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a bit, or are you heading back to California?’
    He rolled his eyes, making her laugh at the dramatic gesture. He was still one of the funniest guys she knew; that much hadn’t changed over the last eight years.
    When she stopped snorting into her glass, he said, ‘I’m officially invited to my stepfather’s sixtieth birthday party. My mom remarried four years ago, and I’ve gained a lot of family, Elly. Not only a stepdad, but also a stepbrother and a whole bunch of cousins. I’m still learning to remember their names.’
    ‘That’s lovely .’ She hoped that his mom’s marriage was a happy one. She remembered her vaguely—the tall, serious woman who rarely smiled and had raised her son all alone. Elly had heard gossip about Jake’s father leaving her before he was even born.
    ‘They ’re pretty happy together,’ Jake nodded, his eyes content. ‘I think that they had both already given up on finding someone to marry, and the whole romance thing caught them by surprise. I guess that’s how it goes sometimes, right?’ For a second, there was a veiled expression in his eyes as he looked off into the distance, watching things visible to him and him alone. She had the oddest impression that he wanted to say more but didn’t quite dare to.
    ‘So you must be looking forward to it.’
    H e glanced at her over the rim of his wine glass, his eyes warm and yet very careful. She wondered if she had something in her teeth.
    ‘Look, I know it will sound crazy , but since I’ve got nothing to lose, I’ll risk it anyway.’ The desperation lacing his voice was more persuasive than a hundred words.
    ‘Shoot,’ she invited him. Is he about to ask me to pay for his meal? Did he lose his wallet, as well? Maybe it was her luck to be the savior of all the handsome men who happened to cross her path.
    ‘I wanted to ask you to come with me to the party .’ He watched her reaction, his face half hopeful and half resigned.
    Where did this one come from , anyway? She stared at him for a second, trying to come up with a polite yet definite rebuke.
    ‘Why?’ As usual, her honest thoughts spilled from her mouth before she had the time to come up with a more civil response. ‘I mean, you barely know me, Jake. There must be a hundred girls that would jump on the chance to go with you.’
    ‘ And that’s exactly the problem, Elly.’ He was pleading. ‘There are girls who are interested in me, for sure. But I’m not looking for anything like that, believe me. I’m tired of this constant game of publicity. Damn, it even says in my contract that I’m supposed to remain unattainable till the end of the season we’re shooting right now. Can you imagine the bullshit? Basically, I have a signed copy that promises the studio I won’t be involved with anyone until the filming is wrapped up for the year. Supposedly, the female audience responds better to guys who are alone than they do to those in a serious relationship.’ He sighed, his handsome face looking so forlorn that she wanted to reach out and stroke his cheek.
    ‘I guess they like being able to imagine they could be the one to make you change your mind?’ she ventured, feeling rather silly.
    ‘Something like that.’ He nodded, visibly pleased with her observant comment. ‘You wouldn’t believe how much lying is involved when the studios try to shape their actors into the perfect prepackaged form that will lift the ratings. For God’s sake, they do research to decide what kind of girlfriend would make most of them happy, if I was to pick one.’
    ‘Totally sick,’ she agreed, trying to imagine a bunch of people discussing the most private matters of his love life. Maybe being famous isn’t so great?
    ‘My show is about tough, rugged guys surviving in the wilderness.’ He sighed, his eyes pensive. ‘My character has this love of his life that slipped away , and he basically hopes to reconnect with her one day. In the meantime, he isn’t really into dating