courts—and has the blood pressure of a polar bear. Some people have all the luck in the genetic lottery.
So it’s amusing to see him coming to the defense of a vegetarian.
“I’m just saying.” Stephanie had obviously been assuming, because Cooper’s a guy, that she could score points with him by maligning vegans. Ha. Wrong. Cooper doesn’t care what people do, so long as they don’t hurt other people. “She’s pregnant. She needs to be careful. Pregnant women need more iron than the rest of us, and there’s a lot of iron in red meat.”
“That’s what the ambulance lady said.” Jordan is looking worried. “She told us Tania should see her private physician tomorrow morning for blood work. But also that Tania should go home now and rest.”
“Of course,” Stephanie says, putting her hand on Jordan’s shoulder and patting it. “Of course she should. You two go home and get some sleep. It’s been a long night.”
This is quite a turnaround from before, when Stephanie had been standing there practically forcing them to keep filming, even though Tania had fainted. I wonder what’s changed.
“I’ll set up an appointment with Tania’s ob-gyn tomorrow morning. Don’t you worry about a thing.” She’s already typing swiftly into her cell phone with one hand and at the same time snapping at the production assistant with the other. “Lauren. Lauren. Tell them to pull the car around. Jordan and Tania need to leave. Everyone, you can start loading up your stuff. We’re going.”
Lauren, standing at the far side of the terrace enjoying a cigarette with Marcos the boom guy, puts down her Red Bull and touches her headset, then begins speaking swiftly into it. The rest of the crew go inside and begin to pack away their equipment.
“So,” Stephanie says to me and Cooper, “after we drop off Jordan and Tania, would you two like to join us for a drink back at Epiphany? I’d love to get to know you a little better. I think it would be amazing to have you do a little cameo on the show, Heather. The fact that you used to live with one Cartwright brother but now you—”
“Live with another?” I finish for her quickly, my gaze going to Jordan. “No, that’s okay. My career in the entertainment business is finished, I’m afraid. Besides, it’s a little late for drinks. I’m a regular working girl now and have to be back here at nine tomorrow morning, so, no.”
Jordan is looking from me to Cooper. “You guys sure?” he asks. “It would be fun to have you on the show. Mom and Dad would love it.”
“No thanks,” Cooper says, like he’s refusing seconds at dinner.
“Suit yourself,” Jordan says. “But we should still do drinks sometime. Well, Tania can’t drink, but, you know. Hey.” He looks at Stephanie. “Speaking of Tania, that’s not all.”
“Uh-huh.” Stephanie’s gaze has gone back to her keypad, like the mere mention of Tania Trace forces her to start text-ing. “What else?”
Jordan’s gaze strays toward Tania, back in the Allingtons’ living room. She’s found what it was she was looking for in her bag. Incredibly, it’s a live dog—a Chihuahua—that Tania is holding up in the air, oblivious to everyone else in the room. The dog wriggles in ecstasy, probably from a combination of finally being released from the bag and seeing its mistress. Tania smiles fondly up at the dog, which promptly begins to lick her all over the face.
This is pretty normal behavior for a dog owner—Lucy and I regularly share the same plate. I can’t help it if she jumps onto the couch and starts eating my food, and I’ve caught Cooper letting her do the exact same thing. I know the Dog Whisperer wouldn’t approve, but what are we going to do, push her away? She came from the shelter, she was probably abused as a puppy.
Of course, it’s a problem that lately the cat, Owen, has started to move in on the action as well.
I’m not at all surprised to see Tania letting her dog give her
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