Page 18 of The Awful Truth

“Such a tragedy,” Winslow added. “He was so young and talented.”

“And buff,” Miguel said.

Charlotte leaned in and lowered her voice. “I think Mercy knows more about what happened that night than they’re saying.”

“Really?” Miguel asked, leaning in and looking excited.

“No, not really,” Ted said. “That’s just gossip and none of it was ever substantiated.”

“I don’t know.” Charlotte wrinkled up her nose. “I heard she and Sterling weren’t just acting during those love scenes.”

“No!” Winslow said.

Miguel gasped. “Like, do you mean they were actually having sex?”

Charlotte shrugged. “Apparently. And remember he was engaged to that model—you know, the one with the horse teeth—at the time?”

Antonia tsked. “Snake.”

“What? No,” Miguel said, his face glowing with good gossip. “Not my beautiful Talbot Sterling. He was not a cheater!”

Charlotte, who clearly was enjoying being the purveyor of juicy news, had a triumphant look. “It was a not-so-secret secret in Hollywood that he was a total dog. If he were alive, he’d definitely be getting Me Too’d right now.”

“So, you think Horse Teeth killed him for sleeping with Mercy?” Miguel asked.

Charlotte shrugged. “Or Mercy did it.”

Miguel shook his head. “No, it was an accident.”

Ted nodded at Miguel. “Exactly, he fell. End of story. And quite frankly, we shouldn’t be talking about it, certainly not here.”

Charlotte held both hands up in surrender. “I’m just repeating what I heard.”

Giving her a stern look, Ted said, “Well, don’t. Besides, that’s just an ugly rumor. She wasn’t even there when it happened.”

“That’s not what the security guard said,” Charlotte answered in a knowing voice.

“He was wrong. The footage proves she wasn’t there.”

Antonia narrowed her eyes a little, her cheeks hot. “I don’t know, Ted. I think Char might be onto something. I mean, those tapes can be erased. Who’s to say what really happened?”

“The coroner and the police, that’s who,” Ted told her.

“But right after that movie, she suddenly gave up all that glamor and fame to become a little wifey?” Miguel said. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe it’s guilt. She couldn’t handle having the public adore her anymore,” Charlotte said.

“Charlotte, stop.” Ted’s voice was firm. “This is not an appropriate conversation, especially not when we’re getting drunk off Travis Bishop’s booze while we’re on his yacht.”

Antonia gave him a sloppy smile. “Darling, we’re just having a little fun. None of this is serious.”

“Lobbing baseless accusations seems pretty serious to me,” he said, glancing at Oliver, then back at her. “So, let’s change the subject or call it a night.”

Miguel clicked his tongue. “Aren’t you the party pooper?” Looking at Antonia, he said, “I thought for sure you would be the party pooper, but it turns out it’s your husband.”

Antonia beamed at him, even though somewhere very deep in her brain, she knew this wasn’t exactly a compliment. “Thank you, Miguel. You’re so sweet.” She sucked in a long breath of fresh summery air, then let out a happy sigh. “I am having the time of my life. We should go skinny dipping. Who’s in for a midnight swim?”

Ted stood up. “Okay, time for bed.”