Hollywood Hills (6 page)

“Yeah, no,” Holly said after a minute, turning to go. This was a bad idea. First of all, she hated heights. Second of all, the thought of stripping down to her bikini in front of all these celebrities—or at least people who looked like celebrities—was terrifying. Feeling very much like the timid Holly of last year, she rubbed her Claddagh ring with her thumb, her heart thudding. “How close is the airport?”

“Get a grip,” Alexa whispered, catching Holly by the arm. “I want to introduce you to Margaux, and we
should
try to find Jonah. But let’s gather our strength
first,” Alexa recommended, waving to one of the cheerleader-waitresses. “Could we have a couple of those mini-burgers?” Alexa asked, pointing to a passing tray.

The pouty waitress stopped, put her hand on her hip, and informed the girls that the burgers, like everything else on the menu, were vegan, and actually called tempeh patties.

Alexa sighed, wondering if anything in the world could possibly sound less appetizing than “tempeh patties.” But Holly, who’d always had a secret thing for health food, began to ask the waitress exactly what was in those delicacies. Bored, Alexa piled her hair up on her head and started scanning the crowd for more celebs when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Let me guess—Alexa?”

The boy’s voice was deep, slow, and so familiar that Alexa immediately went breathless.

Oh…my…God.

She let her hair fall and turned around.

The first thing she noticed was that he had, in fact, shaved his beard, leaving only a trace of stubble along his beautiful jaw. The second was that, up close—those famous pale blue eyes on hers, his dark hair messed up by the wind, and his taut frame clad in a loose gray Drifter Sea Monkey tee and khaki board shorts—he was about a thousand times hotter than
he’d
ever
appeared on screen (
A Captain’s Heart
included). Alexa swallowed hard. All she could think to say was
Wow
, but thankfully what came out instead was “How did you know?”

Jonah Eklundstrom’s face lit up, and he flashed her a bright-white grin. “Margaux described you perfectly,” he replied, and took a sip from the dark green drink in his hand as he held her gaze.

Alexa smiled, feeling the slightest blush flush her cheeks. Coming from any other boy, Jonah’s words would have sounded completely sketchy. But from Jonah, they were simply sweet and straightforward, while still acknowledging that he was a guy, and Alexa a girl—an attractive girl, at that. It was masterful, really; no wonder he’d won the Oscar.

Don’t forget he’s an actor
, Alexa told herself firmly, and casually extended one hand. “Thanks for lending us your guesthouse,” she said, trying to keep her tone cool. “And for the champagne.”

“Hey. Life is all about sharing, isn’t it?” Jonah smiled, then took a step closer, ignoring Alexa’s proffered handshake. “And, besides, any friend of my sister’s is a friend of mine.” At this, he opened his arms wide. “Here, give me some lovin’,” he said, and swept Alexa up in a hug.

Pressed up against him—
I am touching Jonah Eklundstrom!
—Alexa hoped he couldn’t feel the mad
thumping of her heart against his chest. His neck smelled clean and summery, like oranges, and Alexa resisted the urge to bury her nose in it. She had
not
expected to react this strongly to the actor’s off-thecharts hotness. Nor had she anticipated his mellow, down-to-earth vibe, which somehow seemed totally…sincere.

“Uh-oh,” Jonah whispered, his breath warm on her ear.

“What?” Alexa asked. She drew back, certain that he was going to comment on the loudness of her heart.

“The girl standing behind you looks like she’s about to faint,” Jonah answered.

“Holly!” Alexa spun around to see her friend holding on to the waitress for support, her face pale.
Here we go again
, Alexa thought, reaching an arm out to steady her. Then, to Alexa’s horror, Holly opened her mouth…and began to
speak.

“Jonah—Holly—God—all your movies—fan—love—
A Captain’s Heart
—limo—you.” In Holly’s head, the words made perfect sense. Sure, seeing Alexa hugging Jonah Eklundstrom had rattled her a little, but she could hold it together, right?

“Hey, thanks, Holly,” Jonah replied with a friendly nod. “My agent told me that film would be on TBS tonight.”

Alexa glanced at Jonah, impressed.
He understood
her?
It occurred to Alexa that the actor, forever fending off foaming-at-the-mouth fans, had probably seen much, much worse.
Whew.

No longer mortally embarrassed by her friend, Alexa touched Holly’s shoulder. “Holly’s my date for the wedding,” she explained to Jonah with a smile. The waitress, clearly miffed that Jonah wasn’t paying attention to
her
, left without taking any orders.

