"Sorry. I couldn't resist. Dad had the new Hollywood Nation in the bathroom."

"Did you use it as toilet paper?" Rodney takes another large bite oozing with cheese.

"I'll have to try that." Liz grins, then spies something behind us and whistles loudly. "Now that's what I call service!"

I turn to look. A Slice of Heaven's owner, Antonio, shuffles towards us, carrying our usual -- a Sicilian pie with extra cheese, peppers, and broccoli and three Sprites. "Here you go," he announces gruffly. "Anything for my favorite girls -- and Mr. Rodney, of course." He places the steaming pie down, and we scramble to get a slice.

There's no comparing other pizza to A Slice of Heaven's. It's the best pizza in Los Angeles, maybe the entire West Coast. (Antonio says the key is the water he uses to make the pie dough. He has tap water bottled and shipped from New York.)

There's another reason Liz and I are fond of this place: No one bothers me here. The restaurant is this totally no-frills pizza joint with almost vintage booths and unfashionable checkerboard tablecloths, in a strip mall in the Studio City section of L.A. Celebrities, and the paparazzi for that matter, would never think to come here. Most stars dine at other star-owned hot spots or hang at security-tight clubs like Star. I spend too much time in that circle as it is, which is why I favor A Slice of Heaven. When Liz and I sit in the back booth nursing our pie and Sprite refills, no one notices. It really is heaven.

I jump up and plant a kiss on Antonio's cheek. "Thanks, Tony. I've been dying for this all day. And today was pretty hectic -- even for me."

He blushes. "You're lucky Liz told me you were coming. We were almost out of broccoli. I saved it for you."

"You're the best," I mumble, taking a big, juicy bite.

Antonio motions to Rodney. "Come on back. Rambo: First Blood Part II is on TV."

"You think you could whip up some meatballs while we're back there?" Rodney gets up quickly, knocking over the napkin holder. "Holler if you need me, Kates," he says before following Tony away.

"So how was the shoot?" Liz asks. I nod up and down, since my mouth is full. "And lunch the other day with Laney and your parents?" She grins slyly. I stop chewing and look down at my greasy plate.

"You've been dodging that question for days now! You haven't told me what happened when you brought up taking the hiatus off." I blink rapidly and stifle a sigh. Liz takes a monstrous bite of pizza, the oil dripping down her chin, and shakes her head.

"Let's just say I didn't make much progress," I answer slowly before filling her in on my ill-fated convo at the Ivy.