about whose birthday she was crashing but felt fairly certain that Matthew and Heidi would be there. Maybe it was Matthew’s birthday. What a surprise she would give him.

Her conscience was bothering her a little. It hadn’t helped matters to meet Heidi, or to find out that she seemed fairly nice, although looks could be deceiving. Just because Heidi was friendly to a perfect stranger didn’t mean she was a good wife to her husband. Plenty of wives were witches behind closed doors. She had a feeling that was Heidi’s little secret—and the reason their marriage was in trouble. At least that’s what she told herself as she changed into her bikini. Then she admired her reflection. That spray-on tan was still looking good. It was a shame that Matthew wasn’t around to see her looking this good.

Kendall was careful not to get too much sun. No way did she want to show up at the party looking like a lobster. On her way back to her room, she decided to stop at the boutique, just in case they had something really special—something that would jolt Matthew back into her reality.

“I’m going to a party tonight,” Kendall told the saleswoman. “It’s sort of unexpected and I’m not sure I have the right outfit.”

The woman looked Kendall up and down, then nodded. “I have the most delectable little Vera Wang.”

Kendall considered this as well as her credit-card limit. She certainly didn’t want history to repeat itself with her being thrown out of this hotel. “Well, I am on something of a budget.”

“You’re in luck, then. I marked the dress half-off this morning. It’s really more of a summer color, but I think it would be perfect on you. Honestly, the color is almost the same as your gorgeous blue eyes. Do you want to see it?”

Kendall smiled. “Sure.”

The woman went to find it, and Kendall tried not to get her hopes up. In all likelihood the dress would be too expensive. But it wouldn’t hurt to look.

“Here it is,” said the clerk. She held out a scrumptious little beaded dress in sparkling robin’s-egg blue. Kendall wasn’t too sure about it matching her eyes, but the color was amazing.

“Wow, that’s really pretty.”

“Let’s go try it.” The woman led the way to the dressing room, then handed Kendall the dress. “And don’t even look at the price, let the dress speak for itself.”

So Kendall did as she was told, and when she saw the dress hugging her body, the spaghetti straps showing off her golden tan, well, it was a no-brainer. “So, how much is it?” she asked as she stepped out of the cubicle.

“Oh, my!” the clerk clapped her hand over her mouth. “You look fabulous.” She turned her head and called out. “Marilee! Come here and look at this.”

Another woman came and scrutinized Kendall, then smiled and nodded. “That dress was made for you.”

“Really?” Kendall turned in front of the mirror to get a better look.

“Are you an actress?” asked the woman named Marilee.

Kendall feigned embarrassment. “No, not really.”

“Well, if you’re spotted in that, you may want to rethink your career choice.”

Kendall giggled. “Okay, you guys, just break it to me gently. How much is this little number?”

“Like I said, I just marked it down this morning,” said the clerk. “Originally it was $680.”

Kendall attempted the math. “So, that’s like three hundred and change?”

“Three forty,” supplied Marilee. “And a steal.”

“Especially for you,” said the other one. “Because, believe me, you look like a million bucks.”

Marilee nodded. “This is the kind of dress that could change your life.”

Kendall was hooked now. “Okay.”

“What about shoes?”

“I have some gold sandals—”

“Not gold,” said Marilee. “This dress screams for silver. Do you have silver?”

Kendall shook her head.

“Well, we do. We have just the shoes.”

By the time Kendall left the boutique, she had managed to max out two credit cards, but she knew that the purchases were worth it. Marilee was right. This was the kind of outfit that could change her life. Also, she had come up with a revision to her original plan. Really, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it sooner. Instead of appearing to crash someone’s party, she would simply be at Spago on a dinner date. Surely this party wouldn’t be using the whole restaurant. And when she ran into Matthew, she would act extremely surprised. She would explain how her date had just called to cancel due to a—a what? Perhaps his mother had died. Anyway, she’d come up with something. It would be all downhill after that.

Kendall felt nervous as she climbed out of the taxi. She knew she looked fantastic, but she also knew she was on foreign turf. But as she walked up to Spago, she could tell people were looking. She could tell they thought she was someone. And she was someone—or about to be—once it became known that she and Matthew were an item. She wondered if her photo might show up in some of the celebrity magazines.

“Kendall,” said a woman’s voice.

Kendall paused in front of the door in time to see Kellie and a guy approaching her. “Oh, hi,” said Kendall nervously.

“This is my husband, Glen,” said Kellie. She smiled at the short, dark-haired man attached to her arm. “This is the woman I told you about. She’s house hunting in Matthew and Heidi’s neighborhood. She’s an old friend of Heidi’s.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Glen.

“You look fantastic,” said Kellie as they walked into the restaurant together.

Kendall tried to remember if she’d really said she was an old friend of Heidi’s. Never mind. It was time to regroup. She either needed to break free of these two or somehow cook up a plan to pretend to be their friends. That was it. She’d cling to Kellie and hope that the realtor would hold up her end for her new client. Glen spoke to the hostess, and she pointed toward a sign that said “Happy Birthday, Heidi.” So it was Heidi’s birthday party. Just great.

