Genuine Lies

eager.
    “Good.” She felt exactly the same way, and rose casually. “Just let me find some clothes.”
    “We walked for a couple of hours,” Eve said. She was smiling now, and her cigarette had burned down to the filter, untouched in the ashtray. “Even built sand castles. It was one of the most … intimate afternoons of my life. By the time we got back, Rory was awake, and I was head over heels in love with his son.”
    “And Paul?” Julia asked quietly. She’d been able to picture him perfectly, a lonely little boy fixing a solitary sandwich on a Saturday afternoon.
    “Oh, he was more cautious than I. I realized later that he suspected I was using him to get to his father.” With a restless movement Eve shifted and took out a fresh cigarette. “Who could blame him? Rory was a very desirable man, powerful in the industry, wealthy—in his own right and also through family.”
    “You and Rory Winthrop were married before the picture you were working on was released.”
    “One month after that Saturday in Malibu.” For a few moments Eve smoked in silence, looking out over the orange grove. “I admit I went after him, single-mindedly. The man didn’t have much of a chance. Romance was his weakness. I exploited it. I wanted that marriage, that ready-made family. I had my reasons.”
    “Which were?”
    Focusing on Julia again, Eve smiled. “For now we’ll say Paul was a large part of it. It’s true enough, and I don’t intend to lie. And at that point in my life I still believed in marriage. Rory could make me laugh, he was—is—intelligent, gentle, and just wild enough to be interesting. I needed to believe itcould work. It didn’t, but of my four marriages, it’s the only one I don’t regret.”
    “There were other reasons?”
    “You don’t miss much,” Eve murmured. “Yes.” She tapped out her cigarette with quick, jerky motions. “But that’s another story for another day.”
    “All right. Then tell me what your reasons were for hiring Nina.”
    Very rarely was Eve thrown off balance. Now, to give herself a moment, she blinked and smiled blankly. “I beg your pardon?”
    “I spoke with Nina last night. She told me how you’d found her in the hospital after her attempted suicide, how you’d given her not only a job, but the will to live.”
    Eve picked up her glass, studied the few remaining inches of champagne and juice. “I see. Nina didn’t mention to me that you’d interviewed her.”
    “We talked when she brought the photos over last night.”
    “Yes. I haven’t seen her yet this morning.” Changing her mind, Eve set the glass down again without drinking. “My reasons for hiring Nina were twofold, and more intricate than I care to get into at the moment. I will tell you that I detest waste.”
    “I’d wondered,” Julia persisted, more interested in watching Eve’s face than in hearing her answer, “if you’d felt it was a way to pay an old debt? Charlie Gray had committed suicide, and you couldn’t do anything to prevent it. This time, with Nina, you could. And did.”
    A sadness crept into Eve’s eyes, lingered. Julia watched the green darken, deepen. “You are very perceptive, Julia. Part of what I did was to pay Charlie back. But since I gained a very efficient employee and a devoted friend, one might say it cost me nothing.”
    And it was the eyes, not the answer that had Julia reaching out to lay a hand over Eve’s before she realized she’d crossed the distance. “Whatever you gained, compassion and generosity are worth more. I’ve admired you as an actress all mylife. In the past few days, I’ve started to admire you as a woman.”
    As Eve stared down at their joined hands, tangles of emotion passed across her face. She fought a brief and gritty war to control them before she spoke. “You’ll have plenty of time to develop other opinions of me—as a woman—before we’re finished. Not all of them will be anything remotely resembling admiration. Meanwhile, I have business to see to.” She rose and waved her hand at the recorder. Reluctantly, Julia turned it off. “There’s a charity dinner dance tonight. I have a ticket for you.”
    “Tonight?” Julia shaded her eyes against the sun as she looked up. “I really don’t think I can attend.”
    “If you’re going to write this book, you can’t do it all from this house. I’m a public figure, Julia,” Eve reminded her. “I want you with me, in public. You’ll need to be ready by