Chloe and Stella Take Manhattan
We met up at Rockefeller Center. I was running late (no surprise there) so I had to skip breakfast, but lucky for me, she handed me a box of four super scrumptious cupcakes—or fairy cakes, as she calls them. Each was decorated with a fondant handbag. Stella said she designed them especially for me, you know, since I work in fashion. Aww. I gave her a big hug and then hustled her into the building. While she was dealing with the security thing, I wolfed down two of the cupcakes (so good. So, so good) and as soon as she was given the necessary clearance, we took the elevator up to the ABC studios.
After the taping, I
took Stella downtown and showed her my boutique. She tried on a few things
while I ate another cupcake, and was all set to purchase the pink silk wrap top
from my new collection, but naturally, I told her to put that money away. I
wanted her to have it as a gift, she refused and neither of us was willing to
back down, so she murmured something about buying it from one of the shops in
London that carry my line. Little does she know I slipped the top into the side
pocket of her tote bag. I wish I could see the look on her face when she discovers
it!
We had dinner that
night at an upscale Mexican restaurant in SoHo and stayed for another couple of
margaritas each… Or was it three? In any case, when we left the restaurant, we
were feeling festive. We weren’t far from Ethan’s apartment, so I suggested we
stop by there to see what he was up to. He was working. (Shakes head.) He’s as
hopeless as I am sometimes. After surprisingly little cajoling, we managed to
drag Ethan back out with us. I was dying to take Stella to Magnolia Bakery, and
it isn’t far from Ethan’s place, so we headed a couple blocks west to the best
little bakery in New York. The three of us, each with a cupcake in hand (mine
was the fourth fairy cake courtesy of Stella) went back outside and fed our
sugar fixes under the night sky. Old friends, new friends and delectable
cupcakes under a New York night sky. Does life get any better than this?
Like to read more about Chloe? Here's an excerpt
from ‘Lying to Meet You’...
Mathieu grabs my arm and
mutters, “Why did you not tell me about the boyfriend? I will not judge. If you
want to seduce William Shannon even though you have a boyfriend, this is fine
with me.”
“Ethan isn’t really my
boyfriend,” I mutter back.
“What? I do not
understand.”
I sigh. “It’s
complicated. He and I are in a fake relationship. The idea behind it is that by
being a couple, we might seem more attractive to potential love interests. It’s
sort of a social experiment. But this is top-secret stuff. Nobody knows.
So you can’t tell a soul.”
Mathieu brings a hand to
his forehead and utters a dramatic, “Oh mon
dieu.”
When we get to the green
room, Mathieu shoves me in and says to Johnny, “I must talk to this girl. Two
minutes. Yes?”
“Whatever,” Johnny says,
leaning against the wall.
Mathieu comes into the
room and closes the door firmly.
“Cherie, this changes
everything. You must stop acting like a silly schoolgirl around Wily
Willy.”
I stare at him, aghast.
Was I really being that obvious?
“Use this pretend
boyfriend in your mind to stop you from being so silly. When you see Wily
Willy, you must send him silent messages that say,” (in the high pitch voice,
of course) “‘Oh, I am so fabulous and it is so sad that you cannot have me, Mr.
William Shannon, but I already have a lover.’”
I bite my lip to keep
from breaking out into a grin, but apparently I have no control over the
laughter in my eyes.
Mathieu responds with an
icy glare.
“Perhaps you are not serious about seducing Wily Willy, after all.”
“Perhaps you are not serious about seducing Wily Willy, after all.”
“No, no, Mathieu,” I tell
him, suddenly feeling very solemn. “I’m sorry. I am serious about this.”
He stares at me for a
moment. “D’accord. Now listen very
carefully, Chloe. You must be cool around Wily Willy. And I am not talking
about Gaultier-wearing-drinking-at-Bungalow-Eight cool. What I mean is that you
must be aloof, unavailable. Do you understand?”
I nod, and he goes on.
“You must act casual
around him. Not interested. When you see him, keep repeating these things in
your mind. Cool, aloof, unavailable, casual, not interested. After a while, it
will be easier to act that way around him.”
“You really think so?”
“Yes, I do,” Mathieu says,
but after studying my face, he says, “I hope.”
After he leaves, I do
something very uncool. I reach into my new Kate Spade bag, take out my
planner, and write down Mathieu’s key words to remember. Cool, aloof,
unavailable, casual, not interested. I kind of doubt that focusing on these
words will do much to help me to relax around William Shannon, but it’s worth a
try.
Chloe Lane is about to find out. When her childhood pal, Ethan Webster, asks
her to play the part of his girlfriend in order to test this theory, she
reluctantly agrees. As a work-crazed fashion designer, boutique owner and
soon-to-be reality show judge, Chloe has no time for a real boyfriend, but
being part of a faux pair will do just fine. Not that she has any intention of
trying to attract someone else.
However...
Opportunity unexpectedly knocks when Chloe meets fellow reality judge, William Shannon. Super successful and super sexy, this high-powered entrepreneur inspires Chloe to test Ethan's theory herself. Now, on top of keeping her fashion business productive, carving out a new role as a television personality, maintaining a fake relationship and attempting to lay the groundwork for a future relationship, she's lying to William, lying to her friends, lying to her family and quite possibly lying to herself. Will Chloe be able to keep it all together, or are things about to explode?
However...
Opportunity unexpectedly knocks when Chloe meets fellow reality judge, William Shannon. Super successful and super sexy, this high-powered entrepreneur inspires Chloe to test Ethan's theory herself. Now, on top of keeping her fashion business productive, carving out a new role as a television personality, maintaining a fake relationship and attempting to lay the groundwork for a future relationship, she's lying to William, lying to her friends, lying to her family and quite possibly lying to herself. Will Chloe be able to keep it all together, or are things about to explode?
