Page 67 of Reel Love

Mila and I share a look. This is the most Phyllis has ever spoken of her love life—to me anyway.

But, as quickly as she opens the can, she seals the lid back up.

“So, how about you? I see the tabloids.” Phyllis takes a sip of her iced tea and raises one eyebrow as if she knows better than to believe what she reads.

“Well …” I start in.

“Is this your mother’s idea of a promotion for the film?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Just as I thought. Well, give me something juicy then.”

“I don’t have anything too juicy.”

“Oooh.” Phyllis rubs her hands together. “Not too juicy means it is juicy.”

A few veins show through the silky skin, one of the only signs she’s old enough to be my grandmother.

“There’s this guy online,” I admit.

“Online dating?” Mila asks with a softness to her eyes. “Isn’t that a bit tricky for someone as high-profile as you?”

“Dating at all is tricky for someone in my position. But we’re not online dating. We’re playing a word game. And we chat.”

“Much better,” Phyllis says before taking a solid bite of the croissant sandwich in her hand. She quickly chews and adds, “A man who plays word games isn’t online for only one thing. Plus, he’s bound to have a good vocabulary.”

Mila chuckles. “I think you get more ridiculous with age.”

“I get more honest,” Phyllis corrects her. “Now tell us about this man.”

“Well …” I trust them. I may as well say it. “It turns out he lives here.”

“On Marbella?” Mila’s face is giddy with excitement.

“Yes. Can you believe it?”

“What are the odds?” Phyllis says.

“I know. I’d almost wonder if he arranged it all, you know? Like maybe he found out where I lived somehow and then figured out who I am on the game. But there’s really no way he could have. Maybe someone could discover I’m here. But no one knows my gamer tag. It’s a bonafide coincidence. We’ve been playing forever, chatting more and more over time. Our discussion about where we live came out of left field this week.”

“You just found out?” Mila’s usually calm demeanor is tinged with a contagious spark of interest. “I wonder who he is!”

“Me too. Believe me. It’s not like I can just go roaming around trying to find him, carrying a sign that says,Wordivore, is that you?I’ll just have to see what happens. A part of me wants to meet him. But the other part … he doesn’t know who I am. It’s … refreshing being just another woman. Everything could change when he sees I’m Alana Graves.”

“But you have a history with him on this game?” Mila asks.

“Yes.”

“Then he already knows you apart from your fame. That’s a gift. If he wants to meet you without knowing who you are, that means he’s attracted to you for you.”

Mila’s phone pings with a message notification.

“Oh, excuse me. I should check that in case it’s Noah’s school.”

She pulls her phone out of her pocket, reads the message, and says, “It’s nothing. Just Kai telling me he’ll be late. He’s going out with Stevens, taking a group out on a night snorkel.”

“Stevens?” I ask without thinking.

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