Jonah raised his dark, heavy eyebrows. “Wait, as in, like,
date
-date?” he inquired. “I mean, you should know that I have total, total respect for all lifestyle choices, especially after my role as a boxer who—”

It took Alexa and Holly a minute to process what Jonah was implying, but then they turned to each other, cracking up. “
That’s
a first,” Alexa said through her laughter. Holly’s face was turning crimson and she could only shake her head emphatically. “We’re just best friends,” Alexa finally replied, rolling her eyes.
Boys.

Jonah shrugged, and his face broke into a smile. “Dude, this is LA. You have to ask.” Alexa thought he looked relieved, but she didn’t know if she was imagining it or not.

“New York City princess!” someone cried.

Holly turned to see a sopping-wet, lanky girl in a flesh-colored string bikini hurrying toward them through the crowd. Her short, purple-streaked dark
hair was slicked back from her face, and at her side was a tall, skinny guy in swim trunks with a shaved head and a nose ring.

With a jolt, Holly realized the girl was Margaux Eklundstrom, and she watched in disbelief as the actress flung wet arms around Alexa.

“You made it!” Margaux exclaimed in her signature raspy voice. “
And
I see you met my brother,” she added, shooting an exaggerated wink at Jonah, who, to Holly’s surprise, actually reddened. Then Margaux cupped Alexa’s face in her hands, and Holly tried her best not to gawk at the stupendous pink diamond on the actress’s finger. “I’m getting a good look at you,” Margaux told Alexa, her dark-blue eyes intense. “Because this is basically the first and last time I’ll see you before the wedding.”

“You must be nuts with last-minute planning.” Alexa smiled understandingly at Margaux. It was wonderful to see her again; here in LA, the actress gave off an even wilder vibe, like an exotic plant in its native environment. But Alexa was also hyperaware of the other Eklundstrom standing beside her, feeling the friction of his arm lightly pressing against hers.

“Yeah,
and
tomorrow Paul and I are going to an ashram in Napa to meditate,” Margaux replied. Alexa nodded and purposefully avoided looking at Holly, who was definitely either bug-eyed with shock or
about to burst out laughing. “Which reminds me,” Margaux was saying, gesturing to the quiet, punk-hot guy at her side. “This is my fiancé, Paul DeMille—you
may
have heard his name before.”

“I wrote
Grit and Gravel.
” Paul smiled proudly, showing off charmingly crooked teeth.

“Oh.” The word escaped Holly’s mouth before she could stop it, and her cheeks burned as everyone in the group turned to stare, as if noticing her for the first time.
That movie gave me the best nap of my life
, she thought, but then thankfully she gathered enough self-control to keep that sentiment to herself.

After Alexa had introduced Holly to Margaux and Paul, Margaux turned her attentions to Jonah. “Baby Bear,” she said, her tone stern. “I hope you’re treating your new guests well?”

“You doubtin’ on me, sis?” Jonah shot back. “I’ll tell Mom and Dad you’re being ‘difficult’ again.” He made quote marks with his fingers, then took another sip of his green drink.

Holly grinned at this ordinary display of sibling rivalry; she was reminded of herself and her brother, Josh. For the first time since arriving on the out-of-this-world rooftop, she felt her nervousness start to dissipate. Three bleached-blondes wearing denim shorts, bikini tops, and satin pumps walked by, speaking loudly about “auditions” and “Bruckheimer” and
throwing curious glances at the little posse. Holly felt a swell of pride; she knew the girls were wondering who the Eklundstroms were making such a fuss over.

“He’s been a perfect gentleman,” Alexa insisted, avoiding Jonah’s gaze as she felt her cheeks grow warm. God. She was getting into trouble with this boy. “Right, Hol?” Alexa asked her friend quickly; she could still feel Jonah’s eyes on her.

“Right,” Holly said, exchanging a knowing smile with Margaux and her fiancé. Holly knew better than anyone what it meant when Alexa blushed that deeply. And it was equally obvious, from the way he stared at her, that Jonah was smitten with Alexa as well. Holly didn’t think that kind of attentiveness could be faked, even by a world-famous actor.

“Holly, assuming you have a bikini on under there, please remove your dress,” Margaux requested, reaching for Holly’s arm. “There’s an entire pool waiting for you, and your first drink’s on Paul and me.”

