'What do you think of Allegra?'

'Are you and Linc getting a divorce?'

She made it into the hospital with the help of Norm and the two burly cops. 'You okay, ma'am?' one of them asked.

'Yes, thank you,' she managed, although she wasn't okay at all. She felt numb and sick to her stomach.

'He's in intensive care,' Norm said, hustling her into an elevator. 'Connie is waiting in a private room.'

Connie was sitting on a couch with her girlfriend, Suki. They jumped up when Shelby entered.

Connie rushed over to her. 'I'm sorry, Shelby,' she muttered, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen. 'I'm so sorry. I know how much you loved him.'

'What... happened?' she asked, her throat dry with fear.

'It was peaceful. It really was.'

'WHAT WAS PEACEFUL?' she heard herself scream.

'Linc passed away ten minutes ago.'

Shelby felt her world spinning out of control.

And that was the last thing she remembered as she slumped to the floor in a deep faint.

Chapter Forty-Seven.

There were two funerals taking place in Hollywood on the same day - both big events - causing people to wonder which they should attend.

Some people decided they should go to both, making it to the service of the first one and the reception of the second.

One funeral was a very serious affair.

The second was a celebration of a flamboyant life, and therefore, after the Catholic Church ceremony, there was a huge party - a request honoured from the deceased's will.

Lola had buried her husband the day before. Matt Seel. Son of Pat and Martin Seel. Husband of Lola Sanchez. Murderer of Lola's lover.

She'd attended the discreet service reluctantly, because everyone had said that if she didn't show up it would reflect negatively on her. Like she cared. Matt had murdered the love of her life and she was empty inside. There would never be another man like Tony Alvarez. Never.

Her mother and Isabelle had flanked her, making sure the photographers could not get too close. And there were many photographers jostling for position.

Matt's parents ignored her. They hated her. The feeling was mutual: she knew they'd never approved of her. Once Matt had confided that they'd told him he'd married the maid. Matt had thought it hysterically funny. She'd been mortified.

Maybe it was then that she'd started to go off him.

After the service there was a reception at the Seels' house. Lola chose not to go. Instead she had Big Jay drive her home, locked herself in her bedroom and sobbed for the man she'd loved, so brutally shot in the heart.

The last few days were surreal. First the news about Tony. Then Matt collapsing in her driveway with several fatal bullet wounds - he'd died on the way to the hospital. And finally Linc Blackwood passing away of a drug overdose in New York.

Christ! She'd known all three men in the Biblical sense. Had she bestowed some kind of horrible curse on them?

Her family rallied. Claudine even moved into her house to be with her for a while.

'It's not necessary, Mama,' she'd said. But Claudine had insisted.

Now, as she attended Tony's funeral, her entire family accompanied her.

Tony had a lot of friends in the Latin community. Some nodded in her direction, others ignored her.

The press had been brutal, making it seem as if everything was her fault - including Linc's unfortunate demise. 'SHE DROVE HER CO-STAR TO DRUGS' - screamed one tabloid. 'FEMME FATALE,' screamed another. 'HUSBAND AND LOVER SHOT TO DEATH IN JEALOUS FEUD OVER SEXY LOLA! screamed a third.

She couldn't win. She'd lost the love of her life, and the newspapers were blaming her. How unfair was that?

Tony's widowed mother flew in from Cuba, where she'd settled with a new husband.

The woman ignored Lola completely.

What is it with me and mothers? Lola thought. I haven't done anything to them.

All I did for Tony was love him more than anyone.

Maria was front and centre. A heartbroken fiancee, a sweet little innocent caught in a horrible Hollywood scandal.

Lola considered it so unfair that in death Tony did not belong to her but to a girl he'd barely known. A girl Lola was sure he'd not loved.

Two funerals in two days and Faye was urging her to go to the third. 'If you don't go to Linc Blackwood's funeral,' Faye assured her, 'the tabloids will pull you to pieces.'

'They already have,' Lola said quietly. 'It's enough, Faye. I'm going home.'

After their boat trip on Lake Mead and an outrageous wedding celebration party for Amy and Jonas, pulled together by Nick, they got into his Maserati and set off for L.A.

'This is the best time I've ever had with a girl,' Nick said, as he raced his car down the highway on their way back to L.A.

'Oh,' Cat said jokingly. 'So you've had better times with the boys, huh?'

He threw her a quizzical look. 'Y'know, Cat, you're very defensive. That's usually my deal.'

'Didn't mean to be,' she said. 'I gotta admit I had a great time, too.'

'Glad to hear it.'

'Here,' she said, fishing in her purse. 'I bought the new Norah Jones CD for our drive home.'

'That's girl's music'

'No, it's not, it's sexy music. She's fantastic'

'I'll listen to Norah Jones if you'll listen to Fifty Cent.'

'I can see I'm going to have to educate your music tastes,' she said. 'Aren't you into old music?'

'Like what?'

'Like classic soul, stuff like that.'

'Who has time?'

'I suppose you don't watch old movies either?'

'Like I said, who has time?'

'Did you ever see The Godfather, One and Two, Pulp Fiction? Scarface?

'Godfather One.'

'Man! We have serious work to do.'

'How old are you?' he asked, shooting her a look.

'You know how old I am. Why are you asking?'

"Cause every once in a while you sound like you're forty.'

'I'm wise way beyond my years,' she said, her face quite serious. 'Besides, after I dropped out of school, movies and music became my passion.'

'When's your birthday?'

'Next month.'

'Does that mean you'll be legal?'

'Legal for what?'

'I dunno. You're so young.'

'I bet you've had younger,' she remarked, popping the Norah Jones CD into the player.

'Ah,' he said with an evil laugh. 'Already she knows me so well.'

'So,' she said casually, 'when we get back to L.A., you can drop me at my apartment, and I'll see you when I see you.'

'It's like that, huh?'

'C'mon, Nick, we both know what this weekend was - casual fucking, right?'

'Wrong.'

'Wrong?'

'Dunno about you, but I was thinkin' I'd like to make it more.'

'Please!' she joked. 'I'm a married woman.'

'You're about to be a divorced woman,' he reminded her. 'And when you finish editing our movie, you're joining me on location.'

'So I can watch you casually fucking your way through the entire female cast and crew?' she said lightly.

'Hey, I'm gonna behave myself. Whaddaya think of that?'

'I don't understand.'

'Yes, you do,' he said briskly. 'You're a smart girl.'

'Let me make sure I'm understanding you. Are you saying you want us to be exclusive?'

'You got it. Hey - if I can do it, you can too.'

'But I thought-'

'I don't give a crap what you thought,' he said, reaching over to take her hand.

'We've got something special going, so let's not screw it up, huh?'

'Well...' she said unsurely.

He glanced over at her. 'Well?' he said, swerving the car over to the side of the road.

'Well... uh... okay.'

They exchanged smiles. Things were looking very promising.

Epilogue.

One year later 'Y'know, I've been thinking,' Nick said, sitting in the kitchen of Cat's apartment in L.A.

'Oh, here we go again,' she said. 'Back five minutes from location, and already he's thinking.'