Happy Again Read Online Free PDF Page B

slouched a little, the scar above his left eyebrow: all of it was as it had been last summer. But still, there was something different about him, something hardened, a wariness he carried like a weight, and she was once again uncomfortably aware of just how much their lives had diverged over the past year.
    Here was Graham in his designer suit, the pants so tight she wondered how he’d managed to sit down in the theater. His hair was combed to the side in a way she’d never seen before, and he had a little handkerchief folded in his pocket the way men often did in old-fashioned movies.
    He looked like someone from the pages of a magazine.
    Which, of course, he was.
    “How did you…?”
    “It wasn’t planned,” Ellie said quickly. “I’m just down with some friends for the weekend, and we were walking past, and—I didn’t know it was your film, and I never expected to see—it was just that Harry spotted me in the crowd, and then he—”
    Graham held up a hand. “It’s okay,” he said with a hint of his usual smile. “I was just surprised when he told me. I had to see for myself.”
    “See what?”
    “You,” he said, his eyes going soft. “You’re the last person I expected to run into tonight.”
    “Honestly, I didn’t really count on seeing you, either.”
    He tilted his head to one side. “So how are you?”
    Across the lobby, two women in black dresses were leaning against the counter of the concession stand, pretending to look at their phones, though Ellie could tell they were really watching Graham. Behind him, a huge security guard with a thick neck and a shock of red hair had a finger on his earpiece, and he was speaking softly, his eyes trained on them. From the theater, a roar of laughter went up, muffled by the doors.
    “I’m fine,” Ellie told him, sounding brusquer than she’d intended. Above them, a chandelier the size of a small car was hanging from the ceiling, and in the corner, a few assistants were setting up a table full of lavish-looking gift bags, sneaking glances at the handsome movie star standing with one hand in his pocket, talking to a girl in a blue T-shirt and jeans with a hole in the knee.
    “I’m sure you have to get back,” she said after a moment. “I know it’s a big night for you.”
    He looked stung by this. “It’s fine. It just started.”
    “Yeah, but I don’t want you to miss it because of me.”
    His eyes traveled over to the popcorn counter, and then back to Ellie. “Can I tell you something?” he said, and his voice was so serious that she felt her stomach drop.
    “What?” she asked nervously.
    “I’m starving .”
    In spite of herself, she laughed. “The popcorn is free.”
    “Yeah, but I’m not popcorn hungry. I’m, like, burger-and-fries hungry. I’m Wilbur-level hungry.”
    Ellie nodded. “That sounds serious.”
    “It is.”
    “Don’t they ever feed the celebrities at these things?”
    “Nope,” he said. “Otherwise, how would they ever fit us into these pants?”
    “Good point,” she said. “So what are you proposing?”
    “I propose,” Graham said, glancing around furtively, like a robber about to case the joint, “that we make a break for it.”
    “Don’t you have to be here?”
    He shrugged. “I’ve already seen it. And they won’t miss me as long as I’m back in time for the Q and A.”
    “There’s a Q and A?”
    “Yeah,” he said. “So you better start thinking up some questions…”
    “Oh, I’ve got questions,” she assured him. “But I suppose I could probably ask them over some food.”
    “Great,” he said, his face brightening. “What are our chances of finding a whoopie pie around here?”

Twelve
    It was fun watching Graham work his magic to get them out of there. To Ellie, he was always more attractive when he was trying not to be famous, and seeing him shake hands with the various security guards, slap the back of an usher who lent him a Yankees cap, thank the girl from the concession