“Um, great,” Holly said, realizing she’d been craving a dip in the pool anyway. And Margaux and Paul seemed friendly enough. With one last glance back at Alexa and Jonah—who were now looking at each other in such a rapt, intense way, that it gave Holly butterflies—she followed Margaux and Paul toward the packed pool scene.

“That was subtle, huh?” Alexa asked, turning to Jonah with a teasing smile.

“What do you mean?” Jonah replied with a straight face, and Alexa laughed. She wasn’t sure if he was joking or not, but she felt a thrill of excitement all the same. She shook out her long hair, letting it tumble over her shoulders, and remembered what Margaux had said to Jonah on the phone last night:
She’s blonde, which I know you love…
Alexa could sense her old confidence, the effortless ease she usually felt around boys, clicking back into place. So she practiced one of her favorite moves: She reached over to take Jonah’s drink from his hand, her fingers conveniently brushing against his.

“Can I have a sip of your potion?” she asked, her voice breathy.

“It’s wheatgrass juice,” Jonah warned her. “I don’t drink anymore, not since my trainer got me into yoga—I try to keep my body clean of toxins, you know what I mean?”

Alexa yanked her hand back.
Wheatgrass juice?
Though Alexa wasn’t quite the party girl she’d been last year, she still loved sipping cool-sweet cocktails in glittering social settings. But she didn’t want to make Jonah uncomfortable by ordering a
drink
-drink.

“How’s the handsomest boy in Hollywood?” a
seductive female voice interrupted, and a curvaceous girl with long brown curls appeared at Jonah’s side, wearing a bikini made up entirely of silver sequins. Alexa recognized the girl as a runner-up on the last season of
America’s Next Top Model
and couldn’t help but feel the tiniest flare of jealousy.

But if Jonah was at all intrigued by the model beside him, he didn’t show it. “Loving life moment by moment, Meredith,” he said breezily, flashing her a smile. “Listen, I’m sorry to bounce, but I was just about to show off the view to someone very special.” As Jonah took Alexa’s arm, leading her away from a fuming Meredith, Alexa tried to control the joy rippling through her.
Be realistic
, she thought, but the words seemed oddly faint and distant now.

She caught her breath as she and Jonah settled on a curved orange sofa, gazing out on an unobstructed stretch of nectarine-colored sky.

“I’d always pictured LA as all billboards and rundown movie sets and smog—I never thought it would be beautiful,” Alexa admitted as she took in the glorious vista.

“It’s all right,” Jonah replied offhandedly, and, again, Alexa could feel his gaze on her profile. “There are definitely other, more beautiful things in this world.”

Fighting to keep herself from melting, Alexa
turned toward Jonah and shot him an innocent smile. “So you’re not such a fan of Los Angeles?” she asked. She couldn’t get over his remarkable, otherworldly eyes: the center pale as crystal, and the rim a dark indigo.

“Man, I don’t know,” Jonah sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. “I’m so
used
to it.” He gestured to the raucous party behind them, and Alexa turned to check it out.

A bunch of girls in skimpy bikinis were poised on the lip of the pool, laughing and cursing loudly as they prepared to dive in. Margaux and Paul were bobbing in the deep end, making out like teenagers. And then Alexa spotted Holly; she was floating on a red lounger, sipping a mango margarita and looking surprisingly calm in her hot little lime bikini. In a lounger beside Holly was a girl with sharp cheekbones and straight black hair whom Alexa recognized from the CW.
The Wizard of Oz
was being projected onto the side of one of the nearby buildings, and couples were kissing on the waterbed-pods. “It doesn’t seem
too
bad,” Alexa commented wryly.

“I was born here,” Jonah said, and Alexa faced him again, feeling a now-familiar flutter at the sight of his flawless face. “My parents are producers, and I’ve been acting since I could, like, talk, so this is all I’ve ever known. I’ve traveled a lot on shoots and promos but
you’re always in your trailer and shit.” He raised his broad shoulders, and Alexa nodded, trying to get a handle on what Jonah’s make-believe existence must be like. “I mean, my best friend? He lives in New York City, you know? And his life seems so raw, so
real.
” Jonah shook his head, and drank more of his wheatgrass juice.

“The city
is
pretty fabulous,” Alexa replied, crossing her long legs. As much as she was relishing the Hollywood sparkle, a part of her missed New York’s chic sophistication. So far, she was fairly unimpressed by the fashion she’d seen at this party.

Jonah stared at Alexa, his expression curious and intent. “Tell me about
your
life back east,” he murmured, and Alexa felt her heart leap as he moved closer to her on the sofa. “I want to know everything.”