The humorless guard stared at us for a moment before pointing at Loco and saying, “I don’t think I can let that bird in here.”
“Sure you can,” my brother insisted. “That’s his emotional support chicken.” The man stared at us for a few more seconds, then found Dallas’s name on the list and waved us in.
“You’re good,” I said, as we stepped into the crowded courtyard. “You’ve only been in L.A. a matter of days, and you’re already getting invited to red carpet events.”
“It’s all about who you know.” He craned his neck, then said, “I just spotted the friends I’m meeting, so can you take it from here?”
“Yup. Thanks for the assist.”
“Any time, and you did the right thing by coming back for Harper. Oh, and in case you’re worried, I promise you that wasn’t your last shot at launching your career.” Dallas flashed me a smile before disappearing into the crowd.
I took a deep breath and looked around. To my right, behind a four-foot metal fence, a couple of hundred fans were yelling and waving signs to try to capture the stars’ attention. On the left were clusters of journalists and photographers. Halfway down the long walkway (which really was lined with a red carpet), a white backdrop had been set up with the name of the film repeated on it. Before it was an elevated stage, a bank of lights, a TV camera, and even more photographers and journalists.
And there was Harper, right in the center of the action on that stage, looking absolutely breathtaking in his tuxedo. He stood flanked by his costars, three to a side, flashing his perfect smile while a million photos were taken and the TV camera rolled.
I didn’t want to interrupt, so I stopped walking and just watched him as people streamed around me on their way into the theater. Harper was born to be a movie star, no doubt about it. He was totally in his element as he chatted with the journalists and posed for pictures. Even in that dazzling lineup, his star shone the brightest by far.
After a minute, I realized I was blocking the walkway, so I moved over to my right, near the fence. A pair of teenage girls were standing nearby. They both wore glasses and had their hair up in a pair of mini-buns, which reminded me of panda ears. Their oversized T-shirts had Harper’s face on them, and they were holding a hand-lettered sign which read, “We Love U Harper Royce!” It was decorated with a bunch of hearts and glitter.
I moved closer and smiled at them as I said, “I like your sign.”
The brunette glanced at me, and her eyes went wide. She slapped her blonde friend’s arm and kept slapping it until she finally turned around and blurted, “Oh my gawd Ginny, what?” Then the blonde spotted me and yelled, “Cheese and crackers, you’re Harper Royce’s boyfriend!” A murmur passed through the crowd behind the fence as a lot of heads swiveled in my direction.
Her friend slapped her arm again and said, “He has a name, Stacey! It’s Phoenix Jaymes. Can we get a selfie, Phoenix?”
I said, “Sure, no problem.”
They climbed up on the fence’s bottom rung while I held their phone at arm’s length and snapped a photo, making sure to get all three of us and the chicken in the shot. As I handed the phone back to her, Stacey asked, “Why aren’t you over there with Harper?”
“I’m supposed to be on a plane to Nashville, so he doesn’t know I’m here. He looks busy though, so I’m just going to wait until he’s done.”
Ginny actually started tearing up, and she blurted, “Oh my gawd, you came here to surprise him on his birthday! That’s so romantic!” It figured that these superfans would know it was his birthday. Then she said, “You belong over there with him, Phoenix! Go join in.”
Stacey exclaimed, “He’s shy, Ginny! You said it yourself when we watched their videos. That means we need to help him. Let’s try to get Harper to come over here.”
“What should we do? We already tried chanting Harper’s name, and we got the whole crowd to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him, but all that got us was a wave.” Ginny looked distraught.
An older lady standing nearby chimed in, “We could all chant ‘Phoenix is here’ to get his attention.”
“That’s not romantic enough,” Stacey said. She thought about it for a few moments, and then she exclaimed, “Let’s get everyone to chant Phoenix loves Harper! It’ll be amazing! Oh my gawd, can you imagine?”
Ginny clapped her hands. “That’s perfect!”
The two girls and the older woman and her friends started the chant while word spread through the crowd about what was happening. Within a minute, two hundred people were shouting, “Phoenix loves Harper! Phoenix loves Harper!”