Kendall was about to make a fast break for the bathroom when suddenly she found herself face-to-face with both Heidi and Matthew.

“Look who we brought,” said Kellie happily. Then she hugged and air-kissed the birthday girl. “Happy birthday, dahling!”

“Oh?” Heidi kind of blinked at Kendall, then made what seemed a forced smile. “Uh, nice to see you again.”

“Happy birthday,” said Kendall in a cheerful voice, putting on a confident smile as she stood straighter. She could feel Matthew staring at her. Was he as excited about this as she felt?

But Matthew’s face actually seemed to grow pale and he didn’t say a word, just stared.

“Kellie’s been fantastic,” Kendall directed this to Heidi. “She’s shown me lots of great houses with loads of potential.”

“You—you’re looking at real estate?” asked Matthew in a strained voice.

“Oh, yeah,” said Kendall. She smiled directly at him.

“I thought you knew all about it,” said Kellie.

“Well, it was Heidi who recommended you,” said Kendall lightly. Then to her relief, some other guests arrived, and Heidi and Matthew were distracted. Kendall followed Kellie and Glen over to where drink orders were being taken. Kendall ordered a double green apple martini and took in a deep breath. She remembered the salesclerks at the boutique and how they thought she might be an actress. Well, maybe she was. And if she could continue pulling this off, she might even win herself an Oscar!

Just as her martini arrived, so did Matthew. “I want to speak to you privately,” he said in a serious voice.

“Sure.”

“Meet me outside in about five minutes.”

“You got it.”

Then he walked back to where Heidi was greeting some of her friends. Hollywood, celebrity-type friends—the kind of friends Kendall would have before long. Kendall told Kellie she was going to powder her nose, then slowly meandered through the crowd and out toward the bathrooms.

Her heart was beating with excitement as she went out the front door. But where was Matthew? Certainly he didn’t expect her to stand out here on the street and just wait for him. Someone might think she was a hooker. So instead of standing, she strolled down the sidewalk. Just before she turned around, she felt a hand on her elbow and looked up to see Matthew by her side. “Come on,” he said as he escorted her on down the street, waving to a taxi parked nearby. “Let’s take a ride.” Then, before she could say a word, he practically pushed her inside and then ducked in beside her.

“Well.” She adjusted her dress and composed herself, then smiled.

“Where to?” asked the driver.

“Just go,” commanded Matthew. And the driver took off.

“It’s nice to see you—”

“Don’t start,” he snapped at her.

“What?”

“What the—” He stopped himself, then glared at her with clenched fists. “What are you doing here?”

“I just came down to—”

“Don’t give me any bull, Kendall. I know why you’re here.”

“But I just—”

“There’s a word for what you’re doing, you know.”

She blinked. “What?”

“Stalking. You are a stalker, Kendall. And if you don’t get out of town and out of my life, I will press charges. And it won’t be the first time, either.”

“But I just wanted to see—”

“I told you I’m married. I don’t need this from you.”

“But, Matthew, I only—”

“Seriously, Kendall. Get out of town. Get out of my life. And don’t ever come back. Do you understand?”

Kendall couldn’t believe it. She felt like Cinderella just now—except that she’d been thrown out of the ball without one single dance.

“I love my wife, Kendall. Sure, I’ve made some mistakes. But we’re working on it.” He swore now. “I can’t believe you crashed her birthday party.” He stared at Kendall like she was some horrible monster. “What kind of a person are you?”

She didn’t know what to say.

“Drive back to Spago,” he spat at the driver. “Drop me off there and then take this—this woman back to wherever she came from. But whatever you do, do not bring her back to Spago. Understand?”

“Got ya.”

Soon they were back in front of the restaurant. Matthew threw a twenty at the driver, then turned to glare at Kendall. “If I ever see you around my house or my wife or me again—I swear I’m calling the police and then my lawyer. Don’t mess with me, do you understand?”

She nodded without speaking. A huge lump was growing in her throat, and tears were burning in her eyes.

“Good riddance!” Then he jumped out and slammed the door.

“Rough night,” said the driver.

Kendall just nodded, and her tears spilled over.

“Where to, little lady?”

She told him the name of her hotel.

“You know, you’re a real pretty girl,” he said in a way that she suspected was a come-on.

“Thanks,” she said with no warmth. The last thing she needed right now was to be hit on by a middle-aged taxi driver.

“You shouldn’t let that guy get you down,” he said kindly.

And now she just started to bawl. The taxi driver said a few more things, something about love and life and relationships, but she couldn’t really hear him, couldn’t take it in. She just wanted this night to end. How could she have been such a complete fool? As she paid the driver and got out of the cab, she wondered if there was a twelve-step program for idiots. Maybe she could join Stupidolics Anonymous.