Lean in to Love by Catherine Lane

Author:Catherine Lane [Lane, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2024-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Valentine’s Day arrived with the bluster of a full winter’s day for Los Angeles, thick ocean fog and temps in the mid-fifties. Not extreme for most of the country in February, but Angelinos were thin-blooded babies. Rory stressed over the weather from the moment she woke up until she handed her car over to the valet at the beach house. As if on cue, when the guests arrived, the ocean fog rolled out, and stars burst to life in the night sky. The full moon, like a key light in a soundstage, hung low above the ocean. Its long silvery reflection stretched to the horizon. No set designer could have done better.

Standing alone in the backyard kitchen, Rory fixated on the first star she saw and whispered, “Star light, star bright. First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight” She licked her lips and added. “Please let tonight be the start of something big for my career.”

“Wishing on a star?”

Rory turned to see a woman dressed in the black uniform of the catering staff. She nodded, annoyed at being caught.

“I hope you’re asking for more food.”

Rory glanced at the decorated tables on one side of the yard. They were full of pies, big and small. In fact, the tables looked like they might buckle under their weight at any moment. “Why?” she asked.

“Delicious Dinner Catering was told fifty people. Were you told fifty?”

Panic rose in Rory’s chest. “Yes.”

“There’s at least twice that. And they’re starving. Which is crazy for actors, right? I thought they ate like mice.” Without waiting for an answer, she headed to a table to neaten the plates, something Rory had already done a dozen times.

Jesus. Who was this woman? Had she come down to help or stir things up? Or was she just another person who coveted a star’s lifestyle? Probably the latter, since she was now staring over the backyard as if studying the various places she would linger if she was a guest.

Heels clicked on the wooden stairs. Rory plastered a smile on her face and hoped she didn’t look as nervous as she felt. The smell of buttery crust and fruit fillings, fresh from the oven, wafted across the patio. The pies smelled great, and Rory knew they tasted great too. She also knew the saying: a party without cake is only a meeting. If the guests came down hangry because food was scarce upstairs, the reviews on the pies could go either way.

Leading the pack, London jumped the last two steps into the backyard. “Oh my God, Maya, look. This is beautiful.” She pointed to the strings of fairy lights running across the porch and to the dessert tables draped in red felt and sparkly hearts. Sectional seating with their own personal firepits peppered the backyard. In the middle, the portable dance floor spread out over the pool and was lit from within. Two bars lay at either end.

Maya grinned as if she, not Yolie, was responsible for the transformation.

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