3
THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE, Jake had been constantly amazed at the people his mother knew and had forgotten to tell him about. It’s part of the job, she’d say. I meet everyone, darling.
But how the hell did she know this one? He didn’t even know the girl’s name, he realized.
“Your son?” A smile played on those full, glossy lips of hers. “He has forgotten his manners,” the younger woman replied, looking haughty.
His mother patted her arm conspiratorially. “Jake never learned the savoir faire necessary for Hollywood. He’s in insurance. Like my late husband.”
“I know a lot more than you give me credit for, Mom,” Jake said, offering his arm to his mother, but never taking his eyes from the ravishing creature on her other arm. Annoying is what she was, with that short, sassy brown hair. With th
