Hollywood Wives - the New Generation Read Online Free Page A

in a few jobs, just like she'd dabbled in a few
drugs. Nicci
was an adventurer, anxious to cover every experience.
    Recently Evan had suggested that since she obviously had no
intention of going to college, and was currently without a job, she
might be interested in working with him.
    'What as? A gofer?' she'd asked suspiciously.
    'Oh, yeah,' he'd answered sarcastically. 'I can see
you
running errands for people.'
    'Then
what
?'
    'Hang out on the set - see what gets your adrenaline going.'
    'You
get my adrenaline going,' she'd said warmly.
    'That's why I love you.'
    'You love me 'cause we have great sex,' she'd joked.
    'I love you 'cause you're the only woman I can ever imagine spending
more than five minutes with.'
    And this was true, because Evan did not have a long, complicated
romantic history like Brian. According to Evan, he'd had no serious
attachments before her. And that made her feel very special.
    I'm getting married
, she thought, as she left Starbucks,
clutching her coffee.
Guess that means no more adventures
.
    Evan had requested a traditional wedding. She'd sort of entertained
the idea of running off to Vegas and getting hitched by some kind of
Elvis impersonator, but Evan was having none of it. 'A runaway wedding
would break my mom's heart,' he'd said.
    He had a mom! How normal. A widowed mom who lived in New York.
They'd flown to New York so that she could meet Nicci. Somehow Nicci
had imagined a little old lady in Easy Spirit shoes who wore fluffy
angora sweaters and kept cats. No such luck, Lynda Richter had turned
out to be a tall, big-boned woman clad in Escada and diamonds -
purchased for her by her sons - with teeth the size of baby tombstones
and plenty of overbearing attitude.
    Nicci felt quite intimidated by her - especially after she got back
to L.A. and had to endure a daily phone call checking up on wedding
preparations. 'Have you ordered the cake? The band? Double-checked the
place settings? Decided on the flowers? Hired the preacher? Booked a
photographer? Chosen your dress? Chosen your
bridesmaids'
dresses? What are you waiting for, dear? YOUR WEDDING IS IN SIX WEEKS.'
    Nicci dreaded Lynda's daily phone call. Usually she let her
voice-mail pick up, but she soon grew annoyed that she was prevented
from answering her own phone.
    She'd tried to talk to Evan about it, but, typical male, Evan
thought his darling mommy could do no wrong and refused to listen to
any form of criticism concerning her.
    The saviour was that Lynda Richter resided in New York. Nicci didn't
think she could have handled it if Lynda had lived around the corner.
What a nightmare
that
would've been. Besides, she resented
Lynda butting in as if she was a ditzy airhead. She was perfectly
capable of planning her own wedding, and had everything under control.
    Well… almost.
    She'd booked the venue - a gorgeous bluff situated in Palos Verdes
overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The ceremony and reception would take
place outside at sunset. Not exactly as traditional as Evan expected,
but it would be so romantic. And the woman who ran the place had
assured her she could organize whatever Nicci required.
    So… all she had to do was figure out what she required.
    Lynda's list ran through her head like an unrelenting mantra -
dress, cake, band, bridesmaids… Bridesmaids! God! How traditional was
that
?
    Evan was having a best man and six groomsmen, so he'd insisted she
have bridesmaids.
Probably so the groomsmen can get laid
, she
thought dourly.
    The truth was that she was not a girly girl - most of her friends
were male. After much thought she'd managed to come up with six
suitable candidates. Now all she had to do was get them fitted for
dresses. She was well aware that she'd left it horribly late, although
her maid-of-honour, who was also her best friend, Saffron Domingo, had
offered to help.
    Hmm… Saffron was hardly the most reliable person in the world. Like
Nicci, Saffron was a free spirit with not much idea about tradition.
The