Page 30 of A Star is Scorned

“I look ridiculous.” Livvy glared at the mirror as she tried to pin her hat in place.

“Don’t be silly, you’re the prettiest Peter Pan there’s ever been,” Judy trilled. She took the hat and affixed it jauntily to Livvy’s head. “There.”

Livvy studied herself in the bathroom mirror. Judy had pinned her black curls up into a sort of bob, so it looked like she had a pixie cut. She turned her head from side to side and fingered the collar of the green suede blouse Evelyn in wardrobe had lent her. “I do look quite fetching, don’t I?”

Judy giggled and hugged her from behind. “Of course you do.”

“I wish you were coming with me tonight. It’s supposed to be the biggest Halloween party in town.”

Judy squeezed her tight. “I know, I wish I was too. But I have shows at eight, nine thirty, and eleven tonight.”

Livvy sighed. The bruise on her sister’s face had faded to a sickly yellow, even if Livvy’s guilt was as potent as ever.

The bruise was practically invisible with the aid of a thick foundation.

Since then, Judy hadn’t sustained any further injuries.

At least not any that Livvy was aware of.

But she still didn’t like Judy working at the Sphinx Club.

“Besides,” Judy said, “you’ll have more fun without me.”

“I doubt that very much. I’m only going because it would look very odd indeed if the gal who was rumored to have captured Flynn’s heart didn’t make an appearance at his party.

” If Judy was going tonight, she’d have someone to talk to.

Someone to distract her from Flynn Banks and the way her heart beat faster whenever she caught him looking at her.

Leda Price had once dubbed Flynn’s house “Cirrhosis By the Sea,” so notorious were the drunken exploits of his house parties.

Having to face that alone… Well, she was going to need all the faith, trust, and pixie dust she could muster.

Maybe she could feign a headache after she convinced the other guests that she and Flynn were together.

Judy opened a lipstick tube and rotated it before passing it to Livvy, who applied it carefully. Judy sighed dreamily. “No one at the party will be able to keep their eyes off of you. Least of all Flynn Banks.” She waggled her eyebrows at her sister in the mirror.

Livvy rolled her eyes. “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times that it’s an act. It can’t be more than that.”

“That was until tonight.”

“And what’s so different about tonight?”

“Before tonight, there’s never been a Peter Pan with such a cute butt.

” Judy grabbed for a magazine near the sink and playfully whacked Livvy on her backside, making Livvy jump and clutch her bottom.

Livvy gave her sister a look, but she couldn’t repress a giggle.

She turned and snatched the offending periodical from Judy’s hands, realizing it was the latest issue of Silver Screen Secrets.

The one featuring a photo of her and Flynn kissing outside of El Cholo and a feature story about their romance.

Harry had been so delighted that he’d personally called to congratulate her.

She’d have preferred he raise her salary so she and Judy could get out of this dump.

But at least Harry saw that she and Flynn were trying their best.

Livvy herself should be thrilled the setup had worked so well.

Yet every time she thought of it now, her hands got clammy and she lost her appetite.

Because she couldn’t forget the way that kiss had felt.

How much she’d wanted to lose herself in Flynn’s arms, right then and there.

How it had made her want more. How those feelings had failed to dissipate.

Even after holding the evidence of his conquests in her hands.

Livvy left the bathroom and wandered into the living room, tugging on her matching green shoes over her tights while holding onto the couch. Judy followed her and held up the issue of Silver Screen Secrets to wave under Livvy’s nose. “This doesn’t look fake to me!”

Livvy shook her head. “It’s called acting, Judy. We both are being paid to do it professionally. I would hope it doesn’t look fake, or our move to Hollywood might turn out to be a quick visit.”

Judy turned her sister around to face her. “What do you mean?”

“If I can’t convince the world that Flynn has mended his ways and fallen for me, I’ll be out of a job. We’ll have to go back to Saratoga.”

Judy blanched. “No, we won’t. We’re not going back. There’s nothing for us there.”

Livvy sighed, the weight of all she was carrying bearing down on her. “We wouldn’t have a choice, Judy. I don’t want to leave either. Believe it or not, I’m actually starting to enjoy life on a movie set. But we can barely afford this dump with my studio salary and your income from the club.”

“I could take on more,” Judy protested. “Billy Wilkes told some of the other girls he’s looking for dancers to perform at studio parties. I could do that.”

