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They both look at me as though I might as well have just said I’m not really Nora Levine.

* * *

I’m tired after a long day on set and, especially on a Monday, I normally wouldn’t meet up with anyone in the evening—not even my two closest friends. Somehow, over the weekend, I lost my senses enough to agree to have Mimi come over ‘for coffee’, whatever that really means. I’m about to find out. I’ve just let her car through the gate. I take a few deep breaths. Just friends, I remind myself, we are just friends.

Mimi might not be movie-star dazzling—no one is, for that matter—but she has style and grace in spades. She’s wearing one of those tight skirts again, so tight they make her hips sashay as though she were on a catwalk. She’s carrying a bunch of flowers, which dangle from one hand as she places the other gently on my shoulder.

Her lips brush my cheek, then she holds up the flowers. “I thought it only polite to return the favor.”

“Thank you so much.” It’s hard to say whether the flowery scent engulfing my nose only emanates from the bouquet. When she leans toward me, Mimi smells divine, like the freshest bunch of spring blooms.

I usher her inside, but she’s taking her time.

“Fuck me, Nora.” She gazes into the living room from the doorway.

Already?I want to joke, but I’m not sure we’re at that level where I can.

“I need a moment to take in the splendor.”

I’m proud of my house, but it’s not as though I built it myself, nor am I responsible for most of the interior design choices. But it is my personal cocoon, the place where I spend most of my time, and where I regain my inner peace after a long day on set. It’s also my private hiding space, and not many people actually set foot in here.

Princess, always the most curious and forward, greets Mimi. Izzy and Rogue are more wary and keep their distance.

“I forgot to ask if you’re okay with dogs.”

“Sure.” Mimi gives Princess a good scratch between the ears. “No problem.” She attempts to crouch down to greet the other two, but it’s a hard thing to do in a skirt like that. “I’ll meet those other two cuties later.”

She walks forward slowly, letting her gaze linger on a few objects, until it’s irresistibly pulled to where it’s designed to go. The massive patio off the living room. The windows are folded all the way open and beyond and below, Los Angeles sparkles in the dusk.

“I totally get why anyone who lives here would be a homebody.” She turns to me with a smile on her lips. “Let’s never meet at my house again.” She makes a beeline for the frameless glass railing at the end of the patio.

“It’s only the house thatHigh Lifebought.”

“Youbought it andyouearned it, Nora.” She turns to the spectacular view again. “Thank you so much for inviting me.”

“My pleasure.” It really is. As much as I like to crash into the couch with my dogs on a Monday night, it’s lovely to have her here, to invite her particular energy into my home. “Have you talked to Austin?”

She nods. “I didn’t tell him about what happened.”

“I told Juan and I thought it unfair to demand he keep my scandalous behavior from Austin, with you being his mother and all.”

“Okay.” She nods pensively. “I’ll give him a call later. It’s better if Austin doesn’t tell his sisters. Their poor fangirl brains might not be able to take it.”

“But as we agreed, nothing really happened. Right?”

“Exactly.” Mimi pins her gaze on me. The smile disappears briefly from her face as she, perhaps, tries to read me.

“What can I get you?” I double my own smiling efforts. “Any kind of coffee or something else?”

“I’d ask you for one of those complicated coffee beverages for the sheer pleasure of watching you make it, but I’ll just have some water, please.”

Mimi must be the most well-hydrated person in all of LA. Maybe that’s the secret of her smooth skin—constant hydration from the inside out.

“Coming right up. Make yourself comfortable.”

“I’d love a peek at your kitchen.”

“Of course. Follow me.”