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REID

‘Ready?’ I ask her, and it won’t be the last ti for the valet

Unhooking her seat belt, she takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders, as if she’s preparing for a challenging Olye brown eyes turn to h and lean to kiss her temple ‘This will all be over soon, and we’ll be old news I pro truth Sa out to be entirely false … but I prefer to be optimistic about my promises

‘Okay,’ she says, so very serious And trusting Which is why tonight, I chose one of the places celebrities go ant to feel a bit like ordinary people – ordinary, wealthy people who don’t have to endure being photographed everywhere they go: Chateau Mar bricked drive, let alone up the steps or inside Cameras are completely prohibited in the restaurant, in fact – and unlike some Hollywood spots, that decree is strictly enforced Not that obsessive fans don’t ever break the rules and get aith it – but dinner on the patio is a dark, candlelit affair Good luck getting off a perfect shot with a cell phone and no flash

The valet exchanges keys and a ticket with the driver in front of us and I slideher hand ‘Have you been here before?’

She laughs as though that’s the most ridiculous question ever posed ‘Uh, no I’ve heard about it, though Does that count?’

‘He of it Sounds like we h Or es’

She sued by a creaky, cloistered 1930s bungalow than a sued suite with patio views of Sunset and the West Hollywood hillside ‘That sounds like a storybook suggestion Should I bring my red hoodie and a picnic basket?’

‘Only if you’re going to say, Oh, Reid, what a big –’

‘Stop!’ she laughs, pressing her hand to ht!’

I run a finger over the curve of her ear, knowing it would be bright pink if I could discern the colour in the dim confines of the car ‘I’m afraid it’s too late for that …’

Adorably pri at a hotel in the city where you live seeuess that’s normal for celebrities’

‘You’ve never done that?’ My last in-LA hotel stay was at Brooke’s insistence, when her whole convoluted plan to lure Grahas lightly, glancing forward as I pull up to the valet stand and reh-school jerk of a boyfriend took her to a motel when she turned fifteen, and then duhteen and she became jailbait

I’d like to beat the shit out of that guy, even if it has been nearly four years

‘Looks like I have a new goal: teach Dori to be impractical’

She shakes her head, bemused ‘I don’t know, Reid – that sounds like an unattainable goal’ The valet opens her door and she starts before taking another deep breath and accepting his hand She’s a bundle of nerves I doubt she’s going to relax all evening, and God knows I probably won’t be able to talk her into loosening up the Reid Alexander way – with a shot of soe accepted, Dorcas Cantrell,’ Iaround to encircle her shoulders and lead her inside Challenge accepted

I order the chilled crab and avocado for an appetizer, and a bottle of Torrontés Dori asks for a glass of water Atand pouring it into her glass whilea perfectly blank expression Dori arches a brow and mouths impractical at me with a ss I can come up here she’s concerned

By the end of the meal, she’s etation and flickering candles render the patio cosy and intiested There’ve been no camera flashes, of course, and no one’s paid us any particular attention, other than the waiting staff – all of the us with the same pleasant but impassive expressions It won’t be this way in other LA haunts At some point soon, Dori will be fully initiated into the public scrutiny that co a celebrity She had a minor taste of it last su