“Wonderful!” I said, and patted my pocket, like I was indicating that was where mine was. She just raised an eyebrow at me, and I hurried down the hall where she’d pointed. The hall led to another room that also seemed lobby-like, though smaller, with another fireplace, an elevator guarded by a guy wearing an earpiece and carrying a clipboard, and little groupings of armchairs. So that… you could rest before getting on the elevator? In case your walk from the other hallway had been too taxing?

I didn’t know where the event rooms were, but they couldn’t have been far; this was New York, after all, and real estate was at a premium. I was looking around, trying to figure out if I should ask the intimidating guy with his clipboard, just as the elevator doors opened.

And Amy Curry walked out.

I froze where I was standing and gaped at her. It was truly jarring—this girl, who I’d read so much about in magazines, and seen on the big screen, whose pictures in our theater lobby I’d stared at until I had them memorized—suddenly, here she was, in front of me, an actual person.

And of course it made sense—her movie’s after-party was here tonight. But I’d never thought I would actually see her, just standing here in the lobby, not going out though some special celebrity exit. She was with her boyfriend—I recognized him from red carpet pictures and blurry paparazzi shots. They took a step away from the elevator, walking toward the armchairs, discussing something. I realized it was probably a good thing, in that moment, that I didn’t have my phone. Because I wasn’t sure that I would have been able to stop myself from taking pictures, or FaceTiming Teri and walking past a lot, faux-casually, so that she could see Amy in the background. She was even prettier in person, her bright red hair a little more auburn than the last pictures I’d seen, and flowing in soft waves down her back. She was wearing a short, long-sleeved dress, blue-and-white stripe, but when she moved, you could see the stripes were sequins. She had paired this with tall, flat white boots, and the whole effect was somehow both modern and sixties and I wanted to try and re-create it immediately. Her boyfriend was tall and blond and broad-shouldered. He was wearing a suit and a collared shirt with a blue gingham pattern on it, no tie.

I thought I was being subtle about looking, but apparently not, because the guy said something to Amy, and then they both looked at me.