Livvy felt a sickening sense of dread at the suggestion. “It’s clear that Mr. Wilkes has no regard for your safety. I don’t want you doing more work for him.”

Judy looked as if Livvy had slapped her. “Those accidents were all my fault.”

Livvy peered at her. Something about this whole situation still seemed off. “I’ve never known you to be accident-prone before. In all your years of dancing, the worst you had were broken toenails from your pointe shoes.”

“I’m not used to dancing in a nightclub, and there’s a million things happening backstage that I’ve had to adjust to. I promise, Livvy, now that I have my feet under me, I’ll be fine.”

“If you get hurt again, I won’t let you go back there.”

Judy gasped. “I’m not a child, Livvy. You can’t stop me. Besides, you know we need the money.”

Livvy hated that her sister was right. “Fine. But none of this studio party business.”

“But it could be my chance. Billy says girls get discovered there all the time.”

Ah, so that’s what this was about. Judy’s career.

Livvy’s heart went out to her sister, and she pulled Judy in for a hug.

“You’ll get discovered, Judy. If I make good at the studio with this PR stunt, maybe Harry will let me ask for a favor.

Or we’ll think of another way. You don’t need Billy Wilkes.

I shouldn’t have agreed to make this picture.

I should have made them hire you instead. ”

Judy squeezed her tighter. “But I’m so glad you agreed to make this movie. It got us here, didn’t it?”

“Where? Me trapped in a fake romance with Flynn Banks concocted by a publicity department? Constantly living in fear of being caught? You working in a club where you keep getting hurt? I want you to have everything you’ve ever wanted, Judy. But maybe Hollywood was a mistake.”

“No, Livvy. It’s not a mistake. When I see how you’ve been these last few weeks, I know it could never be a mistake. Tell me the truth—are you so unhappy acting? I know it was never your dream. But lately, you’ve seemed…different. Lighter.”

Livvy considered Judy’s question. She had never wanted to be an actress, that was true.

She’d loved movies, yes, Flynn’s in particular, but ever since she was a child, all she had wanted to do was write books.

When their parents died, she set that dream aside to take care of Judy.

Acting had been an accident. But did she dislike it?

She’d been so busy fretting over this business with Flynn that she hadn’t stopped to consider whether she was happy in her work.

She seemed to have a knack for it, and she loved the more physical parts of her job, like the fencing scenes.

“I’m not unhappy acting. It’s rewarding.

A different way to approach storytelling than writing, but fulfilling all the same.

And I’m having a lot more fun than I anticipated. ”

“Are you sure…” Judy’s voice trailed off. “Never mind.”

“No, say it. What is it?”

“Are you sure that part of it isn’t Flynn?”

Livvy chuckled and shook her head. “You’re impossible.”

“I mean it, Livvy. You haven’t dated anyone since before Mom and Dad died. Flynn has brought a spark back to your eyes that I haven’t seen in a long time. He’s good for you.”

“Flynn Banks is good for absolutely no one.” So what if he made her laugh? So what if every time that she was with him, she worried less? That was probably what Judy was sensing.

Judy wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your time with him.”

Livvy drew her sister into a hug. “How’d I get so lucky to get you for a sister?” She kissed Judy on top of the head. “Promise me you’ll come right home after the last show.”

“Yes, Mother,” Judy drawled. Livvy gave her a look. “Fine, fine. I promise. But only if you promise not to rush home from the party like a hen returning to her nest. You deserve to have some fun, Livvy.”

That was the trouble though, wasn’t it? Every time she was with Flynn Banks, she had more fun than she’d ever experienced in her entire life—and she was becoming entirely too accustomed to it.

***

“Ovrrrr therrrrrrre.” Flynn gestured violently with his arm toward his deck, trying not to move his upper lip. He was sitting on a barstool in his kitchen while his friends helped him put the finishing touches on the house for his annual Halloween party.

“Stop talking! You’re going to spoil your mustache.” Arlene Morgan, Joan’s former assistant and now celebrated Hollywood screenwriter and director, was attempting to draw a mustache on Flynn’s face with a charcoal pencil.

“Good, then I won’t look like that idiot.” Dash Howard flipped him off as he carried a jack-o’-lantern out the door to deposit on the deck where Flynn had pointed.

Joan, who was engrossed in making punch that was a neon shade of green, looked up and tilted her head, resembling a cocker spaniel considering its master. “I don’t know, Flynn. I think it suits you. It’s very handsome.”

“You would say that.”