Hollywood Princess Read Free Page B

always read through me, sometimes too well. Distance and time had not changed that.
    “I’ve had dates, just not boyfriends.”
    “You’re still a virgin. Aren’t you noble,” Danny replied sarcastically.
    I rolled my eyes. “I am not noble. My personal life should not be all over the Web. It’s not like I’m the famous one in my family.”
    “So if you’re ever in People magazine with a guy, he’s the one you lost it to.” Danny laughed. “That‘s why you’re at Donnelly—to hide from reality.”
    “That did enter into the equation,” I said bitterly.

CHAPTER 3 - ELIZABETH
    “Show me your room,” Danny demanded as we returned from dinner.
    “I’m sure it’s the same as yours.”
    “Eli….”
    Irresistible like a yapping puppy, Danny was hyper and gleeful all at once as he followed Rachel, Chloe and me into the elevator.
    “This is great! I’ve never been to the tower.” 
    Rachel rolled her eyes, a favorite habit.
    Rachel unlocked the door to our suite and she and Chloe retreated to their rooms. Danny wandered over to our new sofa, a bed covered with a brightly colored spread and fingered the throw pillows. Then he proceeded to examine every inch of the room.
    “A private bathroom! No shit!” he exclaimed. “I have to go down the hall. So not fair.”
    Hah! I laughed. Rachel peeked out from behind her door and shook her head disapprovingly.
    “Show me the rest, Eli.”
    When I knocked on Chloe’s door, Danny glanced in approvingly. Only an orange beanbag chair punctuated her muted décor.
    Smiling sweetly, Chloe peeked out from browsing through her closet. “Hi, Danny.”
    “Nice room, Chloe. Great chair,” Danny answered, giving Chloe a quick once over.
    Rachel’s door was open, phone poised in her hand, about to make a call.
    Danny’s eyes were drawn to the movie paraphernalia decorating her wall, including a poster from a film directed by Steve.
    “Dad.” Danny said quietly. The five year-old movie had been nominated for an Academy Award but didn’t win.
    Danny remained glued in place, as though he were afraid to come nearer. Danny appeared wounded; disturbed, and his posture sagged.
    “Take that off the wall!” Danny insisted.
    “I love this film,” Rachel protested. “It was Vanessa Rogers’ big break and one of Steven Newman’s best. This film should have won that year,” she said knowledgeably. 
    Danny shuddered. “I’ll replace it with a poster from any other film Dad has ever made and he’ll even sign it. Please, get rid of that. I don’t want to see it again!”
    “Then don’t come in my room!”
    “That film makes me sad.” Danny said quietly, and he backed out of her doorway.
    “It was a comedy,” Rachel muttered.
    “I can’t look at that poster, Eli.”
    “What’s wrong?” I calmly asked, once Rachel couldn’t hear our voices. I’d never seen anyone react that way to a poster. It was just a poster, wasn’t it?
    “Bad memories.” 
    “Didn’t that wrap right before my bat mitzvah?”
    “I guess,” Danny replied flatly.
    “Steve and Ellen radiated tension at the reception. Even when I danced with Steve, he wasn’t with me. It was weird.”
    Something was missing from my memory. A crucial piece of the puzzle had eluded me in the excitement of that day. 
    “Eli, you didn’t know?” Danny asked. “Mom and Dad weren’t living together.”
    What! How had I not known? I was family.
    Was there linkage with that movie? What happened to lead Steve and Ellen so far apart that they weren’t living together.
    “Hey, let me see your room,” Danny said, changing the subject. Anticipation was back in his voice. “I bet it’s fluffy and pink like at home.”
    “My room is not fluffy!” Color rose in my cheeks. 
    A moment later I regretted denying its “fluffiness.” Danny stood in the doorway and at once noticed the white shag area rug. He couldn’t restrain his laughter.
    “Okay. There is some fluff,” I sneered. Then I glared at