Before A Perfect World: Movie Trilogy, Book Two (The Movie Trilogy) Read Free Page B

thank you, thank you,” I shrieked. Matthew nodded, walking toward the road, watching for a cab.
    “You’re welcome, V. You’ve got Max convinced. Don’t forget what we talked about. I’ll send a car for you in the morning. Text me your hotel info.”
    “It’s the Regent Beverly Wilshire.”
    “Really.” He chuckled incredulously. “Wow. That’s, what six, seven hundred a night? He paying for that from the money you’ve been sending him?”
    I prickled at his constant jabs at Matthew.
    “Actually no, I cashed my paycheck from a month ago. I hope it clears.”
    He was silent for a long moment, and I let him remember the fact that he’d hired me to be his girlfriend for the weekend.
    A fter it was obvious that he realized that I meant the check that he’d written for me in his last attempt at utter assholery, he laughed hard.
    “Well played, Miss Hale.”
    “I don’t play games, Mr. Thorne.”
    He breathed another short laugh. “T ell Poindexter to keep his hands to himself.”
    “Keaton, ” I protested, still smiling as I lifted my eyes to the hundreds of windows along the side of the building.
    “You got that reference, didn’t you? Revenge of the Nerds. ”
    “Yeah, I got it,” I relented, still grinning.
    “That’s my video store girl.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Okay, see you tomorrow.”
    I ended the call before he could insult Matthew again.
    Putting my phone away, I watched as Matthew hailed a cab. “So, you got the callback?” he asked, nodding his thanks to the cab driver who stopped.
    “ Yes!” I cried, so excited, and he grinned, wrapping his arms around me.
    “I knew it. I’m proud of you,” he whispered, tipping my face to his.
    “Matthew.” I ducked away from his kiss, gesturing to the waiting cab. “Please don’t,” I urged softly.
    His face fell, and he looked away. “Right.”
    I’d always wanted to stay at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, especially since it was the setting for Pretty Woman . When I told Matthew that our two night stay would be on Keaton’s dime, he slammed the taxi door so hard that the driver dropped a slew of foreign curse words his way.
    “ I’m paying for our room. He can go fuck himself.”
    “Matthew,” I warned, glancing around the lobby of the grand hotel. “Lower your voice.”
    “No.” He dropped my bags to the gleaming floor, and I watched him retrieve a credit card from his wallet as he approached the desk.
    The twinge of guilt that I’d felt earlier was now developing into a full-blown panic attack.
    And I was right back where I’d started. I cared so deeply about Matthew and loved him for a million reasons in a billion ways.
    None of those ways felt remotely close to the way that I loved Keaton.
    Can I love both of them? I narrowed my eyes, focusing on my sandals as he checked us into our room.
    Of course I could love both of them.
    But I could only choose one.
    “Come on,” he said softly, joining my side.
    We walked to the elevator, and the attendant smiled politely as Matthew indicated which floor we were on.
    The hotel room that I’d shared in Pittsburgh with Keaton didn’t compare to the elegance that waited for us in our suite. I padded across the plush carpeting in my bare feet, lowering to the bed.
    “Richard Gere and Julia Roberts filmed here. Warren Beatty lived here. Did you know that Dashiell Hammett wrote The Thin Man in this hotel? The stars who have stayed here… Cary Grant, Al Pacino…Tom Hanks. Oh, my God, Matthew, this is amazing.”
    Falling back to the gazillion-thread-count sheets, I smiled and closed my eyes, imagining actually getting the chance to meet any of my idols.
    “And Vivian Hale,” he added. “Soon they can add you to their list of celebrities.”
    I sensed his bitterness, turning my face his way. “You’re being really short with me,” I said carefully, knowing that Matthew wasn’t going to talk until he was ready.
    And I had a feeling that I already knew what it was.
    “I’m not going