“Where are the restrooms?”
“We call them toilets,” Eamon said, still with the baiting humor, still unaware of how unfunny this all was to me.
“How specific,” I shot back.
Eamon pointed, eyebrows raised.
I shimmied out from behind the table, while Ryder watched me with a tilted head that made him look like a terrier pup. No doubt trying to understand why his big sister made everything so awkward.
MEET CUTE: ENTER HOLLYWOOD HUNK LOVE INTEREST
a.k.a. the Orlando Bloom Eye Candy of This Film
The restaurant was louder by the time I got back from the bathroom. A three-person band had appeared in the corner, playing traditional Irish music that seemed invented to accompany laughing. Back at my table, Eamon was downing a pint, and I thought maybe I could jump on the alcohol train as well. Maybe that would make the room stop closing in.
The bartender stared at me for a full minute before I found the words. What did people drink here? Oh yeah. “A Guinness?”
“You’re not eighteen,” he said.
“I will be in seven months,” I tried.
He shook his head.
“Fine.” I slumped on a barstool. “Water, please?”
He filled a glass from the tap and set it down. The water was cloudy and warm. I stared into the murkiness, looking for my life.
“Find any tadpoles? I definitely found a tadpole in mine.”
The voice was like sudden sunshine, and I slipped off the edge of my seat. My legs caught me, and I looked up from a leather jacket—that probably cost as much as Eamon’s car—to a chiseled, smiling face.
Julian freakin’ Young.
“Hi, Julian.”
“Hi…?”
He doesn’t remember me. Why would he remember me?
“I almost have it,” he said. “Give me a second.”
“Iris,” I said, and his smile broadened. His teeth weren’t Hollywood caps—two of the bottom ones had a little lean to them. A perfect imperfection.
“Didn’t we meet over a water cooler a few months back?”
Holy crap, he does remember me! “Yeah. Outside Cate’s office. On the Vantage lot.”
“One sec.” He slipped his phone out of his jacket pocket and began texting swiftly while I recalled every detail of my first encounter with Julian Young, a story I’d regaled my school friends with at least a dozen times.
Cate had been mid-Elementia speech when my dad lost his cool and started dropping f-bombs. I’d taken Ryder to the bathroom, and while waiting in the hallway, filling a little paper cone with water from the cooler, I’d bumped shoulder to shoulder with Julian. His T-shirt hugged his biceps so hard my thoughts flickered with indecency.
“You’re going to be in the movie?” I’d blurted, my eyes attempting to rip off said shirt.
“I’m the twin brother, Eager. Eric? Sorry, all the names sound the same, and I’m coming off a different production. My head isn’t in it yet. Who’s the brother again?”
“That’s all right,” I’d said fast. “I don’t know his name either.” A tiny lie. I knew the main characters and a few odd details. Couldn’t avoid them once Ryder had become obsessed.
Julian leaned in, smelling of sandalwood. “Can I tell you a secret? I haven’t read those books.”
“I love you.” Well, I didn’t say that, but God, the words were right on my lips.
“But I’ll read them soon. For the role. That would be professional, right?”
I’d nodded fervently. There were few people in this world who could make Grandma Mae’s books seem legit. Julian Young, twenty-one-year-old movie star, was one of them.
“You two need bottled water?” the bartender asked, bringing me back to Ireland. Julian was still texting, the ghost of a smile on his lips.
“No, thanks. This looks great,” I said. Julian laughed. I made Julian Young laugh.
He dropped his phone in his pocket and clinked his glass with mine. “You didn’t tell me you were a famous grandkid.”
“Well.” I swallowed the earthy water. “No sense bragging. Plus, I’m like you.” Pause for effect. “I’m not into those books.”
“You’ve gotta meet Shosh.” He took my hand—whoa—and pulled me to a dark corner booth where a stunning girl with wild, curly hair was holding court. I recognized her from the boat beneath the cliff. “Iris Thorne, this is Shoshanna Reyes. Our Sevyn.”
A swift memory scan confirmed that Sevyn was the heroine of Elementia.
Shoshanna did an admirable job of looking interested in me, but we both knew we were different girl species. While Roxanne had made me feel plain Jane, Shoshanna’s royal presence instantly had me questioning if I was an alien. She leaned back and cocked her head, proving that while she might be near my age, she was more comfortable in her body than I’d ever be in mine. Movie stars, I realized with a pinch. I was sitting at a table with movie stars.
“Shosh is my film twin,” Julian said as if he were enjoying that detail too much.
“Yeah, I see it,” I tried. “You do kind of look alike.”
Shoshanna narrowed her eyes on me. “Are you racist or hopelessly naïve?”
I had been taking a sip from my glass and my mouth malfunctioned. Warm water poured down my chin, making Shoshanna bark a deep laugh.
Julian took my cup and actually wiped my chin with his thumb. “Seriously, Shosh? Why do you do that?” She shrugged, and I had no idea what was happening except that I had been doing far, far better at the table with the über nerds. “We’re both part Filipino,” he said.
“We’re the studio’s token attempt at putting some color in the cast,” she added.
“That’s…” A few choice words flashed through my mind. Nothing felt appropriate. “Terrible,” I managed. “Of them. Sorry, I don’t know what to say.”
Shoshanna held up her palm triumphantly, as if I’d proved a point. “That’s why I do it, Julian. Honesty in a hurry.” She turned to me, her eyes wildly bright and her hair a halo of curls. “We meet a lot of empty heads in this business. I like to know right away who I’m dealing with. You seem all right.”
I do?
“But you’re also the granddaughter. Cate has been going on and on
